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Dumber grower has bis favourite way to 

 prevent tbis occurrence. Some pave 

 the bottom of the hillock Avith six or 

 eight bricks; others with a thick twist 

 of straw or some hay-bands, over which 

 three or four inches thick "of cowdung 

 are placed of about the substance of 

 mortar ; others, again, remove a little of 

 the centres, and place therein a good thick 

 turf with the grass side turned downward, 

 and on this a good thick paste of cowdung. 

 But the best plan for the bottom of the 

 hillocks is that given by Mr. Errington 

 in The Cottage Gardener, at page 164 of 

 Yol. iii., by carrying up a cold bottom 

 of brick-bats, &c., from the bottom of 

 the bed, as the work goes on. Which- 

 ever method is adopted, the hillock must 

 be about a bushel of rich earth pre- 

 pared for the purpose, and in a cone 

 shape, so as to bring the plants within 

 six or seven inches of the glass. Do 

 not cover the whole surface of the beds 

 with earth at this time; for, should the 

 beds be very strong, it may be neces- 

 sary to undermine the hillocks. As 

 the roots put out round the hillock, 

 they should be covered with a handful 

 or two of earth ; and if all goes on well, 

 the hillocks will very soon require to 

 be extended, and the plants stopped 

 and pegged down. 



Hand-glass Crops. Sow for these 

 towards the end of March or beginning 

 of April. The plants to be ridged out 

 towards the middle or end of April, 

 under hand-glasses. If the open, warm 

 quarters are to be occupied by this 

 fruit, trenches one or one and a half feet 

 deep should be dug out, by two and a 

 half feet wide, and ten feet wide from 

 row to row ; these to be filled with good, 

 fermenting dung, that has been well 

 worked as for other hotbeds. The 

 trenches should be filled six or eight 

 inches above the common level of the 

 soil before the earth is put on. Put on 

 the earth in the form of a ridge until 

 the heat is up, which will be in the course 

 of three or four days, when it may be 

 levelled down, the glasses put on, and 

 the plants turned out under them, and 

 watered with tepid water. The pots out 

 of which the plants were turned may 

 remain to tilt the lights with when a 

 little air is required; and when the 

 plants begin to fill the lights, two similar 

 pots or half bricks will be required to 

 stand the lights upon oyer the plants, 



after which they may be -trained out bj 

 degrees, and as they begin to extend over 

 the beds, the sides or alleys must be 

 forked and well broken up, making a neat 

 level surface for the plants to be trained 

 out upon. The plants will require stop- 

 ping, training, and plenty of water in 

 dry, hot weather. 



Temperature. Air is to be admitted 

 every day as freely as contingent cir- 

 cumstances will admit, and also at night, 

 if the degree of heat and steam threatens 

 to be too powerful. It must never be 

 neglected to cover the glasses at night, 

 apportioning the covering to the tempe- 

 rature of the air and bed. The heat 

 should not exceed 80 in the hottest 

 day, or sink below 65 during the coldest 

 night. If the heat declines, coatings of 

 hot dung are to he applied in succession 

 to the back, front, and sides, if that 

 source of heat be employed. As the 

 mould appears dry, moderate waterings 

 must be given, care being taken not to 

 wet the leaves. The hest time for ap- 

 plying it is between ten and two of a 

 mild day, the glasses being closed for an 

 hour or two after performing it. The 

 temperature of the water must be be- 

 tween 65 and 80. The interior of the 

 glass should be frequently wiped, to 

 prevent the condensed steam dropping 

 upon the plants, which is very injurious 

 to them. 



Hot- Water Beds. Mr. Latter, one of 

 the most successful of cucumber grow- 

 ers, employs hot- water to heat his beds ; 

 and he gives us these leading points in 

 his culture : He sows in the first week 

 of September, and the vines from this 

 sowing will be in bearing and very 

 strong before February. The seedlings 

 are first shifted into sixty sized pots, 

 secondly into twenty-fours, and lastly 

 into the largest size. If to be trained 

 on a trellis, the runner must not b& 

 stopped until it has, trained to a stick, 

 grown through the trellis. The tempe- 

 rature in the pit or frame is kept as 

 nearly 65 as possible during the night, 

 and from 75 to 85 during the day ; air 

 being admitted night and day, little or 

 much, according to the state of the wea- 

 ther. The bottom-heat (Mr. Latter is 

 the champion of the hot-water system) 

 is kept as near as can be to 70 W , although 

 he finds that 85 does not hurt the 

 plants. He waters them with soft water' 

 until February, and then employs liquid- 



