Tue Farm Garpen 1298 
trough, laying this in the north side of the row, one board lying 
flat, the other standing upright. A few stones may be placed so 
as to keep the boards from blowing over on the plants. This 
allows the sun to strike them all day and not the wind. At night, 
turned upside down over the row, they are much better than 
boxes and cans. If the green tomatoes are picked off the last thing 
before frost, wrapped in paper and stored in baskets or flat boxes 
(not too many together) in a cool, dry place, most of them ripen 
as good as southern stock seen in the stores. 
Muskmelons too are not grown as generally as they should be. 
Small early varieties like the Jenny Lind may be grown suc- 
cessfully quite far north. 
In the growing of any of the melons and cucumbers a little 
scheme used by and learned from a southern grower for early 
Fic, 373.— HARVESTING SNAP BEANS 
use has been most valuable.* Throw upa ridge about a foot high 
running east and west, then at a distance of from three to four 
feet make openings on the south side from the edge. This will 
be from very shallow at the edge to quite deep at the back of 
opening. Then take one-half of the seed and soak in tepid water 
for twenty-four hours, or long enough to start the sprout; mix 
with dry seed and plant from the edge of opening into back 
of same and cover. One will then have sprouted seed and that 
* See article on “ Melons” by Charles D. Barton. 
