496 



MANUAL OF GARDENING 



March, protecting the young leaves from severe freezing by mats oi 

 straw thrown over the frames. 



Seed may be sown in early spring for a succession; later in the season 

 seed of the New Zealand summer spinach may be sown, and this wiU 

 grow through the heat of the summer and yield a fine quality of leaves. 

 The seed of this kind, being very hard, should be scalded and allowed 

 to soak a few hours before sowing. This seed is usually sown in hills 

 about 3 feet apart, sowing four to six seed in each hill. 



The spring and winter spinach should be sown in drills 12 to 

 14 inches apart, one ounce being sufficient for 100 feet of drill. 

 Remember that common spinach is a cool-weather (fall and spring) 

 crop. 



Squash. — The summer squashes rarely fail of a crop if they once 

 escape the scourge of the striped beetle (p. 201). The late varieties 



are not so certain; they must secure a 

 strong start, and be on " quick " fertile 

 warm land in order to make a crop be- 

 fore the cool nights of fall (Fig. 315). 



The time of planting, method of prepar- 

 ing the hills, and after-culture are the same 

 as for cucumbers and melons, except that 

 for the early bush varieties the hills should 

 be 4 or 5 feet apart, and for the later 

 running varieties from 6 to 8 feet apart. 

 From eight to ten seeds should be planted in each hill, thinning to 

 four plants after danger from bugs is over. Of the early squashes, 

 one ounce of seed will plant fifty hills ; of the later varieties, one ounce 

 will plant but eighteen to twenty hills. For winter use, varieties of 

 the Hubbard type are best. For summer use, the Crooknecks and 

 Scallop squashes are popular. In growing winter squashes in a North- 

 ern climate, it is essential that the plants start off quickly and vigor- 

 ously: a little chemical fertilizer will help. 

 Pumpkins are grown the same as squashes. 



315. One of the so-called Jap- 

 anese type of squash (Cm- 

 curbita moschaia). 



Sweet-potato is rarely grown north of Philadelphia; in the South it 

 is a universal garden crop. 



