In cities sparrows are frequently troublesome to growers of lettuce, as they are fond of picking off the leaves of the young plants. Protection is effected by stretching several strands of strong thread a few inches above the rows. The sparrows become very suspicious of an arrangement of this kind, and it is usually efficacious in keeping them away from the plants. Muskmelon.—The cultivation of this crop is very much like that of cucumber. Muskmelons are rather more susceptible to cold than the latter, and in consequence the soil and air must be warm before they are planted. The soil must be well drained or they will not succeed. When they have to be planted on land that is cold and poorly drained it is a good plan to plant them on ridges or mounds, about two feet across, raised six inches or so above the general level. This assists the soil in warming up and insures better drainage. A layer of decayed manure about three inches thick, buried in the hills where the plants are to grow, greatly helps this crop and others of a similar nature, such as cucumbers, squash, and pumpkin. Frequent cultivation of the surface soil is necessary to stimulate growth, keep down weeds, and conserve moisture, when the plants are young. Good varieties of muskmelon are _Emerald Gem_, a small or salmon-fleshed form, and _Rocky Ford_ and _Hackensack_, which are of medium size with green flesh. Okra.—The cultivation of okra is very similar to that of corn, although otherwise they have nothing else in common. It succeeds best in a sandy, well-fertilized loam. Onion.—There are two ways of producing a crop of onions—from “sets” and from seed. “Sets” are small onions produced by sowing seed very thickly in rather poor soil and allowing the plants to mature as they stand. This results in a crop of small bulbs which are stored over the winter and sold the following spring as onion “sets.” There are two methods of raising onions from seed. The plants may be obtained by sowing the seed in a greenhouse in February, transplanting the seedlings to the open ground in April. The procedure most commonly followed, however, is to plant the seeds in rows a foot apart, in the position where they are to mature, as early as possible in the spring. When the young plants appear they are thinned to four inches apart. If the seedlings are left until they are the thickness of a lead-pencil they may be pulled and used as a salad in the form of bunch onions. A crop can be produced earlier by the use of “sets.” These are planted in furrows two inches deep, spacing them two inches apart. The soil is then drawn over them and firmed. After some growth has been made, alternate plants may be pulled out and used as salad, leaving the remainder to mature.