Round the Year in the Garden 



Melon, Cucumber and Vegetable Marrow. Seeds 

 may now be sown in the greenhouse or upon a hotbed 

 in a frame. They are placed singly in small pots. 

 Melons may be grown either in large pots or in mounds 

 of soil made up on a hotbed; the former method offers 

 the least trouble to amateurs. They need good turf 

 loam, and potting must be firm. When the plant is 

 about 10 inches high the point is pinched out to cause 

 side shoots to develop, and these in their turn will again 

 be " stopped " for the production of further growths 

 upon which male and female flowers will form. To 

 obtain a crop of fruit it is necessary to take a male 

 flower, remove the petals, and place it upon the stigma 

 of the female flower. As many female flowers as possible 

 should be pollenised at the same time, for the fruits 

 that set first usually develop at the expense of those 

 that set later ; the result is that one or two large fruits 

 and several other smaller ones are obtained, instead of 

 fruits of uniform size. While the plants are in bloom 

 air ought to be admitted freely ; when the fruits are 

 seen to be increasing in size a warmer temperature may 

 be maintained. 



The best compost for Cucumbers consists of loam and 

 leaf -mould in about equal quantities. They need somewhat 

 similar treatment to Melons, so far as stopping is con- 

 cerned, the object being to get the trellis full of growths 

 which will produce blossom and, in due course, fruits. 



Strawberries in pots should be given air freely while 

 they are in bloom so that the "set" of fruits may be 

 satisfactory. The pots are full of roots, and watering 

 must be attended to with care ; if the soil is allowed to 

 get dry the fruits are not likely to form freely. 



In the Kitchen Garden 



The amateur who has no glasshouse or frame must re- 

 gard this as the chief month for making preparations for 



182 



