952 



Gardening for Amateurs 



Frames for Melons and Cucumbers. 



than bell-glasses. The handles on the lights 

 belonging to French garden frames are 

 always on the top. The small amount of 

 room allowed in the alleys will not allow 

 of their projecting. 



Water Supply. Water is a great neces- 

 sity in French gardening. It is impossible 

 to produce crisp, tender, young salads and 

 vegetables if the crops do not receive ample 

 supplies of water during growth. Quite a 

 usual method is to build a tank at a sufficient 

 height so that the water will gravitate to 

 any part of the garden, and raise the water 

 to this by means of a small engine from a 

 stream or well. This increases the first 

 outlay considerably, but the subsequent 

 expense in labour is lessened, and generally 

 this has been found to be money well spent. 



For watering some growers have stand- 

 pipes to which lengths of hose can be affixed 

 and the watering done very rapidly. Very 

 early crops cannot safely be watered in this 

 way, and it is found necessary to use luke- 

 warm water which has stood in the frames. 



A large French garden should always be 

 supplemented by at least one greenhouse 

 where the temperature can be maintained 

 at 65 to 70 in cold weather. A house such 

 as this will be found of great value for raising 

 crops of young Melon and Cucumber plants. 

 There will then be no need to build hotbeds 



for this purpose, and the 

 young plants can be raised 

 in quantity in small pots, 

 or even in boxes. The 

 greenhouse itself can be 

 utilised for a crop of 

 Tomatoes or Cucumbers 

 in summer. 



Packages and Materi- 

 als require serious atten- 

 tion. Wicker sieves are 

 still used for some of the 

 produce, but the specially 

 made light open crates are 

 by far the best. These 

 should be lined with clean 

 white or blue paper, and 

 whatever is packed in 

 them ought to be 

 thoroughly washed and 

 cleaned previous to pack- 

 ing. Each crate should 

 have the grower's name and address marked 

 or branded upon it. This is of value in 

 facilitating their return. But its chief value 

 should be in the markets, where buyers soon 

 learn to discriminate between what are 

 known as good and bad " marks." 



Mats must not be forgotten, as they play 

 an important part in the protection of early 

 crops and for shading in summer. The.y 

 can be made at home of good Rye straw, or 

 purchased from France. The cost to the 

 purchasei here is about 3s. 6d. each. It 

 will be seen that this item is rather a serious 

 matter if large numbers are required. 



It may be advisable to add that the high- 

 backed frames generally used in English 

 gardens are of no use for French gardening 

 purposes. The frames are usually con- 

 structed 4 feet wide by 13 feet in length. 

 This is a useful size. The French have 

 them 4 feet 5 inches in width, and 13 feet 

 in length ; 9 inches in height at the back, 

 and 7 inches in front. This could be quite 

 usefully varied to 12 inches at the back, 

 and 9 inches in the front. The boards used 

 should be of H-inch material. As previously 

 stated, any handy man should be capable of 

 making the frames upon which the glass 

 lights are carried. 



Crops to Grow. French gardening is, 

 generally speaking, but a term by which is 



