113 GABDEKING FOB YOUKG AND OLD. 



SQUASH. SUMMER. 



For summer use, nearly all the varieties of Squash gen- 

 erally cultivated are of the bush or dwarf kind. They 

 take up far less room in the garden than the running 

 varieties. The cultivation of the bush squash is exceed- 

 ingly simple; it requires good, but not excessively rich, 

 land, and the seed should not be sown until the soil is 

 quite warm and all danger of frost is passed. 



In my own garden I drill in the Summer squash in 

 rows three feet apart, dropping a seed to each two or 

 three inches of row, and when the plants begin to crowd 

 each other, I thin out the weakest, and leave the strongest 



Fig. 21. EARLY CBOOKNBOK. 



and those least riddled by the Striped-bug. One good 

 plant to each eight or ten inches of row is thick enough. 

 Generally, however, summer squashes are planted in hills 

 three feet one way and two feet apart in the row. Put a 

 dozen seeds in each hill, and ultimately leave only three 

 of the strongest plants in the hill. Keep the ground well 

 cultivated and hoed, pulling up a little fresh soil towards 

 the plants to smother any small weeds that can not be 

 reached with the hoe. A tablespoonful of superphos- 

 phate, well mixed with the soil in each hill before plant- 

 ing the seed, stimulates the growth of the vines, and, 

 what is still more important, it favors the early maturity 

 of the fruit. 



When grown extensively for market in the field-garden, 

 prepare the land in the very best manner. A light, warm, 



