368 THE KITCHEN GARDEN. [May. 



dung ought to be applied, for at this period of their fruiting a brisk 

 bottom heat is necessary to the free swelling of the fruit. The ad- 

 vantage of this will soon appear very evident. A slight covering 

 ought to be kept over the glasses every night, till about the tenth 

 of the month, after which they will need it no longer; these should 

 be taken oft' early every morning, for light and plenty of air will 

 now be absolutely necessary. 



According as the melons set, place a piece of board or shingle 

 under each fruit; this will preserve them from the damp of the 

 earth. 



About the middle of the month the frames may be raised by 

 means of any kind of support at the corners, and the plants be suf- 

 fered to run out under them, and by the end thereof you make take 

 them totally away. 



A regular supply of water will be very necessary; and although 

 melons do not require as much of it as cucumbers, yet a sufficiency 

 must be given. 



The early cucumbers will now be in full fruiting, and will re- 

 quire plenty of air and water; they may be fully exposed to the 

 open air in the middle states about the twentieth of the month, and 

 in the eastern states about the end thereof. 



Making Hot-bed Ridges for Cucumbers and Melons. 



The cucumbers and melons which were sown last month, or late 

 in March, may in the first week of this be planted in hot-bed 

 ridges, as directed in page 314, or the seeds may be sown thereon 

 in the following manner. 



The ridges being made and earthed as directed in April, page 

 314, mark out the holes for the seed, four feet asunder, and in form 

 of a shallow basin, about an inch deep, and nine or ten inches wide. 

 In the middle of each, sow eight or nine seeds, and then put on bell 

 or hand-glasses. After the plants have been up ten or twelve 

 days, they must be thinned, leaving only three of the strongest in 

 each hole, drawing a little earth about their stems, and giving a 

 light watering to settle it close to the roots. 



When the plants have two rough leaves, they must be stopped or 

 topped, as directed in page 120, which see. This operation is very 

 necessary to throw them into a fruiting state, before they run too 

 much into vine. 



As the plants advance in growth, they must have gentle and fre- 

 quent waterings, and plenty of air admitted, by the raising of the 

 glasses on props, under which sutler them to run out as they in- 

 crease in growth. The glasses may be totally taken oft' about the 

 end of the month. 



Solving Melons and Cucumbers, in the open ground. 



About the tenth of this month will be a good time, in the middle 

 states, to sow a general crop of melons in the open ground; from a 

 week to a month earlier, to the southward, according to the respec- 



