4j2 
G U C U M IS. 
the plants, which would be very hurtful to them. In 
this manner you fhould, from time to time, obferve to 
peg down the runners as they are produced, laying each 
in exaft order, fo as not to interfere or crofs each other; 
nor fhould you ever after remove them from their places, 
or handle them too roughly, whereby the leaves may be 
broken or difplaced, which is alfo equally injurious to 
them ; but, whenever you have occafion to weed the bed 
between the plants, do it with great care, holding the 
leaves afide with one hand, while with the other you 
pull out the weeds. 
In about a month after they are ridged out, yon may 
expect to fee the beginnings of fruit, which very often 
are preceded by male (lowers, which many people are fo 
ignorant as to pull off, calling them falfe bloffoms : but 
this is wrong ; for thefe bowers are of abfolute fervice 
to promote the welfare of the fruit, which, when thefe 
male flowers are entirely taken off, very often falls away, 
and comes to nothing. Nor fhould the vines be pruned, 
as is too often the practice of unfkilful people, ef'pecially 
when they are luxuriant, which often happens when the 
feeds were frefli, or of the lad year’s having, and the 
plants in good heart. If this fhould happen to be the 
cafe, it would be very proper to pull up one of the 
plants, before they have run fo far as to entangle with 
the other; for it often happens, that one or two plants 
are better than four or five, when they are vigorous; 
fpr, when the frame is too much crowded with vine, the 
fruit is fcldom good, nor in fuch plenty, as when there 
is a more moderate quantity of (boots ; for, the air be¬ 
ing hereby excluded from the fruit, they often decay 
and fall off very young. 
You muft alfo be very careful to cover the glaffes 
every night when your fruit begins to appear, as alfo 
to lay a little frefli litter, or mowing of grafs, round the 
fides of the bed, to add a frefh heat thereto ; for, if the 
heat of the bed be fpent, and the nights prove cold, the 
fruit will fall away and come to nothing. When the fun 
is extremely hot in the middle of the day, you muft 
cover the giaffes with mats to (hade the vines; for, al¬ 
though they delight in heat, yet the diredt rays of the 
fun are very injurious, by either fcorching thofe leaves 
which are near the glaffes, or by caufing too great a per- 
fpiration, whereby the extreme part of the (hoots, and 
the large leaves are left defiitute of nourifhment, and the 
fruit will be at a (land, and often turn yellow before it 
arrives at half its growth ; and this is too often the cafe 
when the beds have not a fufficient depth of earth over 
the dung. 
At this time, when your vines are fpread fo as to 
cover the hot-bed, it will be of great fervice, when you 
water them, to fprinkle them all over gently, fo as not 
to hurt the leaves ; but obferve to do this not at a time 
W’hen the fun is very hot, for the water, remaining upon 
the furface of the leaves in drops, collects the rays of 
the fun to a focus, and fo (torches the leaves, that in 
one day’s time they have, from a bright green, become 
of the colour of brown paper. The watering of the beds 
all over will be of great fervice, by giving nourifhment 
to thofe roots, which by this time will have extended 
themfelves all over the bed ; and if the warmth of the 
bed fhould now decline, it will be of great fervice to 
add a lining of frefh dung-round the fides of the beds, 
to give a new heat to them ; for, as the nights are often 
cold at this feafon, where the beds have not a kindly 
warmth left in them,.the fruit will frequently drop off the 
vines, when grown to the fize of a little finger; and if, 
upon this lining of dung, there is a thicknefs of ftrong 
earth laid for the roots of the plants to run into, it will 
greatly firengthen them, and continue the plants in vi¬ 
gour a much longer time ; for the roots of thefe plants 
extend to a great diftance when they have room, which 
they pannot have in a bed not more than five feet wide ; 
(o that when they have no greater extent for their roots, 
the plants will not continue in vigour above five or fix 
weeks, but, if they have depth and extent cf earth, will 
continue three months in bearing; fo that, where there 
are feveral beds made near each other, it will be the 
belt way to fill up the bottom of the alleys between 
them with warm dung, and cover that with a proper 
thicknefs of earth, fo as to raife them to the level of 
the beds. Thefe directions, with diligent obfervation, 
will be fufficient for the management of this crop of cu¬ 
cumbers ; vines thus treated will continue to fupply 
fruit till the beginning cf July, by which time the fe- 
cond crop will come to bear. 
Culture of Cucumbers under Bell-glajfes .—-About the mid- 
die of March, or a little later, according to the nature 
of the feafon, you muft put in your feeds, either under a 
bell-glafs, or in the upper fide of your early hot-bed ; 
and, when the plants are come up, they fhould be pricked 
upon another moderate hot-bed, which fhould be covered 
with bell or hand glaffes, placed as clofe as poffible to 
each other; the plants fhould alfo be pricked at about 
two inches diftance from each other, obferving to water 
and fliade them until they have taken new root, which 
will he in a very fiiort time. This is to be underdood 
of fuch places where a great quantity of plants are re¬ 
quired, which is conffantly the cafe in the kitchen-gar¬ 
dens near London ; but, where it is only for the fupply 
of a family, there may be plants enough railed on the 
upper fide of the beds where the firft crop is growing $ 
or, if the vines fhould have extended themfelves fo far 
as to cover the whole bed, whereby there will not be 
room to prick the plants, a (ingle light will contain fuch 
a number of plants, while young, to plant out in ridges, 
as will fupply the larged family with cucumbers during 
the latter feafon. You mud alfo cover the glaffes with 
mats every night, or in very bad weather; but, in the 
day time, when the weather is hot, you mud raife the 
glaffes on the oppodte fide from the wind, to give air 
to the- plants, which will greatly drengthen them ; you 
mud alfo water them as you find they require it, but 
this mud be done fparingly while the plants are young. 
In the middle of April the plants will be drong enough 
to ridge out, you mud therefore be provided with a heap 
of new dung, in proportion to the quantity of holes you 
intend to plant, allowing one load to dx holes. When 
your dung is fit for ufe, you mud dig a trench about 
two feet four inches wide, and in length jud as you 
pleafe, or the place will allow ; and, if the foil be dry, 
it fhould be ten indies deep, but, if wet, very little in 
the ground, levelling the earth in the bottom ; then put 
in your dung, obferving to dir and mix every part of it 
as was directed for the fird hot-beds, laying it clofe and 
even. 
When this is done, you mud make holes, about eight 
inches over, and fix inches deep, jud in the middle of 
the ridge, and three feet and a half didance from each 
other; and, if there be more than one ridge, the dif¬ 
tance of thofe ought to be eight feet and a half from 
each other; then fill the holes with good light earth, 
putting a dick into the middle of each for a mark, and 
afterwards cover the ridge over with earth about four 
inches thick, laying the earth the fame thicknefs round 
the fides. When the earth is levelled fmooth, you mud 
fet the glaffes on upon the holes, leaving them clofe 
down about twenty-four hours, in which time the earth 
in the holes will be warmed diffidently to receive the 
plants; then with your hand dir up the earth in the 
holes, making it hollow, in form of a bafon ; into each of 
which you fhould plant three or four plants, obferving 
to water and diade them until they have taken root; 
after which time you mud be careful to give them a lit¬ 
tle air, by railing the glaffes on the oppodte fide to the 
wind, in proportion to the heat of the weather, as alfo 
to water them as you (hall fee they require it; but you 
mud only raife the glades in the middle of the day, un¬ 
til the plants fill the glaffes, at which time you fhould 
raife the glaffes with a forked dick on the fouth dde, in 
height 
