FRAME CROPS 401 
most important spring frame crops. In the Norfolk 
region, thousands of sash are devoted to this vegetable. 
The seed is sown in greenhouses or hotbeds about 
March 1, and as soon as the plants are up they are trans- 
planted into veneer boxes 6 by 6 by 6 inches in size. Five 
or six plants are set in each box and the plants are finally 
thinned to three or four. About April 1, one box or hill 
Fig. 142.—Frame cucumbers near Norfolk. 
of plants is set under each 3 by 6-foot sash, and from 
May 15 to 20 the sash and frames are removed. 
The cucumber plants are set in every other frame, 
and when they need no further protection, May 15 
to 20, the alternate beds of beets are ready to market; 
the cucumber vines are then trained over ground 
occupied by beets only a few days before. Stable manure 
is used in liberal amounts and supplemented by complete 
fertilizer. Top-dressings of fertilizer are also employed 
if additional growth is desired. When the frames are 
removed, the ground between them is thoroughly culti- 
vated and the cucumber vines are turned up, the soil 
cultivated and usually top-dressed with fertilizer, and the 
vines replaced. Spraying is also practiced. 
