The Fruiting Frame

For Plants sown in October, November, December, and January.





Four loads of dung will be sufficient for a three-light box, and the

same in proportion to the number you intend to make use of. Let it be

put together a fortnight before the seed is sown; be very particular in

giving it plenty of water, and pack it close together. After it has laid

a week turn it, and if dry, moisten it with water. Let it continue in

this state another week, when the same directions as before given must

be observed; and, in a week more, the bed will be in a fit condition to

make up.



The bottom must be prepared in the same manner as directed for the

seed-bed; then form the bed of dung four feet three inches at the back,

by four feet in the front, allowing for a cavity of about ten inches

between each box; then place the boxes on, and put the shovellings

inside, in the proportion of two or three barrows-full to a light. In

forming the bed, it is the best plan to make it in layers of about a

foot each, which will cause the dung to be much better mixed, than if

all finished at first, of an equal height. Be very particular in

separating the dung, and breaking it to pieces, afterwards beating it

well down with a fork.



After the bed has been thus prepared, put the lights on, and shut them

down close until the heat begins to rise. When such is the case, give

them about an inch of air; and in three or four days wrap the bed all

round with dry litter or useless hay, eighteen inches wide from the

bottom, sloping it in to about a foot as high as the bed, which will

greatly tend to promote a regular heat. As the careful wrapping up of

the bed is an essential requisite, means must be taken to keep it close,

and protect it from any injury that may arise in consequence of

tempestuous weather, this may be accomplished by means of sharp-pointed

sticks, with hooks in the form of a peg, and about the size and length

of a broom-stick. Thrust these through the litter into the bed, about

half way up, one to each light, at the back and front, and two at each

end.



After the bed has been made about a week or ten days, take off the boxes

and lights, in order to level it, and let it have from four to six

inches fall from the back to the front; in this, however, you must be in

some degree guided by the form of the boxes, which it is necessary

should have a good fall, that the plants may derive benefit from the

sun; then fork up the bed about a foot deep, and again place on the

boxes and lights, giving nearly two inches of air, both night and day.

In about four or five days it will be necessary to again fork it up, and

give it some water, in the proportion of two pots to a light. This must

be repeated every two or three days, until the bed is perfectly sweet,

which is usually the case in three or four weeks, applying water during

that time, according to the state of the bed.



When you find that the bed is properly purified, put in the sifted leaf

mould. A three-light box will require a large barrow-full; the quantity

for a one-light being about four shovels. After this, add to the

wrapping some sweet litter or hay, increasing it to nearly the top of

the boxes, and apply about two pots of water to each of the cavities,

taking care to fill them up to nearly the tops of the boxes, with short

sweet mulshy litter. This is a point but very little known, yet of the

greatest importance in the culture of cucumbers; for when the weather

begins to grow severe, if there is no cavity, and the boxes are placed

close together, in the usual manner, the outsides are very liable to

become damp, and the cold, penetrating through, is certain of doing the

plants material injury.



Put a pot of plants in the middle of a three-light box, and at night

admit nearly two inches of air, covering them with a single mat; and if

on the following day the plants look well, they may be safely ridged

out.



It is requisite that both the boxes and lights should be painted every

year, at least a month before they are wanted for use; but if this

cannot be conveniently done, be particular in washing them with boiling

water, in which some unslacked lime must be mixed. This will in some

measure answer the purpose of paint in effectually destroying the

vermin, or the eggs which may have been deposited in the crevices of the

wood.



After the plants are ridged out, wash them every morning, on the

outside, and about once a week in the inside, which will tend to reflect

the light, and cause them to thrive much better. When you wash the

outside, push them down about two or three inches, which will prevent

the water from perishing the lining at the side of the boxes. If the

plants have received no injury, and are able to bear the heat of the

bed, ridge them out, letting the hills be about nine inches high,

covering the roots about an inch round, and being an inch higher than

they were when in the pots. If there is any surplus mould, rake it with

the hand all over the bed; then water the plants, taking care, at the

same time to sprinkle the bed regularly upon the surface. Close them

down for the space of ten minutes, and then admit an inch of air. If the

weather is mild, in an hour it may be increased to two inches, and a

single mat only will be requisite at night. If, however, the weather is

windy, cover them at night with a double mat, or a single one and a

little hay.



