VEGETABLES. 207 



dant Green. They are easily grown in a glass frame set on a 

 hotbed, where fine specimens may be obtained with the aid of 

 glass tubes to keep them straight and shapely. The best 

 method, however, of obtaining clean, straight, and handsome 

 specimens is by growing them in a properly constructed 

 cucumber-house, where the plants are trained on wires near 

 the roof, and the Cucumbers hang down from them, clear of 

 aU contact, and fully exposed to plenty of light and air. Seed 

 should be sown in light rich soil, in a high temperature 

 from ten to twelve weeks before the produce is wanted ; and 

 as soon as the plants are in the rough leaf, the seedlings 

 should be potted singly and grown till they are about a foot 

 high, when they should be planted out on small hills of light 

 fibry loam and leaf-mould, and the house kept at a tem- 

 perature of 70° at night, with abundance of moisture in the 

 atmosphere, and shading from sunshine when necessary. The 

 plants should grow quickly and show fruit within three weeks, 

 which should be thinned to a few of the most promising which 

 are likely to be at their best on the date of the show. The 

 growth must be kept well thinned out, and the bearing shoots 

 stopped at the leaf beyond the fruit. Those coming too early 

 should be removed in time, to conserve the energies of the 

 plant for the production of the exhibition specimens, which 

 are much benefited by frequent doses of liquid manure when 

 they are swelling. For exhibition, fruits of the same size and 

 appearance should be chosen ; and in handling and packing, 

 every care should be taken to preserve the bloom intact. The 

 points of merit are : (1.) Equal size and shape; (2.) fresh and 

 dark-green in colour; and (3.) the bloom perfect. 



THE EXDIVE. 

 There are many varieties of this useful vegetable, all raised 

 from the broad and curled leaved. The latter makes the finest- 

 looking head for exhibition, and should be cultivated for that 

 purpose. Seeds of both the green and white curled should be 

 own on a rich border in May and in June for succession. As 

 soon as the plants are large enough, they should be transplanted 

 nto rows 18 inches apart, and one foot between the plants, 



