January 30.J 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER 
267 
arrival in England, lie was dismissed without ceremony, and 
the cream ol’ liis labours, we make no doubt, will be for the 
advancement of foreign gardens. He is now one of the 
court gardeners to the Emperor of Austria, at whose expense 
he was first sent amongst us. 
Oedochortus pallidns is a native of Mexico. It is bulbous 
rooted , and grassy leaved, like the rest of the genus. Floioers 
in loose umbels; petals reversed egg-shape, pale brown, 
hairy in the middle, with a very dark triangular spot at the 
base.—B. J. 
THE FRUIT-GARDEN. 
Early Cucumbers. —So numerous are the demands 
with the rising year, which may be made on practical men 
who endeavour to cater for tire public mind in the gar¬ 
dening world, that the purveyor of such materials feels 
sadly puzzled in exercising the duty of selection. We 
really did want to complete some papers about fruit- 
gardening, or rather the arrangement of fruit-trees in 
newly-made gardens, but the lengthening days remind 
us that we shall one day be too hot, and that a cooling 
salad—the cucumber not being absent without special 
permission—will be a most welcome appendage of the 
dinner-table, whether that of the gastronomist or the cot¬ 
tager. As to the former, we would strongly urge the ex¬ 
pediency of having a small cucumber-house, as advised 
last year. Mr. Rivers has shown that an artificial 
climate may be formed in an economical manner, by 
means hitherto uuthought of; and, indeed, the five- 
pound greenhouse—details of which have been afforded 
in a previous portion of this work—will furnish capital 
hints of the mode of procedure. 
Our readers will here remember, that it is not the 
most expensive plans that are most successful; and that 
to secure economical ones, the whole of the work must 
not be thrown on the mechanic. Nearly one-half may 
be carried out by a smart labourer, provided the prin¬ 
cipal himself is in the way, and can direct well a host of 
subordinate matters. It need scarcely be added, that 
independently of the cost of material, expensive or ill- 
directed labour, fearfully enhances the cost of production 
in everything. So we may conclude that the old adage 
is as fresh as ever in its application to labour matters— 
“ He that by the plough would thrive, 
Himself must either hold or drive.” 
We will now proceed to discuss the ordinary dung- 
bed cucumber culture, for, doubtless, many of our readers 
will at once think, that if the dung at their stable-door 
must ferment, the heat evolved ought by all means to be 
made available to some useful purpose; and really it 
does look a very common sense sort of affair. 
Preparation of Dung .—What is termed by practical 
men “sweetening” fermenting materials, is a process 
not confined to the cucumber alone; many cases will 
occur to those who have the ordinary frames which re¬ 
quire fermenting material; and as the process is the 
same in all cases, one account will suffice. 
We will commence with the dung fresh at the stable- 
door ; the first tiling is to throw it into a close body to 
“ sweat.” Those amateurs -who have plenty, and to 
spare, will do well to shake it over loosely, and reject a 
portion of the mere droppings; for these take the most 
purifying, and, moreover, engender an over-powerful, 
and sometimes unmanageable heat, which in un¬ 
practised hands is capable of much mischief. Such 
droppings are admirably adapted for mushroom culture, 
and need only be strewed over the floor of an open shed 
for a few weeks (until three parts dry), in order to form 
a capital bed with little farther preparation. The main 
bulk of the material thus thrown together, will in a 
week or so become exceedingly hot, and must then be 
turned completely inside out; and in so doing, every 
lock or patch which adheres together must be divided. 
Water will now be requisite, and must be regularly 
applied as the work proceeds, rendering every portion 
equally moist. After the mass has lain for about four 
days longer, it is well to administer a liberal amount of ■ 
water on the top ; this will wash out at the bottom of ! 
the heap, much of its gross impurities. In a few more I 
days it must be again turned inside out, using water if ; 
dry in any portion; and after laying nearly a week it I 
should be almost fit for use; but it is well to give it even I 
another turn, if labour is at hand. If any tree leaves, 
strawy materials, &c., or any simple vegetable matter is 
to be added to the mass, it may be added at the last 
turning but one. 
These things accomplished, the heap ought to be 
“ sweet,” and such may be readily ascertained even by : 
unpractised persons, for a handful drawn from the 
very interior, and applied to the nostrils, will not only 1 
be devoid of impure smell, but actually possess a 
somewhat agreeable scent, similar to the smell of mush¬ 
rooms. 
Beds. —All things will now be in readiness for build¬ 
ing the bed, and one necessary point is to select a spot 
perfectly dry beneath, or rendered so. It must, more¬ 
over, be thoroughly exposed to a whole day's sun, but 
with this, the more it is sheltered sideways the better, as ' 
starving winds, by operating too suddenly in lowering j 
the temperature, cause a great waste of material as well i 
as labour. Some portable screens, therefore, are useful 1 
things for early work—of which, more presently. 
The ground plan of the bed, or ground surface, should 
be nearly level; a good builder, however, will be able 
to rear a substantial bed on an incline, and such is not 1 
a bad plan, so forming the slope as to have the front or | 
south side several inches below the back; the front 
being with the ground level, the back raised above it. ' 
By such means there will be as great a depth of dung a t 
front as back, which is not the case when the base is > 
level; for then, unluckily, through the incline necessary I 
for the surface of the glass, the dung at back is generally 
much deeper than the front, at which latter point most 
heat is wanted. We merely mention this as a subor¬ 
dinate affair, and may observe, that good gardeners not 
unfrequently use a portion of weaker material at the 
back, such as littery stuff, containing little power as to 
heat. It is well, also, to fill most of the interior of the bed, 
after building it half a yard in height, with any half- 
decayed materials, such as half worn linings, fresh leaves, 
&c.; this will in general secure it from the danger of j 
burning, whilst it will also add to the permanency of 
the bed, for the cucumber roots will descend, and thus 
secure an indefinite amount of food during the hot 
weather of summer. We have known beds thus cir¬ 
cumstanced, continue bearing well until the following 
autumn, producing up to that period an almost in- j 
credible amount of cucumbers. 
At this period, a bed should he at least four feet high 
at the back; if five feet, all the better; and as soon as 1 
built, let some littery manure be placed round the sides 1 
in order to prevent the wind searching it. As soon as j 
the heat is well up, or in about four days from the build- ! 
ing of it, the whole bed should have a thorough watering. 
It is now well to close it until the heat is well up again, 
when a second and lighter watering may be applied ; I 
and now it will be ready for the hills of soil any time. 
It will appear tedious, we fear, to some of our readers, ! 
to dwell so much on the preparatory steps of dung 
sweetening, &c., especially having formerly handled the 
subject; but it must be remembered, that in early dung- 
beds, even/thing depends on the sweetness of the material; 
as air cannot be given with that liberality with which it 
may at a more advanced season. 
In making the hills of soil for the plants, we generally 
make a hollow in the centre of each light, half the depth 
of the bed. In the bottom of this we place nearly a 