Be very particular in allowing them plenty of air, especially of a

night, taking care, however, to regulate this by the temperature of the

weather. If there is much wind, they will of course require less air;

but, at all events, it is better to give too much than otherwise, more

particularly at the first ridging out, as the weather at this season

being frequently subject to sudden changes, which, should it occur in

the night, and the plants are too confined, or the least rankness

existing in the bed, they are sure to experience material injury, which,

at this time of year, it is very improbable they will ever recover; or,

if with extreme difficulty, they should be brought round, they can never

be expected to grow to any degree of perfection.



Stir up the bed every day for a fortnight to the depth of about nine

inches, with a hand-fork, and if you discover any fire-heat, immediately

give water to the part affected, that being the only effectual remedy

that can be applied. Be careful in forking close to the bottom of the

hills, and if you ascertain that it fires much in this place, bore

several holes at the bottom of the hills, and apply plenty of water.



Have a sharp-pointed stick, about six or eight inches long, for the

purpose of stirring the mould round the plants, in a similar manner to

hoeing a crop in a garden. This will very much refresh the plants, and

should be attended to while they are young, for at least two months the

day after they have been watered.



As soon as the roots begin to be visible through the hills, add three

shovels-full of unsifted mould at a time to each hill, being very

careful not to mould too freely, until the beginning of February, as the

plants from the middle of December to the middle of January, lie in a

dormant state; consequently, too large a quantity of mould at this

season, will be attended with ill effects, in stagnating the roots, and

preventing the heat of the bed rising in a free and proper manner.



This being the season when plants are most exposed to injury, and are

frequently lost, great care and attention is necessary for their

preservation from the effects of the cold, in wrapping the linings well

up, and giving a good top covering. If the weather is intense, they will

require eight or nine inches covering of hay, and water only once a

week.



As soon as the plants are first ridged out, have dung in for a lining,

which should always be put in the front and sides first. When the dung

has been put together a week, turn it, and at the end of another it

will be fit for use; one load being sufficient for a three-light box.

After the plants have been ridged out a fortnight, or three weeks at the

farthest, it will be necessary to line the bed to the width of about two

feet, and three parts as high as the bed, inclining with a slope of

about six inches towards the top. When the dung has been put about half

way up, tread it, and then add the remainder, beating it well down with

a fork. Cover the lining with litter about three or four inches thick at

the outside, and within one or two inches of the top of the box; then

place a board at the top about nine inches wide, which will keep it

close, and assist in drawing up the heat. Be particularly careful in

stopping the inside next to the box, when you make a fresh lining, and

beat it close down with the hand about two or three inches above the

bottom.



When a fresh lining has been added, have the dung in readiness for the

back, which will be required about a fortnight afterwards. It should be

formed about two feet six inches wide, well trod down, and wrapped up in

the same manner as the front, within three inches of the top of the

box. Be careful that the litter is not rank; old useless hay, or litter

that has been some time laying by, will be preferable. The same

directions must be attended to in stopping up the inside of the box, as

with the front.



As soon as the heat of the lining in any degree affects the bed, and you

discover that the inside, where it has been stopped, begins to get dry,

give it some water in the evening, just before covering up, for about a

week or ten days, which will be the means of keeping the rankness down,

and causing a sweet steam heat to rise.



As the lining settles, press it down with a spade next the box, and add

more litter upon the top, which should be done every other day,

observing that when you increase one lining to have the dung in

readiness for the next; each lining not being calculated to last more

than a month or five weeks; though the back one will not want renewing

quite so often as the front. When you apply the second front lining, it

will be necessary to bore the bed with a hedge-stake or mop-stick,

making five holes to a three-light box; that is, one under each hill,

and two under the bars: bore them straight rather better than half way

up the bed, so that when the second back lining is applied, holes may be

bored exactly opposite to the others. This will cause a free circulation

of the heat from one lining to the other, and prove not only of great

service in regulating the temperature of the bed, but of equal advantage

in draining off the surplus water. Take care when you add a fresh

lining, to keep the holes open.



As the linings draw the boxes down, they will require rising with boards

and bricks. In order to accomplish this, it will be necessary to provide

some small pieces of board, rather larger than a brick, placing one of

each, with a brick, under the corners of the boxes; and, as the bed

settles, increase the number of bricks. When you raise the boxes, stop

up the bed with rotten moist dung, and close up the inside about two or

three inches above the bottom of the box.



