272 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



the sashes with whiting. By August 

 the plants are getting exhausted ; 

 therefore careful attention is paid to 

 thinning out old and bare vines, and 

 encouraging young wood by means 

 of stimulants, in the way of manure- 

 water and coverings from cold ; and 

 in this way they last till September. 

 No fruits are saved for seed until 

 August, for if left sooner they would 

 materially weaken the crop of market- 

 able fruit. Until August, Cucumbers 

 are liable to red spider, thrips, green 

 fly, mildew, canker, and various 

 other diseases ; the only remedy 

 being that of keeping the plants in 

 as vigorous growth as possible. 

 When mildew attacks the Cucumber 

 it is generally the result of insuffi- 

 cient ventilation and too low a 

 temperature, When it does appear, 

 dusting thinly but evenly with flour 

 of sulphur through a piece of muslin 

 cloth is the only cure. Thrips are the 

 most terrible of the insect enemies 

 which attack the Cucumber; for 

 these, and also for green fly, which 

 is sometimes troublesome on the 

 young growths, fumigating with 

 Tobacco is usually resorted to ; but 

 the foliage of the Cucumber is so 

 tender, especially when forced, that 

 fumigation, unless done very care- 

 fully, is a cure which is often worse 

 than the disease, and should never 

 be attempted by the inexperienced. 



Cucumbers in the Open Air. — 

 Market-gardeners in the neighbour- 

 hood of London grow but few 

 Cucumbers in the open air. Many 

 have attempted it, but most of them 

 have now abandoned it, the result 

 not having proved very satisfactory. 

 W^here, however, it is carried on, 

 they are grown under glass and 

 hardened off and planted out 6 ft. 

 asunder and lo ft. row from row, 

 and hand-glasses are put over them. 

 When they begin to grow, the ground 

 is well mulched with straw, to keep 



the earth moist and the fruit clean. 

 Due attention is paid to their after- 

 culture in the way of stopping, 

 thinning, etc., and in some cases 

 fairly good results are obtained. In 

 one or two counties, the soil and 

 climate of which seem unusually 

 well adapted to their growth, large 

 quantities are grown in the open air 

 for the London markets ; from such 

 sources there are said to be sent to 

 London not less than 600 tons a 

 week during what is termed the Cu- 

 cumber season. Of these upwards of 

 100 tons have been known to be sent 

 to Covent Garden in a single day. 

 In good Cucumber-growing localities 

 the seed is sown about the beginning- 

 of May, where the plants are in- 

 tended to grow, in rows some 4 ft. 

 apart, and the plants stand nearly 2 

 ft. asunder in the row. In favourable 

 seasons they soon push into active 

 growth and cover the ground with 

 vines, which during the latter end of 

 May, the whole of June, and begin- 

 ning of July, spread in all directions 

 and come into bearing. During their 

 growth, weeding and thinning their 

 superfluous shoots are well attended 

 to, and if the plants should not en- 

 tirely cover the ground, or wherever 

 blanks occur, Mangold-Wurzel is 

 planted in the vacant spaces. About 

 4 yards apart are also rows of Onions, 

 set early in the spring, which, being 

 allowed to run to seed, serve in some 

 measure both for shade and shelter. 

 Where Onions are not used for this 

 purpose, Rye, sown in the autumn, 

 4 or 5 yards apart, and cut as soon 

 as the vines cover the ground, is 

 employed instead : Peas are also 

 sometimes used for the same purpose. 

 In this way the ground is made to 

 produce two or three kinds of crops 

 at the same time, and if one should 

 happen to fail, one or more of the 

 others, as the case may be, takes its 

 place. By the middle of July or 



