March. J THE KITCHEN GARDEN. jgj 



or cold that may be prevalent at the time; and uncover in the 

 morning, it' a sunny day, so soon as it shines on the beds, or, if 

 otherwise, as early as may be consistent with the safety of the 

 plants; for their being too much debarred from the light, causes 

 them to become discoloured and weakly. 



As the early plants raised last month will have now advanced 

 considerably into fruitful runners, and show fruit abundantly, espe- 

 cially cucumbers, let the runners or vines be trained out regularly 

 along the surface of the bed at equal distances, and peg them down 

 neatly with small hooked sticks. At this early season it will be of 

 much utility to impregnate the young fruit of cucumbers with the 

 farina of male blossoms. The flowers of cucumbers and melons 

 are male and female, separate on the same plant, and the females 

 produce the fruit; the males are often erroneously called false 

 blossoms, and many persons in consequence of that notion pull 

 them oft; but they are so far from being false blossoms, that they 

 are by nature designed to impregnate the female flowers to render 

 them' fruitful; for the antherae in the centre of the male blossom 

 being furnished with a fine powder, which being dispersed on the 

 stigma in the centre of the female, the fecundation is effected, and 

 the fruit in a day or two after will begin to swell, and which in 

 cucumbers, will generally, in about a fortnight, or within a few 

 days under or over, according to the state of growth of the plants, 

 be arrived to a proper size for cutting or gathering for the table, in 

 young green fruit three or four, to five or six inches long or more; 

 so that without the assistance of the male blossom, the females 

 having the embryo fruit at their base wither and decay, and the 

 infant fruit turns yellow and drops oft". 



Therefore it is of importance to preserve a sufficiency of the male 

 flowers, for the purpose of impregnating the females; and in the 

 early culture of cucumbers, &c, it is eligible to carry some of the 

 males to the female flowers; observing for this purpose to detach 

 some new expanded male blossoms with the stalk to each, and 

 holding the stalk between the finger and thumb, and pulling oft' the 

 petal or flower leaf surrounding the male organ, then with the re- 

 maining antherae or central part, touch the stigma in the centre of 

 the female, twirling it about so as some of the farina or male powder 

 of the antherae may adhere thereto, a little of which being sufficient 

 to effect the impregnation. 



This operation is essentially necessary to be performed by hand, 

 to early plants that are shut up in frames, before the lights or 

 glasses can be admitted sufficiently open to give free access to a 

 large current of air, or flying insects, such as bees, k., all of which 

 assist in conveying the farina of the male blossoms to the females, 

 as is evident in plants exposed to the open air. 



The above operation of fecundating, or as the gardeners term it, 

 setting the fruit, should be performed the same day the flowers 

 open and are fully expanded, which i> the most essential period <>l 

 their generative effect. 



The female or fruit-bearing flowers are readilv distinguished ai 

 sight from the males; the former having always the embryo fruit 



