loamy soil of a somewhat light and turfy texture, about nine inches deep.  It is now optional to sow or plant as may be most convenient.  Strong plants in pots, put out at once, will fruit earlier than plants from seeds sown on the bed.  But sowing on the bed is good practice for all that, and if this plan is adopted a few more seeds must be sown than the number of plants required, to provide a margin for enemies; any surplus plants will generally prove useful, for Cucumber plants seldom go begging.  If it is preferred to begin with 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