LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 
 
 siieif.._:fi.::._ ' 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
GARDENING 
 
 FOR 
 
 YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 THE 
 
 CULTIVATION OF GARDEN VEGETABLES 
 IN THE FARM GARDEN. 
 
 / BY 
 
 JOSEPH HARKIS, M.S., 
 
 ATTTHOK OP " WALK3 AND TALKS ON THE FAKM," " HAEKIS ON THE PIG," 
 "TALKS ON MANUKES," ETC. 
 
 l[ 
 
 ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 rr^ 
 
 JAM s 'laes) 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 ORANGE JUDD COMPANY, 
 
 751 BEOADWAT. 
 1883. 
 
 v.: ■' 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, In the year 1882, by the 
 
 ORANGE JUDD COMPANY, 
 
 In the Office ol the Librarian ol Coujjress, at Washington. 
 
 c^^-b 
 
 ,2.^ 
 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introduction 7 
 
 An Old and a New Garden 8 
 
 Gardening for Boys 9 
 
 How to Begin 10 
 
 Preparing tlie Soil 13 
 
 Killing tlie Weeds 13 
 
 About High Farming. 15 
 
 Competition in Crops I7 
 
 Tlie Manure Question 19 
 
 The Implements Needed 21 
 
 Starting Plants in the House, or in the Hot-bed 22 
 
 Making the Hot-bed 25 
 
 Cold Frames 26 
 
 Insects 26 
 
 The Use of Poisons 27 
 
 The Care of Poisons 30 
 
 The Cultivation of Vegetables in the Farm-garden 31 
 
 The Cultivation of Flowers 150 
 
 (3) 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 I should like to see more seed-growers in the United 
 States, and I hope some of my young friends will devote 
 themselves to this industry. There are more seeds sown 
 in America, in proportion to population, than in any 
 other country. European seedsmen, notwithstanding a 
 duty of twenty per cent. , find the United States one of 
 the best markets in the world. 
 
 It seems to be a fact, that many seeds, when grown 
 here, produce much better crops than when grown in 
 Europe. Market gardeners give a decided preference to 
 American -grown seeds. American -grown cabbage seeds, 
 for instance, find a ready sale at double the price of im- 
 ported seed. 
 
 Cauliflower seed has hitherto rarely been grown in 
 this country successfully, but I understand that Cali- 
 fornia is now growing it of excellent quality. Dakota 
 is growing cabbage seed, and I feel confident that some- . 
 where on this broad Continent, with its great diversity 
 of soil and climate, there is not a seed which the Ameri- 
 can gardener wants, that will not be grown to perfection. 
 The great point is to get what seed-growers call " stock 
 seed," to start with. As a rule, you can not buy it. 
 You must grow it yourself. Take Cucumber seed, for 
 example. Enormous quantities of Cucumber seed are 
 grown and sold in America, and yet it is exceedingly 
 diflScult to get good seed, pure, and true to name. And 
 (5) 
 
6 PREFACE. 
 
 SO of Watermelon seed. A gentleman in Barnwell, S. 
 C, wrote me a few days ago for Watermelon seed, for 
 his own use, sufficient to plant one hundred and fifty 
 acres. Such a man could afford to pay a high price for 
 seed, that was known to be good, rather than to accept 
 common seed as a gift. Seedsmen, as a rule, are hon- 
 orable men, and would cheerfully pay good prices to a 
 careful seed-grower, whose seeds always proved to be as 
 represented. 
 
 I would particularly urge some of my young friends 
 to turn their attention to seed-growing. They should 
 make it the business of their lives, and the earlier they 
 commence, the better. They need the best of education, 
 the highest moral character, a good stock of patience 
 and common sense, the best of land, and above all, a 
 hopeful disposition, that will enable them to persevere 
 amid manifold discouragements. I know of no industry 
 which promises greater success.. None of us, however, 
 wish to see American Horticulture degenerate into a 
 money-making business. It is preeminently worthy of 
 attention for its refining and ennobling influence. I 
 have often thought of the words of Hooker, written 
 more than three hundred years ago: " The beauty of trees 
 when we behold them, delighteth the eye." The beauty 
 of flowers elevates the taste, and their cultivation gives 
 health and pleasure. J. H. 
 
GARDENING FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 INTEODUOTION". 
 
 I first thought of calling this book " Gardening for 
 Young Folks," but I found that the young folks of my 
 intimate acquaintance, and who are as much interested in 
 the book as any one else is likely to be, very decidedly 
 objected to the title. And it was at their suggestion that 
 I decided to call it '' Gardening for Young and Old " — 
 with a mental reservation that it should be principally 
 for the Young Folks. 
 
 The fact is, the children are right. It is not '*Gar- 
 dening for Young Folks " alone that is required. The 
 young would do little without the advice and sympathy 
 and encouragement of their fathers and mothers, or 
 older friends. And some old folks I know are almost 
 as bad, or worse. They can do little or nothing in the 
 garden unless they have the young people to help them. 
 Tlie fact is, the Old were made for the Young, and the 
 Young were made for the Old. 
 
 I know an old farmer who has given up the active 
 management of his farm, and who devotes his whole time 
 to the garden. It is a small garden, but it is a model of 
 neatness and thorough cultivation. Not a weed, or a 
 stone, or a stick, is to be found in it ; he has the earliest 
 of vegetables and the sweetest of flowers. But there is 
 not enough to it, his garden is simply a plaything, but 
 it has done one good thing. One of his grandchildren, 
 a bright active boy, has a decided taste for gardening. 
 
8 GAEDENING FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 He sometimes visits me and takes a deep interest in all 
 that is going on. He is willing to learn, is not afraid of 
 work, and he is ready to adopt a new plan. If his father 
 would give him the chance, and the grandfather aid 
 him with his experience (as he will), this young man 
 will soon have a garden that is a garden ; in fact, he has 
 already commenced. He has enclosed about an acre of 
 land near the barn-yard, and adjoining the old garden. 
 It may not be big enough, but it will do to commence 
 with. This young man has been frequently in my mind 
 while writing this book. 
 
 AN OLD AlJTD A NEW GAEDEN. 
 
 I want to introduce a new system of gardening. I do 
 not wish to do away with the old gardens, but I would 
 see new ones on every farm. Moreover, I want to see them 
 big enough to admit of the use of the plow, the harrow, 
 the roller, and above all, of the horse-hoe, for cultivating 
 between the rows of growing plants. I have myself just 
 snch a garden, and I have also an old-fashioned garden, 
 full of trees, and walks, and bushes, and— weeds. There 
 are two or three beds of asparagus that do not amount to 
 much. In one corner there is a mass of horse-radish, 
 and along the fence there is a row of currant bushes. 
 There was formerly a score or more of English goose- 
 berries, but the mildew and the Saw-fly have been too 
 much for them. We have grapevines growing vigor- 
 ously, and here and there a bed of beautiful roses. There 
 are beds of thyme, sage, rosemary, parsley, and rhu- 
 barb. The latter produces an abundance of seed, but 
 only a few somewhat stringy stalks. This bed of rhu- 
 barb stands right across a strip of land where, but for it, 
 I could use a cultivator to great advantage. We have 
 peach trees, cherry trees, pear trees, raspberries, black- 
 berries, and strawberry beds. In short, it is a large, old- 
 
INTEODXTCTION. 9 
 
 fashioned garden. It is no worse than many others, and 
 better than some gardens. Trees that I planted with my 
 own hands are now fifty feet high. Eows of dwarf apple 
 trees, on each side of a twenty-foot walk, in spite of all 
 the pruning we could give them, interlock their branches. 
 I would not destroy the old garden. It has been a source 
 of much pleasure, and it is still not without its attractive 
 features. But there is not a crop in it that does not cost 
 more than it is worth. In spite of all the hoeing we can 
 give it, by the time we are through with the harvest the 
 garden is full of weeds. 
 
 I have another garden, several acres in extent, with 
 only a fence between it and the old garden, to which it 
 presents a decided contrast. I will not boast, but I think 
 there are more weeds on a square rod in many parts of 
 the old garden than could be found on a whole acre of 
 the new. This is simply because we have room enough 
 for all the modern tools for preparing the land, drilling 
 in the seed, and cultivating the crops. Wherever the 
 plow and the cultivator can be used, we get good crops, 
 and clean land, and if not, not. 
 
 GAKDENINQ FOE BOYS. 
 
 I want to interest the boys in gardening. I would like 
 to have them start with new land and new methods. 
 Select the best piece of land you have. I do not care 
 how big it is. Three or four acres is none too much. 
 The amount of work required will depend on the kind 
 of crops to be raised ; you can raise an acre of sweet 
 corn, or an acre of early potatoes, or an acre of late 
 cabbages, with half the labor required to raise an acre of 
 onions. Let the garden be big enough, and if you fear 
 you can not command sufficient labor to grow the more 
 expensive crops, then devote the larger portion of the 
 ground to those crops which can be kept clean almost en- 
 
10 GARDENING FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 tirely by the use of the cultivator, and aim to have some 
 of the crops come in early, and some to mature late, so 
 that all the work of gathering the crops will not have to 
 be done at one time. 
 
 Even if you are sure of the labor, it is a good plan at 
 first to grow crops with which you are most familiar, and 
 which do not require excessively rich land. It takes 
 some years to get land in the very best condition for 
 many of our best garden crops. Even such a common 
 crop as early cabbages will do better on land that has 
 been heavily manured two or three years, and occupied 
 each year with cabbages, than can be grown on new 
 laud, no matter how heavily it may be manured. The 
 same is true of onions; old onion land, provided it is 
 well manured every year, is proverbially better for this 
 crop than new land. 
 
 I want the boys to engage in gardening, because they 
 are young and can afford to wait, but more especially be- 
 cause they will be more likely to adopt new processes, 
 and will be willing to bestow the necessary care and 
 labor in preparing the land. I can not insist too much 
 on the importance of this matter, not only at first, but 
 in the years to come. 
 
 HOW TO BEGIN. 
 
 If the land selected for a garden is not naturally well, 
 drained, it must be under-drained. Without this, suc- 
 cess is impossible. Fall plowing is of great importance, 
 and I do not mean by this simply turning over the soil 
 with a plow, and letting the furrows lie undisturbed un- 
 til spring. If it is sod-land, it should be plowed deep 
 and well, as early as possible, and the surface afterwards 
 harrowed and rolled, cultivated and again rolled, and 
 harrowed again, until there are four or five inches of loose 
 mellow soil. If the plowing was done so early that the 
 
IISTTEODUCTION'. 11 
 
 sod is SO rotted that it can be cross-plowed before winter 
 gets in, all the better. It can not be plowed too often in 
 the fall. All stones and rubbish must be remoyed. 
 
 ABOUT MANURES. 
 
 The application of manure is no doubt a yery impor- 
 tant matter, but in many cases a still more important 
 one is, how to get the manure. "We neyer haye all we 
 could use to adyantage. Unless we buy manure, we 
 must rob some other part of the farm in order to enrich 
 the garden. Mos^ farmers will be startled at this propo- 
 sition. In many cases, however, it is the true plan. A 
 farmer w^ith a hundred acres of land could use all the 
 manure he makes on a ten-acre field devoted to garden 
 crops. He could use phosphates on the farm, and ma- 
 nure and phosphates in the garden. On the farm he 
 could enrich his land by summer-fallowing and plowing 
 under green crops. The more stock he keeps, and the 
 more grass, corn, oats, peas, mustard, rape, and millet 
 he grows and consumes on the farm, the more manure 
 he will make. In many cases he could with advantage 
 buy food to feed his stock. 
 
 My own plan is, to rot the manure by making it into 
 heaps five feet wide and about five feet high, and of any 
 desired length. It is piled in the barn-yard as fast as it 
 is made. In the winter we draw these piles into the field 
 where the manure is to be used, and make it into other 
 piles five feet wide and five feet high, as before, being 
 careful to carry the heaps up straight and square, so that 
 the top shall be as wide as the bottom. If you do not 
 insist on this being done, the teamsters will make the 
 heap like the roof of a house, and before spring the ma- 
 nure will be frozen solid. On the other hand, if the heap 
 is carefully made, the manure will decompose and keep 
 warm, and be in splendid condition for use early in the 
 spring. 
 
12 GAKDENING FOR YOUNG AND OLD; 
 
 PBEPAEING THE SOIL. 
 
 In preparing land for a garden, as before said, we can 
 not plow it too much in the autumn. If the land can 
 not be got into good condition in the fall, it certainly can 
 not be done in the spring. This is true not only of new 
 land, but of old garden land. Said an old gardener and 
 seed- grower tome the other day: "The longer I live, 
 the more am I convinced of the importance of fall plow- 
 ing. It makes the land cleaner, and you are ready to 
 commence work much earlier in the spring." 
 
 I know a farmer who wished to make a large field- 
 garden, who selected a good piece of land, and plowed it 
 up in the spring and sowed it to buckwheat, and when 
 the crop was in flower, he plowed it under and seeded it 
 again to buckwheat. He had an immense crop, but he 
 managed with a good plow and chain to turn it under. 
 He then, in August, or the first of September, sowed the 
 land to rye, and the next spring, about the middle of 
 May, he plowed under the rye. The land was wonder- 
 fully mellow and full of vegetable matter, and he had a 
 grand piece of land on which to commence gardening 
 operations. By the aid of a little phosphate it is easy 
 to grow good sweet corn, melons, cucumbers, beets, and 
 late cabbages on such land. 
 
 Gardeners who live near a city where land is high, 
 will think they can not afford to let their land lie idle. 
 They will prefer to buy manure rather than plow under 
 green crops. But m the country, where we wish to start 
 a field-garden, and can not buy manure, there can be lit- 
 tle doubt but that we can very cheaply enrich the land 
 by plowing under such crops as buckwheat, white mus- 
 tard, and rye. I do not say that we can make land very 
 rich m this way, but we can fill it full of vegetable 
 mould, and at the same time make the soil clean and 
 mellow. The system of gardening I wish to advocate in 
 
INTEODIiCTION. 13 
 
 the country is based on the idea of having a large gar- 
 den, only a part of which is necessarily occupied by 
 crops which j-equire a maximum amount of manure. I 
 want the garden so large from the start, that the whole 
 of it may be very thoroughly plowed and subdued and 
 brought into good shape, and be ready at any time to re- 
 ceive such garden crops as we may wish to grow. 
 
 It will do a farmer good — it will certainly do his boys 
 good — to have such a piece of land or field, where the 
 very best system of cultivation is adopted. Very few 
 farmers know what really good cultivation means. I am 
 myself a farmer, and the son and grandson and great- 
 grandson of a farmer, and mean no disrespect to farmers 
 when I say that most of us have very little idea of how 
 much land can be improved by thorough cultivation and 
 high manuring. 
 
 KILLING THE WEEDS. 
 
 The first year I came upon the farm where I now live, 
 there was a field of ten acres of wheat. The field was 
 seeded to clover, but the clover was killed out, and the 
 wheat stubble was one mass of Quack-grass. I had had 
 considerable experience with this under-ground weed, 
 and I was determined to kill it, and I did kill it. The 
 field to-day is occupied with garden crops, and there is 
 not a spear of Quack in it. It so happened that at one 
 of the meetings of our Farmers' Club, the question un- 
 der discussion was. How to kill Quack-grass? It was 
 stated that land near Eochester, worth five hundred dol- 
 lars an acre, was so overrun with Quack as to be almost 
 worthless for cultivation, and some of the speakers 
 thought it would have to be abandoned. I was innocent 
 enough to get up and tell the method I had just used for 
 killing Quack on my own farm. " As soon as the wheat 
 crop was off," I said, " I plowed the land, and then har- 
 rowed it, and rolled it and harrowed it again until it 
 
14 GAEDENIIS"G FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 presented quite a respectable appearance on the surface. 
 The Quack, after the autumn rams, began to grow, and 
 I cross-plowed the field with a steel plow. The grass was 
 so thick and matted that the plow did riot make very 
 good work, but as the weather still continued dry, we 
 ^ere able to work the surface into good shape by the 
 use of a thirty-two toothed harrow, which was the only 
 kind we then had. (A Smoothing Harrow, with its 
 seventy-two slanting teeth, would have made far bet- 
 ter work, with half the labor.) We kept harrowing it 
 and cultivating it as opportunity offered, and about the 
 last of November we plowed the land again, and left it 
 rough for the winter." 
 
 As I talked, it was amusing to watch the expression on 
 the faces of the farmers present. They did not seem to 
 know whether to laugh or sneer, but I imagine they 
 thought it would be better to let the Quack retain pos- 
 session of the land, rather than to spend so much time 
 in plowing and working it. And I then said: "In the 
 following spring we plowed the field again, and then 
 harrowed and cultivated and harrowed and rolled until 
 the land was completely covered with the dry roots of 
 Quack, which we raked together in windrows and heaps, 
 and then set fire to them. Afterwards we plowed the land 
 once more, harrowed and rolled it, and drilled it in with 
 beans." At this point even the intelligent Secretary of 
 the Club, and an able agricultural writer, could not re- 
 strain a look of amazement, that any man could be so 
 destitute of all sense of jii'opriety as to recommend any 
 such a system. But after twenty years' experience, I am 
 prepared to say that the plan was a good one. I had a 
 noble crop of beans that summer, and a good crop of 
 wheat afterwards. From that day to this the field has 
 been the best on the farm, and will pay a higher interest 
 on five hundred dollars an acre than it would have paid 
 at that time on fifty dollars. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 I do not say that the whole of this result has been 
 brought about by this extraordinary number of plo wings 
 used to kill the Quack, but I feel quite certain that this 
 was the starting point and basis of the improvement. 
 One boy may spend his winter evenings with idle com- 
 panions, and another at home reading a few good books. 
 The one is never heard of afterwards, the other is the 
 President of a University. I do not say that the books 
 he read that winter evening made him the* useful and 
 distinguished man he is, but it was the first of a series 
 of steps which led to honor and renown. 
 
 I have spent a great deal of labor on this piece of land, 
 but it has paid for itself from the start; and what I have 
 done myself, I urge others to do, even though the wise 
 men may shake their heads. 
 
 ABOUT HIGH FAEMING. 
 
 We have now far better tools for cultivating land than 
 formerly. In fact, our tools are better than our agricul- 
 ture. And we may rest assured that so soon as we adopt 
 improved methods of farming and gardening, our inven- 
 tors and manufacturers will furnish all the tools, imple- 
 ments and machines necessary to do the work. 
 
 But will it pay to adopt high farming ? That depends 
 on what we mean by high farming. High farming, if 
 we confine ourselves to the production of hay, Indian 
 corn, wheat, oats, and other ordinary farm crops, will 
 not pay in this country. And Sir John Bennett Lawes 
 once wrote a paper or gave a lecture before a Farmer's 
 Club in Scotland, in which he demonstrated that high 
 farming was no remedy for the low prices of agricultural 
 products in Great Britain and Ireland. I think, how- 
 ever, he would admit that thorough cultivation and 
 heavy manuring could be profitably used for the produc- 
 tion of what we usually term garden products. 
 
 Some years ago I was at an agricultural dinner in 
 
16 GARDENING FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 England, when the late J. J. Mechi, who had for many 
 years recommended high farming, stated that, notwith- 
 standing the low price of agricultural products, he was 
 at that time picking several acres of peas for the Lon- 
 don market, and he found the crop a very profitable one. 
 Dr. Gilbert, one of the ablest agricultural chemists of 
 the world, called out: "But, Mr. Mechi, this is not 
 farming, it is market gardening." Mr. Mechi, though 
 always ready, made no reply. He seemed to think that 
 the argument was unanswerable, and he let the case go 
 by default. But not so the coming generation of farm 
 boys — and I hope of English boys also. What does it 
 matter whether you harvest your peas dry or pick them 
 green ? What does it matter whether you raise cab- 
 bages, corn or carrots, and other roots, to be fed out on 
 the farm to animals, or to be sold in market to our fellow 
 citizens, who can not grow them for themselves ? 
 
 The advocates of high farming make a mistake. Nei- 
 ther England nor New England will ever raise all the 
 wheat required by its population. Even the great State 
 of New York, I ho]De, will not long continue to raise on 
 its own soil all the wheat it annually consumes. Com- 
 merce is the feature of the age, and wheat is carried ten 
 thousand miles to market. Cheap bread is what the 
 world wants, and what the world wants, the world will 
 get. Cheap wheat can never be furnished by high farm- 
 ing. It must and will be grown largely on land manured 
 only by nature. There may be places in which wheat 
 can be profitably grown, where many of the constituents 
 of the plant must be applied to the soil, just as there are 
 places where we can profitably use chemical processes for 
 the production of ice. As a rule, however, nature and 
 commerce will furnish ice cheaper than even modern 
 science can manufacture it. We shall have two kinds of 
 farming. One will consist largely in the production of 
 wheat, corn, oats, barley, cotton, sugar and rice. The 
 
INTRODUCTIOIT. 17 
 
 other, while it will not entirely neglect these great pro- 
 ducts, will aim to produce crops which can not be kept 
 from year to year, or ordinarily be transported long 
 distances. 
 
 The one system of farming will be carried on with lit- 
 tle labor, and little or no manure. And what manure is 
 used will be for the purpose of enabling the plant to ab^- 
 stract as much food as possible from the soil. In other 
 words, our wheat growers may use superphosphate, be.- 
 cause the application of phosphoric acid may enable the 
 wheat plant to get a larger quantity of potash, nitrogen, 
 and other constituents of plant food from the soil, and 
 thus to produce larger crops. This is the very reverse of 
 high farming, though it is often very profitable farming. 
 The other system of farming is the one which I want our 
 young men to adopt. The change will be gradual, but 
 it will surely come. It will be adopted in England, and 
 also here. It is absurd to suppose that the soil of Eng- 
 land, or of the New England or Middle States, can not 
 be profitably cultivated, owing to the low prices at which 
 the cheap land of the West and Northwest, aided by 
 cheap transportation, can furnish our people, and the 
 people of New England, with bread. Let the bread 
 come, and let us provide good Jersey butter to eat with 
 it. The world as a world spends all it can get, and the 
 less it spends for bread the more it can pay for buttoa: 
 and bonnets, and the bonnet-makers will buy our fruit 
 and vegetables. 
 
 COMPETITION IN CROPS. 
 
 One thing is certain, we can never get high average 
 prices for wheat, or for any other product which can be 
 grown in all parts of the world, and which will keep 
 from year to year. The farmers of America will never 
 realize extravagant profits from any crop, the value oi 
 which is determined by the price it will bring in Eng- 
 
18 GAKDENING FOE YOUNG AlfD OLD. 
 
 land. Any crop which is entirely consumed at home 
 will be likely to bring a fair price, and very frequently 
 the price will be determined by the cost at which the 
 article can be brought to our markets from Europe. 
 This was so last year in the case of potatoes and cabbages. 
 Suppose some of my young friends had had a ten-acre 
 field-garden in high condition, filled with potatoes, cab- 
 bages, celery and cauliflowers, not to mention other gar- 
 den crops. In spite of the drouth and the Colorado- 
 beetle, such a field-garden, prepared, enriched and culti- 
 vated, as I have recommended, would have produced 
 three hundred bushels of potatoes per acre. The ex- 
 pense of planting, cultivating, hoeing and digging of 
 these would not exceed thirty dollars per acre, while it 
 would have been an easy matter to have sold the crop 
 for from three hundred to four hundred dollars per acre. 
 So with cabbages. It would not have been a difficult mat- 
 ter to grow five thousand good heads of cabbage per acre, 
 which could readily have been sold at ten cents per head. 
 The planting, cultivating, harvesting, burying for the win- 
 ter and marketing would not cost over one cent per head, 
 thus affording a profit of four hundred and fifty dollars 
 per acre. This is five per cent interest on nine thousand 
 dollars per acre. We can afford to smile at those who 
 sneer at us for plowing our land four or five times to 
 destroy weeds and get it into good shape for starting a 
 good field-garden. Celery and onions would have afforded 
 still higher profits. Even a few acres of turnips would 
 have made no slight addition to our finances. What has 
 been will be. It may be some years before potatoes and 
 cabbages are again imported into the United States from 
 Europe. It is not at all flattering to our vanity that this 
 vast continent, with, its rich land, brilliant sunshine and 
 energetic people, should be obliged to send to the high- 
 priced land of Holland for its sauerkraut, or to Scotland 
 for its potatoes. But we need not fear that the products 
 
INTRODUCTION. 19 
 
 of our field-gardens will not command profitable prices 
 for years to come. Our population . is increasing faster 
 than we can get these field-gardens prepared for the pro- 
 duction of the choicer kinds of garden products. There 
 is scarcely a village in England or America which is sup- 
 plied with all the fresh fruits, flowers and vegetables 
 which the people would take, if they were furnished in 
 good condition and at moderate prices. 
 
 THE MANURE QUESTION. 
 
 As already said, the real difficulty in starting a field- 
 garden is to get enough manure. We must use all we 
 can scrape up on the farm, and buy all we can get from 
 towns and cities and slaughter-houses, at moderate prices. 
 In addition to this we must plow under a few acres of 
 green crops, and supplement them with liberal purchases 
 of superphosphate of lime and other artificial fertilizers. 
 After we get our field-garden fairly started, it will be a 
 comparatively easy matter to maintain and increase its 
 productiveness. I do not mean by this that we can ever 
 dispense with the use of a large amount of manure. We 
 shall never be able to do so. We may make it cheaper 
 than we do now, or we may be able to use artificial fer- 
 tilizers with great advantage and economy, but the nature 
 of plants does not change. Early cabbages can never be 
 grown early and of fine quality, except on land supplying 
 in available condition an abundant amount of plant food. 
 All we can hope for is to discover how this great store of 
 plant food can be turned to account after we have grown 
 an early crop of cabbages. Our Experimental Stations 
 will, sooner or later, give us valuable information on this 
 point. 
 
 At present we know that it is absolutely necessary to 
 make our field -garden soil excessively rich. We can not 
 adopt high farming in the production of corn and wheat. 
 
20 GARDENING FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 or oats and peas. Four-fifths of our land will be used as 
 it is now, to produce such crops as good tillage will af- 
 ford, aided by the use of moderate dressings of artificial 
 fertilizers. Wherever profitable we shall increase the 
 use of lime, ashes and plaster, composted it may be with 
 muck from our swamps. 
 
 There is nothing new in all this, for farmers are doing 
 the same thing now. They make a little manure, and they 
 apply it first to one field and then to another. The change 
 I wish to make is to apply the manure to one field only, 
 year after year. I want to introduce the highest kind 
 of "high farming" on a small scale and for special crops. 
 I do not care what the crops are. Even tobacco may 
 be grown in this way, but I do not want to have anything 
 to do with the article. There are better crops to grow, 
 and crops which require as much skill and labor and brains, 
 and which will yield larger profits. As a rule, the crops 
 which require the most labor must have the best land 
 and the heaviest manuring. This is preeminently so in 
 this country, where labor is high and ordinary land cheap. 
 At first it will be well to devote the field-garden to crops 
 which require comparatively little labor and manure. 
 Sweet corn is such a crop, and so are tomatoes, potatoes, 
 beans and late cabbages. The latter crop requires good 
 rich land, but it can be grown in ordinary seasons, with 
 little more than good farm management. If you have 
 any fears that the land is not rich enough to produce a 
 good crop of late cabbages of the large varieties, plant 
 such varieties as the Winningstadt about the middle of 
 July. 
 
 Melons and cucumbers and squashes can be grown by 
 the use of a little manure in the hill, aided by a table- 
 spoonful of superphosphate. 
 
 Onions must have rich land, and it will be well not to 
 go into this crop too extensively the first year, but I 
 would, by all means, sow some in order to get acquainted 
 
iKTRODiJCTioi;r. 21 
 
 with the crop. And so of all other crops you ultimately 
 expect to grow. A little experience will soon enable one 
 to grow them successfully. 
 
 THE IMPLEMENTS NEEDED. 
 
 The expense of starting the field-garden will consist prin- 
 cipally m labor, manure, and seeds. The implements re- 
 quired are found on every well-managed farm, with the 
 exception of a very few. 
 
 We shall need a good plow, harrow, roller, cultivator, 
 marker, garden line, seed drill, rake, hoe, transplanting 
 dibble, watering can, potato hook, spade, and fork. These 
 are all necessary, but are already on hand. Amongst the 
 implements not so common, but which, in my own case, I 
 should hardly know how to dispense with, are the Acme 
 Harrow, a Smoothing Harrow, the Gang Plow, and a new 
 Eevolving Harrow and Smoother, made by an extensive 
 onion grower in Connecticut. The latter is the best 
 new implement I have tried for many years. Like the 
 original Smoothing Harrow, it is a somewhat crude afiair, 
 but it contains the elements of an exceedingly useful 
 and valuable machine. I have had three Smoothing 
 Harrows, and each one is better than its predecessor. 
 
22 GA.EDENING FOE YOUNG AKD OLD, 
 
 STARTING PLANTS IN THE HOUSE OR 
 HOT-BED. 
 
 In the absence of a propagating house, much may be 
 done in the way of starting early plants in one's dwelling 
 or hot-bed. The principal impediment commonly experi- 
 enced is in the difficulty of obtaming, in the spring, the 
 proper kind of soil or compost to put in the boxes or hot- 
 bed. Professional gardeners prepare the soil with great 
 care the preyious year, but if winter is about to set in, 
 and you have nothing ready, excellent results may be ob- 
 tained by placing in the cellar a load or two of any 
 good light sandy loam; the lighter and richer the bet- 
 ter. In the spring, before using it, run it through a sieve, 
 so as to remove all ston(^s and lumps and rubbish. If 
 you have it, mix a tablespoonful of superphosphate to 
 each half bushel of soil; then get some peat — moss, or 
 Sphagnum, such as nurserymen use for packing — dry it 
 thoroughly, and sift it fine, and to each peck of soil put 
 two or three quarts of this fine, dry sifted moss; mix 
 carefully, and you will have as good a material for start- 
 ing fine seeds as I have ever used. 
 
 Leaf-mould is a very fair substitute for moss. It 
 contains much plant food, is light and porous, and re- 
 tains considerable moisture. By leaf-mould, I do not 
 mean muck from the swamp, but the decomposed leaves 
 and sand scraped up in the woods. Leaf-mould, like muck, 
 varies considerably in composition and value. The best is 
 obtained from Beech, Maple and Oak woods. The leaf- 
 mould should be gathered the previous summer and kept 
 in the cellar until wanted. Before using, it should be 
 mixed with equal parts of sand and sifted. For merely 
 starting plants, rich soil is not essential. Seeds will ger- 
 minate in moss and sand as well as in the richest mould. 
 After the plants are started and begin to grow, a little 
 
STAETING PLANTS IN THE HOUSE OS HOT-BED. 23 
 
 plant food is necessary, and in this case leaf-mould is bet- 
 ter than moss. Equal parts of sods, sand and well-rotted 
 manure made into a compost and worked over, and 
 sifted until it is fine, is a favorite material for potting 
 plants. 
 
 Dried muck from the swamps is an exceedingly useful 
 material for the gardener. In many sections of this 
 country it can be obtained at little more than the cost of 
 cutting, drying, and carting it. No gardener ever has 
 too much of it. It has many excellent properties. It 
 will make heavy soil light. It will make dry soil moist. 
 It will make cold soil warm. It is an excellent absorb- 
 ent of water and gases. It is itself a manure, and can 
 be used to great advantage in our stables, cow-houses 
 and pig-pens, as well as for mixing with manure in our 
 compost heaps. The practical difficulty is in getting the 
 muck dry and keeping it dry. We want a place for stor- 
 ing it, and above all we want to form the habit of getting 
 muck and using it on our farms and gardens. No one 
 doubts its value, but we hardly know how to commence 
 its use. It is, however, a very simple matter. We usu- 
 ally throw up the muck in the summer and let it lie in 
 a heap until winter, when we have plenty of leisure to 
 draw it. Another plan is to throw it up in July, turn it 
 over a few weeks later to facilitate the drying, and early 
 in the fall, before heavy rains set in, draw it to a shed, or 
 cellar, or barn, where it can be kept dry and ready for 
 use at any time. The farmer who has a good supply of 
 dried muck on hand will find it of great use in many of 
 his gardening operations. 
 
 The boxes I have used for starting plants are two feet , 
 and one half long, twelve inches wide, and three inches 
 deep, made of half-inch stuff. A screw at each end, 
 about an inch from the top on the outermost corners, is 
 wound round by a piece of wire two feet eight inches 
 long, the other end of the wire being twisted round to a 
 
24 
 
 GAEDEITIITG FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 screw fastened to the casement of the window, as shown 
 in the illustration (Sg. 1). These boxes are placed on the 
 sill of the window. The length of the box, of course, 
 being determined by the width of the window, it can be 
 made wide or narrow according as you have more or 
 less room in the house. There may be windows where 
 you could have them two feet wide without inconven- 
 ience; if so the plants will do just as well, and the 
 boxes, of course, will hold twice the number of plants. 
 I have had better success in starting plants in these boxes 
 in the house, than in a hot-bed as ordinarily managed. 
 The plants are in sight all the time, and are less liable to 
 
 Fig. 1.— WINDOW-BOX. 
 
 be neglected. The children, especially, soon learn to take 
 an interest in these plant-boxes in the house. They require 
 a little assistance in sifting the soil and moss, and putting 
 it in the boxes, and in fastening the boxes in the window- 
 sills. But they can sow the seed and cover it with a lit- 
 tle sifted moss themselves. It is very desirable, how- 
 ever, to write the names of the seeds to be sown, with the 
 date of sowing, on some wooden labels to mark the rows 
 where the different seeds and different varieties are sown. 
 If this is neglected much of the interest will be lost. 
 
STAETING PLANTS IN THE HOUSE OE HOT-BED. 25 
 MAKING THE HOT-BED. 
 
 Whether plants are or are not started in boxes in the 
 house, a hot-bed will be found very useful. If possible 
 this should be placed where a hedge, a fence, or building 
 breaks the force of the wind, admitting at the same 
 time the full rays of the sun. A large quantity of 
 manure is not necessary. 
 
 The hot-bed should be covered with five or six inches 
 of light, well prepared soil, and moss or leaf-mould, or 
 dryed and sifted muck, or a compost of rotted sods, etc. , 
 as previously described. There are two methods of 
 making a hot-bed. One is to stack fermenting manure 
 on the surface, taking care to build it up regularly 
 and solidly, distributing the long and short manure 
 evenly. Add the manure in layers of about six inches, 
 beating each one down with the fork. The pile should 
 be two or two and a half feet high, with square solid 
 sides, and should be two feet wider and longer than the 
 frame of the hot-bed, as the center is hotter than the out- 
 side, which is exposed to the cold air. Another method, 
 and one economical of manure, is to dig a pit two feet 
 wider and longer than the frame. The manure is care- 
 fully placed in this excavation, being trodden down even- 
 ly and solidly. The management of the hot-bed requires 
 some experience, especially in regard to ventilation and 
 the degree of heat needed by different classes of plants. 
 Cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, radishes and celery require 
 only a moderate degree of heat, while cucumbers, egg- 
 plant and peppers delight in a soil as warm as your 
 hand, and an atmosphere during the day warmer and 
 more moist then the hottest room. Tomatoes and such 
 flower seeds as phlox, petunia, verbena and aster need 
 a warmer soil than the cabbage, but not so hot as the cu- 
 cumber. Cucumbers and plants requiring the strongest 
 heat should be placed in the center of the bed, while the 
 2 
 
26 GAEDENING FOE TOUISTG AKD OLD. 
 
 cabbage should be placed nearer the outside, either on the 
 top or bottom, where they can be more readily cooled off 
 by opening the sash. If the bed is very hot, more 
 water will be required, and the sash will have to be 
 open longer during the day. If the bed is too cold it is 
 well to surround the outside of the frame with warm 
 manure, and at night cover the sash with a straw mat or 
 blankets; and use only water fully up to blood heat. If 
 the plants are drawn up — if they are tall and thin rather 
 than stout and stocky, it is a sign that the plants are 
 either too thick or the bed too warm. They want fresh 
 air and abundance of sunshine. 
 
 COLD FRAMES. 
 
 A cold frame is simply a frame and sash of a hot-bed 
 without any manure underneath. Cold frames are quite 
 useful for hardening off plants, but it costs very little 
 more to place a foot or two of manure underneath them, 
 and in our climate a little bottom heat is often very de- 
 sirable. We can harden off the plants sufficiently by 
 taking off the sash in whole or in part. A well sheltered 
 spot in the garden with a warm sunny exposure is not a 
 bad substitute for a cold frame. 
 
 INSECTS. 
 
 I am not going to write about insects. I will leave 
 that to the professional Entomologist. "We need to know 
 the habits of the various insects which injure or destroy 
 our crops. Last winter one of my neighbors. Col. B., 
 during the busy part of my seed business volunteered to 
 help me by answering letters. He was not used to the 
 business and sometimes got out of patience. One man 
 wanted to know how much onion seed to sow per acre ? 
 another the proper time to sow mangels ? another 
 
INSECTS. 27 
 
 whether it was necessary to sow celery in the hot-bed ? 
 these and many other similar questions the Colonel, with 
 a little prompting on my part, managed to answer to his 
 own satisfaction, and I hope to the satisfaction of my 
 correspondents. But one man wanted to know the best 
 way to kill Cabbage-worms ! I was busy at the time and 
 the Colonel thought he would not bother me, and so he 
 wrote somewhat as follows : "Dear Sir — The best way 
 to kill Cabbage-worms is to shoot them. Eespectfully 
 yours, Joseph Harris, per B." 
 
 I do not know who my correspondent was, and do 
 not know whether he applied the Colonel's remedy. No 
 one but a military man would have suggested it. The 
 real trouble is to know where to shoot. It is certainly 
 useless to attack in this way the worms themselves, but if 
 the Colonel meant to have a few days sport with a double 
 barrelled shot-gun, in shooting on the wing the white 
 butterflies which lay the eggs that produce the green 
 Cabbage-worm, the remedy might be popular with the 
 boys. Killing the butterflies, or catching them with 
 nets, is the true way to get rid of the Cabbage-worm. 
 
