ith
plants, the question of providing them must be considered in good time.
The seed should be sown at least a month in advance, and should be
brought forward on a hot-bed or in a cool part of a stove. Many a
successful Cucumber grower has no better means of raising plants than by
sowing the seeds in a box or pan of light rich earth, kept in a sunny
corner of a common greenhouse, with a slate or tile laid over until the
seeds start, and by a little careful management nice thrifty plants are
secured in the course of about four weeks. In some books on horticulture
a great deal is said as to the soil in which Cucumber seed should be
sown. We advise the reader not to make too much of that question. Any
turfy loam, or even peat, will answer; but a rank soil is certainly
unfit. The object should be to obtain short, stout plants of a healthy
green colour; not the long-drawn, pallid things that are often to be
seen on sale, and which by their evident weakness seem destined to
illustrate the problems of Cucumber disease.

Having made a beginning with strong plants on a good bed, the two
matters of importance are to regulate the temperature and the watering.
In the first instance, it will be necessary to shade the plants a
little, but as they acquire strength they should have more light and
more air than are usually allowed to Cucumbers. A temperature averaging
60 deg. by night and 80 deg. by day will be found safe and profitable, as
promoting a healthy growth and lasting fruitfulness. But the rule must
be elastic. You may shut up at 90 deg. without harm, and during sunshine the
glass may rise to 95 deg. without injury, provided the plants have air and
are not dry at the roots. But it is of great moment that the night
temperature should be kept near 60 deg. and not go below it. If the
thermometer shows that the night temperature has been above the proper
point owing to the heat of the bed, wedge up the lights about half an
inch in the evening, and as the season advances increase this supply of
night air, for it keeps the plants in health, provided there is no chill
accompanying it. As regards watering, the important point is to employ
soft water of the same temperature as the frame, and therefore a spare
can, filled with water, must be always kept in the frame ready for use,
and when emptied should be filled again and left for the next watering.
Twice a day at least the plants and the sides of the frame should
receive a shower fr