with inverted large flower-pots, and with a piece of tile to stop the hole.  This plan hastens germination.  Pots may also be used as protectors if glass frames are not at command, being taken off during the day and put on at night, the hole being left open to give a little air.  During bad weather the pots should remain all day over the plants, but as soon as possible must be again taken off to keep the growth short, green, and vigorous.  The plants should be put singly down the centre of the bed, three feet apart, and as a matter of course the seeds should be sown at the same distance, and each clump of two or three should be reduced to one when the plants are somewhat forward.  It is advisable not to be in a hurry in thinning the plants, for the slugs will probably compel some modification of arrangements, so that sometimes it will be necessary to lift a clump, and divide the plants, to fill up gaps where the slugs have made a clearance.  An occasional inspection in the after part of the day, and again in the early morning, will be the best course to keep down the slugs, as they may then be caught and disposed of; but a dusting of soot around each clump will do much to protect the plants against silent marauders.  As for after-management, there is no occasion whatever for any stopping or training, but now and then a stout peg may be placed to keep some strong vine in order.  The necessity for moisture must not be overlooked.  If the ground becomes dry the plants will suffer, but with sufficient moisture they will continue growing and bearing until the frost destroys them.  Cut the Marrows when quite young, for not only are they more useful on the table when small and tender, but the plants will bear five times as many as when a few are permitted to attain their full size.  The explanation of the case is very simple.  The production of the young fruits does not in any appreciable degree exhaust the plants; but when the fruits are allowed to develop, the plant is too severely taxed, and a succession is pretty well brought to a stop.  The most delicately flavoured Marrows, as a rule, are the smallest; these when cooked should be served whole, or at most only cut into halves, and of course there is no occasion to remove the seeds.

A YEAR’S WORK IN THE VEGETABLE GARDEN

The following monthly notes are not intended to supersede the detailed instructions on the several kinds of Vegetables which appear in the preceding pages.  The present object is to call attention to the work that must be done, and the work that must be prepared for, as the changes of the seasons require and the state of the weather may permit; yet some amount of detail is included.  Merely to offer reminders would be to exclude the great mass of amateurs, and the less experienced of practical gardeners, from participation in the advantages of these monthly notes, and to restrict their use to a few practical men who are masters of every detail of the business of gardening.  The routine under each month is generally in harmony-with that already recommended, but certain variations of practice are suggested which may prove of service in some districts and under particular circumstances.