 On my own farm I do nothing to check the ravages of 
 the Cabbage-worm except to dust the plants while the 
 dew is on, with a mixture of plaster and superphosphate, 
 say two parts of plaster to one of superphosphate. I am 
 not sure that it lessens the number of worms, but at any 
 rate it stimulates the growth of the plant, esjjecially if 
 you hoe the mixture into the ground around each plant. 
 The only practical remedy I have ever tried is heavy 
 manuring and thorough cultivation, and setting out 
 plants by the thousand, instead of by the hundred. 
 
 THE USE OF POISOIfS. 
 
 With melons, cucumbers, and squashes, the Striped- 
 bug is a great pest. We all get angry enough at them 
 
28 GARDENING FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 to shoot them, but Hellebore and Paris Green are more 
 effective implements of destruction than the rifle and 
 shot-gun. As soon as the plants appear, it is a good plan, 
 while the dew is on these, to dust them with White Helle- 
 bore powder. Paris Green is a more powerful remedy, 
 but needs to be applied, while the plants are young, in 
 very small doses. One of my men, this spring, when 
 we were applying Paris Green to the potatoes, took a 
 pailful of the water containing about a teaspoonful of the 
 Paris Green to the gallon, and applied it to the young 
 cucumber and melon vines in his garden. It killed many 
 of the plants, though it had no injurious effect whatever 
 on the potato vines. If Paris Green is used on melons, 
 cucumbers, squash, etc., I would put in a teaspoonful 
 of the poison to ten quarts of water, or say an ordinary 
 pailful, at the same time stirring into the water two 
 tablespoonfuls of White Hellebore powder. I have used 
 this mixture on young vines without injury. I do not 
 think it will kill all the bugs, but at any rate it greatly 
 lessens their numbers and gives the vines a chance to 
 grow. The real point is to apply the poisonous mix- 
 ture early enough. If you wait until the bugs appear, 
 they will be very apt to seriously injure the vines before 
 you notice them. 
 
 As the vines grow larger the leaves become tougher 
 and less succulent, and there is more strength and vital- 
 ity in the plant. A stronger mixture of Paris Green, 
 therefore, can be used about the time the vines begin to 
 run. So far as my observation goes, the Striped-bug 
 attacks squash and pumpkin vines several days earlier 
 than the Squash-bug. This is fortunate, for the Squash- 
 bug is much more voracious and destructive to squashes 
 than the Striped-bug. Paris Green applied with water, 
 say about a tablespoonful to ten quarts, is as good a 
 remedy as can be used. I would put on a weak mixture 
 of Paris Green and Hellebore, say a teaspoonful of the 
 
 I 
 
I3S-SECTS. 29 
 
 jQrst and two tablespoonfuls of White Hellebore powder 
 to ten quarts of water, on young squash, cucumber and 
 melon plants. And for squashes, as soon as the Squash- 
 bugs make their appearance, I would put on Paris Green 
 alone at the rate of one tablespoonful to ten quarts of 
 water. We sprinkle the poison mixed with water on the 
 leaves of the plants with a wisp broom, being careful to 
 keep the water in the pail frequently stirred to prevent 
 the heavy poison from settling to the bottom. I think 
 the reason my man lost his cucumber and melon plants 
 was this : he had been applying Paris Green to the 
 potatoes and had some left at the bottom of the pail. 
 The poison had settled to the bottom, and conse- 
 quently the mixture he applied to the cucumbers and 
 melons was far stronger than that which he used on the 
 potatoes, and much stronger than is necessary. 
 
 Dusting cucumber, melon, and squash plants with 
 plaster early in the morning, when the dew is on, has 
 long been resorted to to check the ravages of the Striped- 
 bug. It is undoubtedly a good thing. A little Paris 
 Green, however, either applied in water or mixed with 
 the plaster, is a much more effective application. 
 
 For worms and caterpillars of all kinds which feed on 
 the leaves and stalks of plants, such as the Currant-worm, 
 the Army- worm, and Tent-caterpillar on fruit trees, 
 the caterpillar on celery and tomato plants, and the 
 Potato-worms are all easily destroyed with Paris Green. 
 Their great voracity leads to their destruction. It re- 
 quires but a single particle of the poison, swallowed 
 with the Juice of the leaf to finish them. 
 
 London Purple may be better than Paris Green, and 
 there may be other poisons better still. But as we have 
 been using the latter for many years for the Potato- 
 bugs, and have become accustomed to it, we had better 
 continue to use it until something very decidedly better 
 is discovered. 
 
30 GARDEN^ING FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 White Hellebore is a far less dangerous poison, espec- 
 ially when applied in water, but it is generally suffi- 
 ciently powerful to kill all kinds of yorlng worms and 
 caterpillars. Worms and caterpillars are much more 
 easily poisoned than their parent bugs or moths. In 
 other words, a weaker mixture of Paris Green will kill 
 the larvae or worms of the Potato-bug than is required to 
 kill the bugs or beetles themselves. The worms and cat- 
 erpillars which feed on the succulent leaves, are little 
 more than sacks of sap, and it ought not to require much 
 poison to wither them up. The Striped-bug, the Squash- 
 bug and the Potato-bug or Beetle, when full grown, are 
 not easily poisoned, and a little hand-picking before they 
 lay their eggs on the leaves can be practised with great 
 advantage, not by any means, however, neglecting to use 
 the poison for the destruction of the larvae, and young 
 bugs. 
 
 CARE OP POISONS. 
 
 I need hardly say that too much care can not be exer- 
 cised in the use of poison. It is dangerous business, and 
 I hope and believe that some article will be discovered 
 which will kill insects and worms, but which will not in- 
 jure man or beast. In the meantime, I would, so far as 
 possible, limit myself to the use of only one or two poi- 
 sons, say Hellebore and Paris Green, and they should at 
 all times be kept under lock and key, and the pail or 
 other vessels employed in their use, should be locked 
 up and kept for the special purpose only. This is a mat- 
 ter of much importance, not only for our own safety and 
 that of our animals, but for the accomplishment of the 
 object for which we keep the poison. A prompt applica- 
 tion is often absolutely essential to its efficacy. We 
 should therefore, at all times, have every thing connected 
 with the use of the poison, not only in readiness, but 
 where we can easily lay our hands upon it. 
 
CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES 
 IN THE FARM-GARDEN. 
 
 ASPARAGUS. 
 
 Sow Asparagus seed in rich, mellow soil, early in the 
 spring, in rows about fifteen inches apart, dropping the 
 seed an inch apart in the rows and covering about one 
 inch deep. When the plants come up hoe the ground 
 between the rows, and pull out any weeds that are among 
 the plants and those that cannot be reached with the hoe. 
 Next spring, when the plants are a year old, set them 
 out in the bed where they are to stay for the rest of their 
 lives. The land should be free from stagnant water. 
 It cannot be too rich. But the real secret of success in 
 groAving large asparagus is to give the plants plenty of 
 room and to keep out all the weeds. 
 
 If you have no asparagus bed, at least a year's time 
 may be saved by purchasing plants or roots. As a rule, 
 those on sale are two years old. If strong and well grown, 
 one-year-old plants are quite as good as those that are 
 older. In fact, I would rather have a good one-year-old 
 plant than a stunted, two-year-old one. It is never de- 
 sirable to set out plants that are more than two years' old. 
 
 The true plan, if you have no asparagus bed, is to buy 
 roots enough to set out a bed this spring, and at the same 
 time sow a few ounces of seed, as above directed, in an- 
 other part of the garden. A pound of good seed ought 
 to give at least ten thousand plants. 
 
 It would be well to sow the seed thicker than I have 
 (313 
 
32 GARDENING FOE YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 recommended, and then thin out the plants wide enough 
 apart to admit the use of the hoe. In raising asparagus 
 plants, we must aim to keep the land clean by the free 
 use of the hoe rather than by hand- weeding. 
 
 The advantage of raising your own asparagus roots is 
 very great. If you take pains to sow on rich, mellow 
 land, and to keep the bed scrupulously free from weeds, 
 you will get stronger and better plants at one year old 
 than the average two-year-old roots generally offered for 
 sale. Then again, when you have your own roots, you 
 can let them remain undisturbed in the original bed un- 
 till you are ready to transplant them. 
 
 MAKING AN ASPARAGUS BED. 
 
 The old directions for planting an asparagus bed were 
 well calculated to deter any young gardener from making 
 the attempt. I can recollect very well the first asparagus 
 bed I ever planted. The labor and manure must have 
 cost at the rate of a thousand dollars an acre, and after 
 all was done, no better results were obtained than we now 
 secure at one-tenth the expense. In setting out a large 
 asparagus bed for market, I would make the rows not less 
 than four feet apart, and set out the plants in the rows 
 two and a half to three feet apart, or wide enough to ad- 
 mit the use of the horse-hoe both ways. In growing as- 
 paragus we not only want a good crop, but to get it early 
 in the season, and of the largest size. The size and earli- 
 ness, apart from rich, warm, dry soil, depend principally 
 upon the size and vigor of the roots the previous year. 
 A weak root throws up a weak shoot, while a strong root, 
 in which there is a considerable quantity of accumulated 
 nutriment, will throw up a large shoot early in the season- 
 
 It is for this reason that thin planting is so desirable. , 
 Thin planting with clean cultui-e, on any ordinarily en- 
 riched garden soil, will give us far larger and earlier 
 
POLE BEANS. 33 
 
 asparagus shoots than can be obtaiaed from the most 
 elaborately made, and most excessively manured bed, the 
 plants in which are too thick. 
 
 It is a popular notion that common salt is exceedingly 
 beneficial as a manure for asparagus. I do not know 
 that there is any positive proof of this, but at any rate, 
 the salt will do no harm, even if applied thick enough to 
 kill many of our common weeds. The salt is usually 
 sown broadcast on the asparagus bed early in the spring, 
 say at the rate of ten bushels per acre. It has been rec- 
 ommended to sow salt at the rate of two or three pounds 
 per square yard, or say at the rate of one hundred and 
 twenty bushels per acre. I mention this to show that 
 salt will not injure asparagus. 
 
 In setting out asparagus plants we mark ofE the rows 
 with a common corn-marker three feet and a half or four 
 feet one way and two feet and a half or three feet the 
 other way. Set out a single plant where the lines cross. 
 It is desirable to disentangle and spread out the asparagus 
 roots horizontally in every direction. On light sandy 
 soil the work can be done with the hand, but on heavier 
 soils it is better to remove the soil with a hoe, at the 
 same time working and loosening the soil underneath. 
 This will greatly facilitate the operation of setting out 
 the plants. I do not think it is necessary or advisable to 
 set out the plants as deep as is sometimes recommended. 
 Three or four inches is deep enough. Sometimes a shovel- 
 ful of manure is spread on the soil above each plant. 
 
 POLE BEANS. 
 
 The most delicious of all Beans is the Lima. Like all 
 good things, however, it is more work to grow them than 
 common field beans. They have to be provided with 
 something to cling to. Poles, seven or eight feet long. 
 
34 GARDEiq-ING FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 are best for tliis purpose. Unless you have poles from 
 the woods, a good plan is to get inch-square strips from 
 the saw mill or lumber yard. Such strips are handy in 
 a garden for many purposes. Strips an inch and a quar- 
 ter square are much stronger and better, but it is not 
 always so easy to get them. I said Lima-beans could not 
 be grown without some trouble, not only have you to 
 provide poles for them, but they are very tender; they 
 came from a warm climate, and do not like a cold soil. 
 In the tropics the Lima-bean is a perennial plant. It does 
 not need to be raised from seed every year, but the same 
 plant grows on year after year, so the books tell us, and 
 I presume it is true ; at any rate the Lima-bean here 
 seems as though it would grow the year round if the 
 weather was warm enough, as it is often growing when 
 the frosts of autumn strike it. We must do all we can 
 to make the soil warm in the spring and to push the 
 plants forward rapidly in summer. A light, sandy soil is 
 warmer and drier in the spring than the heavier and 
 stiffer soils, and Lima-beans can be planted earlier on 
 warm sandy land than on the clay. But the best crop of 
 Lima-beans I ever raised, was on a soil about half way be- 
 tween a sand and a clay ; and the poorest crop I ever 
 raised was on very light sandy soil. 
 
 I am inclined to think the trouble in the latter case 
 was, that the beans were planted too thickly and were not 
 kept as clean as they should have been. You cannot 
 grow a crop of Lima-beans and a crop of weeds on the 
 same land at the same time ; and if you have three hills 
 of beans where there should be only two, one hill is a 
 weed. Lima-beans should not be planted until the soil 
 is warm, or the seed will rot in the ground. Here we 
 can rarely plant before the middle of May. "We make 
 hills about four feet apart, and plant six or seven good 
 beans in a hill ; four plants in a hill are enough, but you 
 know that something may happen to injure or kill some 
 
POLE BEANS. 35 
 
 of them, and so it is better to put in more than you really 
 need, and thin out the weaker plants, leaving three or 
 four of the strongest and best in the hill. It is a good 
 plan to set the pole in the hill before planting the beans. 
 If the pole is not put in until the beans are growing, you 
 are apt to disturb the plants. Put the poles in at least a 
 foot deep, so that the wind will not blow them over when 
 covered with vines. We sometimes plant four or five 
 Lima-beans in a flower pot in the house or hot-bed, and 
 when the plants are well started and the soil is warm 
 enough, we set out the plants in the garden, being care- 
 ful not to disturb the roots any more than we can help. 
 I have had a very early crop of Lima-beans by adopting 
 this plan. 
 
 It is a pity that we cannot get a good dwarf variety of 
 Lima-bean. We have a great variety of excellent dwarf 
 or bush beans that are good for eating, pod and all, in the 
 green state, or good for shelling when green, like Lima- 
 beans and peas, or good for cooking when ripe. It is not 
 often, however, that the same variety of bean is equally 
 good for all these purposes. The Lima-bean is generally 
 used for but one thing. You could not eat the green 
 pods, and they are not often cooked when dry and ripe, 
 though I am told they are very good. They are the most 
 delicious of all beans for shelling and cooking when 
 green. 
 
 OTHER POLE BEANS. 
 
 There are other varieties that are specially adapt- 
 ed for string beans, that is, for eating the pods while 
 green. I do not know that the pole varieties are any bet- 
 ter for this purpose than the dwarf or bush kinds. One 
 of the best varieties of pole beans, is the Speckled Cran- 
 berry or London Horticultural. It does not usually grow 
 over five or six feet high, and I have known a good crop 
 
36 GAEDEN'ING FOR YOUXG AXD OLD, 
 
 raised without poles, but this is a slovenly method which 
 ought not to be tolerated in the garden. Another excel- 
 lent pole bean is the Scarlet Eunner. It is a rampant 
 grower and is frequently used as a screen; the flowers are 
 beautiful and the pods, gathered when young, are de- 
 licious. 
 
 BUSH BEANS. 
 
 For string beans the best variety I have yet grown, is 
 the Black Wax or Butter-bean. The Golden Wax is a 
 larger bean and more productive, but I do not think the 
 pods are any better. The Early Valentine is a little 
 earlier than the Wax or Butter-bean, and on this account 
 deserves a place in every gai-den. The White Kidney is 
 a very valuable bean. It affords very fair string beans, and 
 the pods, which are not wanted for this purpose, can be 
 left on the vines to ripen, when they will prove very ac- 
 ceptable for boiling and baking. 
 
 The cultivation of bush beans is a simple matter. In 
 the field where they are to be cultivated with a horse-hoe, 
 they are planted in rows about thirty inches apart, and 
 five or six beans are dropped in a hill, or place, every 
 twelve or fifteen inches in the row. A larger yield proba- 
 bly could be obtained by drilling the beans continuously 
 in the row, say one bean to each mch ; but it is a little 
 more work to pull the beans when ripe, and some of our 
 farmers think it is more work to hoe them. In the garden 
 it is not necessary to plant the beans so far apart. In my 
 own garden, I make the rows fifteen inches apart, and 
 drop the beans about an inch apart in the row. The chil- 
 dren are very apt to sow them a good deal thicker than 
 this, and I have noticed that the first dish of beans always 
 comes from the children's garden. As a rule, thick seeding 
 favors early maturity ; at any rate this is so with peas, 
 beans, and the grain crops, such as wheat, barley, and 
 
BEETS. 37 
 
 oats. Of course there is a limit. If you sow too thickly 
 you would not get any crop at all, and in any case the 
 premature ripening is obtained at the expense of the 
 yield. What I mean is, when you get a very early crop 
 it will usually be a small one. I should plant a row of 
 Early Valentine beans quite thickly, say two beans to 
 each inch of row, and then, a week later, sow a few more 
 rows of Black Wax or Golden Wax, three beans to each 
 two inches of row, and then when the ground is 
 thoroughly warm, about the first week in June, sow the 
 main crop not thicker than one bean to each inch of row. 
 The White Kidney may be sown in the same way and 
 about the same time. I need hardly say that the ground 
 must be kept hoed between the rows, and all the weeds 
 pulled out from between the plants. The Black Wax is 
 the best of all the string beans; a good deal depends, 
 however, on obtaining a good succulent growth, and 
 gathering the pods before they become too old and tough. 
 For this reason it is better to plant at two or three dif- 
 ferent times in succession, and it is also desirable, in order 
 to favor luxuriant growth, to plant on warm, rich, sandy 
 land, and especially to keep it free from weeds. 
 
 BEETS. 
 
 The best of all Beets is supposed to be the Egjrptian 
 Blood Turnip. The Editor of the Americans" Agricul- 
 TUEIST once said, that no one knew any thing about 
 beets until he had eaten the Egyptian. It certainly is 
 a delicious beet, but like many other good things it can 
 be spoiled by neglect or bad management. It should be 
 grown rapidly and not too thick in the row, and gathered 
 before it becomes too large and tough. The Bassano- 
 beet is very early and easily grown. It is larger than the 
 Egyptian, but the flesh is lighter colored, and on this ac- 
 
38 GARDEN'ING POE YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 count not so attractive. The flesh is soft, sweet, and ■well 
 flavored. Its earliness entitles it to a place in every 
 garden. 
 
 The Early Blood Turnip is more extensively cultivated 
 in all sections of the United States than any other variety. 
 It is excellent both for summer and winter use. For 
 winter use, however, it should not be sown before the 
 first or second week in June. I have raised an excellent 
 crop sown as late as the middle of July. As a winter 
 beet the Long Smooth Blood Red is the best variety — 
 or perhaps I should say, it is the most popular variety. 
 For my own use I think the Blood Turnip is just as good 
 a winter beet, if sown late, as the Long Smooth Red, 
 but it is not so productive. 
 
 The cultivation of beets is by no means difficult; 
 they will do well on a variety of soils. The great point 
 is to make the land rich and mellow. You can grow 
 beets or Mangel Wurzels on much heavier or more clayey 
 land than you can turnips. The only point is to manure 
 heavily and work the soil thoroughly. Recollect, how- 
 ever, it will not do to work such land while it is wet. 
 Remember also, if you let such land remain unplowed 
 or unspaded until it is baked by our hot sun, you will 
 have a tough job on your hands. You must take it when 
 it is neither too wet nor too dry. Such land ought 
 always to be plowed or spaded in the autumn, and 
 again in the spring, as soon as it is dry enough to crum- 
 ble to pieces. This kind of heavy land is not easily 
 managed, but when got into good shape and properly 
 cultivated, it stands the drouth well and is immensely 
 productive. 
 
 For early beets, it is best to select a warm sandy soil, 
 and sow the seed in rows as soon as the frost is out of the 
 ground. A week and two later sow again. I sow mine in 
 rows fifteen inches apart. I say fifteen mches, not be- 
 cause fourteen inches would not be as good, or sixteen 
 
BEETS. 39 
 
 inches would not be better, but because I happen to have 
 a garden marker that makes rows fifteen inches apart, a 
 distance which suits most crops. It costs no more 
 to hoe a row fourteen or fifteen inches wide than one 
 which is only seven or eight inches wide. The boys 
 who cultivate corn, going twice in a row, will under- 
 stand why this is so. If your corn is three and a 
 half feet apart, is is no more work to cultivate it than 
 if it was two and a half or three feet apart, for the simple 
 reason that you and the horse have to go up and down 
 each row, no matter how wide or how narrow it may be, 
 and so it is with hoeing. If the hoe, when placed 
 by the side of the plants in the drill, will reach 
 the center of the row, it is no more work to hoe a 
 wide row than a narrow one. And there are many 
 reasons in favor of wide rows, especially in our dry, 
 hot climate. Vegetables and garden crops of nearly 
 all kinds need dry, rich land, and an abundance of 
 moisture. The dry land we get by underdraining where 
 needed. The rich land we get by heavy manuring, and 
 the moisture we get by killing weeds and keeping our 
 cultivated plants a good distance apart. Plants evapor- 
 ate large quantities of water, and if you have three plants 
 on a spot of land containing only moisture enough for 
 two, the growth of these three plants will be checked 
 for want of the necessary moisture. As a rule we can 
 not profitably increase the supply of water, but we can 
 very easily reduce the number of plants. 
 
 Sow the beets in rows fifteen inches apart, and thin out 
 the plants in the rows to four or five inches apart; then, 
 as the plants grow, thin them out still more, as soon 
 as any of them are large enough to use, and you will 
 have an abundant supply of this healthful and delicious 
 vegetable. 
 
 In good beet seed there are two or three seeds together 
 in a sort of very rough bur. If the seed is sown with a 
 
40 GAKDENING FOR YOUN^G AND OLD. 
 
 drill it is necessary to recollect that seed varies greatly 
 in size. American-grown seed is much larger than that 
 which is imported. And Egyptian Blood Turnip is 
 nearly always a small inferior looking seed. 
 
 Our garden drills have a hole for sowing heet seed, but 
 this hole would either sow the Egyptian too thick or the 
 Bassano, or Dewing's Blood Turnip, or the Long Smooth 
 Ked much too thin. If the seed is good, it is not neces- 
 sary to drop more than one seed to every inch of row. Of 
 course it is not necessary to sow even so thick as this, 
 but it is better and safer to sow three or four times more 
 than you need, rather than to run the risk of having the 
 crops too thin. 
 
 MANGEL WUEZEL. 
 
 Mangel Wurzels are simply large beets grown for cattle, 
 sbeep, and swine. Any one who can raise beets in the 
 garden can raise Mangel Wurzels in the field. All there 
 is to be done is to make the land as rich in the field and 
 keep it as clean and mellow as you do in the garden. 
 It would be a good thing, however, to sow a few Mangel 
 Wurzels in the garden until you became familiar with its 
 habit of growth. I once had a farmer's son hoeing 
 Mangels for me in the field, and I had the greatest diffi- 
 culty in persuading him to thin them out sufficiently. 
 The plants were very small and he wanted to leave them 
 about an inch apart in the row, while I wanted him to 
 leave only a single good plant to every foot of the row. 
 The land was rich and we had moist, growing weather, 
 and in less than a month the plants, though a foot apart 
 in the row, completely covered the ground. " I had no 
 idea that such little bits of things could grow so rapidly," 
 he said. Had his father encouraged him to sow a few 
 Mangel Wurzels in the garden he would have known 
 better. 
 
MAJSGEL WUKZEL. 41 
 
 If you SOW Mangel Wurzels in the garden, mark off the 
 rows fifteen inches apart, and then run the same marker 
 across the rows and drop three or four seeds, where the 
 lines cross, and cover them about an inch deep, patting 
 the ground smooth with the back of the hoe, just as you 
 do when planting corn in the field. When the Mangel 
 Wurzels are fairly up, hoe them and thin out the plants, 
 leaving only one good strong plant in each hill. Suffer 
 not a weed to grow, and if the land is rich enough you 
 will have a great crop of roots. Next year you may 
 wish to plant an acre or two in the field. 
 
 There are several varieties of Mangel Wurzel; in color 
 they are nearly all either red or yellow. The red, however, 
 is not by any means a deep bright red like the Blood 
 Turnip, or the Long Smooth Blood Beet. There is no 
 mistaking the one for the other. 
 
 In shape we have round, or globe Mangels, and the 
 long varieties, with an intermediate class, called ovoids. 
 
 This gives us six distinct kinds of Mangel Wurzel, and 
 in addition to these six, we have a great number of varie- 
 ties, or at any rate a great number of names. We have 
 Carter's Yellow Grlobe, and Sutton's Yellow Globe, and 
 Harris' Yellow Globe. All that is meant by ifc, or at any 
 rate all I mean by it is, that we have taken great pains 
 to select every year Just such Mangels as come nearest to 
 our idea of what a good root should be, and we set out 
 these roots for seed. They are not distinct varieties, 
 but merely good strains which we wish to propagate. 
 
 It would be a good thing for a farmer's son to get into 
 the habit of selecting some of the best Mangels and set- 
 ting them out for seed. I am not going to tell you which 
 IS the best variety of Mangel or the best strain to grow. 
 On my own farm we prefer the Yellow Globe. 
 
 They do not grow so deep in the ground as the long 
 kinds, and are much more easily harvested. We think 
 they are not so coarse as the Long Eed Mangel, and we 
 
43 GAKDEKING FOR YOU]S"G A^D OLD. 
 
 have a fancy that the yellow Mangel makes yellower 
 butter than the red. Probably this is nothing but fancy. 
 I have weighed a big crop of Long Red and Yellow 
 Globe Mangel, growing side by side in the same field, and 
 the scales indicated very little difference in the two crops. 
 The general impression, how^ever, is that the Long Red 
 will produce a larger crop per acre than the Ovoid or 
 Globe varieties. 
 
 THE CABBAGES. 
 
 The Cabbage is well worth studying. Some people 
 have got in the habit of sneering at cabbage growers. 
 It is a fact, that a man who cannot read or write will 
 sometimes beat the best of us in growing cabbages. His 
 success, however, is not due to his ignorance. You will 
 find he has thoroughly studied the wants of the vegetable. 
 If he knows nothing else he knows how to grow cabbages. 
 
 Cabbages require preeminently rich land. It must be 
 preter naturally rich. People say that land which will 
 produce corn will produce cabbages. I doubt it. Land 
 may be rich enough for a good crop of corn that is not 
 rich enough to produce even a fair crop of cabbages. The 
 reason of this probability is, that corn is a natural crop, 
 while the cabbage is an artificial production. We do not 
 raise cabbages for seed as we do corn. We raise it for 
 the heads or tender leaves or sprouts. Naturally it runs 
 up to seed the first year, but this is not wliat we want. 
 We want a cabbage that will grow rapidly and produce a 
 large mass of leaves good for food. For this purpose we 
 require a well-trained, or cultivated variety, having this 
 artificial character thoroughly established. We also want, 
 and must have, very rich land. 
 
 Early cabbages require richer land than the late varie- 
 ties. But you can grow twice as many plants on an acre. 
 I know one gentleman who makes a great deal of money 
 
THE CABBAGES. 43 
 
 from his crop of early cabbages. He plants about three 
 acres every year, some of it on land which had been in 
 other crops the previous year, and some of it on land 
 which has grown cabbages for several years. His crop 
 on the old land is earlier and better than that on the new 
 soil. No matter how heavily he manures the new land, 
 he cannot make it as productive the first year as the old 
 piece ; the reason is, that the manure can not be so thor- 
 oughly worked into the soil the first year. This is a 
 point of great importance in horticulture. We not only 
 need to manure our land heavily, but to thoroughly mix 
 the manure with the soil. 
 
 EAELT CABBAGE PLANTS. 
 
 Early cabbages bring a high price, and it will pay to 
 take extra pains with them. There are two ways of 
 raising early cabbages, one is by setting out plants which 
 ^were started the autumn previous and wintered over in 
 cold frames. The other plan is by sowing the seed in a 
 hot-bed or greenhouse early in the spring, and when 
 the plants are large enough and have been properly 
 hardened off, set them out in the field or garden. It 
 is possible to get the cabbages just as early from the 
 spring-sown plants as from those sown in autumn. 
 As to which is best depends very much on circumstances. 
 Eecent practice seems to be tending more and more to- 
 ward the use of spring-sown plants. 
 
 Where only a few plants are needed for home use, a 
 good plan is to sow a little seed in a box in the house. 
 After the plants are up you must give them as much sun 
 as possible, and be careful not to keep them in too warm 
 a room. During warm days the box may be placed out of 
 doors in the sun, in a spot sheltered from the prevailing 
 wind. Cabbages are hardy, and when raised in a hot-bed 
 or in the house they are much more likely to be kept too 
 
44 GARDEiflKG FOE TOU]SrG AN"D OLD. 
 
 warm than too cool. The great point is to giye them 
 plenty of sun and plenty of room ; if they are too thick 
 in the box they must be transplanted or pricked out into 
 another box. The oftener they are transplanted, and 
 the more room you give them, the stronger and healthier 
 they become. It is very desirable to have strong, stocky 
 plants. As soon as the land is dry enough to work 
 properly, and the plants are large enough and strong 
 enough to set out, prepare the land by spading or plow- 
 ing, and harrow or rake until it is fine and mellow. Then 
 set your line and mark out the land in rows two and a 
 half feet apart, and with a dibble set the plants twenty 
 inches to two feet apart in the row. 
 
 The best and earliest variety for market is the true 
 Jersey Wakefield, but for home use the Early York is 
 still preferred by many. In Western New York we get 
 the Jersey Wakefield large enough for market about the 
 first of July — sometimes a Jittle earlier, and sometimes 
 a little later, according to the season. 
 
 SECOJTD EARLY CABBAGES. 
 
 For second early cabbage we have several excellent 
 varieties. Henderson's Summer is a favorite variety with 
 market gardeners. It makes a large head and looks very 
 attractive. So far as my experience goes, however, it is not 
 of the highest quality, and for my own use I should 
 prefer Winningstadt, or Fottler's Drumhead. 
 
 The method of cultivation of these second early cab- 
 bages is the same as for the early, except that the land 
 need not be quite so rich, and the plants should be set a 
 little farther apart. For late summer or early autumn 
 cabbages it is not necessary to raise the plants in a hot-bed. 
 Sow the seeds in a warm, sheltered spot in the garden, as 
 soon as the ground can be got into good condition. Drill 
 in the seed in rows fifteen inches apart, and drop about 
 
THE CABBAGES. 45 
 
 four seeds to each inch of row. "We generally sow a lit- 
 tle thicker than this in hopes that the plants will have a 
 better chance of escaping the ravages of the little black 
 beetle which is almost certain to attack them. Frequent 
 hoeing is particularly desirable, as it not only kills weeds 
 and favors the growth of the plants, but it has a ten- 
 dency to frighten away the black beetle. For late au- 
 tumn or winter cabbages we sow our cabbage seed from 
 the middle of May until the first week in June. The 
 larger and later the variety the earlier should the seed be 
 sown. The summer and early autumn varieties, such as 
 the Winningstadt, Henderson's Summer, Fottler's, Stone 
 Mason, and Harris' Short Stem Drumhead can be changed 
 into winter cabbages by sowing the seed from the last 
 week in May until the first week in June. I have had a 
 good crop of most of these varieties when the plants were 
 set out as late as the middle of June ; as a rule, how- 
 ever, it is better to plant earlier. 
 
 On my own farm, where we raise cabbage plants in 
 very large quantities, we drill the seed in roAvs twenty-one 
 inches apart, and keep the crop clean by the frequent 
 use of the horse-hoe. You need the cleanest, richest and 
 best land, and in- addition to this, sow four hundred 
 pounds of superphosphate per acre. With good clean 
 land, a dressing of superphosphate and the frequent use 
 of the horse-hoe between the rows, it is a very easy mat- 
 ter to raise cabbage plants. You can grow from one 
 himdred and fifty thousand to two hundred thousand 
 good cabbage plants to the acre. When much thicker 
 than this, the plants are not so stocky as they should be. 
 The price paid for good cabbage plants is from two dol- 
 lars to three dollars per thousand. 
 
 LATE CABBAGES. 
 
 For the main crop of winter cabbages, the large late 
 Flat Dutch or Premium Flat Dutch, or, if the land is 
 
46 
 
 GARDENING FOR TOUJSTG AND OLD. 
 
 rich enough, the Mammoth Marblehead are all excellent 
 varieties. I have said that late cabbages do not require 
 such rich land as the early. This is true, and yet it seems 
 to be a fact that when you sow the early yarieties late in 
 the season, for the purpose of using them for a late fall or 
 winter crop, these smaller and earlier varieties will do 
 better on moderately rich or comparatively poor soil, 
 
 Fig. 2. — SAVOT CABBAGE. 
 
 than the larger and later varieties. I know some experi- 
 enced cabbage growers who raise the Winningstadt for 
 the main crop, because they find that it is sure to head, 
 while, from want of plenty of manure, they can not grow 
 the larger and later varieties. When late cabbages are 
 raised as a field crop, a good plan is, to mark out the land 
 three feet apart each way, and set out a plant where the 
 lines cross. This gives four thousand eight hundred and 
 
 I 
 
THE CAULIFLOWEE. 4? 
 
 forty plants to the acre. The advantage of the plan is, 
 that you can cultivate the ground both ways between the 
 plants with a horse-hoe, and the labor of tending the 
 crop is very slight. 
 
 SAVOY CABBAGES. 
 
 The Savoy Cabbages are so unlike ordinary cabbages 
 that some works place them under a separate head, as 
 Savoys. In the Savoys the leaves are strongly wrinkled, 
 or blistered, and the heads are never very solid. In tex- 
 ture and flavor they are more like a cauliflower than like 
 the ordinary winter cabbages, being very tender and mar- 
 row-like, and most delicious to those who like cabbages 
 at all. They are among the hardiest of cabbages, and 
 may be left out until the last. Their cultivation is the 
 same as that of other late varieties. 
 
 TEE CAULIFLOWER. 
 
 The cultivation of the Cauliflower is very similar to 
 that required for the cabbage. The method of raising the 
 plants is the same; the time and manner of setting 
 out is the same; the distance apart is the same, as is the 
 method of preparing and enriching the land. The only 
 difference is, that the cauliflower, being a little more del- 
 icate, every operation must be conducted with greater 
 care and thoroughness. The profits of the crop are very 
 large, and it will pay those who raise it to spare no pains 
 that will insure success. 
 
 There was a time when it was thought that the Ameri- 
 can climate Tvas particularly unsuited to the growth of 
 the cauliflower; such, however, is not the case. "We are 
 now satisfied that as good cauliflowers can be grown here 
 as in any other country. Our hot sun, which was sup- 
 posed to render the cultivation difficult, if not impossi- 
 
 \ 
 
48 GAEDEKING FOE YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 ble, is, in point of fact, a great adyantage ; but we must 
 make other things correspond. If the soil is dry, poor, 
 hard, cloddy and weedy, the hot sun may be an injury ; 
 it will wither up the cauliflowers and the careless culti- 
 vator will be very apt to blame the sun. But if your 
 land is well drained, moist, rich, mellow, deeply and 
 thoroughly cultivated and free from weeds ; if you have 
 good strong cauliflower plants of the right variety, and 
 set out at the right time ; if the roots have got firm hold 
 of the soil and have access to abundance of food and 
 water, let the sun shine, the leaves of the plant will 
 glory in the abundant sun ; and if they wilt a little dur- 
 ing the fierce heat of the day, the next morning will find 
 them bright and fresh, and full of vigor. 
 
 I would advise no one to go extensively into the culti- 
 vation of cauliflowers before they have had some experi- 
 ence ; better raise a few in the garden and make special 
 efforts to grow them to perfection. When you have 
 learned the secret of success, extend their cultivation to 
 the field and market garden. The standard varieties of 
 cauliflower are Early Paris, Erfurt Earliest Dwarf, Large 
 Lenormand and Walcheren. The former two are early 
 varieties, and the last two are larger and later. "What we 
 have said in regard to the planting of early and late vari- 
 eties of cabbage, is equally true in regard to the planting 
 of early and late varieties of cauliflower. To have early 
 cauliflowers, of course, you must sow early varieties, but 
 for a late crop, it is not absolutely necessary to have late 
 varieties. If late kinds are planted early and every thing 
 goes well, they will give you a larger, handsomer, and 
 more profitable crop; but it often happens, where the soil 
 and season are not propitious, that the early varieties 
 planted late will give the best results. In other words, 
 if you can grow a large crop of the late varieties do so. 
 But if you have any reason to anticipate a failure, you 
 had better be content with raising a crop of the early and 
 
 I 
 
CARROTS. 49 
 
 smaller varieties planted late. You can sometimes grow 
 a good crop of Early Paris or Erfurt Earliest Dwarf, 
 when you can not get a single head of Large Lenormand 
 or Walcheren. 
 
 Except for the earliest crop, it is not necessary to raise 
 the plants in a hot-bed. Sow, out of doors, on the rich- 
 est, warmest, and mellowest soil you have, in rows fifteen 
 inches apart, as directed for cabbage seed. The late varie- 
 ties should be sown just as early as the ground is in good 
 working condition. The early varieties, when intended 
 for a late crop, need not be sown before the middle of 
 May, and they will often do well if not sown until the 
 first of June. Keep the plants well hoed. If too thick, 
 prick them out into a border of rich, moist land, in rows 
 a foot apart, and at two or three inches distant in the 
 row. Let them stay there until wanted, they will make 
 fine, strong, stocky plants, and well repay you for the 
 extra labor of pricking out. 
 
 CAEROTS. 
 
