FOR YOUNG GARDENERS. 27 



should be planted in the garden about April 30th, and 

 the crop will be ready to eat in about five or six weeks. 

 The leaves are eaten as a relish and used as a salad. 



Cucumber. White Spine is one of the best for table 

 use. Early Cluster, Ever Bearing, Windsor Pickling are 

 good pickling varieties. The cucumber grows on a vine 

 and should not be planted in very small gardens, unless 

 along a fence where it can climb. It can be planted be- 

 side a rubbish heap or a pile of stones to good advantage. 

 It belongs to the same family as the canteloupe, water- 

 melon, pumpkin, and squash, which are all planted the 

 same way. They should be planted in hills not closer 

 than four or five feet apart, although they may be planted 

 nearer to early beans or early potatoes or any crop which 

 will be out of the way before the vines begin to run. The 

 vines are generally allowed to run on the ground. They 

 are planted in hills. To make a hill, dig a hole from four 

 to five inches deep and one foot in diameter. Fill this 

 within one inch of the top with a mixture of sand and well- 

 rotted manure. Drop eight to ten seeds in a hill, scatter- 

 ing them over it. Cover them half to one inch and press 

 down. When planted in this way they get a quick start. 

 Never plant until the ground is thoroughly warm, about 

 May 25th. It is well to keep the vines covered with a 

 frame of mosquito netting until the fourth leaf has formed, 

 then thin the plants to three or four in a hill. In warm 

 weather they come up and grow rapidly. They begin 

 bearing in from eight to ten weeks after planting. 



Dandelion. The dandelion may be planted in the 

 spring or in August or the first of September. The former 

 time will give the largest plants the following spring. 

 Plant in rows about April 30th, twelve to twenty-four 

 inches apart and thin the plants to six or eight inches 

 apart. They should be up in about eight days. It is sest 

 to plant these in the sunniest part of the garden and to 

 cover them in the early spring with sash so as to get very 

 early greens. They should be planted in gardens that are 

 to remain for two or three years. In case they are not all 