The plants should be always topped when young, at the first joint, as

before directed; then let them run two joints twice following;

afterwards keep them topped at the first joint, except it be blind,

which may be easily ascertained by close examination; if you find such

to be the case, let it run another joint before it is topped.



It is necessary that the plants should be continued in leaf mould until

the middle of January, as there is no other in which they will thrive so

well at that season of the year. Their peculiar and tender nature bears

a strong resemblance to young children, in the care requisite for their

nurture and growth. They require light nourishment, that will easily

digest; and no soil is so well calculated for this purpose as

leaf-mould, mixed with a little grit; from its excellent properties in

absorbing the water.



In ridging out the plants, one thing must be attended to in the

preparation of the bed, which has not been before mentioned. Hollow the

bed out to the depth of about four inches in the middle, so that if the

weather is cold or windy, the dung may be pulled down half way up the

hills, when it will be nearly level about the bed; but as soon as the

weather becomes mild, it must be drawn away again, or otherwise the heat

will be too violent for the roots. As mould is added to the roots, draw

the dung away level with the bottom of the hill; then put it half way up

again, being, however, regulated in this by the heat of the bed, and the

temperature of the weather. After the hills cover nearly three parts of

the bed, take the dung out which has been placed round them, and level

it with nearly the bottom of the box, leaving three or four inches

round the sides to keep out the rankness from the linings, as before

directed.



In covering up the plants, a single mat will be sufficient, until they

have been ridged out a fortnight, unless the weather is windy or very

cold; in such case, make use of a double mat or a little hay; be

careful, at the same time, not to give them too much covering at first,

as it will draw the plants, and cause them to grow very weak; in this,

however, you must be in some degree guided by the heat of the bed, and

the temperature of the weather. When there is a good heat, and the

weather is still, they will require less; but if there is much wind, or

the air is very cold, it must of course be increased. It seldom occurs

that plants require much covering until a fortnight before Christmas,

when it will be found necessary, if the weather is moderate, to cover

them from four to six inches. Instances have occurred, when the author

has been obliged to increase the covering to a foot in thickness, from

the intense cold; but this, however, is seldom the case; and from four

to six inches may generally be considered sufficient from December to

April. As the sun increases, and the nights become milder, reduce the

covering to three or four inches, until May; from whence to June a

single mat, or a little hay or litter will be sufficient. If the weather

is now seasonable, and the nights warm, they will not require any

covering, but should this not be the case, it is better to continue it

even until Midsummer.



Take particular care when covering up, after a fresh lining has been put

to the bed, that the mats or hay does not hang over the lights for at

least a fortnight, as such will draw the rank steam into the bed, and

kill the plants.



The linings should be continued until the weather is fine and settled,

which may be expected in the middle of May; but should the weather be

cold and unfavourable, it may be necessary to retain them until the

middle of June.



In about the third week of the month of January, the plants will

require stronger food; and half bog and half leaf mould may be applied.

Should there be a difficulty in obtaining bog earth, procure the top

spit of light meadow earth, and lay it up for twelve, or, at the least,

six months before it is wanted for use. When you mould towards the

outside, it may be still stronger, mixing rotten dung or leaf mould, in

the proportion of one-fourth, with bog or light meadow earth; observing,

however, not to mould up the plants level until some time after fruit

has been cut. The beginning of March is the proper time to mould up

full.



Let a cavity be left at the back and front of the box of about two

inches, to prevent the roots from being injured on the outside of the

box by the linings; and to cause the heat to rise freely from the bed.



It is very necessary that the plants should be kept thin of vine, as

being material in the growth of fine fruit; and as they extend towards

the outside of the bed, do not suffer them to run more than one joint

at a time.



Keep the leaves thinned, by taking out the oldest first, in order that

they may stand single, and not one over the other; to accomplish which

it will be necessary to peg them out. When taking off the leaves, cut

them close to the vine, not leaving a long stalk, as that will rot and

injure the plants. When they are laid, be particular in having the

plants down close to the mould, as early as possible, in order that they

may strike root; at the same time being careful not to bury the vine. In

doing this, place a little mould round the side of the vine first,

leaving the top uncovered until it is a little hardened, and the roots

begin to strike. When such is the case, cover the vine all over, and

then you may continue laying within one joint of the extremity.