 The Carrot is not a popular crop. Horses are very 
 fond of carrots, but then they never had to weed them. 
 If they had been obliged to get on their hands and knees, 
 so to speak, with the hot sun on their backs, and had to 
 weed and thin carrots, when Tom and Dick were gone a 
 fishing, they would have been satisfied with dry corn and 
 hay. Boys ought to know better. If we want a good 
 thing, we have got to work for it. The horse, I have no 
 doubt, would go without the carrots rather than per- 
 form the necessary work of raising them. But we want 
 horses to work for our pleasure, and a good horse that 
 behaves himself, and does cheerfully all that we ask of 
 him, is entitled to an occasional feed of fresh Juicy car- 
 rots to mix with his dry hay and corn. But I am sure 
 3 
 
50 GARDEKIKG FOR TOUKG AND OLD. 
 
 our bright American boys will soon learn to make the 
 horse do nine-tenths of the work of raising the carrots. 
 Just think of it ! When I was a boy, we used to make a 
 bed about five feet wide, trim it off at the edges with 'a 
 sharp spade, throw the soil on top from the alleys, rake 
 the bed, and then sow the carrot seed broadcast, and 
 make the bed smooth by patting it with the back of the 
 spade. These beds of carrots, onions, etc., looked very 
 neat and trim when first made, but oh ! the labor of 
 weeding them ! By and by we made a wonderful dis- 
 covery, we found that carrots, onions, etc., could be 
 sown in rows two or three inches apart, where we could 
 dig up the weeds with a knife or our fingers. Gradually 
 the rows were made wider apart, and now almost every 
 one drills in his carrots, onions, parsnips, etc., in rows 
 wide enough apart, to admit the use of a good American 
 hoe. 
 
 IMPROVED CARROT GROWING. 
 
 I want to do still better. I want the horse to do all of 
 the hoeing. I sow my carrots in rows twenty-one inches 
 apart, and cultivate them with a horse-hoe. If you have 
 a steady horse and a good cultivator, and will give your 
 mind to the work, you can run very close to the rows, and 
 leave very little to be done in the way of hand- weeding 
 or hoeing. In fact, if you will run the cultivator between 
 the rows once a week after the plants get fairly started, 
 they will grow so rapidly that they will smother out or 
 hold in check nearly all the weeds. I tell my boys that 
 cultivating between such narrow rows is an education. 
 It is good mental discipline, for they must keep their 
 mind constantly fixed on their work. 
 
 Much of the success of the plan, however, will depend 
 upon having the land not only rich, but in the best 
 mechanical condition. Fortunately our inventors and 
 manufacturers are fully abreast of the times. We have a 
 
CAEROTS. 51 
 
 good gang-plow, with bright steel mould-boards, that 
 will turn over three furrows at a time, and leaye the 
 land almost smooth and level. Then we have a harrow 
 that will cut the clods to pieces, and still further smooth 
 and mellow the land. After that, we make use of a 
 smoothing harrow. This, with a roller passed over the 
 land two or three times, first the harrow and then the 
 roller, I formerly thought left the land in as good shape 
 as we could hope to get it by the use of horse-implements, 
 and that anything further in the way of fining or smooth- 
 ing the surface soil must be done with a steel rake. But 
 no, we have now a revolving harrow and leveler, that will 
 leave the land as smooth and fine as it can be made with 
 a steel rake, at one-tenth of the expense. With these 
 implements, a garden line, a marker, and a good drill, 
 field-gardening is a much more pleasant and profitable 
 business than ever before in the history of the world. 
 There is one thing which our drill makers need to do, 
 which is to give us a bright, steel coulter for depositing 
 the seed in the row. The various seed drills have rough 
 cast-iron coulters two inches wide, and are admirably 
 adapted for doing poor work. The coulter catches every 
 bit of straw, or root, or grass, or rubbish it comes in con- 
 tact with. The seeds are scattered in a wide row. In- 
 stead of this we want a narrow, bright steel coulter that 
 would run easily and smoothly through the soil, and de- 
 posit the seed in a row not over a quarter of an inch 
 wide. It would not only do better work, especially when 
 the land was damp and sticky, but as can be readily seen, 
 these narrow drills would leave very much less space for 
 hand weeding. In fact a skillful boy, with the right kind 
 of hoe, could run so close to this narrow row that he 
 would not leave one weed in a thousand that would have 
 to be pulled out with the fingers. Another thing in re- 
 gard to the culture of carrots which I think is important : 
 you know the time was, when onion growers thought it 
 
53 GARDEKIN^G POR TOUJSTG AND OLD. 
 
 was necessary to thin out the onions, leaving only one 
 plant every three or four inches ; but we have discovered 
 that the onion will bear crowding. If three or four 
 onions be left in a bunch, they will push each other up- 
 wards and downwards, lengthwise and sidewise, and you 
 will get three or four good sized onions instead of one 
 large overgrown one which no one wants. And so it is 
 with carrots. Such varieties as the Early Short Horn or 
 the Half Long will bear a good deal of crowding. I have 
 often left four or five carrots in a bunch and had them 
 all grow to good size. They push each other sidewise in 
 the loose, well cultivated soil. Leaving them thick in 
 this way not only saves the unpleasant labor of thinning 
 with the fingers, but this thick crop of carrots keeps 
 down the weeds in the row and saves much labor in 
 weeding. 
 
 The true plan is, to sow the carrots pretty thick, drop- 
 ping, say two or three seeds to each inch of row, and in- 
 stead of thinning them out by hand, as is usually done, 
 I would push or pull a narrow hoe through them and 
 thus leave a bunch of plants every five or six inches in 
 the row ; each bunch may have four or five carrots, which 
 will grow strong enough to keep down the weeds which 
 may be left in the bunch, and the entire work of weed- 
 ing can be done with a cultivator and hoe. The large 
 long varieties of carrots, like the Long Orange and 
 White Belgian, can not be left so thick in the bunches, 
 and for this reason, I prefer to grow the Half Long vari- 
 ety ; it is more nutritious and is much more easily har- 
 vested. 
 
 CELEEY. 
 
 Celery is a crop which should be largely grown in the 
 field-garden. It is essentially a farm crop, just as much 
 so as cabbage. I mean by this that it requires a good 
 
CELERY. 53 
 
 deal of space, and should be grown on the farm where 
 land is comparatively cheap, rather than in suburban 
 market gardens, where land is worth from five hundred 
 dollars to five thousand dollars an acre. Vegetables 
 which must be marketed fresh every morning, must be 
 grown near the market, but this is not necessarily the 
 case with Celery. 
 
 When I was a boy it was quite an afEair to grow cel- 
 ery. We dug trenches and heavily manured the bottom, 
 put three or four inches of soil on top of the manure, 
 and set a single row of plants six or eight inches apart in 
 the row. The work was done with a spade, and celery 
 was a costly luxury. Where land was high, we sometimes, 
 instead of planting a single row, made the trench four or 
 five feet wide, covered the bottom with manure, put on 
 the soil, and planted four or five rows eight or ten inches 
 apart in this wide trench. I have seen a good crop 
 raised in this way, but it is a great deal of work and will 
 not pay. The truth is, that celery requires a great deal 
 of moisture ; it needs rich land too, but moisture will, to 
 a certain extent, take the place of manure. If you can 
 get land that is well drained and moist also, that is the 
 true place for celery. If the land is not moist you must 
 set the plants farther apart in the rows. For early cel- 
 ery, of which comparatively little is required either for 
 home use or market, the seed must be sown in a hot-bed 
 or in a box in the house. You can sow the seed in rows 
 one inch apart and ten or twelve seeds to each inch of 
 row. When the plants begin to crowd one another, dig 
 them up and prick them out into a cold-frame or cooler 
 hot-bed, or into a larger box in the house. In two or 
 three weeks they will probably need to be transplanted 
 again into a cold-frame or warm border out of doors; set 
 them in rows wide enough apart to admit the use of a 
 hoe, keep clean, and let them remain until wanted to set 
 out. 
 
54 GARDENIIS'G FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 For the main crop, the seed should be sown in a warm 
 sheltered spot as early in the spring as the soil is in 
 good working condition. The better plan is to prepare 
 the ground the previous autumn, and the more manure 
 YOU can work into it, the better. Do this as early in the 
 fall as the land can be spared ; this will give the weed 
 seeds in the manure and in the soil a chance to germi- 
 nate. Work the ground several times, for the more you 
 work it, the more weed seeds will germinate and be de- 
 stroyed ; this is very important, because celery seed is 
 slow to germinate in the cold soil in the spring, and if 
 the land is full of weed seeds, they will start long before 
 the seeds of the celery and cause a great deal of trouble 
 in hoeing and weeding. It is folly to endeavor to raise 
 celery plants unless the land is very rich, and is kept 
 scrupulously clean. If the land has been carefully pre- 
 pared in the autumn, I would not plow or spade it in the 
 spring, as that would bring up the cold soil to the surface. 
 As soon as the frost is out of the first three or four inches 
 of the surface soil, hoe the bed and rake it with a steel 
 rake, and make it fine and smooth. Then mark rows ten 
 inches apart, and sow the celery seed evenly in the rows, 
 depositing ten or twelve seeds to each inch of row, with a 
 radish seed every three or four inches apart in the row. 
 The radish seed will germinate quickly, and show you 
 where the rows are, and enable you to hoe lightly be- 
 tween them, long before the celery makes its appear- 
 ance. The great point is, to get strong, stocky plants 
 with an abundance of fine roots. For this purpose it 
 will be necessary, not only to keep the bed very clean, 
 but to thin out the plants where too thick. The plants 
 ought to be not less than an inch to two inches apart in 
 the row. When ready to transplant, the bed should be 
 saturated with water, and the right way to do this, is to 
 take a fork or spade and thrust it down deep into the soil 
 between the rows and below the roots of the celery, and 
 
CELERY. 55 
 
 lifting tip or breaking up in such a way as to leave the 
 bed full of cracks and holes. In this manner you can get 
 several barrels of water upon, or rather into, a small bed. 
 The next morning, if the bed has been thoroughly satu- 
 rated, the plants can be taken up with all their roots, 
 and more or less fine soil still adhering to them. 
 
 In raising celery plants on a large scale, I find it de- 
 sirable to sow the seed in rows twenty-one inches apart, or 
 far enough to admit the use of a horse-hoe. This not only 
 saves much labor in hoeing, but the frequent use of the 
 horse-hoe keeps the land loose and mellow, and when 
 you wish to set out the plants, they can be taken up 
 much more easily and with a large mass of fine roots, 
 with soil adhering to them. Before commencing to fork 
 up the plants, we run a narrow cultivator several times 
 between the rows as deep as we can get it; set out the 
 plants with as little exposure of the roots to the air as 
 possible. It does not hurt a plant to wilt when the wilt- 
 ing is caused merely by the evaporation of water through 
 the leaves, but it is a serious injury to let the roots shrivel 
 up from exposure to our hot sun and drying winds. 
 
 SETTING OUT THE PLANTS. 
 
 Before transplanting, however, it is necessary to get 
 trenches ready. In point of fact, the trenches are not 
 trenches at all, according to the old meaning of the 
 term. The way I have done the work on my own farm 
 is to get the land ready by plowing and harrowing until 
 it is quite smooth and mellow. I then take a marker 
 with teeth four feet apart, set a line for the first row and 
 run the marker along the line. After the land is all^ 
 marked out into rows four feet apart, take a double 
 mould-board plow, with two horses, and run the plow 
 along the row made by the marker. If you have not a 
 double mould-board plow, the work can be done equally 
 
56 GAKDEJSriNG FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 well -witli an ordinary plow ; except that it is necessary 
 to go twice in a row, up and down, instead of once. Yoa 
 will see that this is simj)ly making what are called dead 
 furrows, every four feet. 
 
 When the work is done, draw out some of the richest, 
 most thoroughly rotted manure you can find and spread 
 in the rows, or dead-furrows. Spread it evenly and knock 
 it to pieces thoroughly with a hoe or potato hook, mixing 
 more or less soil with it, getting it, at any rate, well 
 broken to pieces. Then with a plow throw the soil back 
 again into the furrow; then roll and hirrow and roll 
 again, until you have made the soil as fine as possible. 
 Then take your four-foot marker again, set the line exactly 
 where it was in the first place, and run the marker along 
 the line just over where the manure has been put. If 
 the work has been well done, you will have five or six 
 inches of good mellow soil in which to set out your cel- 
 ery plants. I set my plants a foot apart in the row ; as 
 the rows are four feet apart we get ten thousand eight 
 hundred and ninety plants to the acre. 
 
 Of course plants can be grown much closer than this. 
 The rows can be made three feet apart and the plants set 
 six inches apart in the row. This would give twenty- 
 nine thousand and forty plants to the acre, and if the land 
 is rich enough, moist enough and clean enough, and you 
 have the best plants, and give them the best of treatment, 
 and the season is every way favorable, you can get just as 
 good celery from the thicker planting as from the thin. 
 But my land is simply ordinary farm land and an acre or 
 two more or less, provided it will save labor, and insure a 
 crop in an unfavorable as well as a favorable season, does 
 not count. Certainly I would advise any farm boy, whose 
 father will furnish the land rent free, for a given num- 
 ber of celery plants, not to make the rows too near, or 
 set out the plants too close in the rows. 
 
 Some of the old market gardeners may criticise me for 
 
CELERY. 57 
 
 recommending such thin planting, but I know what I 
 tnow. I know that their land, which has been in gar- 
 den culture for many years, is in a very different condi- 
 tion from our very best farm land, and it will be far bet- 
 ter the first year or two, when trying to raise garden 
 crops on farm land, not to plant too thickly. 
 
 In setting out the celery plants, select damp weather 
 if possible, but a damp or rainy day is not half so neces- 
 sary as a finely worked, mellow and moist soil. If the 
 ground is dry and cloddy, so that the dry lumps of earth 
 will tumble into the hole made by the dibble, you had 
 better let the plants stay where they are, and go to work 
 with a roller and harrow^ until you have made the soil 
 fine and mellow. I know that this can be done, and it is 
 sometimes necessary to go over the land half a dozen 
 times or more with a roller and harrow. I put one team 
 to the roller, and a three-horse team to a Smoothing Har- 
 row. Having the boy ride on the harrow so as to press 
 it into the soil, let him go ahead and stir up the soil, 
 bringing the lumps to the surface. The roller follows and 
 crushes the surface; then go over it again, going round 
 and round the lumpy piece until every lump is broken up 
 fine. Even a very light shower will make such a well- 
 worked soil moist enough to allow the plants to be set 
 out, and if we do not have any shower, the moisture will 
 in time come up from the subsoil and make the ground 
 moist enough to insure the safety of the plants. A re- 
 cently transplanted row of celery often presents a sorry 
 appearance in our dry climate. But do not be discour- 
 aged. If the roots and the crowns of the plants are alive 
 they will in time start into growth. If the plants were 
 set out during a rain, and the surface of the soil after- 
 wards bakes or becomes hard, the crust should be broken 
 up fine with a hoe. An inch or two of dry, loose earth 
 on the surface checks evaporation and keeps the soil 
 moist underneath where the roots are. Always remem- 
 
58 GAKDElSriKG FOE YOUKG AJifD OLD. 
 
 ber this, as it is yery important. A dry surface, if the 
 soil is loose and fine, is a good thing, provided there is 
 sufficient moisture in the soil below, around the roots. 
 
 As the celery grows, keep the ground well cultivated 
 and hoed; and this is all that need be done until the 
 plants have nearly attained their growth. The earth is 
 then drawn round the plants in order to blanch the 
 stalks. You will soon learn how to do this. It is neces- 
 sary to gather up the loose and straggling stalks, and 
 press the whole plant firmly together with the hand in 
 order to prevent the soil falling into the center or 
 " heart" of the plant between the stalks. Draw the soil 
 around the plant, fully up to the lower leaves, and if the 
 weather is fine and the plants continue to grow, earth 
 them up again. 
 
 STOEING FOE WI2^TEE. 
 
 There are several plans for keeping celery during the 
 winter. My own method is to dig a trench in dry, 
 sandy land, a foot wide, and deep enough to hold the 
 plants. In this set the plants upright, just as they grew, 
 only putting them close together crosswise of the trench. 
 The more soil there is left adhering to the roots the bet- 
 ter. It is also desirable and certainly much more pleasant, 
 to do the work when the soil and plants are dry. But 
 as we wish to let the celery keep on growing as long as 
 the weather will allow, it is not always that we can 
 find a pleasant day so late in the season in which to se- 
 cure our celery crop. We have to do the best we can. 
 As before said, it is desirable to put up the plants when 
 dry, but if the work is not done until Just before winter 
 is about to set in, there is not much danger that the 
 celery will mould, no matter how wet it is when put in 
 the trench. 
 
 My plan is, to plow the earth away from the rows of 
 
CELEEY. 59 
 
 oelery in the field; for this we use a plow from which 
 the mould-board is removed, leaving only the point and 
 the land-side. By running this plow on the side of the 
 row, with the point below the roots, the soil is made so 
 loose that the plants can be pulled with great ease and 
 rapidity. We drive a stone-boat along the side of the 
 row, and place the plants upon this, and take them to 
 the trench where they are to be placed for the winter. 
 The stalks and leaves are straightened out, and the plants 
 are placed as thickly as they will stand in the trench, 
 and it will not in the least hurt the celery if there is a 
 little fine earth put between each layer of plants. I place 
 a strip of corn stalks or straight straw lengthwise along 
 the sides of the trench and draw the soil up to it. We 
 then plow two or three furrows on each side of the 
 trench, if necessary going round and round the trench 
 two or three times, until the soil on each side is broken 
 up very loose and fine to the depth of eighteen or twenty 
 inches, and three or four feet wide. Such a loose mellow 
 soil will stand the severest zero weather with little or no 
 freezing. And if a few leaves are plowed into the soil or 
 placed on top of the trench, there is no danger that the 
 celery will be injured by the frost. If the work is well 
 done, there will be little danger of the rain getting into 
 the trench; but to avoid all risk, we sometimes place a 
 board lengthwise of the trench, on top of the celery, and 
 cover it with leaves or straw, with three or four inches of 
 straw on top. The plowing round and round the trench 
 several times, until the ground is made very mellow and 
 deep, I regard as very essential, for it enables you to get 
 out the celery at any time when it is wanted during the 
 winter. 
 
 Another plan for preserving celery for winter use, is 
 to put it in a box in the cellar with layers of earth between 
 the plants, placing the celery in the box upright in the 
 same way we recommended placing it in the trench out 
 
60 GAEDEKING FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 doors. Another method recommended by Mr. Hender- 
 son in the American Agriculturist is, to set up 
 boards on edge in the cellar, nine inches wide and as 
 high as the plants are tall. A few inches of soil being 
 placed at the bottom, the celery is set in this board 
 trench the same as in that in the ground. At nine 
 inches from the first, other boards are set up in the same 
 manner, and so on. 
 
 In regard to varieties, I have had the best success with 
 the Dwarf White and the Dwarf Crimson. The Boston 
 Market has a more spreading habit and throws up nu- 
 merous side shoots or suckers, which, when well grown 
 and blanched, are very crisp and toothsome. There are 
 those who still prefer the larger varieties known by dif- 
 ferent names, such as Giant, Superb, Leviathan, etc. 
 Unquestionably in this climate the dwarf varieties, as a 
 rule, are more easily grown and more likely to give satis- 
 faction. 
 
 CELERIAO, OR TURNIP-ROOTED CELERY. 
 
 Celeriac is a variety of celery, but much hardier, and 
 having a less erect growth, the plants forming a bul- 
 bous enlargement; hence the name Turnip-Rooted. Its 
 cultivation is extending in this country, and when well 
 grown it is certainly a delicious vegetable. We have 
 hardly yet learned how to grow it to perfection. The 
 cultivation is in many respects similar to that required 
 for celery, but it is not necessary to have the rows so far 
 apart, as no earthing up is required. Set out the plants 
 in rows thirty inches apart, and a foot apart in the row. 
 The land can not be too rich or mellow, or the cultiva- 
 tion too thorough. The plants are inclined to throw up 
 suckers. These should be removed as soon as they start; 
 otherwise these suckers will check the tendency of the 
 
CORIir — SWEET COEK". 
 
 61 
 
 plant to form a bulb. This is perhaps the most impor- 
 tant point to be observed in the culture of celeriac. It 
 would not be desirable to go into the cultivation of cele- 
 riac on a large scale until one has had some experience, 
 
 Fig. 3. — CELEEIAO. 
 
 but it is a crop which it would be well for every one to 
 raise on a small scale until he gets acquainted with its 
 merits and uses. 
 
 COEN— SWEET-COEK 
 
 Corn is so easy to grow that very few grow it to per- 
 fection. Seedsmen get more scoldings with reference to 
 their corn than about any other seed. Every one thinks 
 
62 GARDEKING FOR TODJMG AKD OLD. 
 
 he can grow it, and wlien the crop fails, we naturally 
 blame the person who sells us the seed. One year I had 
 a very choice variety of oorn and distributed it freely 
 among my friends, but many wrote me that not a kernel 
 of it grew. I never felt quite sure whether they did not 
 know how to plant the corn, or whether I did not know 
 how to save the seed. The truth is, if you get a very 
 choice variety of tender, sweet and delicious corn to be 
 eaten green, it is a very difficult matter to preserve the 
 seed without weakening its germinative power; and even 
 if the seed is as good as we can hope to get it, sweet 
 corn, if is is really sweet and good, can not safely be 
 planted in as cold and damp a soil as common field corn. 
 We all wish to get sweet corn as early as possible, and 
 it is worth while running the risk of losing our first 
 planting, in order to occasionally secure a few dishes of 
 very early corn. It is simply the loss of a little seed, for 
 if it fails to grow, owing to the soil being too cold and 
 damp, or to the crop being destroyed by an early frost, 
 the soil can afterward be replanted with a later variety of 
 corn, or used for some other crop. But do not wait 
 until your first planting is lost before planting again. 
 Plant a few hills as soon as the ground can be got into 
 good working condition, and a few days later, especially 
 if the weather is warm and dry, plant a few more hills, 
 and a few days later still put in a larger quantity; in this 
 way, three years out of four, you will be pretty certain to 
 secure a good supply of this most delicious and popular 
 American vegetable. 
 
 The land for sweet corn should be prepared in the 
 autumn, and the surface soil, especially, should be heavily 
 manured. In the fall get the soil all ready for planting, 
 and m the spring do not plow or spade the land, but 
 make a few hills by drawing the surface soil together 
 with a hoe. For early corn in the garden, and with 
 dwarfish varieties, like the Early Minnesota, the rows 
 
COEN — SWEET CORN". 63 
 
 need not be more than three feet apart, or the hills more 
 than eighteen or twenty inches apart in the row. Use 
 seed freely, for in the cold, damp soil, much of it may 
 fail to grow. I would plant eight or ten kernels in each 
 hill, and if they all grow, pinch off (not pull up,) all but 
 four of the best plants. If you undertake to pull up the 
 plants you will be apt to disturb or injure those which 
 are left in the hill. As the plants grow, draw a little 
 fresh earth up to them, and if you have reason to fear a 
 frost some night, it is worth while to take pieces of news- 
 paper, say a foot square, and lay them over the hills of 
 corn, putting a little soil on each corner to hold them 
 down. The next morning they can be turned back and 
 still kept by the side of the hill, weighted with a little 
 earth, ready for use the next night if necessary. It re- 
 quires but a very slight covering to protect plants from 
 frost, but it will not do to let the covering remain on all 
 the time, as they need exposure to the sun. 
 
 VAEIETIES. 
 
 The later varieties of corn, such as Crosby's Sugar, 
 Eussell's Prolific,' and Moore's Early Concord, though far 
 sweeter and better, do not need so much care as we have 
 recommended when we wish to secure the earliest possi- 
 ble dish of corn. But even for the second early crop, it 
 will pay to take pains in the preparation of the soil, 
 planting, and cultivation. You can not grow good sweet 
 corn as easily as you can good field corn. For the main 
 crop, Stowell's Evergreen is one of the most popular vari- 
 eties; as ordinarily grown, however, it has ceased to be ev- 
 ergreen, it 13 simply a good late variety of sweet corn. 
 It is the variety generally grown for the canning and 
 evaporating establishments, and the growers for these 
 are particularly anxious to get a strain of Stowell's Ever- 
 green corn, which has ceased to be evergreen, and which 
 
64 GARDENING TOE YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 is sure to mature in a good season. Those who wish so- 
 called " Evergreen " corn, must get seed of this variety 
 which has been grown several degrees farther south than 
 where it is intended to plant it. 
 
 The canning establishments engage farmers to raise 
 sweet corn for them. They furnish the seed and agree 
 to pay a certain price per ton for ears of corn in the green 
 state. In this neighborhood they have been paying 
 eight dollars per ton for ears with the husks on. Many 
 farmers think it does not pay to grow it for less than ten 
 dollars per ton. Of course much depends on the yield 
 per acre. On ordinary farm land with ordinary culture, 
 the yield is small, and the expense of gathering the crop 
 absorbs nearly all the profits; but with a good crop, the 
 profit at ten dollars per ton is entirely satisfactory, 
 especially if you take the value of the stalks into consid- 
 eration. It is a good crop to commence w ith in the field- 
 garden; it brings in a little ready money every few days 
 at a season when we are quite apt to need it. 
 
 POP-CORN. 
 
 Pop-corn is a small variety grown exclusively for pop- 
 ping. It is rarely fed to animals; though I am not sure 
 that if we could invent some cheap and expeditious 
 method of popping it on a large scale, it would not pay 
 well in many cases to grow this corn and pop it for young 
 animals or those which are sick. A little pig takes very 
 kindly to pop-corn, after it is popped, and I have no 
 doubt it is good for him, and if any of the boys wish to 
 show their pigs at the fair, after they have given the pig 
 a good square meal, and after he has eaten all he will, 
 his pigship would enjoy a dessert of pop-corn, either 
 plain or sweetened with molasses. 
 
 The cultivation of pop-corn is as easy and simple as 
 that of ordinary field corn, but when they first come up. 
 
COEN-SALAD. 65 
 
 the plants are smaller and weaker, and for this reason 
 it is desirable to plant pop-corn ou a dry, warm, sandy- 
 soil. The kernels are very small, and I have found that 
 in planting, one is apt to drop too many seeds in the 
 hill. Pop-corn may be planted in hills three feet apart 
 each way, and the land cultivated both ways with a 
 horse-hoe, or it may be planted in rows three feet apart, 
 and the seed drilled in, afterwards thinning out the 
 plants to six or eight inches apart in the row. Pop-corn 
 needs good soil and clean cultivation. I cut my crop 
 with a reaper and tie it into bundles like wheat; set the 
 bundles in a stock in the field until well cured, and if too 
 busy to husk it in the fall, draw in the bundles and put 
 them on an airy scaffold in the barn, and husk out the 
 corn at my leisure. 
 
 COEN-SALAD. 
 
 Some might think that Corn-salad was a variety of com 
 grown for salad. In England wheat is called " corn," and 
 corn-salad is supposed to derive its name from the fact 
 that the plant grows among winter wheat. It is a very 
 hardy plant and will, if sown m the fall, usually stand 
 the winter and will start to grow in the spring, even 
 earlier than spinach. It is a substitute, to some extent, 
 for both lettuce and spinach. One of its popular names 
 is "Lamb's Lettuce." It is a very easily raised plant, 
 and is a favorite salad with those who like it. The cul- 
 tivation is very simple. For spring use, sow early in 
 September, in rows fifteen inches apart, dropping the 
 seeds an inch apart m the row. Protect the plants 
 in winter by lightly covering them with straw or 
 litter. When used as a substitute for spinach, the land 
 cannot be made too rich. For summer, sow in rows, 
 fifteen inches apart, as early as the ground can be put 
 
6B 
 
 GARDENING FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 into good condition; hoe, and thin out the plants to two 
 or three inches apart; gather when young and tender, 
 
 Fi?. 4.— COBN-SAIiAD. 
 
 and sow another bed a week or ten days later for succes- 
 sion. The seed is small, and should not be covered more 
 than half an inch deep. 
 
 CRESS, OR PEPPER-GRASS. 
 
 Cress is very nice if grown rapidly, and is gathered 
 before it runs to seed. It should have very rich land, 
 be sown in rows wide enough apart to admit the use of a 
 hoe, and about half an inch apart in the row. Sow as early 
 as the ground can be worked in the spring, and each 
 week afterwards for a succession. 
 
 WATER CRESS. 
 
 There are many places where Water Cress could be 
 grown as a market crop with great profit. The real point 
 
CUCUMBEES. 67 
 
 is, to get low land which can be drained on the one hand, 
 and flooded on the other. Ditches may be dug from the 
 main stream, two or three feet wide, and deep enough to 
 allow the water to flow in to the depth of two to six inch- 
 es. In these ditches sow or plant the water cress. For your 
 own use, cress can be obtained in ample abundance by 
 sowing it in any shallow natural stream. A convenient 
 plan is to scatter a little cress seed on the surface of the 
 water, and let it float down stream. When the stream is 
 once stocked nothing more is needed. It is a pity that 
 water cress is not better known and more generally used, 
 as it is one of the most healthful and delicious of salads. 
 
 CUCUMBERS. 
 
 Cucumbers, when grown in a hot-bed, will stand a 
 good deal of heat, and their successful management re- 
 quires some experience. It is usual to plant one hill of 
 cucumbers to each sash, after using the hot-bed for start- 
 ing other seeds in boxes, which can be removed when the 
 cucumbers require more room. For out-door culture, 
 early plants can be started in the hot-bed or in the house; 
 six or eight seeds can be sown in some fine mould in a 
 three-inch pot, and when the weather has become set- 
 tled, the plants can be carefully turned out of the pot 
 with all the soil adhering to the roots, and transferred to 
 a well-prepared hill in the garden. For a few days, the 
 plants should be covered with a frame or bottomless box 
 having a piece of cotton cloth tacked over the top. 
 Before the plants are turned out, the pots should be 
 placed in a vessel containing some blood-warm water, 
 two or three inches deep, and allowed to remain until the 
 ball of earth is thoroughly saturated; this is far better 
 than watering after they are transplanted. 
 
 Cucumbers delight in a warm, rich, mellow soil. For 
 
68 GARDEKING FOR TOU]SrG AND OLD. 
 
 field culture, a good plan is to mark off the ground into 
 rows, four feet apart each way, then run a double mould- 
 board plow along the mark, both ways. Put one or two 
 good forkfuls of well-rotted manure vbere these furrows 
 cross each other; then with a hoe, or potato hook, break 
 up the manure very fine, and work it into the soil. Turn 
 the soil back agam on top of the manure with a plow, 
 going on both sides of the row lengthwise and crosswise; 
 follow the plow with a roller, going both ways of the 
 rows. By doing this, the hills will be four feet apart 
 each way, with manure underneath, and a bed of rich, 
 mellow soil for the seed. I find it desirable, after using 
 the roller, to go over the piece again with a four-foot 
 marker, both ways, as this insures straight rows. Drop 
 ten or twelve seeds in each hill, and after the plants are 
 well up, and have got pretty well out of the reach of the 
 Striped-bug, gradually thin them out, until in the end, 
 you leave only four of the strongest plants in each hill. 
 The after cultivation consists simply in working the soil 
 with a cultivator or one-horse plow, both ways between 
 the rows, removing all weeds from the hills with a hoe, 
 at the same time pulling up a little fresh soil around the 
 plants if necessary. 
 
 Another plan is, to mark off the land into rows four 
 or five feet apart, run the double mould-board plow along 
 the mark, spread the manure in the furrow, and cover it 
 up by running the plow on both sides of the row; then 
 roll, mark the land again, and drill in the seed in the 
 mark just over the manure. Some may think it unneces- 
 sary to go over the land the second time with the marker, 
 but it is very important to have the rows straight, as any 
 boy will find when he undertakes to run a cultivator 
 within an inch of the plants in the row. In drilling in 
 the seed, set the drill to drop a seed each two or three 
 inches, and to cover not over an inch deep. As the plants 
 grow, keep them well cultivated, and thin out until you 
 
CUCUMBERS. 
 
 69 
 
 haye them from eight to ten inches apart in the row. 
 There will often be two or three plants close together in 
 the row, and if there are no others for fifteen or 
 eighteen inches on each side, I should let them all grow. 
 Another plan, and I think on the whole the best, is to 
 prepare the land Just as thoroughly as you are able; 
 spread a quantity of manure on the surface, say fifteen or 
 twenty loads per acre; spread it evenly, and then go over 
 it two or three times with a smoothing harrow, and if it 
 pulls any of the manure into heaps, re-spread them and 
 continue harrowing and rolling until the whole surface 
 ^ soil is as fine and mellow as a garden. In 
 f ot it is a garden — at any rate we wish to 
 11 <;roduce garden culture on the 
 1 I'm. Mark out the land into 
 1 vs four or five feet apart, and 
 then, with a two-horse plow, 
 ill :ow up two furrows on each 
 le of the mark, and so con- 
 ti ue until the work is all done. 
 In this way you will get a bed of 
 li ht, mellow, well-manured soil 
 in rows of four or five feet 
 apart; roll the land, mark it Fig. 6.-teaklt 
 WHITE- SPIKE, once more, and drill in the seed. ^'^^^^ cluster. 
 Cucumbers are sometimes grown on sod land. The 
 land is marked out in rows, four or five feet apart 
 both ways, and the seed planted in hills made with a 
 hoe. If the land is in good condition, or if two table- 
 spoonsfuls of superphosphate are scattered in each hill, 
 you will be likely to have a good crop, with very few 
 weeds to trouble you. 
 
 The leading varieties are Early Eussian, Early Green 
 Cluster, Early Frame, Early White Spine and Improved 
 Long Green. The latter two varieties are extensively 
 grown for the pickle factories, as well as for market and 
 
 Fi?. 5. 
 
70 
 
 GARDEKITS"G FOR YOUNG AKD OLD. 
 
 home use. The pickle factories, as a rule, however, pre- 
 fer the White Spine. In this neighborhood, they pay 
 from one dollar to one dollar and a half per thousand for 
 the cucumbers, according to the size; a barrel of small 
 ones contains about five thousand, for which they pay 
 five dollars. Of the larger size, a barrel holds from one 
 thousand two hundred to one thousand six hundred, 
 for which they pay from one dollar and eighty cents to 
 two dollars and forty cents per barrel. Some of my 
 neighbors grow cucumbers for pickles on low, mucky 
 soil, which is usually too wet to plow before the middle 
 of June. They sometimes have good crops when they 
 plant as late as the middle of July. It would, of course, 
 be better to drain the land and plant earlier. 
 
 EGG PLANT. 
 
 Egg Plant, in this section, needs to be started in the 
 hot-bed or in a box in the house, and, as the plants re- 
 
 Fig, 7. — ^NBW XOBK EttPBOVBD PUKPLE EGG PLANT. 
 
 quire a warm soil when set out in the garden, the seeds 
 should not be sown in the house or hot-bed until the first 
 or second week in April. Select a warm, sunny spot in 
 
ENDIVE— KOHL EABI. 71 
 
 the garden, and make the soil very loose and mellow, 
 and moderately rich. Set the plants about thirty inches 
 apart, keep the ground clean, and as they grow, draw a 
 little fresh soil to them. Keep a sharp lookout for the 
 Colorado-beetle or Potato-bug, as this likes the Egg-plant 
 quite as well as it does potatoes, and if not destroyed 
 will ruin the crop. The best variety is the New York 
 Improved Purple. 
 
 ENDIVE. 
 
 Endive is a very hardy plant, easily grown, and when 
 properly blanched makes an excellent salad. It can be 
 sown at any time from March to August, but as it is 
 usually eaten late in the fall, it is commonly sown in 
 June or July, in rows twelve to fifteen inches apart, and 
 the plants thinned out to a foot distant in the row. The 
 blanching can be done in any way which excludes the 
 light. The usual method is by gathering the leaves 
 together and tying them at the top. 
 
 KOHL KABI. 
 
 Kohl Eabi is a variety of the cabbage, but it looks 
 more like a tur.nip. It has been called the Turnip-root- 
 ed Cabbage. It is grown as a sub- 
 stitute for cabbage. It will stand dry 
 weather better than turnips, yields 
 equally well, and is quite as nutri- 
 tious. It can be transplanted easily, 
 but it is usually sown, like the tur- 
 nip, where it is to remain. It can be 
 prontably grown as a field crop for 
 Eiff 8— KOHL KABI stock. Unlike the turnip it does not 
 impart an unpleasant flavor to the 
 milk when fed to cows. The preparation of the land, 
 cultivation and harvesting, are similar to that required 
 
73 
 
 GAKDEKING POR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 for ruta baga or Swedes. If any thing, the land should 
 be richer and the seeds sown a little earlier. The best 
 variety for stock or for table use, is the Large White or 
 Large Green. For table use these should be grown 
 quickly and used before they become stringy, which they 
 will be apt to be if allowed to get larger than a teacup. 
 
 LETTUCE. 
 
 Every body raises Lettuce. While no plant is more 
 easily grown, comparatively few people have it in per- 
 fection. The reason for this is three-fold. The soil is 
 
 Fig. 
 "the deacon" lettuce. 
 
 Fig. 10. 
 
 cos LETTUCE. 
 
 not made rich enough, it is not thoroughly cultivated 
 and hoed, and the plants are left entirely too close 
 together. As an out-door crop, lettuce can be sown in 
 the spring as early as the weather will permit. I have 
 sown it in February, and though we had very severe 
 weather afterwards, the plants were not injured by the 
 frost. In the same field, however, the same variety, 
 " The Deacon," sown April 14th, was just as large by the 
 first of June as that sown in February, The best way 
 with this, as with other hardy crops, is to sow as early as 
 
MELONS — MUSK. 73 
 
 the ground can be brought into good condition, but 
 not earlier. 
 
 My own plan in raising lettuce is, to make the land as 
 fine and mellow as possible, and drill in the seed in rows, 
 twenty-one inches apart. This is wide enough to admit 
 the use of the horse-hoe. As soon as the rows can be 
 traced, we go through with the cultivator, and in the 
 course of a few days go through again; the object being 
 to make the soil as loose and mellow as possible. I have 
 gone through the rows three or four times with a culti- 
 vator before the plants were large enough to be thinned 
 out with a hoe. This thinning out is the point necessary 
 for success. It seems a great waste of seeds, of plants, 
 and of land, to thin out the plants to eight or ten inches 
 apart, but it is the true plan. You must dash your hoe 
 through them boldly, cutting out the plants so that they 
 will stand the width of the hoe apart; then with the hoe 
 push out all the surplus ones. An ordinary hoe slants 
 too much forward to do the work properly; you should 
 heat the shank of the hoe, and bend it until the blade is 
 nearly at right angles with the handle. JFor thinning 
 out turnips, beets, mangels, etc., such a hoe will enable 
 you to do the work without often resorting to thinning 
 out the plants with the fingers. If the land is in proper 
 condition, and you have a good variety, you will get a 
 splendid crop of the largest and finest heads of lettuce, 
 from the last of June to the middle of September. 
 
