s 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.

A work on gardening demands of the reader the exercise of judgment. If
blindly followed, it may prove as often wrong as right; for it is not in
the power of the authors to influence the weather in favour of their
directions, or to insure to those who may follow their guidance a single
one amongst the many conditions requisite to success. Althou