It is here necessary to observe, that very few are acquainted with the

advantages that may be derived from laying the plants in a proper

manner. Many even, who are in the habit of observing this method,

practice it so slightly, that little if any benefit results from it; and

by far the greatest number of horticulturists take no notice of it

whatever. Laying is certainly a most material point in the culture of

the early cucumber; and it is impossible to ensure a good crop without a

strict attention to it: in fact, the Author principally attributes his

success in the production of fine fruit, to his extreme care in this

particular. It should be done every fortnight or three weeks after the

plants have come into bearing; and, if continued in a regular manner,

good fruit may be obtained until October. Some imagine that October sown

plants will soon be worn out, after producing a few cucumbers early; but

this is a mistaken idea, for, if the laying is continued regularly, they

will bear good fruit equally as long as any young plants sown in the

spring. Leaf-mould, mixed with a little road sand, is the best thing to

lay them in until the latter end of March, when you may add a stronger

soil, composed of one-fourth of leaf-mould or rotten dung, mixed with

bog or light meadow earth.



Soft water is essentially necessary for the plants, as hard is almost

certain of producing the canker, unless particular means are adopted to

prevent it. In some situations it may be impossible to obtain soft

water; in such a case, let the water stand in a tub for at least

twenty-four hours; if two or three days even it will be the better, as

in that time it will be in some degree softened by the sun, and the raw

coldness expelled from it.



After the plants have come into bearing, sheeps dung is an excellent

thing to mix with the water, if used in a moderate manner. The following

proportion will be necessary:--To six pots of water put in the tub one

shovel-full of dung; let this be stirred up continually for the space of

two or three days, and when wanted for use, it must be again well

stirred up. In watering with this mixture, be particular in having a

small thin spouted pot, without a rose, so that it may be easily poured

under the leaves. A gallon or six quarts will be a sufficient quantity

for one light, and in watering be careful that it is not sprinkled over

the leaves. Sheeps dung, mixed with the water, will be found very

beneficial to the plants, if used moderately, as too great a freedom

will tend to injure them.



When the plants are first ridged out, they will require water every

third day, until about the middle of December; and when applied, it must

be sprinkled all over the plants and bed, observing to give a larger

quantity where the heat seems most to prevail. In general more water is

requisite at the back than the front: unless there is much heat in the

front from the middle of December until the middle of January, once in

five or six days will be sufficient to water the plants. Round the side

of the box, and at the back, however, should be watered every night,

while there is much heat. About two or three quarts of water at each

time to a light will be sufficient for the plants until the middle of

January and from that time more will be necessary. In applying the water

you must be guided in a great measure by the state of the weather. Take

the opportunity of watering when the sun is out, and then close them

down for about a quarter of an hour or more, according to the season of

the year. At all times, before watering, admit double the usual quantity

of air about a quarter of an hour previous to the application, for the

purpose of hardening the plants.



Water may be applied at any time of the day, if the heat is good, but

the most preferable time is certainly about eleven o'clock in the

morning, particularly as the season advances towards the months of April

and May, and the weather becomes more temperate, and the sun has greater

power. After they are watered, shut them down for about ten minutes or a

quarter of an hour, and let them have the benefit of a clear sun; then

shade them with a mat for two or three hours, and shut the frame close

down, in order that a moist sweet steam heat may be produced, which will

cause the fruit to swell very quick. At one or two o'clock take off the

mat and admit a little air. When the sun is clear and the weather hot,

let them be shaded from eleven to two o'clock; some evergreen boughs or

pea-sticks are very good things.



Should the above directions be found inconvenient to attend to, the

difficulty may be obviated by adopting the following method. After the

plants are watered in a morning, shut them down, for the space of about

ten minutes, then give them a little air; in about the same time

increase it, and so gradually until the proper quantity is admitted. The

gradual admission of air is extremely important, and ought, therefore,

to be particularly attended to.



The frames should never be shut down too long in the morning of the

spring and summer months; a little air should be given at eight o'clock,

if the weather is fine, in an hour it will be necessary to increase it;

afterwards attending to it according to the state of the weather.



In order to produce fine fruit in the early part of the season, that is

in February and March; let only one grow on a plant at a time. Keep the

male blossoms rubbed off when young, to prevent their weakening the

plants; the best method of doing which is with a small pointed stick.