 MELONS— MUSK. 
 
 A few hills of Musk Melons can be started in the hot- 
 bed or in the house, as recommended for cucumbers, and 
 when the ground is warm, the plants can be set out in 
 the open ground and shaded for a few days, until they 
 get finally started. On a farm where land is abundant, 
 4 ■ ' 
 
74 
 
 GAEDBNING FOE TOUNvG AND OLD. 
 
 the better plan is, to put in the melon seed in the open 
 
 ground, as soon as the soil is in good working condition. 
 
 You may lose half your seed and he obliged to replant, 
 
 but in three years out of four, 
 
 you will get as good and as 
 
 ^ early a crop as you would by 
 
 g transplanting from the hot-bed. 
 
 g The mistake people make is, in 
 
 o not using seed enough. You 
 
 3 ought to sow at least three 
 
 g times as many as you think you 
 
 ' will need, even of the best of 
 
 g seed. Melons are not all of the 
 
 o 
 
 g ^ best quality, and if you have 
 
 I ^ more than you need, you can 
 g o reject those which do not please 
 g you. We do not expect every 
 g apple on a tree to be perfect, 
 I and we need not expect every 
 % melon on the vine to be of the 
 choicest quality. The methods 
 H recommended for the cultiva- 
 ■^ I tion of cucumbers are generally 
 ►' adapted to the production of 
 g melons. If possible, the land 
 ^ should be made even richer 
 ¥ for melons than for cucumbers. 
 ^ I have never yet seen land too 
 s rich for them. Plant largely 
 g and sow thickly, so that if the 
 seed all grows, you can thin 
 out the weak plants as directed 
 for cucumbers. The best varieties are: the Early Chris- 
 tiana, the Nutmeg, Green Citron, White Japanese, and 
 Casaba. Of the first three, Ifctmeg, Christiana, and 
 Citron, the best variety, in my judgment, is the one of 
 
 
MELO]S"S — WATER. 75 
 
 wliich you happen to plant the most largely. If you 
 have a large crop you can select delicious melons from 
 either of these varieties. 
 
 MELONS— WATER. 
 
 "Watermelons can be grown as easily as pumpkins 
 or corn, but you can not grow corn and watermelons 
 together. The land must be entirely devoted to the mel- 
 ons, and the mistake that people make, is, they try to 
 grow melons and thistles on the same ground. The 
 thistles pump up a large quantity of water from the soil, 
 and when we have dry, hot weather, the melons are left 
 without sufficient moisture. The weather can not be too 
 hot for this crop, provided it has sufficient moisture and 
 plant food. People are apt to think that if they keep 
 the soil clean immediately around the hills, the rest of 
 the land can be suffered to produce weeds. This is a 
 great mistake; the roots of the melons are at least as long 
 as the vines, and in our dry, hot climate, they need all 
 the moisture the land contains. The distance apart at 
 which it is best to plant watermelons depends on the 
 climate. In this section, they will do well planted in 
 hills or rows four or five feet apart, but as we go south, 
 we must increase the distance. One of my correspond- 
 ents in Texas, wrote me that his watermelons completely 
 covered the ground, even when they are planted fifteen 
 or twenty feet apart. 
 
 I have grown excellent watermelons on light, rich, 
 sandy soil, in rows five feet apart. We drilled in the 
 seed with an ordinary garden drill, using the hole made 
 for sowing corn. As the plants grow, thin out, leaving 
 them from eight to fifteen inches apart in the row, just 
 as you happen to find them. If the plants are thin, and 
 you find two or three near together, leave them all to 
 
76 
 
 GAEDElSriNG FOR TOUNG AN'D OLD. 
 
 grow if necessary. If the land is rich enough, and you 
 keep it thoroughly cultivated and free from weeds, you 
 may expect a great crop of melons, and if you don't get 
 
 it, try again. When 
 the vines commence 
 to run, the weeds also 
 begin to grow, and 
 I you may think that 
 I you can not get 
 through the rows 
 with a cultivator; 
 hut by going ahead 
 of the horse, you may 
 move the vines out of 
 I g the way, and leave 
 plenty of room for 
 ^^ the horse and culti- 
 vator. Make thor- 
 ough work, going 
 twice in the row, or 
 as often as is neces- 
 sary to kill every 
 weed, and break up 
 the hard, dry soil. 
 5 Work it until it is as 
 m mellow as a garden, 
 and if there are any 
 ^ weeds left which you 
 can not reach with a 
 cultivator, cut them 
 out with a hoe, or 
 pull them by hand. 
 Watermelons may be planted in hills, and the land 
 prepared as recommended for cucumbers, except that it 
 is necessary to make the hills wider apart. The method, 
 however, of plowing the land into ridges, or hills, both 
 
MUSTARD. 77 
 
 ways, is Just as applicable to watermelons and mnsk- 
 melons as to cucumbers. The best varieties are: the 
 Black Spanish, Ice Cream, and Mountain Sweet. They 
 can be planted a little earlier than muskmelons, but 
 there is nothing gained by doing it before the land can be 
 put into the finest condition. A common mistake in plant- 
 ing melons and cucumbers is, to cover the seed too deep; 
 half an inch is quite deep enough for both muskmelons 
 and cucumbers. Watermelons, the seed of which is 
 much larger, can be deeper, but much depends on the 
 nature and condition of the soil. Many a hill of melon 
 seed is literally smothered by being covered with an inch 
 of damp soil which bakes on the surface, while two inches 
 of dry, mellow sandy soil would do no harm. 
 
 CITROIJr WATBRMELOIf. 
 
 This variety is grown exclusively for preserving. The 
 fruit is round, skin light, and dark-green, handsomely 
 striped and marbled; a few hills should be planted in 
 every garden. The cultivation is precisely the same as 
 for other melons. It is the smaller of the melons on 
 page 76. 
 
 MUSTAED. 
 
 For salad the cultivation of Mustard is the same as for 
 cress. Sow in rows wide enough 
 apart to admit the use of the hoe, 
 dropping two or three seeas to each 
 inch of row. For an early crop, se- 
 lect a warm, sandy soil, sow as early 
 as the soil is dry and mellow, cover 
 not more than one-quarter inch " 
 deep. In a week or ten days, sow another bed, and 
 continue to do so at intervals for a succession. The 
 
78 GARDENING FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 best variety for salad is the "White Mustard. As 
 a field crop this deserves attention; our climate is well 
 adapted to its cultivation. As a crop for plowing under 
 to enrich sandy soil, or to lighten and mellow a heavy 
 one, White Mustard could often be used with special 
 advantage. It can also be profitably grown for feeding 
 to sheep on the land, or for feeding green to cows, pigs, 
 and horses. A great crop can be grown for this purpose 
 on good, mellow land; but unless the land is mellow, it 
 is of no use to try it in our dry, hot climate. It may be 
 sown as late as the first of July, and still give a large crop 
 in September and October. It must be eaten before 
 frost. After a severe frost, it is only fit for plowing un- 
 der for a manure. 
 
 The better way is to sow about twenty pounds of seed 
 per acre, in rows twenty-one inches apart, or far enough 
 to admit the use of a horse-hoe. As soon as the plants 
 appear, run the cultivator between the rows, and con- 
 tinue to cultivate at intervals, until the plants are fairly 
 started. They grow slowly at first, but if the land is in 
 good condition, when they are once started, they grow 
 with great rapidity and will smother the weeds and leave 
 the land remarkably clean. 
 
 NASTURTIUM.— TEOP^OLUM. 
 
 In our dry, hot climate, the Nasturtium or Indian 
 Cress, can be grown with great ease and certainty. As the 
 plants are very tender, the slightest frost injuring them, 
 they should have a warm, dry soil, moderately rich, and 
 kept free from weeds. There are two varieties usually 
 grown, one of which is a climber, and will run up on a 
 pole or trellis for eight or ten feet. The other is a dwarf 
 variety, growing from one to two feet high. The latter 
 may be allowed to trail on the ground, or be furnished 
 
OKEA — OE GUMBO. 79 
 
 with a few short sticks. The nasturtium is grown for 
 both ornament and use. The flowers are very beautiful, 
 and the seed-pods are pickled and used as a substitute for 
 capers. A row of the dwarf kind, with a few short sticks 
 eighteen inches long, and stuck a foot apart, not on the 
 sides, but in the center of the row, is a charming addition 
 to any garden. 
 
 It is desirable to get the plants as early as possible, 
 but they are very tender, and if we sow early, we run the 
 risk of having them destroyed by frost; but we can well 
 afford to take the risk. Sow two rows. The seed is cheap. 
 Sow one row at the same time you plant corn. The seed 
 is large and may be coverad from one to two inches deep, 
 according to the nature of the soil. The earlier you 
 plant, and the heavier the soil the shallower should be 
 the seed. A good plan is,, to make a double row, just as 
 we sometimes do for peas. The rows may be about four 
 inches apart, with one stred to each two inches of row. 
 The sticks can be placed between these narrow rows. If 
 more than one of these double rows is needed, the large 
 climbing nasturtium should be planted in rows five feet 
 apart, but the dwarf may be planted in rows thirty inches 
 apart. The second planting, which should never be 
 neglected, may be made about the time we plant beans. 
 
 OKRA— OE GUMBO. 
 
 At the North it is desirable to raise Okra plants in a 
 hot-bed, or in a box in the house, and transplant them 
 to the garden about the middle of May. If the seed is 
 sown out of doors, select a loose, warm soil, with a 
 southern exposure. There are two varieties, the Dwarf 
 and Tall; the former is the best. Plant the dwarf kind 
 in rows thirty inches apart, and from eight to ten inches 
 in the row, or sufiiciently wide to admit the free use of 
 
80 GAEDENIKG POE YOUJifG AND OLD. 
 
 the hoe. The tall kind should be in rows three feet 
 apart, and the plants a foot in the row. After they are 
 well started, nothing is required except to keep the land 
 free from weeds. The principal use of okra is in soups. 
 The green pods are used for this purpose; they contain 
 much mucilage which thickens the soup, and imparts an 
 agreeable flavor. It is regarded as heathful and nu- 
 tritious. The ripe seeds roasted and ground have some- 
 times been used as a substitute for coffee. 
 
 ONIONS. 
 
 Great improvements have been made in the cultivation 
 of Onions, and still greater improvements are yet to be 
 made, especially in our methods of drilling in the seed 
 and hoeing, and weeding the crop. I have for several 
 years sown my onion seed in rows, from twenty-one to 
 twenty-five inches apart, and cultivated with a horse-hoe. 
 It is a great saving of labor, but many will object to the 
 plan, because they think they can get a much heavier 
 yield per acre when the seed is sown in closer rows, say 
 a foot apart. Such is probably the case. It is a question 
 of land versus labor. The improvement I want to see 
 made is, in having a drill which will sow four rows at a 
 time. It would be better, probably, to have the two cen- 
 ter rows twenty inches apart, and the other rows a foot 
 apart. This would give plenty of room for a quiet horse 
 to walk between the center rows. "We should have the 
 piece sown as follows: there would be one space twenty 
 inches wide, and then four rows a foot apart, each, and 
 then another wide space of twenty inches, and so on. 
 We must then have a cultivator or horse-hoe that would 
 go between these rows. It must be the exact size of the 
 drill, and provided with a steerage attachment which 
 would give us control of the hoes or cultivator teeth. If 
 
ONioiTS. 81 
 
 the drill was rigid, if there was any deyiation from a 
 straight line in any of the drills, there would be the same 
 deviation in all of them, and if we could avoid cutting 
 up the plants in one row, we should also avoid doing so 
 in the other three rows. Such a drill and cultivator 
 combined would be not only very useful for sowing and 
 cultivating onions, but for many other farm and garden 
 crops, such as turnips, beets, parsnips, carrots, etc. 
 
 Until we have such a machine, we must do the best 
 we can with the tools we now have. In fact, a farmer 
 who undertakes to raise onions for the first time as a field 
 crop, could hardly use such a machine as I have proposed, 
 he would require to have his land much cleaner and 
 smoother, and freer from stones than would likely to be 
 the case on any ordinary farm. Land for onions has to 
 be made to order. Onions do better on old onion land 
 than when they are raised on any ordinary soil for the 
 first time. Nearly all other crops do better in rotation, 
 than when grown year after year on the same land. It is 
 not clear why onions should be an exception. I think 
 chemistry and plant food have far less to do with it than 
 the mechanical state of the land. If a man or a boy would 
 bestow the necessary amount of labor in preparing and 
 enriching the land, I see no reason to doubt that he 
 could get just as good a crop the first year, as he could the 
 second, third, or tenth year; but no man will do it; per- 
 haps a boy may. There was some excuse for men in 
 years gone by — they had not the necessary tools. With 
 our modern implements we can place land in wonderfully 
 fine condition, at comparatively little expense, the first 
 year; but much of the work ought to be done in the 
 autumn. Suppose you try how rich, and mellow, you 
 can make an acre of land this fall. It does not make 
 very much difference how you do it. The first thing, 
 however, is to get off all the stones, and stumps, and 
 rubbish. If a harrow will do it any good, harrow it; if 
 
82 GAKDEKIl^G FOR TOUIW AKD OLD. 
 
 not, plow it, and then roll, and harrow, and roll again, 
 until every lump is broken that the harrow and roller 
 can reach; then plow again, and if you should turn under 
 twenty or thirty loads of well-rotted manure, so much the 
 better. A hundred loads to the acre will do no harm, 
 provided it is thoroughly mixed with the soil. In fact, 
 it is probably this intimate adpaixture of the manure with 
 the soil, that makes old onion land so much better than 
 new. "Work in, therefore, all the manure you can; you 
 can not put on too much, and you can not, at all events 
 you certainly will not, work it in too thoroughly. 
 
 If the land is properly prepared in the autumn, it is 
 not necessary or desirable to plow it again in the spring; 
 it might be gone over with a gang-plow or cultivator, or 
 if the soil is light, a good harrow will be sufficient. It is 
 very essential to get in the seed as soon as the frost is out 
 of the ground. In fact, the onions may be sown to ad- 
 vantage as soon as the first two or three inches are thawed 
 out and moderately dry, even though the sub-soil is still 
 a mass of frozen earth. Onions are quite hardy, and will 
 stand an ordinary frost without injury. 
 
 In sowing onions with a drill, it is very desirable to 
 have the tube, or coulter, which makes the drill row in 
 which the seed is deposited, as narrow as possible. It 
 was thought at one time better to scatter the seed in a 
 wide drill mark, but there is nothing to be gained by it, 
 and the wider it is, the greater space is there which we 
 can not reach with the hoe, and which we must weed 
 with the fingers. Our drill makers do not seem to 
 understand this, or instead of the rough cast-iron shank, 
 which many of them have hitherto furnished, they would 
 make a bright, sharp, narrow st^d. coulter, which would 
 not clog or make too wide a drill mark. 
 
 As soon as the rows can be traced, go through with a 
 hoe. It will do the onions good, even if there are no weeds. 
 Some people recommend going over the land with a steel 
 
OKIONS. 83 
 
 rake, but I have never yet had sufficient courage to rake 
 my crop of onions hard enough to kill the weeds. If you 
 do the work yourself, I think it is very likely that there 
 are times when a steel rake would destroy millions of 
 weeds without injuring the onions. On the whole, how- 
 ever, I think we had better depend on a sharp, bright 
 hoe, skillfully used on each side of the rows, pulling out 
 with the fingers any weeds that may be left in the row. 
 If you have a large crop, and there is danger that the 
 weeds may get the start of you, it is better not to stop to 
 pull out the weeds at the first hoeing; go through the 
 patch with a hoe, and then, when the whole piece is once 
 hoed, go over it again, hoeing and hand-weeding at the 
 same time. It is generally necessary to weed onions twice. 
 The only safe rule is, to hoe and weed as often as is 
 necessary to kill every weed, and even if there are no 
 weeds visible, it pays to run a cultivator or hoe between 
 the rows once a week until the onions are five or six inches 
 high. Success in raising onions depends largely on three 
 things: rich land, early sowing, and clean cultivation. 
 
 The best varieties are the Yellow Danvers, Early Eed 
 Globe, White Globe, and the Large Eed Wethersfield. 
 The Early Eed- Globe can be grown successfully where the 
 later varieties, like the Large Wethersfield, are apt to run 
 up to scallions. Scallions are the dread of the onion 
 grower. A scallion is an onion with a thick neck. In- 
 stead of forming a bulb early in the season, the top then 
 withering down, the onion keeps on growing, throwing 
 out a great mass of roots, forming a long, thick neck, 
 with a comparatively immature bulb. Sometimes scal- 
 lions are the result of poor seed. I do not mean seed that 
 will not grow, but that which is raised from late, imma- 
 ture onions, not good enough to send to market. But no 
 respectable seed-grower ever raises such seed, and we must 
 look for other causes to leani why onions so frequently 
 turn to scallions. Late sowing is the most frequent cause; 
 
84 GARDENING FOE, YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 neglecting to hoe and weed the crop when young, is an- 
 other cause, and possibly, poor land has something to do 
 with it. It is usual to sow five pounds of onion seed per 
 acre. But I am aware that this does not tell you how 
 thick you must sow the seed. I should set the drill to 
 drop about three seeds to each inch of row. It is far bet- 
 ter to have an onion crop too thick than too thin. In 
 hoeing and weeding, no matter how careful you may be, 
 more or less onions will be destroyed. 
 
 The market demand is not so much for large onions 
 as formerly. It is far better to have three moderate- 
 sized bulbs than one very large one, and the old practice 
 of thinning onions so as to leave only one bulb to each 
 three or four inches of row, is now abandoned by all ex- 
 perienced growers. Onions will grow in bunches, three, 
 four, or five in a bunch, and if the land is rich enough, 
 and the rows are sufiiciently wide apart, a dozen, fifteen, 
 or even twenty onions can be grown on each foot of row. 
 
 The Onion-maggot is sometimes quite troublesome. 
 It rarely troubles me, but one of my neighbors, who 
 raises large crops of onions on what was formerly a 
 Black-Ash swamp, and which is even still only partially 
 drained, occasionally suffers much loss. He thinks an 
 application of four hundred pounds of salt per acre, sown 
 broadcast early in the spring, will kill the maggot; per- 
 haps so, perhaps not. The salt, however, will do no 
 harm, and may otherwise do good, even if it does not 
 always kill the maggot. I have known Peruvian guano 
 to be used for the same purpose with decided advantage; 
 and so with superphosphate of lime, or any other good 
 fertilizer. Any thing which will promote rapid growth, 
 will lesson the chances of injury from maggots or loss 
 from scallions. 
 
 Perhaps a word should be said in regard to the best 
 land for onions. In point of fact there is no best land 
 for them; you must make the land. Onions will grow 
 
OHiOKS. 85 
 
 on all kinds of soil, ranging from the most spongy muck 
 to the heaviest clay. Probably the most profitable onion 
 ground would be a mucky swamp, with a never failing 
 stream running through it, with sufficient fall to afford 
 good drainage three feet deep. If such a swamp were 
 thoroughly subdued, drain-tiles laid two and a half to 
 three feet deep, every three or four rods, and then a dam 
 built across this stream, with a gate which could be ele- 
 vated or lowered at pleasure, the most magnificent crops 
 of onions could be grown every year, with comparatively 
 little labor. In the spring, the gate of course would be 
 lifted, and the under-drains, even though they had to 
 discharge into the swollen stream, would remove the 
 stagnant water, and leave the surface dry and firm, and 
 the onions could be sown as soon as we had a few fine 
 days in spring. When dry weather set in, and the crop 
 needed more moisture, shut down the gate, and as the 
 water rose in the stream it would flow back into the un- 
 der drains, and the dry, porous, mucky soil would suck 
 it up like a sponge, and the dryer and hotter the weather 
 the more rapidly would the onions grow. "We might 
 safely calculate on getting from such a soil an average 
 crop, year after year, of one thousand bushels per acre. 
 Onions will sell readily m the autumn, shipped direct 
 from the field, for seventy-five cents to one dollar per 
 bushel, and you can tell as well as I, whether it would 
 pay to make the improvement suggested. Onion land is 
 often rented on shares, the owner furnishing half the 
 seed, and half the manure, and the tenant doing all the 
 work, and giving the landowner half the crop. On such 
 a piece of land as I have described, the net profit to the 
 owner would average at least three hundred and sixty 
 dollars an acre, which is six per cent, interest on six 
 thousand dollars. 
 
86 GARDENING FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 ONION SETS. 
 
 Onion Sets, so called, are simply small onions. If a 
 small onion is set out in the fall or in the scoring, it will 
 grow and produce either one very large onion, or two or 
 three good sized ones. In the Southern States, and in 
 many sections of the South-west, it is not easy to grow 
 onions direct from the seed, or "black seed" as the 
 growers often call it, to distinguish it from the sets. 
 There onions are grown from sets, and there is a large 
 demand for these small onions or sets, the price ranging 
 from five dollars to ten dollars per bushel. The smaller 
 the onions, provided the bulbs are mature and well 
 formed, the more valuable they are, because a given 
 number will not only plant more land, but there is less 
 likelihood of their running up to seed. Onion sets are 
 grown in the same way as ordinary onions, except that 
 they are sown very much thicker. 
 
 Many people have an idea that the way to raise onion 
 sets is to sow the seed late in the spring, and to select 
 rather poor, sandy land. This is a mistake; they need 
 good, warm, dry and rich soil, and the earlier the seeds 
 are sown the better. In this section, the crop should be 
 ripe not later than the first of August. It is a good plan 
 to prepare the ground in the fall, as recommended for 
 onions; then in the spring, mark off the land into rows, 
 thirty inches apart, taking pains to make the rows 
 straight, then drill in six rows of seed from an inch and 
 a half to two inches apart alongside of the mark; set the 
 drill to drop five or six seeds in each inch of row, in each 
 of the six rows. In other words, when the set of rows is 
 sown, you should have from thirty to thn-ty-six seeds in 
 each lineal inch. The advantage of the plan is, that 
 you can nse the horse-hoe or cultivator between the wide 
 rows, and between the narrow rows a sharp pointed 
 onion-hoe can be used to break the crust, and kill the 
 
OKiOKS. 87 
 
 weeds; weeds which can not be reached with the hoe 
 should be pulled out by hand. It is absolutely essential 
 to keep the crop clean. The object is, to stimulate 
 growth on the one hand, and to produce early maturity 
 on the other, with a tendency to produce bulbs. We 
 wish to raise dwarf onions. We can not do this unless 
 eyery condition for the growth of the plant, except root 
 pruning and excessive crowding, is favorable. It is not 
 easy to keep onion sets during the winter, and in fact 
 the better way is to plant the sets in the fall. They will 
 stand the winter without injury, and give a larger crop. 
 If, however, you wish to keep the sets through the win- 
 ter, do not put them in a damp cellar, but in a dry loft, 
 which can be kept as near the freezing point as possible, 
 so as to prevent them from starting to grow. Freezing 
 will not injure them, provided you can keep them from 
 thawing until they are wanted in the spring. 
 
 EAISIHG ONIOK SEED. 
 
 It is a very important matter to have good seed, and I 
 recommend my young friends to select a few of their 
 choicest and best onions and set them out every fall for 
 seed. Onions for seed can be set in spring or autuma, 
 but the latter is the best time. And here I would like 
 to tell the boys an important discovery which I think I 
 have made, and which I am almost tempted to keep for 
 my own use and profit, as I think there is money in it. 
 I have for the last eighteen years been growing seed of 
 the Yellow Danvers variety. I selected the very best 
 bulbs from a large crop each year, and I succeeded in get- 
 ting a strain of the choicest seed. It produced the finest 
 onions, but I could get scarcely any seed. When I raised 
 the seed it was very valuable; but there was so little of it, 
 that it has sometimes cost me one hundred dollars per 
 pound. The onions were so good that they would not 
 
88 GARDENING POR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 produce seed. The discovery that I think I have made 
 is this : sow the seed in the spring in the usual way, ex- 
 cept that you sow it very thickly; the object being to 
 get small bulbs. Set these small onions out in the Ml, 
 and let them produce large onions, rejecting any that go 
 to seed at that time. The next fall, set out these large 
 onions for seed. The way we do this, is to make the 
 land very rich, thoroughly mixing the manure with the 
 soil and have it as clean and mellow as possible. Mark 
 off the land with a common corn-marker in rows forty- 
 two inches apart; set out the onions in these rows, four 
 or five inches apart, or so near that they will almost 
 touch each other in the row, press them down into the 
 mellow soil, and cover carefully with the hoe or plow. 
 If the plow is used, follow with a hoe so as to be sure 
 that every bulb is well covered to the depth of two or 
 three inches. The best time here to set out onions for 
 seed is about the first of October. Nothing more needs 
 to be done until spring, when the soil must be thoroughly 
 and repeatedly cultivated, and not a weed suffered to 
 grow. The seed is gathered by cutting off the heads into 
 baskets, and spreading them out on canvas to dry. 
 Thrash with a flail, and clean by running through a fan- 
 ning mill. 
 
 THE POTATO ONION". 
 
 The cultivation of Potato Onions is similar to that of 
 onion sets. The small potato onions are planted early in 
 spring, in rows fifteen inches apart, and four to five 
 inches distant in the row; keep the land clean, and that 
 is all there is to be done. Each small bulb will make a 
 large one. The next spring set out some of the large 
 bulbs that have been saved for the purpose, and each will 
 give a cluster of small ones to be planted the following 
 year. This is the usual routine, but generally a share of 
 
PARSLEY. 89 
 
 those planted will split up into several small ones in- 
 stead of making one large onion. 
 
 THE TOP, OR TREE ONIOiir. 
 
 When an ordinary onion is set out in autumn or in. 
 spring, it throws up a stalk with a large head of flowers, 
 followed by seed. A Top-onion grows in precisely the 
 same manner, but it throws up a stalk, on the top of 
 which, instead of seed, we have a bunch or cluster of 
 small onions. When these small bulbs are set out in the 
 fall or spring, they give us a crop of very early green 
 onions. The objection to the top onion is, that when 
 ripe it does not keep well, and should be used in the fall. 
 
 PARSLEY. 
 
 Parsley seed is very slow in germinating, and it is de- 
 sirable to sow it as early in the spring as possible. The 
 soil should be prepared in the fall, and the seed sown as 
 soon as the frost is out of the ground. Sow in rows fif- 
 teen inches apart, dropping three or four seeds to each 
 inch of row ; keep the ground hoed and entirely free from 
 weeds. Thin out the plants to two inches apart in the 
 row. There is a rapidly increasing demand for parsley, 
 not only for garnishing, but for flavoring soups, etc. The 
 best variety for the garden is the Extra Double- Curled. 
 In Europe, parsley is often sown with a mixture of grasses 
 and cloYer, as a pasture for sheep; for this purpose, the 
 common straight-leaved variety is the best. The seed is 
 cheaper and the yield larger. Sheep are very fond of 
 parsley, and it is supposed to give an agreeable flavor to 
 the mutton. Parsley is biennial; if sown this spring it 
 makes only leaves, but the next year it runs up to seed. 
 During the winter and spring, previous to its going to 
 
90 GAKDENING FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 seed, a small bed would afford an abundance. But if you 
 have no parsley at all in the garden, and wish a supply 
 early in the summer, a good plan is, to sow the seed in a 
 box in the house, in February, and transplant it to the 
 
 Fig. 14.— PAESLEY. 
 
 open ground as soon as the weather is suitable. It is a 
 hardy, vigorous plant, and grows rapidly when fairly 
 started, but is slow until the plants get firm hold of the 
 soil. 
 
 PAESNIR 
 
 Taking one year with another, there are few crops 
 which the farm-gardener can raise to greater advantage 
 and profit, in proportion to the labor required, than the 
 Parsnip. It is hardier than the carrot, can be sown earlier, 
 requires less weeding, yields quite as many or more bush- 
 els to the acre, and the roots, if we wish, can be left in 
 the soil all winter without injury. If desired, parsnips 
 can be sown in the fall; the only precaution necessary 
 being to put in about twice as much seed as you would 
 
PARSKIP. 91 
 
 in the spring, so that if any of the plants are killed by 
 the winter, there "will be enough left. The usual time of 
 sowing parsnips, and probably the best time, is about 
 that for planting Indian corn. There is nothing to be 
 gained by sowing before the land can be brought into the 
 very best possible condition. On my own farm, we 
 usually sow about the first of June, in rows twenty-one 
 inches apart, sowing about three seeds to each inch of 
 drill. It pays to sow thickly, as the plants come up better 
 and hold the weeds in check, and they can then be 
 thinned out with a sharp-pointed hoe to three inches 
 apart in the row, at the same time cutting out many of 
 the weeds. Keep the ground thoroughly cultivated and 
 hoed, and if the land is rich and well prepared, you can 
 hardly fail of getting a large crop. As before stated, 
 parsnips can be left in the ground all winter, and those 
 not required before spring are better if left out. Those 
 needed for use in winter and early spring, must be dug 
 in the fall and kept in the cellar, mixed with sand, or 
 what is better still, pitted in the field, or on some sandy 
 knoll near the house. 
 
 It quite often happens that parsnips will bring a 
 very high price in early spring, before the frost is out of 
 the ground, and those who have them in pits can sell at 
 a large profit. Last spring, I was offered seventy-five 
 cents a bushel for my entire crop. It is not at all a dif- 
 ficult matter to raise from six hundred to eight hundred 
 bushels to the acre. True, there are required good soil, 
 deeply and thoroughly worked, plenty of manure, early 
 sowing, good seed, and good cultivation. The best vari- 
 ety for deep, rich soils, is the Long White Dutch, and 
 for a somewhat shallower soil, the Hollow Crown. It is 
 very important to get good fresh seed, as that which is 
 more than one year old will nearly always fail to grow. 
 
92 GAEDEKING FOE YOUNG AN^D OLD. 
 
 TO EAISE PAESISTP SEED. 
 
 Where the crop of Parsnip seed is not injured by the 
 caterpillar {Depressaria cicutella), its production is easy 
 and profitable. But it is desirable to take more pains in 
 raising it than is sometimes given to the crop. The seed 
 should never be grown from plants which have been left 
 in the ground all winter, and suffered to throw up their 
 stalks where they stand, as it is impossible to tel-l which 
 are and which are not the best formed roots. The roots 
 should be taken up in autumn, and carefully selected, 
 rejecting all that show any disposition to fork or throw 
 out fangs. The smoothest^ handsomest, and best formed 
 roots only, should be selected for seed. Prepare the land 
 the previous autumn, plowing it not less than ten inches 
 deep, and working in a good coat of well-rotted manure, 
 not less than twenty tons per acre. The more thoroughly 
 the land can be worked the better; then, as early in the 
 spring as the soil and season will admit, mark out the 
 land in rows, forty-two inches apart, and with a good 
 plow throw out a deep, straight furrow. Set out the pars- 
 nips six to eight inches apart in the furrow, and, if neces- 
 sary, use a crowbar to make holes for them; then turn 
 the furrow back again upon the parsnips, finishing the 
 work with a hoe, taking care to pull the soil well up to 
 the crowns. If the soil is loose and mellow, it may be 
 half an inch or so deep on top of the roots. Nothing 
 more is required, except to keep the land well cultivated 
 and hoed, as long as you can get between the rows with 
 a horse. If any weeds are left, they must be pulled out 
 by hand, or cut off with the hoe. If the caterpillars ap- 
 pear, there is nothing to be done but to give them a 
 gentle pressure with the finger and thumb. If they bury 
 themselves in the umbels, do not wait to ascertain 
 whether the caterpillar is in the nest or not, give it the 
 benefit of the doubt. I have pinched many a nest with 
 
PEAS. 93 
 
 a good deal of satisfaction, and with much profit to the 
 crop of seed. 
 
 PEAS. 
 
 The market gardener, and in fact all the gardeners, 
 take great pains to get Peas as early as possible. For- 
 tunately the seed is very hardy and wiU germinate at a 
 low temperature, except some of the late and large vari- 
 eties, such as the Veitch's Perfection. In three seasons 
 out of four, the seed of these is apt to rot in the ground, 
 but the moderately sized, early varieties, which, unfor- 
 tunately are not, and I fear never can be, so sweet as the 
 large and later kinds, can be planted the moment the 
 frost is out of the ground. Last year I planted my peas 
 in February, and I do not think one in a hundred failed 
 to germinate. For early peas, therefore, it is necessary 
 to prepare the soil the autumn previous, taking just as 
 much pains as if you were going to sow the crop at that 
 time. I would even mark out the rows where the seeds 
 are to be sown; then in the spring, open a row, or drill, 
 two, or three inches wide with a hoe, about two inches 
 deep, and sow the peas, not more than half an inch apart, 
 or five or six peas to each lineal inch of this wide row. 
 Thick seeding is very desirable, not only for early peas, 
 but for nearly all early crops; the seeds in germinating 
 give out heat, and when thick in the row or bed, they 
 help to keep each other warm. 
 
 Early peas should be sown on the warmest and dryest 
 land, it does not make much difference whether it is light 
 or heavy, provided it is dry and can be readily worked 
 in the spring without afterwards baking. A sandy loam, 
 and from that to a light sand, is best, but whatever the 
 character of the soil, a good crop of very early peas can 
 not be grown unless it is rich. For a second early crop, 
 it is not necessary to take so much pains; still, the better 
 
94 
 
 GARDEKIKG FOR YOUN^G AND OLD. 
 
 the soil and the better the preparation, with a liberal 
 amount of manure, the more satisfactory will be the crop. 
 
 Sow as soon as the land 
 '"'^ '^ can be got in good 
 
 working condition; the 
 earlier the better. Peas, 
 as a rule, cannot be 
 sown too early. The 
 succession of crops 
 should be looked after, 
 by sowing varieties that 
 are early, second early, 
 medium and late, rath- 
 er than by the time of 
 sowing. In the garden 
 we usually sow all ex- 
 cept the dwarf varieties 
 in rows, three to four 
 feet apart, and stick 
 brush on each side of 
 the row for the peas to 
 climb upon. This is 
 done for the conven- 
 ience of picking, and 
 it may be that a larger 
 yield is obtained. 
 
 In raising them on a 
 large scale for picking 
 green for market, or for 
 the canning establish- 
 ments, peas are never 
 stuck or brushed. My 
 own plan is to drill in the seed in a double row 
 twenty-eight inches apart. We take a wheat drill 
 which has coulters or tubes, seven inches apart; the 
 two outside tubes we wire together, so that they are 
 
 Fig. 15. — GREEN PEA PODS. 
 
PEAS. 95 
 
 not more than two inches apart; the next three tubes 
 are drawn up and shut off so that they will not sow; 
 the next two tubes are wired together as before^ and 
 allowed to sow, and the next three tubes are shut off, and 
 the next two outside tubes are wired together and 
 allowed to sow. We thus sow three double rows at a 
 time, and we have a space of fully two feet between the 
 rows, in which we can use the cultivator or horse-hoe. 
 The plan works admirably. I like to sow the peas 
 thickly, and we set the drill so that, if all the tubes were 
 running, we should sow four bushels per acre, but as 
 there are twelve tubes in the drill, and we only sow with 
 six, we use but two bushels per acre. This is thick 
 enough, but it is not a bit too thick; I should prefer to sow 
 thicker than this, rather than thinner. To succeed in rais- 
 ing green peas for market in this way, we must not expect 
 a large crop on average farm land, with average farm treat- 
 ment. We want the dryest and best of land. It should be 
 free from stones and sticks, and in the very best mechan- 
 ical condition, with a liberal supply of manure. The soil 
 should be made ready the autumn previous, using only a 
 gang-plow or cultivator in the spring. The roller and 
 harrow should be used again and again, if necessary, 
 until every clod is broken, and the surface soil is as loose 
 and mellow as a garden. In fact, it is a garden, and we 
 are proposing to grow a very important and profitable 
 crop. 
 
 The best varieties for market are: the Extra Early 
 Kent, for the earliest crop; Kentish Invicta, for the 
 second early, and the Champion of England, or the White 
 Marrowfat, for the last crop. In quality. Champion of 
 England is by far the best variety. In the garden, for 
 home use, we have many varieties of great merit. For 
 the earliest crop, I know of nothing better than a good 
 strain of Extra Early Kent. It has a dozen or more 
 different names; the value of the alleged varieties de- 
 
96 GAEDENIlfG FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 pends oil the care with which they are selected for. seed. 
 They have a constant tendency to degenerate on the one 
 hand, or to improve on the other, and a skillful and ex- 
 perienced grower, by selecting the earliest peas and those 
 which are the most wrinkled, can very soon obtain a 
 strain of early peas which is certain to give satisfaction. 
 If, on the other hand, all the earliest pods are picked off 
 for your own table or for market, and those which are left 
 used for seed, you will soon have a strain of Early Kent 
 Peas that are no better than the Canada Creeper, or other 
 small, round, smooth, common field pea. Peas do not 
 mix, at any rate not readily or frequently, and a really 
 new variety is rarely found. Some valuable new kinds 
 have been obtained by artificial crossing. 
 
 Of late years, much attention has been paid to the in- 
 troduction of dwarf varieties of peas, such as Tom Thumb, 
 Little Gem, and the American Wonder. The advantages 
 of the dwarf kinds are, that they do not need sticks, and 
 two or three times as many rows can be sown on the land. 
 
