THE GROWING OF VEGETABLES 187 



Country Gentleman is one of the best of medium season. 

 Very early varieties are Golden Bantam, Crosby's Early, and 

 Adams' Extra Early. 



Cucumbers. — ^This crop is used both for early slicing and 

 for putting down as pickles. The late crop is perhaps best 

 suited to the school garden. The soil must be made as rich as 

 possible, and the fe,. owing plants may be watered with liquid 

 manure, prepared by keeping a supply of stable manure in 

 a barrel of water. 



The seeds are planted in June or early July in hills four 

 to six feet apart ea^'h way. They usually require some pro- 

 tection from striped beetles and flea beetles. Bordeaux mix- 

 ture with poison added is sometimes successful. Dusting the 

 plants with material, as mentioned under, " Cauliflower," is 

 helpful. Danger from these enemies may be largely overcome 

 by forcing growth with good tillage and plenty of liquid 

 manure. As the cucumbers become large enough for .use, 

 they should be picked daily. Allowing them to ripen on the 

 vines prevents the formation of others. If the picking and 

 watering are done well, the crop may be kept until frost. 



Cucumbers for winter use may be " salted down " for 

 future pickling by placing them in jars or other vessels with 

 alternate layers of salt for a day or two to extract the mois- 

 ture. They are then transferred to full strength salt brine 

 and kept as long as desired. The pickling may be done at any 

 time by placing them in vinegar. Before placing them in 

 vinegar the salt must be thoroughly soaked out by allowing 

 them to stand in fresh water for several twelve-hour periods, 

 using fresh water each time. For sweet pickles, the pickling 

 fluid is made by boiling a gallon of vinegar with two pounds 

 of brown sugar, and spices are added to suit. 



Egg-plant. — The egg-plant (Eig. 109) is sometimes called 

 "guinea squash." It is becoming more popular in many 

 sections of the middle states and southward. The plants are 

 tender and must not be set in the open garden until warm 



