192 THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. [chap. yi. 
bed 75°. To grow the finer kinds of melons 
well, however* requires the attention of a 
regular gardener; and as this is the case also 
with pine-apples (the plants of which are too 
expensive to be trifled with), no directions 
are here given respecting them. 
Gourds. — The two kinds of vegetable- 
marrow—the American butter-squash, and the 
mammoth-gourd, are excellent for the table, 
either in soup, or boiled, or fried. The 
plants of all these kinds should be raised in a 
hotbed, the seeds being sown in March or 
April, three in a pot, and covered nearly an 
inch deep. In May, the young plants 
should be removed to the open ground, 
where they should be planted in rich soil, 
and sheltered for a night or two, till they 
have become inured to the change. They 
should be frequently watered in dry weather, 
as the fruit will not swell without abundance 
of moisture. 
Tomatoes .—The tomato or love-apple is 
a tender annual, a native of South America, 
introduced before 1596. The seeds should 
be sown in a hot-bed in March, and as soon 
as they come up pricked out into pots; they 