 If, however, the only object of bushing is to lift up the 
 peas to a convenient hight for picking, we gain nothing 
 in this respect by sowing the dwarf kinds. It is quite as 
 tiresome to pick pods from dwarf peas as it is from un- 
 bushed Early Kent, or Champion of England. Dwarf 
 peas should not be sown in rows less than fifteen inches 
 apart. The land should be rich, and kept well hoed and 
 entirely free from weeds. Dwarf peas, if sown in close 
 rows and the weeds allowed to grow, will not give satis- 
 faction. Green peas, to be tender and sweet, must be 
 grown rapidly, and for this they must have the richest of 
 land, and the best of cultivation. It is quite an object 
 to get a crop of peas late in the season, when the main 
 crop is all gone. For this purpose, late varieties, such as 
 Champion of England or Marrowfats are sown late in the 
 spring. In three years out of four, however, these late 
 sown, late varieties, are apt to mildew. The better way 
 
PEPPEE — CAPSICUM. 
 
 97 
 
 is to sow the early varieties in June or July. In the 
 hands of a skillful and experienced gardener, peas are a 
 very profitable crop. The price varies considerably, 
 ranging from two dollars per bushel for the early, to fifty 
 cents per bushel later in the season. The latter price is 
 paid by the canning factories. It is a good plan to con- 
 tract with a canning establishment to take all the 
 peas after the price in market falls to seventy-five cents 
 per bushel. Taking the whole crop together, the returns 
 are quite satisfactory. It costs here fifteen cents per 
 bushel to pick the peas. 
 
 BrGGT PEAS. 
 
 The principal insect enemy of the pea is the Weevil 
 {Bruchus pisi). It is spreading very rapidly. Not long 
 ago, peas grown in the northern latitudes and in Canada, 
 were not injured by the Weevil. Now we get "buggy 
 peas " from many places formerly free from this pest. 
 There is nothing that we can do to 
 check or destroy the Weevil after it 
 is introduced. What we should all 
 aim to do is, never to sow buggy 
 peas. In time this would help us. 
 Do not buy seed peas from any seeds- 
 man unless he will warrant them 
 entirely free from bugs. 
 
 PEPPEE— CAPSICUM. 
 
 Pepper, or Capsicum, is a tender 
 plant. It does well in the Northern 
 States after the plants are fairly 
 started. Occasionally we can growFig.^m 
 them by sowing the seed in the 
 open ground, about the time we plant melons and 
 cucumbers; but, as a rule, it is better to start the plants 
 5 
 
 PEPPER.— LARGE 
 BELL OK BULL-NOSE. 
 
98 GAEDEISriNG FOE YOUNG AiSTD OLD. 
 
 in a hot-bed, or in a box in the house. When the ground 
 is thoroughly warm, and all danger of frosty nights is 
 passed, set them out carefully in the warmest, lightest, 
 and best soil you have. Plant in rows twenty-four to 
 thirty inches apart, and from twelve to fifteen inches 
 apart in the rows. Keep the ground clean and mellow 
 by the frequent use of the cultivator and hoe. The best 
 variety is the Bell, or Bull-nosed. It is extensively used 
 for pickling and for seasoning. Cayenne pepper, a 
 smaller-fruited variety, is cultivated in the same way. 
 
 POTATOES. 
 
 As a garden cr'^p, potatoes are seldom grown, except 
 for the early market or for home use in summer. The 
 later varieties are grown as a field crop. It often hap- 
 pens, however, that the gardener can plant potatoes on 
 land from which some early crop has been removed. A 
 very good crop can be grown here when planted as late 
 as from June 15th to July 4th; but for late plant- 
 ing, it is best to use the early varieties. For an early 
 crop, it will pay well to take considerable pains in pre- 
 paring and manuring the soil. The land should be 
 made ready the fall previous, and the moment the frost 
 is out of the ground, plant the potatoes in rows twenty- 
 four to thirty inches apart, and from ten to twelve inches 
 apart in the row. If the land is very rich, and you in- 
 tend to dig the potatoes as early as possible, thicker 
 planting will give a larger crop, say rows eighteen inches 
 apart, and the potatoes dropped eight inches apart in 
 the row. 
 
 I have been in the habit, every year, of planting pota- 
 toes the first moment the land could be worked, and it 
 has frequently happened that we had a very severe and 
 long-continued frost afterwards, but the potatoes were 
 
PUMPKIN^S. 99 
 
 never injured in the ground ; they always came up 
 strong and healthy. Occasionally we have a frosty night 
 in the spring which cuts down our early potatoes, but 
 those who plant moderately early are nearly as liable to 
 be caught as those who plant just as early as possible. 
 
 Potatoes can be readily transplanted, and we frequently 
 start a few hills in the hot-bed, and transplant them into 
 the open ground when the tops are four or five inches 
 high. By covering them with a hand-glass, or shading 
 them for a few days with a muslin-covered box, these 
 transplanted potatoes will give a very early crop. It 
 need hardly be said that potatoes should be well culti- 
 vated and kept entirely free from weeds. For the early 
 crops especially, the land must be very rich, and kept scru- 
 pulously clean and no bugs suffered to feed on the leaves. 
 
 The varieties are too numerous to mention, and every 
 year brings new candidates for popular favor. The best 
 early varieties that have been generally tried, . are the 
 Early Eose, and Early Vermont, which is so much like the 
 Early Eose that it is difficult to tell them apart. The 
 Beauty of Hebron is one of the newer varieties, early, pro- 
 ductive; it is of good quality, and promises to be very 
 desirable. Gardeners should stick to the well-tried sorts, 
 testing the newer varieties only on a small scale. 
 
 PUMPKIKS. 
 
 The common field pumpkin is usually grown as a sec- 
 ondary or stolen crop among com. Careful farmers, 
 however, who wish to cultivate their corn thoroughly, 
 are getting out of the habit of planting pumpkins with 
 the corn. They think it better to devote a piece of land 
 entirely to the crop. A large yield can be produced in 
 this way, and the pumpkins will be larger, sweeter, and 
 better ripened. The better varieties of pumpkins can sel- 
 dom be advantageously grown among corn. They should 
 
100 
 
 GAKDENING FOE YOUKG AND OLD. 
 
 be planted alone, and the rictier and the better the 
 soil, and the more thoroughly it is worked previous 
 to planting, the more profitable will be the crop. Plant 
 in rows from eight to ten feet apart, and three to four 
 feet apart in the rows, dropping eight or ten seeds in a 
 
 hill. Afterward pull out 
 all the "weak plants, and 
 those injured by the 
 Striped-bug or Squash- 
 bug, leaving three or 
 four good strong plants 
 in a hill. Keep the 
 land clean by the fre- 
 quent use of the culti- 
 vator and hoe as long as 
 you can get between the 
 rows of plants. The best 
 variety for planting in 
 the corn field is what is 
 known as the Connecti- 
 
 Fig. 17.— POSSTTM-NOSE PUMPKIN. 
 
 cut Field Pumpkin. For growing on land entirely devoted 
 to the crop, the best varieties are the Connecticut Field, 
 the Large Cheese, and the New Jersey Sweet Pumpkin. 
 The Possum-nose Pumpkin is a new variety, which I ob- 
 tained from the Hon. Horace Ankenny, of Ohio. It is 
 best grown on land entirely devoted to it, though in Ohio 
 and farther South it is grown among corn. It is very 
 productive, a rampant grower, of good size, and is of 
 good quality, but its greatest merit is, that it will 
 keep the year round. 
 
 EADISHES. 
 
 My own plan of raising radishes is, to prepare the land 
 carefully in the fall, working in a good dressing of well- 
 rotted manure. A light sandy loam is the best, but any 
 
RADISHES. 
 
 101 
 
 soil that is dry, mellow and rich, will produce good rad- 
 ishes in a favorable season. New soil, full of leaf -mould, 
 is particularly suitable for the crop. 
 
 Soil which has been well prepared in the fall we do not 
 plow again in the spring. It is simply cultivated or gang- 
 plowed, four or five inches deep, and repeatedly harrowed 
 and rolled, until not a lump remains. We usually sow four 
 hundred pounds of superphosphate of lime, broadcast, per 
 
 "Fig. 18. — EARLY RADISHES. 
 
 1. Scarlet Turnip. 2. Rose Olive-Shaped. 3. French Breakfast, i. Long White 
 
 Naples. 5. Long Scarlet Short Top. 
 
 acre. Set a line for the first row, and sow the seed in 
 shallow drills, twenty-one inches apart, dropping about 
 three seeds to each inch of row. As the radishes come 
 up quickly, no weeding, and very little hoeing will be re- 
 quired on clean, well-prepared land, but we riin the horse- 
 hoe repeatedly between the rows, commencing as soon as 
 they can be traced, and repeat the operation twice a week. 
 This thorough cultivation favors rapid growth, and with 
 
102 GAKDEKING FOE YOUJfG AND OLD. 
 
 the aid of superphosphate and rich soil, soon enahles the 
 plant to get out of reach of the little Black-heetle. 
 
 It is very important to get good seed, raised from 
 selected plants, for it is indeed exceedingly rare to buy 
 seed that does not produce from ten to thirty per cent of 
 poor, worthless radishes. Not unfrequently the crop is 
 so poor that one is forced to believe that the seed-grower 
 had drawn out all the good radishes for market, and al- 
 lowed all the poor ones to run up for seed. 
 
 The method of raising radishes, above described, is not 
 often practised by market gardeners. They think their 
 land IS too valuable, and they aim to grow them as a sec- 
 ondary crop. They sometimes sow the radish seed care- 
 fully and evenly, broadcast, on the asparagus bed, and 
 sometimes they sow the seed, broadcast, on land drilled 
 in with beets, or between the rows of early cabbages, but 
 in the ordinary farm -garden it is best to devote the en- 
 tire land to the crop. Sow the radish seed in rows, cul- 
 tivate thoroughly, and by the middle of June the crop 
 will be marketed, and tiie land can be plowed and used 
 for other crops, such as Swedes turuips, beets, cabbages, 
 etc. The best varieties of radish for home use, are the 
 liound Scarlet Turnip, New French Breakfast, and Eose 
 Olive-shaped, The White Turnip radish is similar to 
 the Red Turnip, except m color. For market the Long 
 Scarlet Short Top is one of the best varieties. 
 
 EAISIITG KADISH SEED. 
 
 As a rule, nearly all our radish seed is imported from 
 Europe. It is easily grown, and as large quantities of it 
 are annually required, it would pay any young man won- 
 derfully well to grow radish seed, and take special pains 
 to grow it only from the most perfect roots. The seed 
 should be sown in rows, from twenty-one to twenty-five 
 inches apart. The ground should be rich and clean. 
 
RADISHES. 103 
 
 Sow the best seed tbat can be obtained, early in the 
 spring, dropping two or three seeds to each inch of row. 
 Keep the ground thoroughly cultivated, and when the 
 plants grow large enough to show their character, thin 
 them, leaving only the handsomest and best roots. I know 
 this is easier said than done, but it is well worth all the 
 time and labor it will cost. It will be necessary to go 
 over the piece several times, as it is necessary to pull out 
 six or eight radishes for every one that is ultimately left. 
 If we leave two or three plants for every foot of row they 
 will b« quite thick enough. Nothing more is required, 
 except to kill the weeds, until the crop of seed is ready 
 to harvest. 
 
 When the pods begin to wither, the crop can be cut 
 with a sharp corn knife, or mown with a scythe, or better 
 still, it may be cut with a self-raking reaper, which throws 
 the stems into bundles from ten to fifteen feet apart. In 
 our dry, hot climate, the bundles can be allowed to care on 
 the ground, where they are left by the reaper, turning 
 them occasionally to prevent their moulding underneath. 
 When thoroughly dry, draw them into the barn and stow 
 them away on a scaffold, where the air can circulate through 
 them, and let them remain until winter, thrashing them 
 with a flail or thrashing machine during frosty weather. 
 
 A thrashing machine, which tears the pods to pieces, is 
 better than a flail. The seed is easily cleaned with a fan- 
 ning mill and the necessary sieves. The seed-grower 
 should confine himself to two or three of the best varie- 
 ties, and it is best for him to raise only one variety at a 
 time. The seed retains its vitality for three years or 
 more, and it is better to raise three acres of one variety 
 every third year than to raise one acre each of three va- 
 rieties every year. He will have just as much land in 
 radish seed every 3'ear, but he can manage the three acreis 
 of one variety m one piece, with far less labor than he 
 can raise an acre of each variety m three separate fields. 
 
104 
 
 GARDENING FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 WINTEK KADISHES. 
 
 Winter radishes are attracting considerable attention 
 of late. They are best sown in rows, twenty-one inches 
 apart, and cultivated with a horse-hoe. They are sown 
 from the middle of July to the first of September. Drop 
 the seed in the drill, three or four to each inch, and if 
 the weather is very dry, and the ground not in the very 
 
 Fig. 19. — ^WTNTER KABISHES. 
 
 6. Mannnotli White Winter. 7. Chinese White Winter. 8. Black Spanish Turnip. 
 
 9. Chinese Eose Winter. 
 
 best condition, I would sow five or six seeds to each inch 
 in hopes of securing a stand and escaping the ravages of 
 the Black-beetle. Cultivate as soon as the rows can be 
 distinguished, and hoe if necessary; when the plants be- 
 gin to crowd each other, thin out, so as to ultimately leave 
 them from three to four inches apart. The roots are pre- 
 served for winter use in barrels or boxes of sand m the 
 cellar, or they can be pitted in the garden, taking the 
 
KHUBAEB. 105 
 
 precaution to scatter among them not less than a bushel 
 of sand or dry earth to each two or three bushels of rad- 
 ishes. Cover with nine inches of straw and about six 
 inches of soil, and just before winter sets in, put on an- 
 other layer of straw and cover with six inches more of 
 soil, or enough to completely hide and cover all the 
 straw. 
 
 The leading varieties of winter radishes are the Chi- 
 nese White, the Chinese Rose, California Mammoth White, 
 and the Black Spanish. The latter is a very hardy va- 
 riety, somewhat harsh to ordinary tastes, but seems to be 
 highly relished by those who like it. The California Mam- 
 moth White is a larger and somewhat milder variety, and 
 would suit ordinary tastes better than the Black Spanish. 
 The seed is grown by setting out some of the best selected 
 roots in the spring, in rows two feet apart, and six inches 
 distant in the row; harvest and thrash the same as direct- 
 ed for summer radish. 
 
 EHUBAEB. 
 
 When raised from seed, Ehubarb is sown as early in 
 the spring as the ground can be properly worked. Pre- 
 pare the soil as directed for raising celery plants. Any 
 one who can raise these well, can raise good rhubarb 
 plants. If convenient, the seed may be sown in a box in 
 the house, or in a moderately warm hot-bed, and the 
 plants set out in rows twenty-one inches apart, and two 
 to three inches apart in the row, as soon as the weather 
 and soil will permit. The land can not be too rich, and 
 if it is not intended to use the horse-hoe between the 
 rows, they may be from twelve to fifteen inches apart, 
 and kept clean by the frequent use of the hoe. When 
 sown in the open ground, the plants need not be trans- 
 planted, but should be thinned out to three inches apart 
 
106 GAEDENING FOE YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 in the row. As in raising celery plants out of doors, it 
 is impossible to make the land too rich. I have worked 
 in well-rotted manure at the rate of one hundred two- 
 horse loads per acre, and it pays to do so. Few people 
 understand how much manure land will hold. An acre 
 of soil, ten inches deep, weighs about two million pounds; 
 if you work in one hundred tons of manure per acre, 
 there will be only one pound of manure to ten pounds of 
 soil; and you can put one hundred loads of manure on an 
 acre and work it so thoroughly that one could not tell, 
 without careful examination, that the land had been ma- 
 nured at all. That is the way to prepare land for raising 
 celery and rhubarb plants. On such land, if sown as 
 early as possible in the spring, and the plants carefully 
 hoed and kept entirely free from weeds, the plants will 
 be large enough to set out in their permanent bed the fol- 
 lowing spring. 
 
 Ehubarb is more generally propagated by a division 
 of the roots, than from the seeds. When propagated 
 from the roots, divide up the old root so as to leave one 
 bud or crown on each piece. The roots can be set out 
 in the permanent bed either in autumn or early in spring; 
 the fall perhaps is the preferable time, especially in the 
 Southern States. If the permanent bed is made from 
 plants raised from seed, the spring is the better time. 
 Whether made from roots or seedling plants, the perma- 
 nent bed cannot be made too rich. A hundred loads of 
 manure per acre, is none too much, and the soil should 
 be thoroughly worked to a depth not less than ten inches. 
 Set out the roots or plants in rows four feet apart each 
 way; this will require two thousand seven hundred and 
 twenty-one per acre. Make the rows straight, and set 
 out the roots so that the crown is two or three inches be- 
 low the surface. The first year no stalks should be 
 pulled, keeping the ground thoroughly cultivated and 
 free from weeds. A row of radishes might be sown between 
 
SALSIFY. 107 
 
 the rows of rhubarb, or cabbage plants, or lettuce set there, 
 but it is better to let the rhubarb have the whole ground 
 the first year and certainly afterwards. Some varieties of 
 rhubarb have a disposition to throw up numerous seed 
 stalks; these should be cut off as they appear, as they ab- 
 sorb much of the sap which should be used for the 
 rapid growth of the edible stalks. The varieties of rhu- 
 barb generally grown in this country, are Linnaeus, 
 which is of good size, good quality, and early, the 
 Victoria, which is larger and later, and of excellent qual- 
 ity. The Gaboon's Seedling is a late and very large va- 
 riety, which was extensively sold some years ago, under 
 the deceptive name of "Wine Plant." 
 
 SALSIFY. 
 
 Salsify, often called Vegetable Oyster, is rarely grown 
 to perfection. When well grown and properly cooked, 
 it is a healthful and delicious vegetable, and deserves to be 
 much more generally and extensively cultivated. The cul- 
 tivation of salsify is precisely the same as for parsnips. It 
 is important to get good seed grown from carefully selected 
 roots. The seed can be sown as early in the spring as the 
 ground is in good working condition, and I have sown it as 
 late as the first week in June with excellent results. As a 
 rule, however, it is desirable to sow it early. The land 
 should be prepared in the autumn, and it can not be 
 made too deep, or too rich, and mellow. It will do well 
 on a great variety of soils. I have had a fine crop on a 
 well worked, heavily manured clay, but as a rule it is 
 better to sow it on a sandy loam, heavily manured the 
 fall previous or early in the spring. I sow in rows, 
 twenty inches apart. The seed is long and slim, and few 
 drills will sow it evenly without wasting the seed, and as 
 that is quite expensive, it is better to sow it by hand, 
 
108 GARDENING FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 dropping about two seeds to an inch, of row, and covering 
 half an inch deep; if the weather is dry, and the soil very- 
 light, it may be covered an inch or an inch and a half, 
 and in dry weather it is desirable to roll the soil after 
 sowing. As soon as the plants appear, hoe lightly on 
 each side of the row, and a few days later, run the horse- 
 hoe or cultivator between the rows; suffer not a weed to 
 grow, and ultimately thin out the plants, leaving them 
 from four to six inches apart. As usually grown, the 
 roots are quite small, because the plants are left too thick 
 in the row. Grown as I have recommended, the crop 
 requires considerable land, but the roots will be so large 
 and fine, as to command an extra price, and much more 
 than pay the extra cost of the land. Salsify is a good 
 crop for the field-garden, where land is comparatively 
 cheap. The roots bring the highest price in spring. 
 Like parsnips, salsify can be left in the ground all winter; 
 but at least a portion should be dug in the fall, and kept 
 in pits or in the cellar, as recommended for parsnips. 
 The seed can be grown as recommended for parsnips, 
 though the roots may be left thicker in the row, as the 
 stalks do not grow more than three feet high. It is well 
 to have the rows forty-two inches apart for convenience 
 in gathering. The seeds do not all mature at the same 
 time, and it is usual to go over the piece two or three 
 times and cut off the heads of seed as soon as they turn 
 brown. There is but one variety of salsify. "We must 
 look to careful selection of roots to give us a good strain. 
 There is an abundant opportunity for improvement in 
 this direction, and I hope some of the boys will give us 
 an improved salsify— not in name, but in reality. It can 
 easily be done, by continued selection of the very best 
 and handsomest roots for seed, rigorously rejecting all 
 that are not perfect. 
 
SEA KALE. 109 
 
 SEA KALE. 
 
 Sea Kale is a most delicious yegetable, which sooner or 
 later will certainly be extensively cultivated in this coun- 
 try. It belongs to the same family as the cabbage. Its 
 shoots only are eaten, and that only after being forced or 
 blanched. It is a good deal of work to produce sea kale 
 in perfection, but when properly grown, it is as tender as 
 asparagus and as mild as cauliflower. Our climate is 
 well adapted for its production in abundance, and of the 
 choicest quality. When grown from seed, mark out the 
 bed into rows three feet apart, then run a fifteen or 
 eighteen-inch marker across the rows, and put a dozen 
 seeds where the lines cross, and cover half an inch deep. 
 When the plants appear, hoe, weed, and thin, leaving 
 three or four plants in each hill. 
 
 Sea Kale is a perennial plant, and when the bed is 
 once made, it will last for many years. It is propagated 
 from the roots as well as from seed, and where those can 
 be obtained, a year's time can be saved. When propa- 
 gated from the roots of old plants, it is usual to cut 
 these into lengths of two or three inches. In early 
 spring, place the pieces in a box in the house or in the 
 hot-bed, covering them very lightly with damp moss or 
 light mould. As soon as they start to grow, and the 
 weather is suitable, set out in a bed eighteen by thirty- 
 six inches apart. No crop will be produced the first 
 year, but the second year a few shoots can be removed 
 without weakening the plants; the third year they will 
 produce a full crop. The plant needs protection during 
 the winter. A good plan is, to cover the bed or plants 
 with leaves or manure or leaf -mould ; this will protect the 
 plants, and the shoots, as they push through this cover- 
 ing, will be blanched and be ready for use. If the 
 plants are very vigorous, a greater depth of covering or 
 blanching material will be needed. 
 
110 GARDENING FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 SPINACH. 
 
 Spinacli is an important crop in the garden, whether 
 grown for home use or for market. It is of most vakie 
 early in the spring, and for this purpose must be sown 
 the autumn previous, on the richest and best land. You 
 can not work the soil too thoroughly. The seed should 
 be sown in rows from twelve to twenty-one inches apart, 
 the latter distance if a horse-hoe is to be used in culti- 
 vating it. In this section we sow about the first of Sep- 
 tember, and as the ground is apt to be very dry, a good 
 deal of work is sometimes required to break up all the 
 clods and get the soil fine and mellow; but stick to it 
 until the object is accomplished. By bestowing labor 
 enough, you can get the soil into good condition. Do 
 not wait for a rain to help you. Eain will not do much 
 good on the hard, unbroken, or cloddy soil ; but break 
 up the land, crush the lumps, pulverize the soil, and 
 then even a slight shower will penetrate this fine soil, 
 and make it moist enough to start the seed. Sow the 
 seed pretty thick, say three seeds to each inch of row; 
 this IS ten times as many as are necessary, but it is very 
 desirable to have plants enough. Certainly it is very un- 
 desirable and annoying to have any gaps in the row. As 
 soon as the plants appear, hoe or cultivate between the 
 rows — the more frequently, the better. When the plants 
 are fairly started, thin Out, leaving them only four or 
 five inches apart in the row. If desired, the plants may 
 be thinned out with a sharp-pointed onion hoe from one 
 to two inches apart. When large enough, half the re- 
 maming plants may be cut out for use in the fall, or just 
 before winter sets in, at which time, and during the 
 winter, spinach often brings a high price. 
 
 N. B. — As I said before, you can not make the land 
 too rich for spinach. It is very desirable to work into 
 
SPINACH. Ill 
 
 the surface soil twenty or thirty loads of manure per 
 acre. I would work it into the soil not more than four 
 inches deep; but recollect it must be worked in and com- 
 pletely broken up, and so mixed with the soil that you 
 would hardly know, except from the loose, mellow ap- 
 pearance of the land, that any manure had been applied. 
 
 Many fail in their first efforts to grow spinach in the 
 autumn for use in spring. The reason is, they do not 
 take sufficient pains in preparing and mellowing the 
 land; they do not work in suffi^cient 
 manure; they do not sow early 
 enough; they do not sow seed 
 enough; or, if the weather is dry, 
 they do not roll the soil, or press 
 it down hard enough after the seed 
 is sown. In this section, just be- ^^^- ^o.-spinach. 
 fore winter sets in, it is generally desirable to scatter 
 a thin layer of straw or horse litter over the plants, 
 say three inches thick, as a protection. It is not always 
 necessary, but will do no harm, and in some seasons 
 may prevent loss. 
 
 For summer use, spinach is sown in rows a foot apart, 
 early in the spring, and again every two weeks for a suc- 
 cession. In warm weather it soon runs up to seed, and 
 as we have, or may have, an abundance of other green 
 vegetables, it is not worth while to sow spinach largely 
 in the spring. Still, every garden should have a few 
 rows or a small bed of it. There are two varieties com- 
 monly cultivated, the Prickly-seeded or Winter, and the 
 Eound-seeded or Summer. One is just as good as the 
 other, either for spring or winter, and the Prickly or 
 Winter variety should be dropped. The Eound or Sum- 
 mer will stand the winter just as well as the Prickly, and 
 some prefer it, thinking it is more easily sown with the 
 drill. If sown as thickly as it ought to be sown, a good 
 drill will sow either kind evenly and well. 
 
113 GAKDEJSriNG FOE TOUl^G AKD OLD. 
 
 SQUi.SH.— SUMMEE. 
 
 For summer use, nearly all the varieties of Squasli gen- 
 erally cultivated are of the bush or dwarf kind. They 
 take up far less room in the garden than the running 
 varieties. The cultivation of the bush squash is exceed- 
 ingly simple; it requires good, but not excessively rich, 
 land, and the seed should not be sown until the soil is 
 quite warm and all danger of frost is passed. 
 
 In my own garden I drill in the Summer squash in 
 rows three feet apart, dropping a seed to each two or 
 three inches of row, and when the plants begin to crowd 
 each other, I thin out the weakest, and leave the strongest 
 
 Fi^. 21.— EAELT CEOOKNBCK. 
 
 and those least riddled by the Striped-bug. One good 
 plant to each eight or ten inches of row is thick enough. 
 Generally, however, summer squashes are planted in hills 
 three feet one way and two feet apart in the row. Put a 
 dozen seeds in each hill, and ultimately leave only three 
 of the strongest plants in the hill. Keep the ground well 
 cultivated and hoed, pulling up a little fresh soil towards 
 the plants to smother any small weeds that can not be 
 reached with the hoe. A tablespoonful of superphos- 
 phate, well mixed with the soil in each hill before plant- 
 ing the seed, stimulates the growth of the vines, and, 
 what is still more important, it favors the early maturity 
 of the fruit. 
 
 When grown extensively for market in the field-garden, 
 prepare the land in the very best manner. A light, warm. 
 
SQUASH— WIKTEE. 113 
 
 sandy soil is best, but the squash will do well on heavier 
 soil, provided it is dry and thoroughly worked until it is 
 fine and mellow. It is seldom that such soil is worked 
 sufficiently. Comparatively few farmers have learned 
 how important it is to reduce soil to the finest and mel- 
 lowest tilth. In the field, I would 
 mark off the rows forty-two inches 
 apart, and drill in the seed. I 
 think this is better than planting 
 in hills, but would plant in hills 
 if more convenient. All that 
 needs to be done is, to keep the 
 land thoroughly cultivated with pi^, 22. 
 
 a . horse-hoe between the rows, eaklt bush scollop. 
 and thin out the plants in the row as previously directed. 
 The best varieties of summer squash are : the Early 
 Bush Orooknecked and the Early Bush Scollop. 
 
 SQUASH.— WINTEE. 
 
 Winter squashes have running vines, and require richer 
 land and more space than the bush varieties. They are 
 an important crop in the field-garden. The market gar- 
 deners on high-priced land, near large cities, can rarely 
 afford to raise winter squashes largely. They should be 
 grown on well-prepared farm land. The fruit has not to 
 be marketed from day to day, like summer squashes, but, 
 like cabbages, parsnips, carrots, and potatoes, can be sent 
 in large quantities at once to near or distant markets. 
 
 Many farmers who try to raise squashes fail to realize 
 their expectations, simply because they do not prepare 
 the land with sufficient care, or manure highly enough. 
 If the land is not in the very best condition, the plants 
 do not grow with the necessary vigor, and soon fall a 
 prey to the remorseless Squash-bug. 
 
114 
 
 GAKDENIiirG FOE YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 Light, sandy land is best for squashes, but it should be 
 manured either directly for the crop or for the one pre- 
 ceding it; in the latter ease, it is desirable to manure 
 again in the hill, thoroughly mixing the manure with the 
 soil where the hill is to be, for a space not less than two 
 or three square feet. Two tablespoonfuls of superphos- 
 phate to each hill, well mixed with the soil, in addition 
 to the manure, will prove yery beneficial. Plant the 
 
 Fig. 23.— HUBBAED. 
 
 Fig. 24.— MAT?BTEHEA1>. 
 
 squashes in rows ten feet apart, and four feet apart in the 
 rows. Plant eight or ten seeds in each hill, and cover 
 from one to two inches deep, according to the nature of 
 the soil. If the weather is dry and the soil very light, 
 cover from two to three inches deep, and make the soil all 
 about the hill firm and smooth, with the back of the hoe. 
 As soon as the plants begin to crack the soil, dust a little 
 plaster over them, and in two or three days go over 
 
SQUASH — WINTEE. 115 
 
 the piece again, early in the morning, while the dew is on, 
 and dust on more plaster, doing the work carefully and 
 thoroughly. The plaster is a good fertilizer for the 
 vines and helps to keep off the bugs. 
 
 All we have to do after this, is to fight the weeds and 
 the bugs. Not a weed should be suffered to grow. Ex- 
 amine the plants frequently and crush all the eggs you 
 see on the leaves, and, as the plants begin to crowd each 
 other, pinch off the weakest and those most injured by 
 the bugs. If you can ultimately secure two good, strong, 
 vigorous plants in each hill, and the land is thoroughly 
 cultivated and free from weeds, you are almost certain of 
 a large and profitable crop. 
 
 The best varieties for late fall and winter use are the 
 Marblehead and Hubbard. When well grown from true 
 seed, both are so good that it is not easy to tell which is 
 the better. The Marblehead is quite as large as the Hub- 
 bard, the shell is a little harder and smoother; the flesh 
 is a somewhat lighter colored, but equally dry, sweet, 
 and fine flavored. The Hubbard is the more popular 
 market variety. 
 
 SAVING SQUASH SEED. 
 
 No one should attempt to grow Squashes for seed un- 
 less he can keep the variety completely isolated. Where 
 this can be done, the business is quite profitable — or at 
 any rate it would be, as soon as the seedsmen and squash- 
 growers became cognizant of the fact that your seed 
 can be depended on as true to name. The main point 
 is, to secure stock seed. I mean by this, seed that has 
 been carefully bred for several generations. A seedsman 
 who has such seed will not sell it, he will keep it for the 
 exclusive purpose of raising seed. 
 
116 GAEDEIsriJSrG FOR -XOUXG AKD OLD. 
 
 SWEET POTATOES. 
 
 Sweet Potatoes are essentially a southern crop, and 
 their cultivation in the Southern States is an easy and 
 simple matter. At the North, good crops can be grown, 
 but it is necessary to raise the plants in a greenhouse or 
 hot-bed. Market gardeners, who grow the plants for 
 sale, as they do tomato plants, find the business quite 
 profitable, as there is a yearly increasing demand for the 
 plants, which are often sent long distances by express. 
 The plants are easily grown in the hot-bed, the chief dif- 
 ficulty being to preserve the potatoes intended for seed 
 through the winter. They cannot be kept in a cool, 
 damp cellar, like common potatoes. They should be 
 kept in a dry room, where the thermometer never gets 
 below forty degrees or above sixty. In this section we 
 place the potatoes in the hot-bed, from the middle to 
 the end of April — the cooler the bed the earlier we plant. 
 Cut the roots lengthwise and place the cut side on the 
 loose soil or sand in the hot-bed, and cover with sand or 
 mould, two inches thick. As the shoots grow, more 
 sand may be added, until it reaches the height of four or 
 five inches above the potatoes. The shoots or young 
 plants can be removed and set out in another hot-bed, as 
 the potatoes will continue to throw up new shoots. In 
 this way a large number of plants can be obtained from 
 each. Of course, it is necessary to attend to ventilating 
 and watering the hot-bed. The hotter the bed, and the 
 brighter the sun, the more water will be needed. In no 
 case must the bed be allowed to get dry. It is also neces- 
 sary to guard against chilling the plants by saturating the 
 bed with cold water. Sweet potato plants are set out in 
 the open ground from the first of June to the first of 
 July. A warm, sandy soil is best. It is not necessary to 
 have the land excessively rich, or the quality of the po- 
 
TOMATOES. 317 
 
 tatoes may be injured. It is very important, however, to 
 make the ground as m3llo"w and loose as possible, and to 
 keep the plants entirely free from weeds. Plant in rows 
 forty-two inches apart and twenty-four inches apart in 
 the row. Or plant in hills, three feet apart each way. 
 A tablespoonful of superphosphate to each hill, mixed 
 with the soil at the time the potato plants are set out, will 
 favor the ripening of the crop, and improve the quality, 
 The cultivation is similar to that required for the com- 
 mon, or as the southerners call it, the "Irish" potato. 
 In damp, growing weather, the vines lying on the ground 
 throw out roots, and it is best to check this tendency by 
 occasionally moving the vines. If you keep working 
 about the vines as much as is desirable with the hoe to 
 destroy weeds, and give the plants a little fresh soil, 
 nothing more will usually be required. 
 
 The variety generally cultivated at the North is the 
 Nansemond. 
 
 TOMATOES. 
 
 For home use people generally depend on buying To- 
 mato plants rather than to be at the trouble of raising 
 them themselves. So far as this single crop is con- 
 cerned, the plan is a good one, but there are plants 
 which are all the better for being started in a hot- 
 bed or in boxes in the house, and the more of these 
 things you have to attend to, the less likely will you be 
 to neglect them. I would, therefore, recommend all 
 young gardeners to raise their own tomato plants. 
 And all the more so because, should they fail, they 
 can readily buy plants. If they succeed in raising the 
 plants, all the better. If they fail, none the worse. 
 You can raise far better plants than are generally to be 
 found in the market. 
 
118 GARDENING FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 One box such as I have described, and which will fit 
 into the window, will start all the tomato plants likely to 
 be wanted for home use. Here we usually sow the seed 
 the last of March or the first of April. "We sow them in 
 rows about an inch apart, and put three or four seeds to 
 an inch of row, cover a quarter of an inch deep with a 
 a mixture of sand and sifted moss, or moss alone. Keep 
 the soil moderately moist, but be careful not to get it 
 too wet. If, at the time of sowing, you saturate the soil 
 with warm water, as good a rule as any I can give in re- 
 gard to the amount of water afterwards required, is never 
 to let the surface soil get dry. If you keep the surface 
 soil or moss on top of the seed so moist that it will ad- 
 here together, that will be sufficient. Until the plants 
 grow, very little water will be required, but that little 
 should be given every day. It should be milk warm, or 
 about as warm as your hand, and be sprinkled on with a 
 fine rose. If any weeds appear, pull them out. And as 
 soon as the plants begin to crowd, some of them should 
 be removed into another box. As soon as the plants 
 begin to crowd, transplant them again into a spent hot- 
 bed or cold frame, covered with glass or muslin. There 
 they can remain until the soil and weather will allow 
 of their being set out in the garden. 
 
 If you have pots it is a great advantage to set a to- 
 mato plant in a three or four-inch pot and plunge the 
 pots in the soil of a moderately warm hot-bed. If the 
 plants get too large before the ground is ready for 
 them in the garden, transfer them, soil and all, to a 
 pot of larger size, and throw fresh soil into the pot to fill 
 the space. Press the soil in firm, and put in enough to 
 fill the pot, the roots will soon fill it, and you will 
 have strong, healthy, stocky plants, each one of which is 
 worth a dozen of the lank, crowded plants sometimes 
 offered for sale. 
 
 The preparation of the soil in the garden for tomato 
 
TOMATOES. 119 
 
 plants needs careful attention. It does not need to be 
 specially rich, but it must be made as fine and mellow as 
 the most thorough working with the plow or spade and 
 hoe and rake can secure. The soil should neyer be 
 worked when wet. The dryer it is the lighter you can 
 make it, and the lighter it is the warmer and better Avill 
 it be for tomatoes. In setting out the tomato plants be 
 yery careful to press this dry, light soil firmly round 
 their roots. If the plants are in pots, transplanting is 
 a safe and easy matter, though an important one. Be- 
 fore transplanting saturate the soil in the pots with water, 
 nearly milk warm. The best way to do this is to place 
 the pots containing the tomatoes in a wash-tub or shallow 
 box, containing water enough to nearly cover them. Let 
 them remain in the water at least four or five minutes, 
 then remove them and let them drain for an hour or so, 
 or until you are ready to set them out. 
 