As soon as the plants begin to show fruit, leave a few male blossoms to

set the fruit with. If this be not attended to in the early part of the

season the fruit will not swell off, as it is the female blossom

alone that bears it, and if these be not impregnated with the male they

will prove unfruitful. The female flower may easily be distinguished

from the male, by the appearance of the fruit at the bottom of the

blossom which the other does not possess.



When the female flower is in full bloom, take a male blossom which is in

full bloom also, and hold it in one hand, with the other split it down,

and tear off the flowers, being careful at the same time not to injure

the male part; then hold the male blossom between the forefinger and

thumb of the right hand, while the female flower is held between the

middle and forefinger of the left hand; then put the male blossom in the

centre of the female, and the farina will adhere to it, and have the

desired effect; should it, however, happen to fall out after it is done,

it is of no consequence whatever, as the impregnation is received the

instant it is put in.



The proper time to set the fruit is in the morning, as it always comes

in bloom at night, and if left until the afternoon the blossom of the

fruit closes a little, in consequence of which it is doubtful whether

fruition will be effected.



In order to ascertain whether the male blossom is good; after you have

prepared it as above described for use, draw the farina, or genitals,

across the thumb-nail, and if good, it will leave a glutinous substance

resembling gum.



As soon as the fruit becomes the size of your finger let no more than

one be upon a plant at a time to swell off, and when beginning to grow

crooked give the stalk end a twist, place them on their backs, put a peg

to the side, and the heat of the bed will soon draw them down and make

them straight.



A cucumber is a plant that requires much water, particularly when

bearing fruit: it will be necessary then to give from one to two gallons

each time according to the heat of the bed, and temperature of the

weather. If the season is fine and the heat good they will require water

every other day, but if the weather is dull, and the heat slack, be very

cautious in applying the water lest they should get the canker, which is

a dangerous disorder, and very difficult to be removed. The best thing

in such a case is to give a strong heat, and be very moderate in the

application of water.



After the plants have been ridged out a fortnight it will be necessary

to shut them down in the afternoon, about an hour before they are

covered up. They will, however, require air in the night, generally till

the fruit is cut, and even then if the weather is mild; for by being

kept close at night when there is a strong heat, the fruit is liable to

change colour and become of a yellow cast.



The plants should be uncovered in a morning by eight o'clock, or nine at

farthest, in the winter, and six or seven as the season advances, unless

the weather is very cold or windy, when they may remain an hour longer

than usual.



Should the frame be infested with woodlice, place some cabbage-leaves or

a small quantity of hay in the bed, which will answer the purpose of a

trap to collect them, when they may be easily destroyed by boiling

water. Care, however, is necessary in this expedient, for should the

plants have taken root at the side of the box, the hot water will

materially injure them; but if the plants are kept healthy, little

danger is to be apprehended from this description of vermin, as they

always like a sickly stagnated plant to a thriving vigorous one. Mice

are sometimes extremely troublesome, but may be destroyed by procuring

from a Chemist some ground ox vomicae, and applying it in the following

manner. Mix the drug with some water, stir it up well, and let it boil

about ten minutes; take it off the fire and put in some wheat or

cucumber seed, letting it steep for ten or twelve hours; or spread some

ox vomicae not boiled upon bread and fresh butter, place this in the bed

near the holes at which they enter, which will effectually extirpate

them.



With regard to the time of cutting fruit from October sown plants,

much depends upon the weather, some seasons being much finer than

others. Fruit from the October seed has been cut off by the Author as

early as the middle of January, while at another time it has been as

late as the beginning of March; he, however, is well satisfied if it is

ready to cut by the middle of February: indeed, upon an average this may

be fairly considered as the probable time for its mature growth.



It is not advisable in any young beginner to sow seed in November or

December until about the twentieth of the latter month, as plants grown

in that season are very liable to be retarded in their growth, while

those sown from about the twentieth of December to the beginning of

January will grow much stronger and quicker, as they possess the

advantage of the increase of the season. An experienced framer, however,

can grow plants at any time of the year, and from those sown at the

above time, he may expect to cut fruit by the twentieth of March or

towards the latter end of that month, according to the weather; much

depending upon that and the situation of the framing grounds, which

should at all times be open to the sun, and defended from the winds.