4.34 
C U C U M I S. 
have three hot-beds: the fir ft fmall with a (ingle-light 
frame, for a feed-bed, in which the plants are to remain 
only a, few days : the fecond, a larger lingle-light or a 
two-light frame, for a nurfery-bed, in which the plants 
are to continue pricked out into pots, till they have 
formed one joint, and the two firft rough leaves are from 
two to three inches broad, which will be in three weeks 
or a month : the third a two-light or three-light frame, 
or frames, in proportion to the quantity that is wanted, 
for the fruiting hot-bed, into which the plants are finally 
to be turned cut of the pots, with good balls of earth 
about' their roots. If your firft frame be large enough, 
or a great number of plants be not wanting, the feeds 
may be raifed, and the plants pricked out, and brought 
forward for the fruiting-bed in this, without the fecond, 
by means of occafional linings of dung ; and, if you have 
a ftove, the firft bed may be difpenfed with. The prin¬ 
cipal circumftances to be attended to in this ftage of the 
bufinefs are, To make the: hot-beds on the furface, or 
rather above the furface, if your ground be wet; and 
not to dig a trench for them, as is often pradfifed, in 
order that the bottom of the bed may not be chilled by 
Handing water, and that the whole of it may receive the 
full benefit of the linings of dung. To make the feed- 
ling bed two feet and a half high ; and the fecond three 
feet and a half, or if the dung be long-four feet high. 
As foon as the bed is made, to let on the frame ; keeping 
the glafs down for a day or two to draw up the heat, 
and then letting out the fteam by letting up the glafs 
behind. In fix, eight, or ten, days, when the heat begins 
to abate, to earth the bed five or fix incites thick, and 
whilft the earth is warm to fovv the feed in drills, or in 
fmall pots; railing the light an inch or two behind in 
the day, and covering it at night with a mat. 
The beft forts for early crops are, the early ftiort or 
long prickly cucumber, No. 2 and 3. The feed fliould 
be faved from the earlieft fruit, and fliould be three or 
four years old. When the feedling plants are come up, 
and the feed-leaves are about half an inch in breadth, 
prick them out in fmall pots, filled within an inch of 
the top with your compoft earth, and fet in the frame a 
day to warm. Set four plants in each pot, covering 
them almoft to the leaves, and watering them gently 
from bottles fet a few hours in the frame to take off the 
cold. Continue to raife the lights every day, and fome- 
times in the night during the great heat and (learning of 
the bed ; in cold weather letting a mat hang loofely 
over the aperture. When the heat is moderate, the 
glaffes lhould be raifed only from nine or ten in the 
morning to three or four in the afternoon, according to 
the (eafon, (hutting them clofe before fun-fet, and co¬ 
vering them with one, two, or three, mats, in propor¬ 
tion to the feafon and the warmth of the bed ; obferv- 
ing not to let the mats hang over the (ides of the bed, 
and taking them off about eight in the morning. Some 
perfons put a layer of hay between the mats in fevere 
weather. 
Water the plants moderately once in three, four, five, 
or fix days, according to the drynefs of the earth in the 
pots, the heat of the bed, or the date of the weather, 
between eleven and two o'clock; preferring fun-fhine 
for this purpofe, and having the water foft and warm 
•from 65° to 85® of the thermometer, or feeling neither 
hot nor cola when taken into the mouth. Earth up 
the young plants in the pots gradually with mould 
warmed in.the frame, till the pots are full. Keep up 
the heat in the bed as regular as you can from 70" to So°, 
by firft laying dry draw, fern, &c. round the (ides, in 
about a week ; and in a fortnight or three weeks by 
giving the back and fiont a lining of hot dung eighteen 
incheswi.de at bottom, contracting gradually to the top, 
where it fliould be covered with earth two inches deep 
to keep down he fteam : and in ten days or a fortnight 
after, lining the fides, if the heat lhould decline ; guard¬ 
ing on thefe occafions againft burning, by railing the 
pots, fetting up the glaffes, &c. Some perfons for this 
purpofe pour water on the dung ; but, if too much be 
poured in, it chills the bed, and i too little, it in- 
creafes the burning. One of the moft important opera¬ 
tions in tiiis ftage of the bufinefs is the pruning or flop¬ 
ping the young plants, for which directions have been 
given under Melon, p. 446. This is done to promote 
lateral (hoots, which are the fruitful ones, and is parti¬ 
cularly ufeful in this cafe, where the defirable point is 
to procure fruit as early as poflible. The end of the 
runner fliould be taken off" almoft clofe to the bale of 
the fecond leaf; and the operation is beft performed 
when the end of the (hoot is not bigger than a large 
pin’s head. 