 Plant in rows four feet apart, and not less than two 
 feet apart in the rows. Set a line (and be sure you do 
 not forget this), as crooked rows should never be toler- 
 ated in the garden; make holes with a hoe where the plants 
 are to be set, and if you work into the soil about a table- 
 spoonful of superphosphate it will be very beneficial. 
 Then, every thing being ready, place your two fingers on 
 each side of the plant, reverse the pot so that the plant 
 will hang down and strike the edge of the pot on any 
 hard substance which happens to be handy, say the top 
 of a spade, or the side of the wheelbarrow, or the top of 
 the wooden pail containing the superphosphate. Set the 
 plant, with the ball of moist earth, undisturbed, into 
 the hole, so deep that the surface of the soil will be fully 
 up to the first leaves of the plant, pull the soil to, and 
 press it firmly around the roots of the plant with the 
 hands, and the work is done. And if well done, you 
 have every reason to expect a grand crop of tomatoes. 
 Do not waste your time in watering the plants, it is un- 
 
120 GARDENING FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 necessary and useless; the moist soil "wliich was around 
 the roots when taken out of the pot, will furnish all the 
 moisture needed. In setting out tomato plants from a 
 box or hot-bed, the soil should be prepared as before di- 
 rected. The plants in the boxes or hot-bed should have 
 the soil thoroughly saturated with warm water. I mean 
 by that, you should put on as much water as the soil will 
 hold. And recollect that soil will hold a great deal more 
 water than most people would suppose. A good garden 
 soil will hold from fifty to seventy-five per cent, of its 
 weight of water. Such soil or mould as we use in the 
 hot-bed, or for potting plants, will hold its own weight 
 of water; in other words, if you have a pot containing 
 two pounds of saturated mould, one pound of it will be 
 water. I mention this to show that Avhen you undertake 
 to water a sash full of tomato plants in the hot-bed be- 
 fore transplanting them, it will take a good deal of water, 
 and you will be very apt to get tired before you have put 
 on all that the soil will hold. There is no danger of put- 
 ting on too much, for after the earth is saturated it will 
 hold no more, but the excess will soak into the manure 
 below. The better way is, to do the work of watering 
 the night before you intend to set out the plants. While 
 the plants are growing, water should always be applied 
 through a rose, but now that you intend to remove them 
 from the hot-bed, this is not necessary; it will facilitate 
 the work if you will take a small garden fork and break 
 up the soil between the rows of plants; you can then take 
 off the rose from the watering pot, and pour on the water 
 a? fast as the soil will absorb it. Next morning break up 
 the soil again with the fork, and take up each plant by 
 putting your fingers on both sides of it and squeezing a 
 ball of the loose, wet soil, around the roots. On no ac- 
 count pull up the plants, as this will break off many of 
 the fine roots. Set out the plants, with this ball of moist 
 earth around the roots, down to the first leaves, and 
 
TOMATOES. 
 
 121 
 
 press the soil firmly around the ball of moist earth. It 
 ought not to be necessary to water the plants after set- 
 ting out, but if the sun is very hot, a piece of newspaper. 
 
 • en? 
 
 fo to 
 at 
 
 a 
 
 
 e2 a 
 
 
 
 a foot or eighteen inches square, may be placed over each 
 plant; this will shade them and clieck the evaporation of 
 water from the leaves. The plants will in any case be 
 apt to wilt a little, but this will not hurt them. 
 6 
 
122 GAEDENING FOR YOUiirG AND OLD. 
 
 The after-cultivation of tomatoes is usually of the 
 simplest kind. I say usually, because sometimes, in the 
 garden, tomatoes are trained to a trellis two and one- 
 half or three feet high. By a little judicious training 
 and pruning, they are quite ornamental, and produce 
 very fine fruit. But in our dry climate, tomatoes are 
 seldom injured by allowing the vines to trail on the 
 ground; and after setting out the plants, all that the 
 tomato-grower need do is to keep the ground well stir- 
 red up and clean, by the frequent use of the cultivator 
 and hoe. 
 
 Tomatoes are now largely grown for the canning estab- 
 lishments. The profit of the crop, however, depends 
 on our ability to get early fruit and market it for con- 
 sumption, while it brings the highest price. Early in 
 the season you can generally get a dollar a basket for 
 the first tomatoes, while, as the season advances and the 
 crop becomes more abundant, the price falls to sixty, fifty, 
 or forty cents per bushel, and sometimes in September, 
 they are sold for ten cents per basket. A basket of to- 
 matoes weighs about thirty pounds, or sixty-six baskets to 
 the ton. The canning establishments pay from eight to 
 fifteen dollars per ton, or at the rate of from twelve and 
 one-half to twenty-three cents per basket. If the whole 
 crop was sold to the canning establishments, the profit 
 would be very moderate; but taken in connection with the 
 high price obtained for the early fruit, twenty cents per 
 basket does very well, and is more profitable than ordi- 
 nary farm crops. But in this, as in all other crops, a 
 great deal depends on securing a large yield per acre. 
 This depends on the length of the season and the power 
 of the sun to ripen the fruit. If the land is rich and 
 is kept well cultivated, and entirely free from weeds, a 
 hot, dry season is favorable. Sixteen tons per acre, or 
 one thousand baskets may be considered a maximum crop. 
 
 The best varieties for the general crop, are Hathaway's 
 
TOMATOES. 123 
 
 Excelsior, Acme, Trophy, and General Grant. The 
 earliest variety is the Hubbard Curled Leaf, but it should 
 be planted only to a limited extent, as it is small and not 
 of the best quality. It is only good until we can get 
 something better. In the cool summer of 1882, when 
 many of the later varieties failed to ripen, we had an 
 excellent crop from Hubbard Curled Leaf. I never 
 knew it do so well or produce such an abundant crop of 
 fine fruit before. The Early Smooth Eed is still a favor- 
 ite in many sections. Persian Yellow is a large tomato 
 of a creamy yellow color. The Eed Cherry is a small 
 variety grown for pickling and preserving. 
 
 TOMATOES FOR SEED. , 
 
 It is not an easy matter to get really good, well-bred 
 tomato seed, and I would advise some of my young friends 
 to make a speciality of growing it. The entire crop 
 should be devoted to the one object of growing the 
 choicest and best seed, and that only. It will not do to 
 market or eat the earliest and best fruit, and then save 
 the seed from what is left. Every plant that does not 
 prove true to kind, should be remorselessly and promptly 
 pulled up and thrown away; by continuing this careful 
 selection for a few years, such a tomato-grower would 
 find a good demand for all the seed he could produce 
 at remunerative prices. At first it might not pay him, 
 as he might have to sell the seed for the same price as 
 common seed. Tomato seed retains its vitality six or 
 seven years, and it would be well for the seed-grower to 
 save the seed of only one variety each year. 
 
 To extract the seed, mash the tomatoes, throw them 
 into a barrel with water, and allow them to ferment; the 
 seed will fall to the bottom, and the scum rise to the top, 
 when it can be skimmed off. I generally throw the skim- 
 mings into another barrel and allow them to ferment 
 
124 GAEDEKIW} FOE YOUKG AND OLD. 
 
 twenty-four or forty-eight hours longer; the seed can be 
 allowed to remain in the fermenting barrel for several days 
 ■without injury to its germinating powers, but it does not 
 look quite so bright as that first taken from the barrel 
 after it has been allowed to ferment thirty-six or forty- 
 eight hours. It is convenient to have plenty of barrels 
 and an abundance of water. A little knowledge of chem- 
 istry, with some experience, will greatly facilitate the 
 labor of washing out and drying the seed. It will fa- 
 cilitate the drying process if you press out as much 
 water as possible, either by squeezing the seeds be- 
 tween the hands or putting them in a bag under a cheese 
 press, before putting them on the stretchers to dry. The 
 seed must be thoroughly dried before being bagged and 
 stowed away. 
 
 TURNIPS. 
 
 The cultivation of Turnips merely for home use, as a 
 table vegetable, will not require much thought or labor. 
 But when grown extensively either as a farm crop for 
 stock, or as a farm-garden crop for market, it will be 
 necessary to bestow considerable attention upon them. It 
 is often thought that our climate is not well adapted to 
 the growth of turnips. I am satisfied that this is a mis- 
 take. We can grow just as good turnips here, and as 
 large a crop per acre, as in any other country. The rea- 
 son probably why the English and Scotch farmers raise 
 turnips so extensively, is not that they can grow them so 
 much better or more easily than we can, but because 
 their winters are so much milder, that the roots can be 
 largely eaten off by sheep during the autumn, winter 
 and spring months on the land where they grow. If an 
 English farmer could sell his turnips at any thing like 
 the price the crop will bring in this country, no other 
 farm crop would be half so profitable. But, as I said be- 
 
TUENIPS. 125 
 
 fore, this is not because the climate is any better than 
 our own for the production of the crop, but because long 
 experience has enabled British farmers to use the very 
 best methods in its cultivation. I have* known an Eng- 
 lish farmer to spend fifty dollars an acre in preparing 
 his land for turnips. It should be understood that tur- 
 nips can not be grown with the preparation of the land 
 necessary for corn and potatoes. 
 
 Turnip seed is small, and it is useless to sow it among 
 clods and expect it to germinate. The land for turnips 
 must be in the very best possible condition. If it is neces- 
 sary to plow it twice, plow it twice; if three times are neces- 
 sary, then plow it three times. Either abandon the idea 
 of raising the crop, or work the land and keep working 
 it, until not a clod or hard spot remains. Superphosphate 
 of lime is confessedly the best of all artificial fertilizers 
 for turnips; and now that it is so easily obtained, and at 
 such a reasonable price, there is no reason why turnips 
 should not be more extensively grown. In the market 
 turnips usually bring very liberal prices, and the crop has 
 this advantage, if it can not be sold in market, it can be 
 fed out on the farm. Horses are very fond of ruta-ba- 
 gas, or sweet turnips. I do not say that they are a bet- 
 ter or cheaper food for them in this country than corn or 
 oats, but after your horse has had the usual allowance of 
 oats or corn, he will not be sorry when the price of ruta- 
 bagas falls so low in market that you will not begrudge 
 him three or four good-sized roots every day. 
 
 Euta-bagas or Swedes usually pay better than the early 
 white-fleshed varieties. But I should perhaps here say 
 that turnips may be divided into three classes. One class 
 is well represented by the common Strap-leaf variety; it is 
 sown late in the summer, and grows with the greatest 
 rapidity; but it is not a good keeper, which is true 
 of all of this class. These are grown very extensively 
 in England to be eaten on the land by sheep in October 
 
126 
 
 GARDENIlSrG FOE TOUIsrG AND OLD. 
 
 and November; they grow quickly, but contain compara- 
 tively little nutriment. I have known a large crop that 
 grew very rapidly to contain ninety-five per cent, of 
 water; in other words, one ton of the turnips contained 
 only one hundred pounds of real food. An animal eat- 
 ing such turnips, has therefore to take in nineteen 
 pounds of water to get one pound of real food; no wonder 
 such turnips can grow rapidly, and no wonder they will 
 not keep long. 
 
 The second class, of which the Yellow Aberdeen and 
 Yellowstone are good examples, requires to be sown 
 earlier. They will grow larger and keep later than those 
 of the first class. 
 
 Class third includes all the varieties known as Swede 
 turnips, or Ruta-bagas, they are essentially winter varie- 
 ties. They must be sown earli- 
 er than the other classes, and 
 require richer land; they are 
 far more nutritious than the 
 others, and will keep late into 
 the following spring. I wish 
 this matter to be understood. 
 People often ask for the best 
 variety of turnips; they might 
 just as well ask for the best 
 variety of apples. If you ask 
 which is the best summer ap- 
 ple, the best early or late au- 
 tumn apple, or which is the 
 best winter apple, an experienced fruit-grower might be 
 able to answer the question. And so it is with turnips, 
 we have early and late autumn kinds, and winter or 
 early spring kinds; the latter class being Euta-bagas or 
 Swede turnips. 
 
 The cultivation of such varieties as the Strap-leaf is 
 often no cultivation at all. The seed is scattered on any 
 
 Fig. 26. 
 
 IMPEBIAL PUBPLE TOP SWEDE. 
 
TTJRiriPS. 137 
 
 vacant spot, from the middle of July to the first of Sep- 
 tember, and we trust to chance for a crop. One year in five 
 we get a good crop; one year in three we get a fair crop, 
 on perhaps one-fourth of the land^ while on three-fourths 
 of the field the turnips are not worth gathering. I do 
 not say that it does not pay to sow turnips in this way; 
 very little labor is required, the land would otherwise lie 
 idle, and one pound of seed is amply sufficient to sow an 
 acre; in fact, if you can distribute it evenly, half a pound 
 is enough. It is quite a knack to sow turnip seed broad- 
 cast; all the seed required is what you can hold between 
 your thumb and the first two fingers; scatter the seed 
 over a width of about ten feet, then take two steps for- 
 ward and throw another similar pinch; throw it boldly, 
 and keep your hand all the time on a level with your 
 shoulder; most people let their hand fall as low as the 
 hip, but the other is far the better way; it insures a 
 much more even distribution of the seed. But I do not 
 want my young friends to be sowing turnips broadcast. 
 As a rule, what is worth doing at all is worth doing well. 
 And now that we have the best of implements to prepare 
 the land, good drills to sow the seed, and good hoes 
 to thin out the plants, I am very confident that, taking 
 one year with another, it is far more profitable to drill in 
 turnip seed, and cultivate between the rows with a horse- 
 hoe than it is to sow broadcast. It is not merely that 
 you get two or three, or four times as many bushels of 
 turnips per acre, but you are almost certain of a crop, 
 even in the most unfavorable season. When a good crop 
 is obtained from sowing broadcast, and leaving the plants 
 to take care of themselves, the market will be glutted 
 with turnips, and the price will be low; but in an ordi- 
 nary season, when you will not get more than half a crop 
 from the broadcast sowing, on half the land, turnips 
 will command a good price, and the farmer or gardener 
 who has a good crop, gets ample compensation for his 
 
138 GAEDENING FOR YOUNG AlfD OLD. 
 
 enterprise and labor; while the very next year, the sea- 
 son may be so unfavorp.ble that the broadcast turnips are 
 almost a universal failure, and the good cultivator who 
 has a good crop, can sell turnips enough from an acre of 
 land to buy him a horse and buggy. Let us then aban- 
 don the idea of sowing turnips broadcast, except in rare 
 cases. 
 
 CULTIVATIO]S" OF EUTA-BAGAS. 
 
 Ruta-bagas, or Swede Turnips — or as it would be better 
 to call them, Winter Turnips, should be sown about corn- 
 planting time, or from that until about the time we usu- 
 ally plant beans. I have myself had a good crop sown as 
 late as July 4th, but from the last of May to the middle 
 of June is the better time in this section. 
 
 Land that will raise good corn will produce good tur- 
 nips, but ruta-bagas do better on a somewhat stiff loam 
 than on a light sandy one; they will do very well on 
 sandy soil provided you make it rich enough. On the 
 stiff soils, it is better to prepare the land the autumn pre- 
 vious. If the land has been in corn or potatoes, plow 
 it as soon as the crop is removed; the earlier the better; 
 harrow, roll, and pick up and draw off all stones large 
 enough to interfere with a cultivator. If the land is at 
 all weedy, plow or cultivate, and harrow and roll during 
 dry weather in autumn, until all the weeds are killed. 
 If the work has been well done, this thorough cultiva- 
 tio» will start into growth millions of weed seeds. Be- 
 fore cold weather sets in, plow the land again, and leave 
 it rough for the winter. The frost will break up the 
 stiff lumps of clay, and the next spring they will readily 
 crumble to pieces, and produce the very best soil for ru- 
 ta-bagas. Do not plow the land in the spring until it 
 is quite dry; the surface may bake, but when you come 
 to plow it, you will find that the soil underneath Avill turn 
 up fine, mellow, and moist. 
 
TUEKIPS. 129 
 
 If barn-yard manure is to be used, there are two 
 methods of applying it ; one plan is to spread it broad- 
 cast all over the land, and another, to make ridges or 
 furrows, thirty inches apart and put the manure in 
 these furrows, carefully knocking it to pieces with the 
 fork or hoe. CoYcr up the manure by splitting the ridges 
 with the plow. A double mould-board plow does the work 
 twice as fast as a common plow, and in skillful hands 
 does it far better. The turnip seed is then drilled in on 
 these ridges, immediately above the manure. To do the 
 work expeditiously and well, not only a good double mould- 
 board plow is required, but a turnip drill with a roller 
 before and behind the coulter which deposits the seed. 
 
 Without these implements and more or less skill in 
 their use, a young turnip-grower had better apply his 
 manure broadcast, and after the land is thoroughly pre- 
 pared, drill in the seed on tbe flat surface. He need 
 not regret the necessity for adopting this method, for it 
 is not without some advantages over, the other. In ridging 
 and applying the manure between the ridges, you must 
 make the furrows wide enough apart to allow the wheels 
 of the wagon or cart to go in them. 
 
 I7i other words you will have to make the ridges about 
 thirty inches apart, which is wider than it is necessary 
 to drill in the turnips. I find no difficulty, with a steady 
 horse, of running a cultivator between rows of turnips 
 or beets twenty-one inches apart, and if your land is rich 
 enough, you can grow a far larger crop in these close 
 rows than you can in wide ones. I think, however, it 
 will usually be better to have the rows two feet apart, and 
 to thin the turnips to ten or twelve inches in the rows. 
 
 If the rows are two feet apart, and the plants one 
 foot in the row, we have twenty-one thousand seven 
 hundred and eighty plants on an acre. If the rows are 
 thirty inches apart, and the plants a foot apart in the 
 rows, we have seventeen thousand four hundred and 
 
130 GARDE]S"IHG FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 twenty-four plants on an acre. If the turnips average 
 four pounds each, the one crop on the ridges would giye 
 us less than thirty-five tons per acre, while the crop on 
 the flat, in the narrow rows, would give us over forty- 
 three tons per acre, or reckoning the turnips at sixty 
 pounds per bushel, the crop on the narrow rows would 
 give us one thousand four hundred and fifty-two bushels 
 to the acre, while in the wider rows the crop would be 
 less than one thousand one hundred and ninety-two 
 bushels to the acre. 
 
 I am free to admit, that either crop would be a remark- 
 ably good one, but I am advocating good cultivation and 
 the liberal use of fertilizers. During the winter of 1881 
 — '83, it would have been a very easy matter to have dis- 
 posed of thousands of bushels of ruta-bagas at fifty cents 
 a bushel, and even one thousand bushels per acre would 
 have afforded a magnificent profit. 
 
 But before you can make a profit of five hundred dol- 
 lars an acre from a crop of turnips, you have something 
 to do. I speak of these prospective and possible profits 
 as an incentive to faith, hope, and labor. I want you to 
 have faith in good farming, and not be afraid to put 
 work and manure into the land. There are some draw- 
 backs and difficulties and many seeming discouragements; 
 there are drouths. Black-beetles, Turnip-lice and mildew, 
 but if there were none of these, turnips would never 
 bring fifty cents a bushel. The best remedies for all of 
 these is, the thorough preparation of the land, liberal 
 manuring and frequent cultivation between the rows 
 of plants, and careful thinning out and hoeing in the 
 rows. 
 
 If flat cultivation is adopted and the land is prepared 
 in the autumn, as previously recommended, the manure 
 may be spread on the land in the spring before plowing ; 
 though I think it is better to plow the land first. My 
 own plan is, to draw the manure to the field during the 
 
TURNIPS. 131 
 
 winter and put it in large square heaps, about five feet 
 high ; in the spring, if necessary, turn over the heaps to 
 facilitate decomposition. 
 
 When the manure is in heaps in the field, it; is an easy 
 matter to draw it about the lot, even if the land has been 
 plowed ; pat it in rows about five yards apart, and make 
 the heaps at about the same distance in rows. This would 
 "give one hundred and ninety-three heaps on an acre, and 
 if you put three bushels of manure in each heap, and each 
 bushel weighs seventy-five pounds, you would put on a little 
 over twenty tons to the acre. If the manure is good, and 
 you apply three or four hundred pounds of superphos- 
 phate per acre in addition, this amount will be amply 
 sufiicient to produce a grand crop of turnips. 
 
 Spread the manure evenly on the land, and then go 
 over it with a smoothing harrow lengthwise, and cross- 
 wise of the furrows two or three times, until the manure 
 is thoroughly broken up and mixed with the soil. Not 
 a single lump should remain visible. This is an impor- 
 tant matter, and you should do the work very thoroughly. 
 If you are inclined to shrink from the labor and expense, 
 think of a thousand bushels of turnips to the acre, and 
 what they are likely to be worth in market, and go over 
 the land once more with a harrow. 
 
 The next step depends on the nature of the soil. My 
 own soil varies greatly. I have in the same field a black 
 sand, with more or less muck in it, and a sandy knoll 
 with a stiff, tenacious loam between. It is not necessary 
 to plow the muck or the dry sand as much as the heavier 
 soil. And yet, as a matter of fact, the light soil is always 
 better plowed than the other, as the plow goes in deeper 
 than it does on the clay. I find it better to plow 
 the heavier soil by itself, even if it is necessary to turn 
 round every few rods. When thoroaghly reduced by good 
 and repeated plowing, the heavier soil gives the best crops, 
 but if carelessly plowed, with a point good enough to go 
 
132 GAEDElSrUsTG FOE TOUKG AND OLD. 
 
 in on the sand, but which skims over the dry, hard clayey 
 spots, we should be pretty certain to get no crop worth 
 harvesting. As I cannot tell the kind of land on which 
 you are going to sow the turnips, I cannot tell you Just 
 how to work it ; it is one of the advantages of agriculture 
 and horticulture, that each man musfc do his own think- 
 ing. All I can say is this : for turnips, the land must be 
 worked with a plow, the gang-plow, the cultivator, the 
 harrow and the roller, until not a lump remains on the 
 surface or within reach of the drill. 
 
 Before the last harrowing and rolling, or earlier, sow 
 on the superphosphate at the rate of three hundred pounds 
 per acre; be careful to distribute it evenly, and if the su- 
 perphosphate is not entirely free from lumps, run it 
 through a sieve and break them up fine; go over the 
 land once more with the smoothing harrow or roller; set 
 a line — do not forget this — and drill in the seed, in 
 rows two feet apart. The drill makes its own mark, but 
 if you find the rows are getting crooked, set the line 
 again, and in such a way that in no point it shall be less 
 than two feet from the last drill mark. If the soil is 
 moist, the shallower you can sow the seed the better, pro- 
 vided it is covered at all; but if the surface-soil is dry, 
 you may set the drill to deposit the seed half an inch 
 deep, or until it will reach the moist soil below. I would 
 sow at least two seeds to each inch of row, and if the soil 
 is dry, with little prospect of rain, I would sow three or 
 four seeds to each inch of row, or two pounds to the acre. 
 If the soil and weather are moist, and every thing is fa- 
 vorable, one pound is sufficient; but in average condi- 
 tions two pounds per acre is the rule. It is better to sow 
 three, four, .or even five pounds per acre, than to run 
 any risk of losing your crop by the swarms of black bee- 
 tles which frequently attack the young plants. After 
 the turnip plants get into the rough leaf, the beetles do 
 them comparatively little harm. As soon, therefore, as the 
 
TUE]*riPS. 183 
 
 plants get into the rough leaf, commence to hoe and thin 
 them out. Hoeing turnips and thinning them out, are 
 both done at the same time. You may think the remark 
 unnecessary, but I have known people to hoe on each 
 side of the row of turnips and afterwards go over the 
 piece and thin them out. The true plan is, to cultivate 
 the turnips between the rows with a horse-hoe, that will 
 pull a little soil away from the row. If the rows are 
 straight, a skillful boy will run his cultivator within an 
 inch of the plants; when through cultivating, the young 
 turnip plants will stand in straight rows two inches in 
 width, invitingly ready for the hoe. 
 
 Have the hoe ground sharp and bright, square at the 
 corners, with the shank bent at nearly right angles with 
 the handle; then dash your hoe boldly across the row of 
 turnips, pulling it towards you; then push it back slowly 
 in such a way as to leave only one plant in a place. The 
 work can nearly all be done with a hoe, but occasionally, 
 when the plants interlock, it will be necessary to stoop down 
 and remove all but one with the thumb and finger. For 
 this reason, if the plants are very thick in the row, you 
 must commence to single out as early as possible, and push 
 forward the work with energy. It will not do to loiter 
 or tell stories. If you do, the plants will assuredly get 
 the start of you, and then you have a tough job on hand. 
 If, in spite of all you can do, you find you can not get 
 through the whole piece before the plants are likely to be 
 injured by over crowding, the better way is, to go through 
 the whole piece and bunch out the plants. By this I 
 mean strike the hoe across the row, leaving bunches of 
 plants ten or twelve inches apart, and afterwards go 
 over them again and single them out. 
 
 Turnips will stand rougher treatment than beets or 
 mangels. If you cut too close to a beet plant, our hot 
 sun will kill it; while a turnip in the same circumstances 
 would revive during the next night. After the plants 
 
134 GARDENIiTG FOR YOUNG AKD OLD. 
 
 are singled our for the first time, all that you have to do 
 is, to keep the cultivator frequently running between the 
 rows. As soon as any weeds appear among the turnips, 
 that can not be reached by the cultivator, go over the 
 piece again with the hoe, and cut out all the weeds, and 
 at the same time single out any plants that may have 
 been left double, and this is all that will be necessary un- 
 til the crop is ready to harvest. 
 
 GATHERING THE CROP. 
 
 Ruta-bagas, or Winter Turnips, will stand quite a 
 sharp frost without injury, especially if at the time the 
 frost occurs, the roots are surmounted by an abundance 
 of green vigorous leaves. As long, therefore, as the 
 leaves of the turnips keep green, there is no particular 
 necessity for pulling up the crop; as the great difficulty 
 in keeping turnips in large piles or pits, during the win- 
 ter, is their tendency to heat — the colder the weather, 
 provided the roots are not actually frozen when the crop 
 is gathered, the better will the roots keep. If the crop 
 is in by Thanksgiving Day, it will be early enough three 
 seasons out of four. My own plan is, to pit the roots in 
 the field as we do potatoes and mangels. We plow out a 
 wide, deep, dead-furrow. We mark out the spot where 
 the pit is to be, of any desired length, and then measure 
 off six or eight feet on each side, and start the plow, 
 plowing up and down on both sides, until the center, or 
 dead-furrow is reached; then commence on the outside 
 again, and plow up and down as before. This will make 
 a still deeper and wider dead-furrow; then commence on 
 the outside again, and plow up and down again as before, 
 plowing deeper as you approach the center. These three 
 plowings will give a mass of deep, mellow earth, which 
 will afterwards be very convenient for covering the pit. 
 
TUENIPS. 135 
 
 It will also bid defiance to the severest frost. If neces- 
 sary, the bottom of this wide, deep, dead-furrow, may be 
 cleaned out and made flat, level, and square with the 
 spade or shovel; the pit is then ready for the roots. No 
 straw is needed at the bottom or sides. The days are 
 short, winter is approaching, and you must work lively 
 and make a short job of it. 
 
 My plan is, to set three teams with stone-boats to draw- 
 ing the nntopped turnips to the pit; one man, with the 
 team and stone-boat, takes two rows at a time, and as 
 soon as he has put on all he can carry, he drives to the 
 pit, where a couple of men help him to top the turnips 
 and throw them into the pit. By the time this is done, 
 another load is at the pit, and the empty stone-boat goes 
 for another load, and by the time the second load is 
 topped, the third team is at the pit with a load waiting 
 to be topped. If all hands work sharp, a great lot of 
 turnips can be gathered, topped, and pitted in a day. On 
 my own farm, I generally find it best to have an extra 
 man to help the drivers to pull and load the turnips; if 
 both work well, this doubles the speed of the whole oper- 
 ation. In other words, we have two men pulling turnips 
 all the time, and two men ought to pull twice as many 
 as one man. In fact, I have sometimes thought that two 
 good sharp boys would pull more than twice as many 
 turnips as one man who spends one-third of his time in 
 stopping and starting the team. Two active boys, who 
 work during these short days with a will, can pull up two 
 rows of turnips and put them on the stone-boat almost as 
 fast as a slow team will walk. If they cannot top the 
 turnips fast enough at the pit, put on another man, or 
 what is better still, take hold and help yourself. As a 
 rule, however, the man or boy who has charge of the job, 
 should not undertake any part of the work that will oc- 
 cupy all his time; he had better undertake the general 
 supervision, and be ready to lend a helping hand where 
 
136 GAEDENIisTG FOE TOUKG AND OLD. 
 
 most needed. There is always plenty of work to be done 
 at the pit. 
 
 When the roots in the pit reach the level of the ground, 
 it will be necessary to take a little more pains in placing 
 them in it. And I would especially recommend you, 
 if possible, to throw a quantity of dry sand or earth on 
 the turnips in the pit. Those below the surface of the 
 ground do not need it so much, but the turnips in the 
 pit above the surface, and especially as they approach the 
 top, will keep far better and fresher, if dry earth or sand 
 is freely scattered among them. A bushel of sand to 
 each three or four bushels of turnips will be exceedingly 
 beneficial. I do not mean that you should draw sand 
 from a distance, but take that which has been plowed 
 out of the pit, giving preference to that which is driest. 
 Do not be afraid of using too much. The sand will not 
 only keep the turnips fresher, but it is quite a conven- 
 ience in enabling you to build up the sides of the pit 
 straighter and narrower. A wide pit is objectionable; 
 four feet wide at the surface of the ground, and gradually 
 tapering up to the top, to the height of three and a half 
 to four feet, is quite large enough. It is generally rec- 
 ommended to place chimneys every four or five feet in 
 the pit, for the purpose of carrying off the heat or steam. 
 These chimneys can be made by placing a bunch of straw 
 a foot deep among the turnips, and letting it project 
 through the covering of earth on top. Drain tiles two 
 or three inches in diameter are equally efEective. 
 
 K the work is delayed until just before winter sets in, 
 and the turnips are very cold when put in the pit, and 
 above all, if plenty of dry sand has been mixed with the 
 roots, and a liberal coat of straw, say six or eight inches 
 thick, is placed on top of the roots from the surface to 
 the apex, there is very little danger that the turnips will 
 get too hot in the pit. As I have said before, this is the 
 real difficulty in keeping turnips. It is a very easy mat- 
 
TUKKIPS. 137 
 
 ter to keep out the frost. When the pit is finished, get 
 a load of dry straw and cover the pit evenly all over, si:^ 
 or eight inches thick, and at the same time commence to 
 cover it with earth, working from the surface of the land 
 upwards. If, in doing this, you find any part where the 
 straw is too thin, add more straw. Just earth enough fco 
 hide the straw should he put on. Make the surface of 
 the soil smooth, so that it will readily shed rain, and the 
 work is done for the present. 
 
 Later, however, it may be necessary to give the pit an- 
 other covering of straw and earth, and before it is left, 
 plow around it half a dozen times, to the width of five or 
 six feet on both sides of the pit, turning the furrows to- 
 wards the pit. This is very important. You cannot plow 
 too much or too deeply, as loose earth is an excellent non- 
 conductor of heat, and the severest frost will do little 
 more in any single night than crust over the surface of 
 this repeatedly plowed land. When cold weather really 
 sets in, plow around the heap again, two or three times; 
 put on a thin layer of straw, say four or five inches 
 thick, and cover with the loose soil thrown up by the 
 plow. You will find that the plow, properly handled, will 
 save more than half the labor, and what is better still, 
 the work is likely to be more thoroughly done. 
 
 This last covering should be delayed until cold weather 
 sets in, and it is all the better if the first coat of earth 
 on the pit is frozen solid. I have more than once put on 
 this second covering during a severe storm, with the ther- 
 mometer almost down to zero. I once had to work with 
 every man and team on the farm to help until ten o'clock 
 at night to cover my pits, so suddenly and savagely came 
 on the storm. We had to keep the teams plowing rap- 
 idly around the pits to furnish loose unfrozen soil. There 
 was no let-up for many weeks. Had we not done this, 
 the loss would have been very great; as it was, not a root 
 or potato was injured. I do not advocate delaying the 
 
138 GAEDENIKG FOR YOUKG AND OLD. 
 
 work quite so late as this, but if you get caught, do not 
 hesitate to work during the storm. If you do the work 
 well, you can go to sleep afterwards, with a conscious- 
 ness that, no matter how the storm may rage, your root 
 crops are entirely safe. 
 
 The method of keeping turnips here recommended is 
 generally adapted to keeping beets, mangels, carrots, 
 parsnips, etc. 
 
 FALL, OE EAELT WIKTER TURNIPS. 
 
 As a rule, this intermediate class of turnips has at- 
 tracted very little attention in this country. It would 
 not at present be advisable to raise them largely. I 
 should not raise them at all, unless I had land all ready 
 for the crop the first or second week in July, when it 
 was too late to be sure of getting a crop of ruta-bagas. 
 In a case like this, such varieties as the Yellow Aberdeen 
 can be sown from the middle of July to the first of Au- 
 gust with great advantage; you can get a large crop to the 
 acre; far greater than you can of the Strap-leaf, Flat 
 Dutch and other early varieties sown later. The Yellow 
 Aberdeen will keep in excellent condition from Decem- 
 ber to February, and be valuable for the table, when the 
 early varieties have become pithy and tasteless. When 
 better known, it will prove a profitable variety for the 
 market garden, as it has always been for the stock feeder. 
 The cultivation of the Yellow Aberdeen and similar va- 
 rieties, does not differ essentially from that of the ruta- 
 bagas; it does not need to be sown so early, and does not 
 require so rich land. A soil in good mechanical condi- 
 tion, that has been liberally manured for the previous 
 crop, will, by the aid of a dressing of three hundred 
 pounds per acre of superphosphate sown broadcast, pro- 
 duce a fine crop without any other manure; but if the 
 land has not been manured for the previous crop, it wiU 
 
TURNIPS. 139 
 
 be better to give it a moderate dressing of manure, say 
 eight tons per acre, and use the superphosphate in ad- 
 dition. Superphosphate cannot be applied to any crop 
 where it will do more good than to turnips. 
 
 The Aberdeen is a hardy variety and will stand con- 
 siderable frost, but it should be gathered before the ruta- 
 bagas. In other words, you can let ruta-bagas remain 
 later in the field than you can the Yellow Aberdeens ; 
 they will not keep quite so well as the ruta-bagas, as 
 they contain more water and are more liable to get heated 
 
 Fig, 27. Fig. 38. 
 
 PURPLE TOP STRAP-LEAF. WHITE PLAT DUTCH. 
 
 in the pit. It is better therefore to make the pit smaller 
 and to throw in more dry earth among the roots. 
 
 CULTIVATION" OF AUTUMN TUENIPS. 
 
 This class of turnips, of which the Purple Top Strap- 
 leaf is a popular variety, is usually grown with little or 
 no cultivation properly so called. In England, they are 
 often called Stubble Turnips, because they can be grown 
 after a crop of rye, wheat, or barley is harvested. 
 
 We can do the same thing here, but our climate is so 
 much hotter and dryer, that we shall have to take con- 
 siderable pains to get land from which a grain crop has 
 just been harvested, sufficiently moist and mellow to in- 
 sure the grermination of turnip seed. There are times. 
 
140 GAEDEHIIifG FOE TOUISTG AND OLD. 
 
 however, when it can be done, and done to great advan- 
 tage. Land should be plowed immediately after harvest, 
 and the roller should follow the plow. You cannot roll 
 it too much while dry ; follow the roller a few days later 
 with a smoothing harrow, weighted until it will cut 
 through the dry clods, follow with a roller, so as to break 
 up or crush the clods brought to the surface by the har- 
 row, continue to roll and harrow, until you have secured 
 a fine tilth. If the weather reporter would send us some 
 rain, if nothing more than a thunder shower, we should 
 at this time accept it as a favor ; this thoroughly worked, 
 but dusty soil would drink it in, and we could immedi- 
 ately start the drill, feeling confident that in two or three 
 days the turnips would be up. 
 
 Do not forget to sov/ superphosphate at the rate of 
 from two hundred to three hundred pounds per acre. If 
 the land is in good condition, and especially if it has been 
 manured for the previous crop, the superphosphate is all 
 that is necessary. It is better to sow the phosphate pre- 
 vious to rolling and harrowing, but it is not well, I think, 
 to plow it under. At this dry season of the year, it is 
 well to roll the land after drilling in the seed and to roll 
 it thoroughly. 
 
 I would drill in the turnips in rows not less than two 
 feet apart, and drop at least four seeds to each inch of row, 
 or, say from three to four pounds per acre ; if the land 
 is in good condition, this thick seeding is almost certain, 
 with the aid of superphosphate, to enable the plants to 
 escape the ravages of the beetle. 
 
 The cultivation is similar to that previously recom- 
 mended for ruta-bagas, except that we leave the plants 
 a little thicker in the row — say seven inches apart. If 
 the plants are properly singled out to this distance and 
 the cultivator is used between the rows as often as is 
 necessary, nothing more will be required until the crop 
 is ready to be pulled. 
 
SWEET HEEBS. 141 
 
 The sooner the crop is marketed, the better. At the 
 price usually obtained for them, these turnips are quite 
 profitable. It is not at all a difficult matter to grow 
 from four hundred to five hundred bushels per acre. 
 
 SWEET HERBS. 
 
 Little need to be said in regard to the cultivation of 
 Sweet Herbs. With the exception of Sage and Thyme, 
 they are not very extensively grown for market. 
 
 SAGE. 
 
 Sage is grown more extensively for market than any 
 other sweet herb. It is called Sage because, its use was 
 supposed to strengthen the memory and make people 
 sage, or wise. 
 
 It is used extensively for seasoning or flavoring sausages, 
 the stuffing of ducks, geese, etc., and occasionally for 
 flavoring cheese. 
 
 The plants can be propagated by cuttings, precisely as 
 we propagate currants, but the usual and better way is, 
 to grow it from seed. If you have good seed, it is an 
 easy matter to raise the plants. For some reason, how- 
 ever. Sage seed is often very poor and should be carefully 
 tested before sowing. There is no difficulty whatever in 
 growing good seed. 
 
 If you wish only a few plants for your own use, sow a 
 paper of seed in a box in the house, the middle of March, 
 in rows two inches apart and two seeds to each inch of 
 row. Transplant out of doors as soon as the weather is 
 warm and settled. 
 
 The seed, however, can be sown out of doors in the 
 spring, as soon as the soil is in good condition. It is best 
 to prepare the soil the fall previous. A light, warm, 
 sandy soil in a sheltered spot, with a sunny exposure is 
 
142 QAKDEJTING FOE TOUKG AND OLD. 
 
 best. Sow the seed in rows wide enough apart to admit 
 the use of the hoe, putting in two seeds to each inch ; 
 cover the seed a quarter of an inch deep, and if the soil 
 is dry, pat it down with the back of the spade. As soon 
 as the plants appear, hoe lightly between the rows and 
 keep the bed free from weeds. This is all that need be 
 done until the plants are ready to set out where they are 
 to grow. 
 
