SQUASH 191 



and remove all lumps and stones. Make the earth 

 here rich with compost, or well-decayed dressing of 

 any kind. If you have no dressing, the squash 

 must be planted where the soil is itself loamy and 

 rich, as it is not possible to get good results by en- 

 riching poor ground with commercial fertilizers ; 

 too much nitrogen will drive the plant to vines rather 

 than squashes. One is not likely, however, to get 

 the hills too rich with rotted manure, or compost. 

 In England, vines are started right in the great heaps 

 of dressing, and produce wonderful crops. A half 

 barrow-load is not too much for a hill, if the earth 

 is poor. If commercial fertilizer must be used, 

 mix two handfuls in the hill. Get some ground bone 

 at the butcher's and mix in a pound of that a little 

 later as the plants are starting. 



The surest way of getting a quick start is to bring 

 the hill up to a level with the surrounding soil and see 

 that the dressing is well mixed in and trodden down. 

 Then scatter a dozen seeds over the spot and sift 

 half an inch of soft, light loam above them. Make 

 this firm and sift a thin dust mulch above it. If a 

 heavy rain comes before the seeds have sprouted, 

 it will be likely to pack down and crust over this 

 dust mulch. In that case, sift another dust mulch 

 over the surface of the hill to keep it soft and moist. 



Culture. — When the sprouts appear, they should 

 be gradually thinned out, leaving not over two 

 Strong plants to a hill. 