The plants being thus prepared, in three weeks or a 
month, when the two or three firft leaves are between 
two and three inches broad, they are fit to be finally 
tranfplanted into the fruiting beds, which the gardeners 
call ridging out. The beds muft be got ready for this a 
week or ten days at lead before, and, where there are fe¬ 
vered frames, near a fortnight, in order to have them of 
a proper temperature for receiving the mould and plants. 
The height of the beds fliould be four feet, or three 
feet and a half at lead. As foon as they are finiftied, 
the frames fliould be fet on, and the lights raifed to give 
vent to the fteam as the heat rifes. A long flick or two 
fliould alfo be thruft into the bed to judge of its tempe¬ 
rature ; and it muft not be moulded till you can bear 
your finger on the flicks for fome time together. You 
muft be careful however not to (lay too long, for a briik 
heat is required to bring the young plants forward at firft. 
Make a hillock of mould in the middle of each light 
ten or twelve inches high, which will require near a 
bufliel of earth ; cover the reft of the bed three inches 
thick with the fame mould ; and, if you are fearful of 
the bed’s burning, under each hill fpread a layer of 
cow-dung, not too wet, eighteen inches or two feet in 
width, and an inch and half in thicknefs. Having fi- 
nifhed this, clofe the glaffes, and the next day the bed 
will be fit for the reception of the plants. Early in the 
morning let the pots containing the plants to be ridged 
out be watered, that the earth may adhere firmly to 
their roots. One pot being deftined for each hill, (hake 
the plants out, difturbing them as little as poffible ; 
and having made a fufficient hole in the middle of the 
hillock, place the plants with the ball of earth about 
them in it, drawing the mould clofe round, and about an 
inch over them ; if the mould be dry, give them a little 
water that is not cold, and (hut the glaffes clofe. If 
the leaves flag much, (hade the lights three or four days 
with a thin mat in the middle of the day. 
Air muft now be admitted daily by raiding the lights 
behind, from half an inch to two or three inches high, 
according to the weather and the date of the bed ; 
hanging a mat loofely over the aperture when the wea¬ 
ther is fevere. Wet foggy weather however is more to 
be feared than froft with funfhine. At this early feafon, 
namely, the beginning of February, it is fometimes dan¬ 
gerous to admit air very freely, and yet the lights cannot 
be kept dole on account of the noxious fteam; in this 
cafe the introduction of warm air by means of pipes 
opening into the frames and communicating with the 
open air through the bed, might be of confiderable fer- 
vice, and has been pradtifed with great fuccefs. The 
heat of ihe beds may alfo be regulated by thermometers, 
efpecially where the perfon who manages them has not 
had long experience in the conduct of hot-beds. It is 
of great importance to have them kept nearly in the 
fame temperature ; and cucumbers at this early feafon 
require almoft the fame heat with the pine-ftove. 
Mats muft be put over the glaffes at fun-fet, cr fooner 
if the weather be cloudy ; and muft be taken off in the 
morning, foon after fun-rife, or fomewhat later in cold 
cloudy weather. A Angle mat will be fufficient at firft, 
but as the heat of the beds declines, efpecially if the 
weather 