 The land for Sage should be dry, loose, and very rich. 
 The plants are small and grow slowly at first. Before 
 taking them out of the seed-bed, the soil should be 
 deeply and carefully broken up with a fork, six or 
 eight inches deep, and the bed thoroughly watered until 
 all the soil to the depth of the sage roots is completely 
 saturated. It requires a good deal of water, but if the 
 work is well done, the young sage plants can be set out 
 even in the hottest weather, and on comparatively dry 
 soil, without the loss of a single plant. 
 
 It is, however, very desirable to make the land very 
 fine and moist, by thorough cultivation. It will usually 
 be found better to plow the land just before setting out 
 the plants, as this will bring to the surface the moist 
 soil. After plowing, roll, harrow, and smooth off the 
 surface. Mark off the rows (if the horse-hoe is to be 
 used), twenty-one to twenty-four inches apart, and set 
 out the plants ten inches apart in the row. 
 
 Where land is valuable, and the crop is to be hand- 
 hoed, the rows need not be more than twelve inches 
 apart. In fact, the better way is, to mark off the land 
 both ways twelve inches apart, and set the plants where 
 the lines cross. If the weather is dry, you must be very 
 careful to press the soil firmly about the roots. Set out 
 the plants so that the lower leaves are just above the sur- 
 face. As soon as the plants get over the effects of trans- 
 planting, go through with a hoe to break the crust and 
 kill the weeds; repeat the operation as often as necessary. 
 
SWEET HEEBS. 143 
 
 As soon as the plants are in full flower, you can begin to 
 cut and market the crop. Where the rows are only a foot 
 apart, the best way is to cut out every other row. Tie 
 tlie sage in bunches and market it, leaving the other 
 rows to grow larger. If the land is rich, the plants 
 which are left will continue to grow late into the fall, and 
 completely cover the land. After cutting out every other 
 row, run the cultivator between the remaining rows and 
 hoe out the weeds. Where the plants are set out in rows, 
 twenty-one inches to two feet apart, and the land kept 
 clean and mellow by the frequent use of the horse-hoe, 
 the total money return is not so great as that from the 
 double crop, but it is far less labor, and in the field-gar- 
 den will be the better plan. If the sage can not be sold 
 green in the market, tie it up into bunches and let it dry; 
 it can then be safely shipped to any distance. 
 
 THTME. 
 
 The cultivation of Thyme is similar to that of Sage. 
 The seeds are smaller and the plants 
 not quite so vigorous. The soil where 
 the seed is sown should be made even 
 richer and finer than for Sage, and 
 the seed must not be covered more 
 than an eighth of an inch deep, and 
 the bed well patted with the back of 
 the spade. In all other respects 
 Thyme may be treated precisely as 
 Sage. If preferred, the seed may be 
 sown where the plants are intended 
 to remain. Sow in rows twenty-one 
 inches apart, and drill in the seed as ^^^- 29— thyme. 
 shallow as possible, dropping three or four seeds to each 
 inch of row. It will be necessary to mix the seed with 
 three or four times its bulk of fine dry sand, or the drill 
 
144 GARDENING FOR yOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 will SOW it too thick. Cultivate and hoe, and as the 
 plants begin to crowd, thin them out. These young 
 plants can be drawn out by the roots, and put in bunches 
 for home use, or for market. This thinning out can be 
 continued at different times until the plants are left from 
 eight to ten inches apart in the row. 
 
 In England, it is thought that thyme must be grown 
 on the poorest of poor land, else it will lack the desired 
 flavor. In our dry, hot climate, however, thyme will 
 stand rich land and good cultivation. There are two 
 kinds; one is what the European seed catalogues call 
 "Hardy Winter," or "Evergreen." The leaves are 
 lemon-scented, and by some it is preferred to the com- 
 mon, or Broad-leaved kind. Both can be grown from 
 seed, or propagated by division of the roots, but better 
 plants are obtained from seed. The seeds are exceed- 
 ingly small, and must be sown on the best prepared and 
 finest land. They come up slowly, and it is desirable to 
 sow them thickly. It will do no harm if you have to 
 thin out fifty plants to one that is ultimately left. One 
 pound of seed to the acre will be amply sufficient. 
 
 Thyme is put up in bunches and marketed like sage, 
 or it may be dried and shipped to any distance. Any 
 one who has an evaporator for drying fruit, could easily 
 devise a plan for drjdng bunches of sweet herbs, and 
 make the business highly profitable. 
 
 SUMMER SAVOET. 
 
 There are two kinds of Savory; a Winter, or perennial, 
 and the Summer, or annual sort; the latter is the best. 
 The seed may be sown in March, in a box in the house, 
 and the plants set out in the garden as soon as the 
 weather will permit. This is not necessary, however, 
 as the plants will do well if the seed is sown in any good 
 garden soil early in the spring, or as soon as the ground 
 
SWEET HEEBS. 145 
 
 and weather are warm. If it is intended to transplant 
 the plants, sow the seed in rows, wide enough apart to 
 admit the use of a narrow hoe, or, if the plants are to 
 remain where the seed is sown, sow in rows fifteen inches 
 apart, and thin out the plants enough to admit the use of 
 a hoe. The seed should not be 
 covered more than a quarter of an 
 inch deep, and if the ground is 
 moist, the shallower the better. 
 Drop five or six seeds to the inch 
 of row, as the thicker you sow, the 
 easier it is to hoe between the 
 rows of plants Just before they are 
 cracking the ground, and to keep 
 the bed free from weeds. Four 
 pounds of seed will be amply suf- 
 ficient for an acre. If grown by 
 the acre, I would sow in rows, ^'^- 30.-summbk satoky. 
 from twenty-one to twenty-four inches apart, and cul- 
 tivate with a horse-hoe, and thin out the plants as recom- 
 mended for thyme. 
 
 SWEET MAEJORAM. 
 
 The cultivation of Sweet Marjoram is precisely similar 
 to that of Summer Savory, except, perhaps, that the 
 plants do not bear transplantation so well, and conse- 
 quently it is better to sow the seed where they are intend- 
 ed to remain, in rows fifteen inches apart. Sow a plenty 
 of seed, say four or five seeds to each inch of row, and 
 ultimately thin out the plants to ten inches apart ; or, 
 the rows may be sown twenty-one to twenty-four inches 
 apart, and in this case, the plants may be left thicker in 
 the row, or just wide enough apart to admit the use of 
 a narrow hoe. If too thick, every second plant may be 
 drawn out for early use. 
 7 
 
146 
 
 GAEDEKIlirG FOE YOUNG AKD OLD. 
 
 BOEAGE. 
 
 Borage is not extensively grown in this country, and 
 there is little or no demand for 
 it in market. The seeds are 
 large and can be sown in the 
 open ground in rows, fifteen 
 inches apart, dropping one to 
 each inch of row. 
 
 Borage can be profitably grown 
 for plowing under as a green 
 crop. The leaves are so rich in 
 nitrate of potash or saltpetre, 
 that when dry they will burn 
 like touch-paper. Borage is used 
 only in the green state, and 
 
 Fig. 31.— BOBAGE. 
 
 principally for flavoring cooling beverages, like lemonade. 
 
 EOSEMAEY. 
 
 Eosemary should be sown in rows about fifteen inches 
 apart each way. The better plan is, 
 to drop five or six seeds in each hill, 
 thinning out to a single plant before 
 the plants begin to crowd each other. 
 Cover the seed about a quarter of an 
 inch deepo 
 
 COEIANDEE. 
 
 The young tender leaves of Coriander 
 are used in salads and for flavoring 
 soups. The plant is easily cultivated. 
 The seeds are round and nearly as I'is- 33.-eosemart. 
 large as a Sweet Pea. Sow in rows fifteen inches apart, 
 dropping the seeds about an inch apart in the row, cover- 
 
SWEET HEKBS. 147 
 
 ing half an inch deep. Light sandy soil is best for this 
 crop ; thin out the plants for use before they begin to 
 crowd each other, ultimately leaving them seven or eight 
 inches apart in the row. The plants soon run up to 
 seed, and it is best to sow at intervals of three or four 
 weeks for succession. 
 
 FE^S'IS'EL. 
 
 This plant is closely related to, and can be grown as 
 directed for Coriander. 
 
 LAVEITDEE. 
 
 Lavender is grown solely for its perfume. For home 
 use, the long stems, five or six inches in length, are cut 
 from the bushes when in flower, tied in small bunches 
 and dried. The flowers and stems are placed in drawers, 
 or closets among table-linen, clothing, etc. The plants 
 are easily grown from seed, or they may be propagated 
 by dividing the roots of old plants. It is better to grow 
 them from seed. 
 
 Sow the seed in a box in the house about the middle 
 of March, in rows one inch apart, dropping two or three 
 seeds to each inch of row. If the plants begin to crowd 
 each other before it is time to set them out in the open 
 ground, transplant into a larger box, pricking them out 
 to two or three inches apart each way. These strong, 
 stocky plants, after hardening off, should be set out on 
 loose, warm, sandy soil, in the garden, from fifteen to 
 twenty inches apart each way. The younger and weaker 
 plants, if the weather is warm, might be set out in a bed 
 in the garden in rows ten inches apart and two or three 
 inches apart in the row. In this bed they may be allowed 
 to remain until the following spring, when they can be 
 taken up with a good ball of earth and set out wherever 
 
148 GAEDEKIliTG POR TOUNG AIsTD OLD. 
 
 there is room for them in the flower beds, or in rows two 
 feet apart and from fifteen to twenty inches apart in the 
 row. Lavender will in time be extensively grown in this 
 country. 
 
 CARAWAY. 
 
 The seeds of Caraway are sometimes introduced into 
 cheese and mixed with bread, cake, cookies, etc. The 
 leaves, when young, are sometimes used for flavoring 
 soups and salads. The plants are easily grown, and may 
 be treated as recommended for Coriander. 
 
 WORMWOOD. 
 
 "Wormwood is perhaps not entitled to be called a sweet 
 herb, but it is certainly a very useful plant, and should 
 be grown in every farmer's garden. For sprains, worm- 
 wood and vinegar is a time-honored remedy. The leaves 
 are chopped up with Eue and Cress, and mixed with 
 the food of young turkies. An infusion of Wormwood 
 seeds with Chamomile flowers, is often taken as a tonic. 
 Wormwood can be sown in a warm border early in April, 
 in rows fifteen inches apart, and thinned to ten inches 
 apart in the row. Next year every second plant may be 
 dug up for transplanting, and still leave those on the 
 original bed thick enough. If the plants are dug up 
 with a good ball of earth their growth will not be 
 checked. 
 
 EUE. 
 
 This very old-fashioned medicinal plant can be grown 
 in the same way as Wormwood. 
 
 ANISE. 
 
 Anise does not transplant readily, and the seed should 
 be sown where it is intended that the plants shall re- 
 
SWEET HEEBS. 149 
 
 main, in drills fifteen inches apart, dropping two seeds to 
 each inch of row, and covering half an inch deep. The 
 plants may be thinned out to five or six inches apart in 
 the row. 
 
 BASIL. 
 
 Start the seeds in a box in the house, or if this is not 
 conven^'ent, sow in a warm border in rows twelve inches 
 apart, dropping two or three seeds to each inch of row. 
 The plants can be used when two or three inches high. 
 Thin out for use until the plants are left seven or eight 
 inches apart in the row. The leaves have a strong clove- 
 like odor, and are used in soups and salads. 
 
 DILL. 
 
 This can be grown in the way recommended for Ba- 
 sil. It delights in a warm, dry, sandy soil. 
 
CULTIVATION OF FLOV^ERS. 
 
 Some people think, or rather they say, that it does not 
 pay to cultivate flowers. Whatever they may say, I do 
 not believe that they really think so. If they do, they 
 are certainly mistaken. It pays wonderfully well — ^just 
 as it pays to be clean and neat, kind and polite. It is 
 not necessary to argue the question. I feel sure that my 
 young friends love flowers, and my business is to tell how 
 to grow them with the least trouble and expense, in the 
 greatest perfection and profusion. For my own part, I 
 would rather see them in profusion than in perfection. 
 I do not care how perfect they are, but I want a good 
 many of them; this is especially true of annual flowers, or 
 flowers grown every year from seeds. We will talk about 
 them in alphabetical order. 
 
 ALYSSUM. 
 
 Sweet Alyssum, as it is usually called, is a very hardy 
 plant, growing about six inches high 
 with clusters of small white flowers, 
 decidedly fragrant and very pretty. 
 Sow the seeds of this plant as soon as 
 the frost is out of the ground in the 
 spring, in rows wide enough apart to 
 admit the use of a 
 hoe. Drop three or 
 four seeds to each 
 inch of row, and 
 after the plants 
 ^. „„ are fairly started. 
 
 Fig. 33.— SWEET ALTSSUM. *' ' 
 
 thin out to one or 
 two inches apart. Keep the ground well hoed and free 
 (150) 
 
AGBSATUM — ASPEEULA. 151 
 
 from weeds, the plant is so hardy that it is not necessary 
 to sow the seed in the hot-bed. 
 
 AGERATUM. 
 
 This is a useful flower for bouquets, and very robust, 
 some of the varieties growing two feet high, and pro- 
 ducing a great abundance of white or lavender-colored 
 flowers. Sow a few seeds in a box in the house, and set 
 out the plants fifteen to twenty inches apart as soon 
 as the weather will permit. 
 
 ABRONIA. 
 
 Ahronia umhellata, the species most cultivated, is a Oal- 
 ifornian plant, trailing along on the ground, and some- 
 what resembling the Verbena. It has fragrant lilac and 
 rose-colored flowers, which are very abundant, and con- 
 tinue in bloom until cut down by frost. Sow the seed 
 in a hot-bed or in a box in the house, and set out the 
 plants fifteen inches apart, as recommended elsewhere 
 for Drummond's Phlox. 
 
 AGROSTEMMA. 
 
 The annual Agrostemmas are sometimes called, I do 
 not know why, ''The Rose of Heaven." The roses of 
 earth are much more beautiful. Still the annual Agros- 
 temma is a hardy, free blooming plant, with pretty flow- 
 ers, somewhat resembling our old-fashioned pinks. Cul- 
 tivation similar to Phlox. 
 
 ASPERULA. 
 
 This is a hardy annual, growing about ten inches high; 
 a profuse bloomer, with fragrant, and pretty lavender- 
 colored flowers, in clusters. Cultivate the same as Sweet 
 Alyssum. 
 
152 
 
 GARDEJSrasTG FOR TOUKG AND OLD. 
 
 ASTERS— CHINA. 
 
 We have now China Asters as large and handsome, as 
 double/ and as perfect as the Dahlia. I know of no an- 
 nual flower that has been so wonderfully improved as 
 this, during the past twenty-five years. No garden 
 should be without its bed of Asters. You can not have too 
 many of them; they are in full bloom in autumn, when 
 most other flowers have disappeared, and they continue in 
 perfection until cut down by frost. The cultivation of 
 
 Asters presents no dif- 
 ficulties that may not be 
 readily overcome by the 
 exercise of a little pa- 
 tience and skill. Asters 
 can be transplanted read- 
 ily, and, if convenient, 
 can be sown in a box in 
 thehouse,in rows an inch 
 and a half or two inches 
 apart, and two or three 
 seeds to each inch of 
 row; cover very lightly 
 with fine soil, or sifted 
 dry moss. When the 
 plants begin to crowd, 
 prick them out into 
 other boxes, or into a 
 cold frame, giving them 
 
 Fig. 34. — ASTEK — P^ONT-FliOWEKED. 
 
 more room. The oftener they are transplanted, and the 
 more room you give them, the more stocky and better will 
 be the plants. As soon as the weather becomes settled, and 
 the soil is warm and in fine condition, set out in the bed 
 or border, watering the plants before taking them up, un- 
 til the soil is thoroughly saturated. Do not pull up the 
 plants, but take them up with a hand-fork or trowel, and 
 
CHIHA ASTEES. 
 
 153 
 
 ■with the fingers pressing the moist earth into a ball 
 around the roots, set them in the ground up to the lower 
 leaves, and if the weather is dry, press the soil firmly 
 around the roots. If the soil is moist, it must not be 
 pressed so firmly around the roots. The proper distance 
 apart depends on the variety; I usually plant the large 
 
 Fig. 35. — ASTER FLOTVEB. 
 
 kinds fifteen inches apart each way; the smaller, or dwarf 
 varieties, should be planted in rows fifteen inches apart, 
 and every seven and a half inches in the row. Keep the 
 ground entirely free from weeds by the constant use of 
 the hoe or rake. During a severe drouth, the ground 
 may be mulched with the clippings of the lawn. Wa- 
 tering with a solution of superphosphate, say one table- 
 spoonful to a gallon of water, will prove beneficial. 
 
 The varieties of Asters are numerous, and can be raised 
 true from seed. The lamented Darwin states that he 
 procured packets of twenty-five named varieties of com- 
 
154 
 
 GAEDElflKG POR YOUNG AKD OLD. 
 
 mon and quilled Asters, and raised one linndred and 
 twenty-four plants, of which all except ten were true; 
 many of the sub-varieties, however, so closely resemble 
 each other, that it is not worth while trying to keep them 
 distinct. Asters may be divided into three classes : the 
 tall-growing kinds, of which Truffaut's Pseony-flowered 
 Perfection, and New Eose, are well known, and excellent 
 varieties. The plants of these grow about two feet in 
 
 36.— DWAKF BOUQUET ASTEB. 
 
 heightj and it is desirable to tie them to stakes, as they 
 are liable to be broken during a high wind. There is a 
 medium class, growing about fifteen inches high; one 
 of the best of these is New Chrysanthemum-flowered 
 "Dwarf. The third class is a dwarf kind, consisting of a 
 pyramidal mass of flowers with a few leaves at the base 
 near the ground. Some think they are very beautiful. 
 They range from five to ten inches in height, and go by 
 the name of " Dwarf Bouquet Asters." 
 
BALSAMS. 
 
 BALSAMS. 
 
 155 
 
 Like the Aster, the Balsam has been greatly improved. 
 It was formerly called Lady's Slipper, from the shape 
 of the flower; the plant was large and coarse, and had 
 little to recommend it, except the green, healthy appear- 
 ance of the foliage, and the vigor of its growth. When 
 
 Fig. 37. — ^BALSAMS — PLAMTS A1?D FLOWERS. 
 
 yon wish to improve a plant, or animal, native vigor, or 
 healthy growth, is one of the essential points to start 
 with. If you wished to whittle a doll out of a piece of 
 pine wood, the original stick ought to be a good deal 
 larger than the doll, so that there may be an opportunity 
 to make it into the desired form, by cutting away the 
 
156 GAEDENIKG FOE YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 superfluous parts. So it is in improving a plant; we make 
 it smaller and more beautiful by breeding off what we do 
 not want, and encouraging the development and growth of 
 those parts which we desire. The Balsam of to-day has 
 branches and leaves so much smaller and finer than those 
 of the old-fashioned Lady's Slipper, that our great-grand- 
 mothers would hardly recognize the plant, the flowers of 
 which are much larger and more handsome than formerly. 
 The Balsam still retains much of its native vigor; it is a 
 healthy, hardy, clean-looking annual; it is transplanted 
 easily, and is a good plant of which to sow a few seeds, 
 [selecting, of course, the choicest varieties,] in a box in the 
 house, and treat the plants as recommended for Asters. 
 With Balsams, as with Asters, it is desirable to get good, 
 stocky plants, and the oftener we transplant them when 
 young, and the more room we give them, the more satis- 
 faction will they give us when set out in the garden. The 
 seed can be sown in the open ground where the plants are 
 to remain, or it may be sown in a warm border, in rows 
 wide enough apart to admit the use of a narrow hoe. 
 Drop two or three seeds to each inch of row, and cover 
 as lightly as possible, if the ground is moist. If the soil 
 is dry, press down the soil after the seed is sown, by pat- 
 ting the whole surface of the bed with the back of the 
 spade. As soon as the plants appear, hoe lightly between 
 the rows, pulling out all the weeds, and if any of the 
 plants are too thick in some parts of the row, transplant 
 them, either into a new row, or to the first row when 
 there are not enough plants. It is very desirable not to 
 have them too thick, for, as already said, strong, stocky 
 plants are wanted there, and you cannot have such unless 
 they have plenty of room in which to grow. It is not 
 necessary to plant Balsams in a bed by themselves; they 
 look quite as well when set out separately, as when massed 
 together. If there is any part of the flower garden where 
 you do not know what else to set out, put in a Balsam. 
 
BAETONIA. 157 
 
 The Balsam is a hardy, vigorous plant, and will do well 
 if sown in the open ground, where it is intended to re- 
 main, but you will get much finer flowers by sowing early 
 and transplanting frequently. Frequent transplanting 
 checks the yigorous growth of the branches and favors 
 the development of the flowers. The branches may be 
 pinched off, and the plant trained to sticks, or to a trellis 
 in any desired form, as shown in the illustrations on 
 page 155. If planted in a bed by themselves. Balsams 
 should be set out in rows, fifteen to eighteen inches 
 apart, and from ten to eighteen inches apart in the 
 row. My own plan is, to set them fifteen inches apart 
 each way. There are many varieties of Balsams, but, ex- 
 cept for the professional florist, the three following varie- 
 ties are most likely to give general satisfaction: Camellia- 
 flowered, in mixed colors; Eose-flowered, double, in 
 mixed colors; Extra-double-dwarf, mixed colors. 
 
 BARTONIA. 
 
 The Bartonia aurea, or Golden Bartonia, is a native of 
 California. The plant is about eighteen inches high, the 
 numerous large and showy bright yellow flowers having a 
 metallic lustre. The seed should be sown in the open 
 ground, in rich soil that has been heavily manured and 
 thoroughly prepared the autumn previous. Sow as early 
 in the spring as the ground is in good condition, in rows 
 fifteen inches apart, dropping a seed every two or three 
 inches in the row. The plants are not transplanted 
 readily, and it is best to sow where they are intended to 
 remain. Hoe lightly and frequently, between the rows, 
 and keep the bed entirely free from weeds. In a severe 
 drouth, it would be well to mulch the soil, between the 
 rows, with the clippings of the lawn. 
 
158 GAEDE]Sri2S"G FOE YOUNG AKD OLD. 
 
 BRACHTCOME. 
 
 The Bracliycoine {B.iberidifolia) is an Australian plant, 
 found on the banks of Swan River, and popularly called 
 the "Swan River Daisy." It grows about eight inches 
 high, and produces an abundance of flowers. For the 
 first eight years after its introduction there was no vari- 
 ation in the color or character of its flowers ; but we 
 have now two distinct varieties, one pure white and the 
 other rose-colored. This is a useful edging plant to sow 
 around the borders of a bed, leaving the plants four or 
 five inches apart. It deserves far more attention than it 
 has yet received. 
 
 CANDYTUFT. 
 
 Candytuft can be sown either in spring or in autumn. 
 It is a very hardy plant, easily grown, and a general favor- 
 ite. I like to see a large bed of it sown early in spring in 
 
 Fig. 38.— CANDYTUFT. 
 
 rows one foot apart, and the seeds sown quite thickly in 
 the row — say three or four seeds to the inch. By the 
 middle of June, the flowers will begin to show themselves, 
 
CAKDYTUPT. 159 
 
 and will continue to flower for several weeks. This is 
 a very easy and a very common method of growing Candy- 
 tuft. Finer plants and larger flowers can be grown by giv- 
 ing the plants more room, and they will continue much 
 longer in bloom. Candytuft can be readily transplanted, 
 and a good plan is, to set them out in rows nine inches 
 apart each way ; the land should be rich and kept entirely 
 free from weeds. Candytuft is not only very pretty but 
 it is very sweet; you cannot have too much of it in the 
 house, and for the good of the plants you cannot cut ofE 
 the flowers too frequently. If you allow it to go to seed 
 the plant is soon exhausted, and the way to prevent this 
 is to cut the flowers as fast as they appear. 
 
 I have heard people say that they raised flowers not 
 for bouquets, or for use in the house, but because they 
 wanted to see them in the garden. I have a dim recol- 
 lection of making some such remark myself, when I was 
 a boy, and did not know any better, Now, I like to see 
 flowers in the house ; in the parlor, in the library, or on 
 the dining-room fable, anywhere and everywhere. But 
 if one prefers to have them in the garden, if he does not 
 care about cutting them, but would rather let them 
 grow, there is no objection. In this case. Candytuft 
 should be sown in succession, say as early as possible in 
 spring, and then at intervals of two weeks, until the first 
 of July. Again in August and September, sow a bed in 
 a sheltered portion of the garden, where the plants can 
 remain all the winter. 
 
 There are numerous varieties ; the Pure White being 
 the most popular. It is fragrant and a profuse bloomer. 
 Carminia is a new variety which bids fair to be a decided 
 acquisition. These, with the Sweet-scented Pure "White, 
 from carefully grown seed, are all that will be needed, 
 except by the professional florist. 
 
160 GARDENING FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 CALENDULA, OR POT-MARIGOLD. 
 
 The Pot-Marigolds are well-known and popular flow- 
 ers. They have been greatly improved, and some of the 
 new varieties are decidedly superior to the old kind. 
 Cultivation similar to that of Phlox Drummondii. 
 
 COREOPSIS, OR CALLIOPSIS. 
 
 The Coreopsis is a hardy, easily grown and very showy 
 flower. It is best to sow the seeds in a bed by them- 
 selves, in rows fifteen inches apart, and thin the plants to 
 three or four inches apart in the rows. The flowers are 
 on slender foot-stalks over two feet high. The soil can 
 not be made too rich, or kept too clean, as much of the 
 beauty of the bed will depend on having the plants strong 
 and vigorous. A weedy, poverty-stricken bed of Coreop- 
 sis presents a sorry appearance, but if the plants are well 
 grown the bed will be very showy and attractive. 
 
 CANNA— INDIAN SHOT. 
 
 The Cannas are now attracting much attention ; being 
 large, vigorous growing plants. Some of the varieties 
 attain the height of five or six feet, or even more, with 
 broad, long leaves, which look fresh and beautiful in our 
 hot and dusty weather. A fine bed of well-grown Can- 
 nas is very pleasant to the eye, and even a single plant is 
 very attractive. 
 
 The Canna can be grown from seed the first year, but 
 to get fine, large plants the first season, it is necessary to 
 sow the seed in a hot-bed or in a box in the house in 
 March, and transplant into larger boxes, as soon as they 
 begin to crowd ; if the plants do well, they will soon 
 need transplanting a second time, and by far the better 
 way is, to pot them and place the pots in a hot-bed, not 
 
CALLIRRHOE. — CATCHFLT. 161 
 
 forgetting to plunge them well into the soil. Cannas 
 will stand considerable heat, but ventilation and watering 
 must not neglected. 
 
 The soil selected for Cannas in the garden should be 
 made very fine and mellow, with a large quantity of leaf- 
 mould, or manure, thoroughly worked into it. If the 
 plants are doing well in the hot-bed do not be in a hurry 
 to remove them. Set out the plants from eighteen inches 
 to two feet apart, each way. They should have plenty of 
 room, and the ground be kepb carefully hoed and free 
 from weeds, and it will be well to mulch the surface 
 with litter, or the clippings of the lawn. In autumn 
 take up the roots, and pack them away in dry sand for 
 the winter. Set them out again in the spring and they 
 will produce very fine plants. 
 
 CALLIRRHOE. 
 
 The cultivation of the annual Callirrhoe ( C. pedata) is 
 similar to that of Drummond's Phlox ; it may be sown in 
 the open ground where it is intended to remain, or the 
 plants may be started in the house and set out fifteen 
 inches apart. A large bed of them, if the soil is rich 
 and the plants vigorous and healthy, is very showy. The 
 plants commence to bloom early and continue to produce 
 their purple flowers until cut down by frost. 
 
 CATCHFLY. 
 
 The cultivation of the Catchfly is very similar to that 
 recommended for Candytuft. It is a hardy plant, grow- 
 ing about a foot high, a free bloomer | a well-grown bed 
 of it is very attractive. The plants require rich land and 
 clean culture. 
 
163 GARDENING FOR YOUNG A^T) OLD. 
 
 COCKSCOMB— CELOSIA. 
 
 The Celosia, or Cockscomb, is a very interesting and 
 attractive, though not particularly beautiful plant. The 
 flower-stem, "instead of growing erect, assumes the form 
 of a cock's comb, and in the hands of skillful gardeners, 
 with the aid of high manuring, this fasciated compound 
 flower-stem attains an enormous size. One was exhib- 
 ited in London eighteen inches in breadth. To attain 
 any thing like this size, the plants should be started early 
 and set out in the richest of soil. The plants may be 
 grown as recommended for Asters; except that when set 
 out in the garden, they should be allowed more room to 
 spread themselves. If the object is to grow as large flow- 
 ers as possible, the more room you give the plants the 
 better. Ordinarily the plants may be set out from two 
 and one half to three feet apart. 
 
 CONVOLVULUS, OR MORNING GLORY. 
 
 "We have two kinds of Morning Glory; one is a climb- 
 ing plant, growing with great rapidity, and throwing out 
 a constant succession of flowers. The other is a dwarf 
 
 Fig. 39. — DWARF CONVOLVULUS, FLOWEB AND PLANT. 
 
 plant. If we were speaking of beans, we should call 
 one the pole kind, and the other the bush kind. The 
 botanist has called one Ipomcea purpurea, and the other 
 Convolvulus tricolor. The first named is a very rapid- 
 
DIANTHUS. 163 
 
 growing climber, and can often be advantageously used 
 to hide some unsightly spot or building. The trellis, 
 poles, or strings, should be provided as soon as the plants 
 commence to run, so that they may cling to them from 
 the start. The soil can hardly be made too rich. If 
 the soil is rich enough, and the surface of the land for 
 several feet around is kept free from weeds, you may have 
 three or four plants to each foot of trellis. During the 
 heat of the day, the flowers are closed, but early in the 
 morning they are out m full bloom, and are seen in all 
 their glory. 
 
 Convolvulus tricolor, is a dwarf or bush Convolvulus ; 
 a bed of it, when well grown, is very showy and attrac- 
 tive. It is a good plan to plant the seed in hills fifteen 
 inches apart, putting four seeds in each hill. It is gen- 
 erally recommended to plant them much farther apart, 
 but I like to see the bed fully occupied. 
 
 DIANTHUS. 
 
 The genus Dianthus includes several of our most pop- 
 ular flowers, such as the Sweet William, the Carnation, 
 the Picotee, and the common garden Pink. The kinds 
 most easily grown from seed, and which are at the same 
 time desirable in every garden, axe the Dianthus Chinensis, 
 and Dianthus Reddewigii, or Japanese Pinks; both can be 
 easily grown from seed; but if not sown until May or 
 June, in the open ground, the plants will give but few 
 flowers the first summer. Indeed, it is better in this case 
 not to let them flower at all, but to aim to grow strong 
 plants for flowering the second season. They will stand 
 the winter well, especially if protected with branches of 
 evergreens or a light covering of horse litter. 
 
 For flowering the first summer, the plants should be 
 grown in the hot-bed or in a box in the house. Sow the 
 seed as recommended for Asters, and when the plants are 
 
164 GARDENING FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 strong and the weather warm, transplant them into a 
 very rich, well-prepared border, from ten to fifteen inches 
 apart. If you have dwarf varieties, they may be set 
 seven or eight inches apart, or nearly wide enough apart 
 to admit the use of a narrow hoe. I mention this, be- 
 cause it is exceedingly important to keep the soil well 
 stirred and entirely free from weeds. The plants will 
 flower all summer, and it is absolutely necessary to have 
 the soil very rich, or this profuse production of flowers 
 will weaken the young plants. If the plants do not grow 
 vigorously, pinch oS the flower-buds, and water the bed 
 with water containing an ounce, or about a tablespoonful 
 of superphosphate to a gallon, applying a gallon of this 
 solution to a dozen plants. The dose may be repeat- 
 ed in two weeks; more than this will not be necessary, 
 though another dose will do no harm. 
 
 *t3^ 
 
 DELPHINIUM, OR LARKSPI3R 
 
 The Rocket Larkspur is a well-known and popular flow- 
 er, easily grown from seed. But as it is not transplant- 
 ed very readily, and has to be sown in the open ground, 
 where the plants are to remain, it does not make as large 
 a growth as it would if it could bo started in a hot-bed. 
 Sow the seed in a well-prepared border as early in the 
 spring as the ground can begot into good condition. Sow 
 in rows a foot apart, and thin out the plants to four or five 
 inches apart in the row. Keep the ground clean, and 
 water with a little superphosphate water, as directed for 
 the Pinks. Or what will perhaps be just as well in 
 this case, sow from one to two ounces, or one to two 
 tablespoonfuls, of superphosphate to each square yard of 
 bed at the time of sowing the seed, or at any time after- 
 wards, when there is a prospect of a good soaking rain. 
 
 The Branching Larkspur requires more room than the 
 Rocket Larkspur, and the plants should be set from 
 
DIGITALIS, OE FOXGLOVE. — DOLIOHOS, ETC. 165 
 
 twelve to fifteen inches apart. All the Larkspurs require 
 a deep, rich, moist soil. They do better on the north 
 side of a slope, where they are shaded, rather than in the 
 full bla25e of our hot sun. 
 
 DIGITALIS, OR FOXGLOVE. 
 
 The Digitalis, or Foxglove, is not an annual, but is 
 easily grown from seed, and deserves to be more generally 
 cultivated than it now is. The plant throws up several 
 flower-stems, two or three feet in height, each stem be- 
 ing covered at its upper portion with a dozen or more 
 large, well-shaped flowers. 
 
 The seeds may be sown in a hot-bed, or in a box in 
 the house, or in the open ground, but in the latter case 
 no flowers will be obtained the first year, or, if the plants 
 throw \ip any flower-stalks they should be cut off; the 
 next year the plants will be strong, and produce a great 
 profusion of flowers. In the following autumn, or spring, 
 the roots of the plant may be divided, and in this way 
 you will soon have all the Foxgloves you require. The 
 plants may be set out the first year, from twelve to fif- 
 teen inches apart, but the second year they will be thick 
 enough if they stand two to three feet apart. 
 
 DOLIOHOS, OR HYACINTH-BEAN. 
 
 The cultivation of this beautiful climber is similar to 
 that recommended for the Lima-bean. The plant grows 
 even taller than the Scarlet Runner, but it is not so hardy; 
 it delights in our hot sun, and should be planted in the 
 warmest and driest soil. Like all rapid-growing plants, 
 it requires an abundance of food, and the soil cannot be 
 too liberally manured. 
 
166 GAEDENING FOE YOUifG AND OLD. 
 
 GILIA TKICOLOR AND OTHERS. 
 
 The children will all like the Gilias, if for no other 
 reason than because they come so soon into flower. The 
 seed may be sown in a box in the house, by the middle of 
 March, and the plants transplanted as soon as the weather 
 will permit; they do not bear transplanting readily, ex- 
 cept when young. Sometimes a few of the plants will 
 flower in the box before you are ready to set them out. 
 
 Perhaps the better way is, to sow the seeds in rings 
 in the garden. If you take a common two-tined fork 
 you can make a circle, in the circumference of which sow 
 the Gilia seeds, dropping them from an inch and a half 
 to two inches apart, m the mark made by the fork. If 
 you use a three- tined fork you can make two rings. Sow 
 the seed in both rings, two or three inches apart. 
 
 HELIANTHUS, OR SUNFLOWER. 
 
 My young friends must not fail to sow a few Sunflower 
 seeds. They come up so soon, and grow so rapidly, that 
 the plants become objects of interest from the start. Sow 
 three or four seeds in a hill, as you would com, say three 
 feet apart, and thin out to two plants in a hill. Or plant 
 a hill in any vacant spot or corner. You may plant a 
 row along the fence, being careful, however, to leaye 
 space enough between the Sunflowers and the fence to 
 admit of the use of the cultiyator, or the hoe; thin out 
 the plants to a foot apart. The Sunflower delights in a 
 rich soil and an abundance of sunshine. It is a coarse 
 plant, but is not without its attractions. The single 
 varieties are more vigorous and, of course, produce much 
 more seed than the double sorts. The seed is much rel- 
 ished by poultry. It is usually sown about the time we 
 plant corn, but it may be put in at any time in the spring, 
 as it is not injured by frost. See Sunflower, Double. 
 
KAULFUSSIA. — LUPUSTES. — MALOPE. 167 
 
 KAULFUSSIA. 
 
 An attractive little plant, coming very early into flower, 
 but not lasting long. It is hardy. Sow a few circles of 
 them, as recommended for Gilia. 
 
 LUPINES. 
 
 The Lupines are a well-known and very hardy genus 
 of plants, belonging to the Pea family. Some of the 
 species are grown as food for stock, and also for plowing 
 under to enrich the land. I suppose it is called Lupine, 
 or Wolf, because of its power to live on poor, hungry 
 soils. Some of the Lupines are not a foot in height, 
 while others grow on rich soil, from five to six feet high. 
 There is a great variety of colors. The Lupine has a long 
 tap-root, and gets its food from the sub-soil. It does not 
 transplant easily, and should be sown where it is intended 
 to remain. The Dwarf varieties can be sown in rings, 
 like Gilias; the larger sorts should be sown in rows, fif- 
 teen inches to two feet apart, dropping three or four seeds 
 in each hill, and thin out to single plants, after they are 
 fairly established. 
 
 MALOPE. 
 
 The Malope grandiflora has a very large, showy flower; 
 the plant is hardy, and vigorous, growing about three 
 feet high. The seed may be sown in a box in the house, 
 and the plants set out a,s soon as the weather is suitable, 
 in the open ground, fifteen inches to two feet apart. 
 The seed can be sown in" the open ground, and make 
 equally good plants, but not so early. 
 
168 
 
 GAEDEKING FOB YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 MIGNONETTE. 
 
 The children should get half a dozen packets of Mig- 
 nonette seed with which to experiment. Let them sow a 
 little seed when they like, where they like, and how 
 they like. Wherever there is a little soil, two or three 
 inches in depth, they can grow Mignonette. It will not 
 grow in the oven or on top of the stove, because it is too 
 hot; it will not grow in a dark cellar, because it requires 
 light; it will not grow in the refrigerator, because it is 
 too cold; it will not grow in the ash-pit, because it is too 
 dry. But wherever there is a little fine, 
 mellow soil, and it can be kept moist, 
 in a moderately warm place, with more 
 or less sunshine, especially more, there 
 you can grow Mignonette. It does not 
 matter whether the soil is 
 in a beautiful flowerpot, 
 or in an old tin can with a 
 hole in the bottom. But of 
 course while Mignonette 
 will grow under adverse con- 
 Fig. 40.— MIGNONETTE. dltlous, it Is better to have 
 everything connected with flowers neat and orderly; the 
 more simple, the better. A good plan is, to fill a box, a foot 
 wide, three inches deep, and just long enough to go upon 
 a window-sill, fasten it with wire at the southern or east- 
 ern window, in the kitchen, or in some room where it 
 never freezes. Fill the box with fine mould, or the finest 
 and lightest soil you can get; water the soil with warm 
 water, and sow the Mignonette seed, in rows two inches 
 apart, and two or three seeds to each inch, sift on a little 
 fine soil or pulverized moss, Just sufficient to cover the 
 seed. Nothing more will be necessary until the plants 
 begin to grow. It will then be necessary to water the 
 
MIGNONETTE. 169 
 
 plants occasionally, with warm water; the hotter the room 
 and the brighter the sun, the more rapidly the plants 
 grow, and the oftener v.ill they need to be watered. Be- 
 fore the plants begin to crowd each other, pinch a few 
 of them off, so as to give those left room to grow. 
 
 In the open ground the bed for Mignonette should be 
 prepared in the autumn; it should be carefully spaded, 
 and well manured, and worked over with a hoe and rake, 
 until it is quite fine and mellow. In the spring sow the 
 seed on this bed, as soon as the soil is dry and the weather 
 is warm. Unless the soil is a very light and sandy one, 
 you must be careful not to work it when it is wet. But 
 so soon as the soil is dry, hoe it three or four inches deep, 
 and rake it very fine, taking ofE all the stones and rub- 
 bish, or dig a hole in the bed, and with a rake pull the 
 stones and rubbish into the hole, and cover them up 
 with fine soil. Mark the bed both ways, with a marker 
 nine or ten inches wide, and drop three or four seeds 
 where the lines cross each other, cover them, and if the 
 soil IS dry, pat it with the back of the spade. The seed 
 IS small, and must not be covered more than a quarter of 
 an inch deep; if the ground is moist enough, the less 
 covering the better. A tablespoonful of superphosphate 
 to each square yard of bed, scattered broadcast on the 
 surface, either before the seed is sown or afterwards, will 
 be very beneficial. 
 
 As soon as the plants appear, hoe lightly between the 
 rows, and all around the plants; this will leave very lit- 
 tle weeding to be done. I recommend sowing three or 
 four or more seeds in a hill, because the plants will come 
 up better, and because we do not want any gaps. We do 
 not need, however, more than one good plant in a place, 
 and these should be far enough apart to admit the use of 
 a hoe. If preferred, the seed can be sown in drills from 
 eight to twelve inches apart, dropping two or three seeds 
 to each inch of row, afterwards thinning out the plants 
 
170 GARDElsriKG FOE YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 to two or three inches apart. But the other plan will 
 give finer plants and there is less af terwork. 
 
 Another bed should be sown a week or two later; and 
 if the early sown bed is on warm, dry soil, facing the 
 south, and the other bed on deep, rich soil, sloping to 
 the north, or the north-west or north-east, you will have 
 a longer succession of Mignonette in full flower and fra- 
 grance. The more flowers you gather, the more you will 
 have. If you do not cut the flowers, they will go to seed 
 and this weakens the plant; but the better way is to sow 
 large beds at different times. Mignonette can be trans- 
 planted, but the work has to be done skillfully, and it is 
 better to sow the seed where the plants are intended to 
 remain. A bed of Mignonette should be sown in the au- 
 tumn; this will give early flowers next spring. You can 
 not have too many beds of Mignonette, nor can they be 
 too large. 
 
 MIMOSA, OR SENSITIVE PLANT. 
 
 The species known as Mimosa pudica, or Sensitive 
 Plant, is exceedingly interesting ; it is very pretty, but 
 its chief charm, especially to the children, lies in the 
 fact that when you touch it, all the leaves instantly curl 
 up, and the branch falls down. 
 
 The seed should be sown early in the spring m the hot- 
 bed or in a box m the house. When the plants begin to 
 crowd, if the soil outside is not thoroughly warm, prick 
 them out into a larger box, or into pots, and about the 
 middle of June, set them out carefully in a well-prepared 
 border. It is well to leave a few plants in four or five^ 
 inch pots. Plunge the pofcs in the soil so that the rims 
 shall be even with the surface, next autumn, and before 
 frost, remove these pots to the house. The plants will 
 be interesting objects all winter. 
 
MTOSOTIS. — MIRABILIS. — THE PANSY. 171 
 
 MYOSOTIS, OK FOEGET-ME-NOT. 
 
 The Forget-me-not requires a deep, rich, moist and 
 mellow soil. It is best to start the plants in a hot-bed, 
 or box in the house, though the seed may be sown in the 
 open ground. The plants do better on a northern slope, 
 or in a moist and somewhat shady place. The plant is 
 perennial. 
 
 MIEABILIS, OR MARVEL OF PERU. 
 
 Make the ground very rich and mellow, sow the seeds 
 in a row where you can hoe on each side of it, at least a 
 foot in width. Drop a seed in each two or three inches 
 of row, and cover by patting the soil with the back of the 
 hoe. The plants should be thinned out to a foot apart. 
 The plants are about two feet high, and if they have 
 plenty of room, will throw out numerous branches. The 
 flowers are large and fragrant, and quite showy. 
 
 THE PANSY. 
 
 The Pansy, or Heart's-ease, is not only one of the most 
 popular, but one of the most beautiful of flowers. The 
 improvement which has been made in the size and colors 
 of the flowers is most marvellous. How this has been 
 effected it is not necessary to inquire. We know this, 
 however, that the plants, or rather the flowers, will rapidly, 
 degenerate and decrease in size and brilliancy, when 
 grown on poor soil, and their cultivation neglected. 
 
 If you would have the best of Pansies you must not 
 only get seed from the best sources, but careful atten- 
 tiou must be given to every condition of growth. 
 
 It is a very easy matter to grow really good Pansies. 
 Pansy seed, sown last spring in a box in the house, the 
 last of March, gave us strong plants, which, on June 25th, 
 
172 
 
 GAEDEKI2S"G FOE YOUNG AKD OLD. 
 
 were flowering out of doors. Our season last year was 
 from two to three weeks later than usual. I mention 
 this to show that the children can, and do very readily, 
 raise good Pansies without much weary waiting. And 
 the beauty of it is, that these Pansies will continue to 
 produce more and more flowers during the whole summer. 
 The plants I speak of were transplanted two or three 
 times, before the soil in the garden was warm enough to 
 
 set them out. Early 
 sowing, and frequent 
 transplanting, so as to 
 produce strong, stocky 
 plants, is a great advan- 
 tage. The Pansies are 
 supposed to require a 
 great deal of water. 
 Perhaps so, perhaps 
 not. At any rate, one of 
 the most common mis- 
 takes, when raising 
 
 THE PANST. 
 
 plants in the hot-bed, or in the boxes in the house, is to 
 give them too much water. What the plants really need is, 
 the richest of rich soils. If you want to make good 
 coffee, you must put a good deal of coffee in the pot, 
 and very little water. You would not get much coffee, 
 but what you do get will be good. For my part, I would 
 rather have half a cup of good coffee than two cups of 
 poor. And I fancy that Pansies, to produce the largest 
 
THE P^KST. 173 
 
 flowers, require the richest of plant food. In other words, 
 you must not put too much water in their coffee. The 
 sap of the soil on which they live, should be as rich and as 
 concentrated as you can make it. Such a soil would ap- 
 pear to be very moist, while in point of fact it may hold 
 comparatively little water. It will simply hold more 
 water during dry weather than a soil that has not been 
 so heavily manured. The probabilities are, that this 
 effect is produced by the formation of nitrates, by the 
 oxidation of the nitrogenous matter in the heavily man- 
 ured soil. 
 
 If this is the true explanatim, what we want to pro- 
 duce the largest and best pansies is, first, a soil thoroughly 
 underdrained, at least three feet deep ; secondly, a soil 
 that is carefully spaded two feet deep and a good wheel- 
 barrowful of manure to each square yard of ground, 
 thoroughly worked into the soil, a foot or fifteen inches 
 deep. Then work into the surface soil all the rich, well- 
 rotted manure, say from an old hot-bed, you can make it 
 hold. Few people know how much manure they can 
 work into the soil until they set about the work in 
 earnest. Mark you, the manure must be well incor- 
 porated with the soil with a potato hook or hoe, as you 
 would a heap of mortar ; work it and keep working it 
 until there is not a lump of soil, or manure left bigger 
 than a grain of mustard seed. 
 
 On such a soil sow the seed, or set out the plants as 
 soon as the weather is warm and settled in the spring, 
 but it is best not to be in too great a hurry. The plants 
 may be set out in rows nine iiiches apart each way. Or 
 if preferred, plant in rows fifteen inches apart, leaving 
 one plant every five or six inches in the row. If seed is 
 sown in such a bed as I have described, I would sow in 
 rows a foot apart, and drop the seeds one to two inches 
 in the row. The drill mark should not be over half an 
 inch deep. Cover the seed by patting the surface of the 
 
l'i'4 GAEDENING TOK TOUISTG AND OLD. 
 
 bed with the back of the spade or hoe. The varieties of 
 Pansy are very numerous. I think my young friends will 
 do well, at first, to sow only the choicest and best seed of 
 mixed varieties. They may obtain plants of some of the 
 newer varieties from the professional florists. 
 
 SWEET-PEAS. 
 
 The Sweet-pea, one of the most fragrant and beautiful 
 of flowers, is grown precisely like other peas; it is exceed- 
 ingly hardy, and grows well in a great variety of soils. 
 To have Sweet Peas in perfection, however, three things 
 are essential; rich land, early sowing, and the cleanest 
 and best of culture. Perhaps it may be well to say in 
 addition, that the plants should have plenty of room be- 
 tween the rows, say not less than three feet, and at the 
 same time it is desirable to sow the peas quite thickly in 
 the row. When thus sown, the peas come up earlier and 
 better, and check the growth of the small weeds in the 
 row; if you have only one row, be sure to have plenty of 
 room on each side of the row for the use of the hoe or 
 cultivator. I have seen Sweet-peas sown along a fence, 
 but never knew them to do really well, because the plants 
 were so close to the fence that they could not be hoed on 
 both sides of the row. The peas must be provided with 
 sticks or strings, or a trellis to cling to. I said "must 
 be," because this is the neatest and best Avay, and not 
 because the supports are absolutely necessary. In rais- 
 ing Sweet-peas in large quantities for seed, we do not 
 stick them, but sow them in rows two and a half feet 
 apart, precisely as we do common peas when growing 
 them for market. If the ground is very rich and clean, 
 and the soil well cultivated between the rows, you will 
 have a finer growth and a mass of the sweetest and most 
 beautiful flowers. 
 
 The land for Sweet-peas should be dug and heavily 
 
PETUNIA. 
 
 175 
 
 manured the previous autumn, and the moment the frost 
 is out of the ground in the spring, sow the peas, putting 
 at least two seeds to each inch of row. An ordinary 
 sized packet, as sent out by the seedsmen, would be 
 about sufficient for a couple of circles some nine inches 
 in diameter, and if this is all you intend to sow, perhaps 
 sowing them in a circle is as good a plan as any; place a 
 stick about three feet high, with a few branches on it, in 
 the center of the circle for the peas to climb upon. 
 
 PETUNIA. 
 
 The Petunia has been greatly improved during the last 
 few years, and is now one of our most popular flowers. 
 
 It is easily grown, and every 
 garden should have a large 
 bed of it. If a few plants 
 only are grown, to be set out 
 singly, it is desirable to have 
 the finest double varieties; 
 but when massed together in 
 a large bed, the small-flow- 
 ered kinds, with more or less 
 double ones amongst them, 
 are exceedingly showy and 
 pleasing. A good plan is, to 
 prepare the bed the au- 
 tumn previous, by spading 
 and manuring ; in the 
 spring, as soon as the soil 
 is dry and warm, hoe and 
 rake the beds ; mark off 
 into rows a foot apart 
 and drop four or five seeds where the lines cross. The 
 seeds are exceedingly small, and you must be careful not 
 to cover them too deep; if patted down with the back of 
 
 Fig. 42. — ^PETtTNIA. 
 
176 GAKDEKING FOE TOTJKG AlfD OLD. 
 
 the spade, that will be sufiBcient coYering. When the 
 plants appear, hoe carefully between the rows and as 
 close to the plants as you can, pulling out any weeds that 
 may be left. As the plants grow, thin them out, and 
 ultimately leave only one good plant in a place. 
 
 DRUMMOND'S PHLOX. 
 
 Of all annual flowers. Phlox Drummondii is my fa- 
 vorite. Although it is a native of Texas, it is admirably 
 adapted to our climate, and every garden should have a 
 large bed of it — the larger the better. It can be grown 
 as easily as onions or carrots, in fact with less labor, as 
 the plants are farther apart and nearly all the weeds can 
 be removed with the hoe. On my farm I grow this Phlox 
 in the field, sowing it with a garden drill, in rows twenty- 
 one inches apart, precisely as turnips are sown. I mention 
 this to show how easily this plant can be grown. It requires 
 rich, clean, dry land; a sandy loam is better than either 
 a very light sandy soil or one that approximates to a clay. 
 For Phlox, as for many other garden crops, the true plan 
 is to prepare the land in the autumn, making it as rich, 
 deep, clean, and mellow as possible. The more manure 
 you work into it, the larger and more brilliant will be 
 the flowers, and this is especially the case if we have a 
 dry, hot summer. 
 
 The seed should be sown as early as possible in the 
 spring. As I said before, you ought to have a large bed 
 of it. Single plants set out in beds with other flowers, 
 are very pretty, but to bring out the real beauty and ef- 
 fectiveness of the Phlox, you should see it in large 
 masses. If the bed has been well prepared in the au- 
 tumn, as soon as it is dry and in good working condition 
 in the spring, hoe the whole surface of the bed three or 
 four inches deep, and work it with a potato-hook and 
 steel rake until not a lump remains; then mark the bed 
 
 I 
 
DRTJMMO]SrD's PHLOX. 
 
 177 
 
 into rows twelve or fifteen inches apart, and sow the seed 
 in the rows, putting one seed to each two inches of row. 
 This is one way; another, and I think a better plan, is, 
 to mark the bed both ways in rows twelve or fifteen 
 inches apart, and drop three or four seeds in each place 
 
 Fig. 43. — GEorrp op the kewee vabieties of drummond's phlox. 
 
 where the lines cross, covering not more than a quarter of 
 an inch deep. If the soil is dry, pat it down with the 
 back of the spade or hoe. In this case you do not need 
 to put any soil on top of the seeds — ^the patting will cover 
 them deep enough. 
 
 Only one plant is needed in a place. I recommend 
 sowing three or four seeds, because they wiU come up 
 
178 GAEDEJSflNG POR TOUKG AND OLD. 
 
 better and quicker, and you are better able to see the 
 plants, and hoe around them, before the weeds begin to 
 be troublesome. Hoe frequently, and suffer not a weed 
 to grow, and when the plants are fairly established, take 
 out all but one in a place. Nothing more will be required, 
 except to keep the bed entirely free from weeds. 
 
 Drummond's Phlox is so easily grown in this way that 
 I hardly like to suggest any other method of cultivation, 
 and before doing so, I should like to exact a promise from 
 all my young friends, that they will sow a large bed in 
 the way just mentioned, whether they do or do not adopt 
 the plan I am now about to describe. The truth is, no 
 one ever raised half enough of Drummond's Phlox, and 
 the following plan will give you a fine lot of early plants, 
 which you can raise to excellent purpose, while the bed 
 grown from seed sown out of doors, will give you a glori- 
 ous display of beautiful flowers, from the middle of July 
 until cut down by frost. 
 
 This Phlox can be transplanted as easily as a cabbage, 
 and nothing is easier than to raise a fine lot of plants in 
 the house or hot-bed. 
 
 About the middle of March sow a box of Phlox seed 
 in rows, one inch apart, dropping two or three seeds to 
 each inch of row; cover the seed about a quarter of an 
 inch deep with sifted dry moss, or less than half that depth 
 with sifted sand, or mould. Before sowing the seed, the 
 mould in the box should be thoroughly watered with 
 blood-warm water. Until the plants appear, all that will 
 be necessary to do is, to sprinkle on a little warm water 
 to keep the surface moist; when the plants appear, especi- 
 ally if the room is warm, and the weather bright and 
 sunny, they will require a little water every day. Be 
 careful not to give too much water. Before the plants 
 begin to crowd each other, transplant them into a larger 
 box, or boxes, in rows two inches apart, and the plants 
 an inch apart in the row. The soil should be thoroughly 
 
deummqnd's phlox. 179 
 
 •watered with "warm water before setting out the plants. 
 The box from which the plants are removed should also 
 be saturated with warm water. Do not try to thin out 
 the plants, but take them all up out of the box, as in 
 this way comparatively few roots will be broken off. Of 
 course the bos from which the plants are taken can also 
 be filled with transplanted Phlox plants. 
 
 After the plants are pricked out sift a little pulverized 
 moss on the soil, say an eighth of an inch deep; this will 
 check evaporation, and in a day or two the plants will be 
 growing as vigorously as ever. 
 
 The great point after this is, to give the plants as 
 much sunshine as possible. If kept in the shade they 
 will be apt to grow up tall and spindlmg; what we 
 want is large, stocky plants, hence they must have 
 plenty of room. It may be necessary to transplant 
 them once more into larger boxes, or you may remove 
 every other row of plants, and set them out into a warm 
 border, leaving the others to grow a little larger in the 
 box in the house. It is necessary, in any case, to harden 
 the plants before setting them out in the garden; this 
 can be done by putting the boxes out of doors on a bench, 
 on the south side of the house. At first, they should 
 not be allowed to remain outside for more than an hour or 
 so, during the heat of the day, gradually extending the 
 time as the plants become stronger and more stocky. 
 
 These plants can be set out either in a large bed, in 
 rows twelve to fifteen inches apart each way, or they may 
 be set out singly amongst other flowers, wherever there 
 is room for them. 
 
 The handsomest bed of Drummond's Phlox I ever 
 saw, was on a wide outside border of a large cold 
 grapery, sloping towards the south-west; the border had 
 been prepared with the greatest care, and enriched for 
 three or four feet deep with horn-piths and rich manure. 
 From this it is evident that the Phlox, and more especi- 
 
180 GAEDEKII^G POR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 ally the choicest yarieties, will stand high manuring; true, 
 you can grow it on any ordinary garden soil, but it will 
 repay all the labor bestowed in enriching and mellowing 
 the land. The mistake most people make, is in planting 
 too thick. On good land, twelve to fifteen inches apart 
 each way is close enough. 
 
 The varieties are so numerous that it is hard to say 
 which are the best. For my part, I want one pure 
 white and one brilliant scarlet. For anything more 
 than this I should be willing to trust to good seed of 
 mixed varieties, from some trustworthy seed-grower. 
 
 THE POPPY. 
 
 The old-fashioned Poppy, extensively grown for the 
 production of opium, is a hardy, vigorous-growing an- 
 nual, with a white, single flower. We have, however, a 
 number of beautiful varieties, with double flowers of all 
 shades of color. We have also dwarf and tall varieties. 
 
 The Poppy is not transplanted readily, and it must 
 be sown in the garden where it is intended to remain. 
 Select the warmest and driest soil, make it fine and mel- 
 low, and sow the seed as early in the spring as the 
 weather will permit, or about the time you plant corn. 
 
 The large Pasony-flowered Poppy has double flowers of 
 great size and beauty. Thin out the plants to at least 
 a foot apart. The small double Eanunculus-flowered 
 varieties may be sown in rows about a foot apart, and 
 thinned out to seven inches apart m the row. 
 
 If you wish to experiment in growing flowers for opium, 
 sow in rows not less than fifteen inches apart, and thin 
 out the plants to a sufficient distance to admit of the use 
 of the hoe. For this purpose, the best variety is the 
 single Papaver somniferum, or Opium Poppy. The time 
 may come when the Poppy will be very extensively grown 
 here for opium. 
 
POETULACA. 
 
 POKTULACA. 
 
 181 
 
 Fig. 44.— POETULACA — SINGLE 
 I-LOWEK. 
 
 The Portulaca is own brother to the Purslane or 
 
 **Pussley," one of the worst weeds we have on light 
 
 sandy, garden soils. Both are hardy, both thrive best 
 
 in sandy soils, but here the comparison ends. The 
 
 Purslane is a miserable weed, the Portulaca a beautiful 
 
 flower. I have heard it said 
 that it is just as easy to raise a 
 good thing as a bad one. Not 
 so. The Portulaca must be 
 cultivated with care, and the 
 better the variety, the richer 
 must be the soil. The double 
 varieties of Portulaca should be 
 sown in a box in the house about 
 the middle of March, in rows 
 
 one inch apart and two or three seeds to each inch of 
 
 row. When the plants begin to 
 
 crowd each other, take out every 
 
 other row and set them out m an- 
 other bos. They are transplanted 
 
 readily, and it is an easy matter to 
 
 get good strong plants to set out in 
 
 the garden as soon as the weather 
 
 will permit. 
 
 It is of course not necessary to 
 
 start the plants in the house, the 
 
 seeds may be sown in the open 
 
 ground. Select the warmest and 
 
 lightest soil, make it as good as 
 
 possible. Eake it smooth and pat 
 
 it down firm with the back of the 
 
 spade, then make shallow drills a foot 
 
 apart and sow the seeds about an 
 
 inch apart in the drill ; cover not more than a quarter 
 
 Fig. 45. — POKTULACA — 
 
 PLANT AND DOUBLE 
 
 FLOWER. 
 
182 GAEDENIKG FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 
 
 of an inch deep. If you pat the rows with the back of 
 tlie s]3ade, this will cover the seed deep enough. If 
 the weather is dry it will be well to water the bed 
 occasionally until the plants are fairly started. Hoe 
 lightly between the rows and suffer not a weed to 
 grow. This is yery important, especially when the 
 plants are young. Thin out the plants in the row 
 to three or four inches apart; those that are remoyed 
 may be used to fill yacancies, or to make another bed. 
 
 The plants started in the house can be set out in rows 
 a foot apart each way, and if the soil is rich enough, they 
 will soon coyer the whole bed. The great point in 
 growing Portulaca is to get the plants fairly started ; 
 when the roots get firm hold of the soil, the hottest sun 
 will not hurt them. 
 
 EICINUS— CASTOE-OIL BEAK 
 
 The Eicinus, or Castor Oil-Bean, is extensiyely grown 
 in some parts of this country for making castor oil. The 
 plants grow with wonderful yigor, often attaining the 
 height of ten feet. The leayes are large and beautiful, 
 and the fiowers of many of the yarieties are brilliant and 
 attractive. The cultivation is as simple as that of the 
 Sun-flower or Indian Corn. Set out a plant m the centre 
 of a bed. The Castor Oil-bean can also be used to great 
 advantage as an ornamental screen. 
 
 SALPIGLOSSIS. 
 
 The Salpiglossis delights in a warm, sandy soil. The 
 plants may be started m the house and set out in rows, a 
 foot apart and five or six inches from one another in the 
 row. The plants make a fine edging ; for this purpose, 
 make a drill around the bed nine inches from the margin, 
 sow the seeds about an inch apart, cover lightly, hoe 
 
STOCKS — TEK WEEKS. 183 
 
 carefully, and thin out the plants to three or four inches 
 apart. The dwarf variety is best for this purpose. It 
 grows about a foot high, while the ordinary varieties are 
 about two feet high. The flowers of both are large and 
 showy, and are well worthy a place in every garden. 
 
 STOCKS— TEN WEEKS. 
 
 Those who have had no experience in starting flower 
 seeds in a box in the house, would find Ten Weeks Stock 
 a good plant to experiment with. Sow the seeds in 
 rows an inch apart, and two or three seeds to an inch of 
 row. Cover with a little pulverized moss, a quarter of 
 an inch deep, or with one-eighth of an inch of sand, or 
 mould. Give the soil in the box a thorough watering 
 with warm water before sowing the seed; until the plants 
 appear nothing more is required, except to sprinkle on 
 enough water every day to keep the surface moist. 
 
 The plants of Stock can be transplanted as easily as 
 cabbage plants, and as it is always very important to get 
 strong, compact plants, you can not transplant them too 
 often. As soon as the plants are an inch high, take out 
 every other row, and prick them out into another box, 
 and as soon as those that are left in the first box begin to 
 crowd, if the weather is not warm enough to set them 
 out of doors, transplant into another box in the house. 
 If the seed is sown the middle of March, you will have 
 strong, stocky plants, three inches high, by the middle 
 of May. The boxes should then be placed out of doors 
 in the sun for a few hours every day, to harden the 
 plants. 
 
 Ten Weeks stocks are so hardy and vigorous that they 
 will do well on any good garden soil. Set them out just 
 as you would a cabbage plant. Put them in the ground 
 just deep enough for the lower leaves to reach the surface 
 
184 GAEDEKINJ FOE YOTJISTG AKD OLD. 
 
 of the soil. Set them a foot apart, hoe frequently, and 
 keep the bed entirely free from weeds. 
 
 The Ten Weeks Stock delights in a moist soil and plenty 
 of rain. But as we can not always be sure of having 
 plenty of moisture, we should make the soil as rich a£ 
 possible. This is particularly important if we expect to 
 raise double flowers. I do not mean by this, that if we 
 expect to grow seed that will produce double flowers, we 
 should make the land rich. In point of fact, the seed 
 that will produce double flowers is from plants that have 
 been starved or dwarfed, the plants being grown with as 
 little food and water as possible, and the seed taken from 
 the lower haK of the pod, the secondary branches of 
 the plant only being allowed to bear seed. What I 
 mean is, that when you have seeds grown for the special 
 purpose of producing plants that will bear double flowers, 
 you can not make the soil too rich for them. 
 
 SUKPLOWER— DOUBLE. 
 
 Every one knows the tall-growing, large-flowered, 
 single Sunflower. (See page 166.) Its appearance is gen- 
 erally associated with unhinged gates, windows stuffed 
 with old hats, and other marks of poverty. Nevertheless, 
 even the common Sunflower may be so grouped as to 
 present a striking appearance, and there is a dwarf double 
 one that is not out of place in any garden. This has been 
 in cultivation for many years, but no one seems to know 
 how it originated. It has been called the "Many-flow- 
 ered," the '^ California Double," the "Hollow Globe," 
 and by other names. It produces small, nearly globular 
 flowers, of a regular shape, and of a bright golden yel- 
 low color; they are without the coarseness of the single 
 sunflower, and quite as handsome as a Dahlia. This 
 variety is an annual. 
 
VEEBEIirA. 
 
 185 
 
 YEEBENA. 
 
 It is not at all difficult to raise good Verbena plants 
 from seed. Sow the seeds in a box in the house, the 
 first or second week in March. The soil can not be too 
 rich, and it is very desirable to mix with it about one- 
 quarter its bulk of dried and sifted moss. Before sowing 
 the seeds, water the soil in the box with warm, or hot 
 water, the hotter the better, provided you do not sow the 
 seeds until two or three hours after applying the water. 
 Sow in rows an inch apart, placing the seeds about half 
 an inch apart on the top of moist soil, coyer by scattering 
 
 46. — DOXJBLK ANNUAL SOTTFLOWER. 
 
 on dry, sifted moss, a quarter of an inch deep. Keep 
 the box in a warm room. Very little water will be re- 
 quired. More plants are lost by excessive watering than 
 from all other causes combined. As soon as the plants 
 
186 GAEDBKIKG FOE TOUKG AJSTD OLD. 
 
 appear, place them in a sunny window; they grow 
 slowly at first, and will require very little water — the 
 warmer the room, and the brighter the sun, the more wa- 
 ter will they need. When the plants are well out of the 
 seed leaf, or at any rate before they begin to crowd, or to 
 run up too tall, transplant them into a larger box, placing 
 them at least an inch apart. The plants should not be 
 set out in the garden until the weather is quite warm, 
 and all danger of frost is past. If they should get too 
 large in the boxes, it is a good plan to set them out in 
 two-inch flower pots. Plunge the pots in a box of moist 
 earth, or of moss, and after they have got over the check 
 from transplanting, place them in a sunny window. 
 Water moderately, and always with warm water, say 
 about as warm as new milk. For a week before setting 
 out in the open ground, the plants should be gradually 
 hardened by placing the boxes on the south side of a 
 building for an hour or two, during the middle of the day, 
 and gradually extending the time until they can be left 
 out all night with safety. 
 
 The bed for Verbenas should be a light, dry, warm soil, 
 thoroughly enriched, and quite mellow; water the plants 
 thoroughly with warm water before removing them from 
 the boxes, or pots; disturb the roots as little as possible, 
 and set them about fifteen inches apart, and just deep 
 enough to bring the lower leaves level with the surface. 
 Press the soil firmly around the roots, and if need be, 
 shade the plants for a few hours during the heat of the 
 day, until the plants recover from the effects of trans- 
 planting. Keep the bed well hoed, and free from weeds, 
 and it will be a source of great interest and pleasure. 
 You never know just what you will get, and it is inter- 
 esting to watch the plants as they come into flower. You 
 will be sure to have a great variety of all shades of color, 
 and if the seeds are good, you will be certain of an ample 
 reward for all your labor. 
 
ZI]S"S"IA. 1811 
 
 ZINNIA. 
 
 The Zinnia is destined to be a yery popular flower. The 
 plant is large and vigorous. The flowers are large, pro- 
 fuse, and brilliant. They haye been wonderfully im- 
 proved during the last few years, and the improvement is 
 certain to continue year after year. 
 
 The plants can be grown in a box in the house, as they 
 transplant with perfect safety; the oftener they are trans- 
 planted the better, as it gives us more and larger flowers 
 in proportion to the size of the plant. Set out the plants 
 fifteen inches to two feet apart. 
 
 If preferred, the seeds can be sown out of doors, where 
 they are intended to remain. But a better plan is, to 
 sow a row of them, dropping the seeds about an inch 
 apart in the row; cover about an eighth of an inch deep, 
 and when the plants are well out of the seed leaf, set 
 them out in any part of the garden, where you have 
 room for a strong, vigorous-growing plant, two feet high 
 and two or three feet across. If the seed is good, the 
 first flowers may not be so large or so double as those 
 produced by the same plant later in the season. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Abronia .151 
 
 Ageratuin 151 
 
 Agrostemma.. 151 
 
 Alyssum, Sweet 150 
 
 Anise 148 
 
 Asparagus 31 
 
 Asperula 151 
 
 Asters, China 152 
 
 Dwarf Bouquet 154 
 
 Chrysanthemum-flowered 154 
 
 New Rose 154 
 
 Paeony-flowered 154 
 
 Balsam 155 
 
 Bartonia 157 
 
 Basil 149 
 
 Bean, Castor-Oil 182 
 
 Bean-Hyacinth... 165 
 
 Beans, Bush 36 
 
 Pole 33 
 
 Black "Wax 36 
 
 Butter 36 
 
 Early Valentine 36 
 
 Golden Wax. . . 37 
 
 Lima 33 
 
 London Horticultural 35 
 
 Speckled Cranberry 35 
 
 Scarlet Runner 36 
 
 Wax 36 
 
 White Kidney 37 
 
 Beets 37 
 
 Bassano 37-40 
 
 Dewing's Blood Turnip 40 
 
 Early Blood Turnip 38 
 
 Egyptian Blood Turnip 37 
 
 Long Smooth Red 38 
 
 Borage 146 
 
 Boxes, Window 22 
 
 Brachycome 158 
 
 Cabbages 42 
 
 Early 43 
 
 Early York 44 
 
 Flat Dutch 45 
 
 Fottler's Drumhead 44 
 
 Harris' Short-stem Drumhead. 45 
 Henderson's Summer 44 
 
 (188) 
 
 Cabbages— Jersey Wakefield 44 
 
 Late ... 45 
 
 Marblehead Mammoth 45 
 
 Premium Flat Dutch 45 
 
 Savoy 47 
 
 Second Early 44 
 
 Stone-Masoii 45 
 
 Winningstadt 44 
 
 Calendula 160 
 
 Calliopsls 160 
 
 Callirrho?. 161 
 
 Candytuft. 158 
 
 Carmiiiia 159 
 
 Put e White 159 
 
 Sweet-scented White 159 
 
 Canna 160 
 
 Capsicum 97 
 
 Caraway 148 
 
 Carrots 49 
 
 Early Short Horn 52 
 
 Half Long 52 
 
 Long Orange 52 
 
 White Belgian 52 
 
 Castor-Oil Bean 182 
 
 Catchfly 161 
 
 Cauliflower 47 
 
 Early Paris 48 
 
 Erfurt Earliest Dwarf 48 
 
 Lenormand 48 
 
 Walcheren .-. 48 
 
 Celeriac 60 
 
 Celery 52 
 
 Boston Market 60 
 
 Dwarf Crimson 60 
 
 Dwarf White 60 
 
 Setting out the Plants 55 
 
 Sowing the Seed 53 
 
 Storing for Winter 58 
 
 Turnip-rooted 60 
 
 Celosia 162 
 
 China Asters 152 
 
 Cockscomb 162 
 
 Cold Frames 26 
 
 Competition in Crops 17 
 
 Convolvulus 16& 
 
I]S"DEX. 
 
 189 
 
 Conyolvnlus, Tricolor 162 
 
 Coreopsis 160 
 
 Coriander. 146 
 
 Corn, Pop 64 
 
 Com Salad 65 
 
 Com. Sweet 61 
 
 Crosby's Sugar 63 
 
 Moore's Early Concord 63 
 
 Russell's Prolific 63 
 
 Stowell's Evergreen 63 
 
 Cress— Peppergrass 66 
 
 Water 66 
 
 Crops, Competition in 17 
 
 Cucumbers 69 
 
 Early Frame 69 
 
 Green Cluster 69 
 
 Improved Long Green 69 
 
 Eussian 69 
 
 White Spine 69 
 
 Daisy, Swan Eiver 158 
 
 Delphinium 164 
 
 Dianthus 163 
 
 Chinensis 163 
 
 Heddewigii 163 
 
 Digitalis 165 
 
 Dill 149 
 
 Dolichos f 165 
 
 Drammond'a Phlox 176 
 
 Egg Plant 70 
 
 Endive 71 
 
 Fennel 147 
 
 Flowers, Cultivation of 150 
 
 Forget-Me-Not 171 
 
 Foxglove 165 
 
 Garden, an Old and a New 8 
 
 Gardening for Boys 9 
 
 Gardening, How to Begin — 10 
 
 Gilia tricolor 166 
 
 Golden Bartonia 157 
 
 Green Manures 12 
 
 Gumbo 79 
 
 Heart's-ease 171 
 
 Helianthus 166 
 
 High Farming 15 
 
 Hot-bed, to make a 25 
 
 Hyacinth Bean 165 
 
 Implements 21 
 
 Acme Harrow 21 
 
 Gang-Plow 21 
 
 Harrow, Acme 21 
 
 Harrow, Revolving 21 
 
 Harrow, Smoothing 21 
 
 Indian Cress 78 
 
 Indian Shot 166 
 
 Insects 26 
 
 Army-worm 29 
 
 Cabbage- worm 27 
 
 Currant-worm . . 29 
 
 Paris Green for 28 
 
 Potato-bug 29 
 
 Squash-bug. . . 30 
 
 Striped-bug 27 
 
 White Hellebore for 28 
 
 Ipomoea purpurea 162 
 
 Japan Pink 163 
 
 Kaulfussia 167 
 
 Kohl Eabi 71 
 
 •' Lady's Slipper," 155 
 
 Lamb's Lettuce 65 
 
 Larkspur 164 
 
 Branching 164 
 
 Rocket 164 
 
 Lavender 147 
 
 Leaf Mould 22 
 
 Lettuce 72 
 
 Cos 72 
 
 The Deacon 72 
 
 London Purple 29 
 
 Lupine 167 
 
 Malope 169 
 
 Mangel Worzel 40 
 
 Carter's Yellow Globe 41 
 
 Harris' Yellow Globe 41 
 
 Long Red 41 
 
 Sutton's Yellow Globe 41 
 
 Yellow Globe 41 
 
 Manures 19 
 
 How to Treat H 
 
 Green 12 
 
 Marigold Pot 160 
 
 Marjoram, Sweet 145 
 
 Marvel of Peru 171 
 
 Melon, Musk 73 
 
 Cassaba 74 
 
 Early Christiana 74 
 
 Green Citron 74 
 
 Japanese . . 74 
 
 Nutmeg 74 
 
 Melon, Water 75 
 
 Black Spanish 77 
 
 Citron 77 
 
 Ice Cream 77 
 
 Mountain Sweet 77 
 
 Mignonette 168 
 
 Mimosa 170 
 
 Mirabilis 171 
 
190 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Morning Glory 162 
 
 Dwarf 163 
 
 Tall 162 
 
 Moss for Seeds 22 
 
 Muck, Dried 23 
 
 Mustard 77 
 
 Myosotis 171 
 
 Nasturtium 78 
 
 Okra 79 
 
 Onions 80 
 
 Early Red Globe 83 
 
 Large Red Wethersfleld 83 
 
 White Globe 83 
 
 Yellow Danvers 83 
 
 Onion, Potato 88 
 
 Seed 87 
 
 Sets 86 
 
 Top 89 
 
 Tree 89 
 
 Oyster Plant 107 
 
 Pansy 171 
 
 Paris Green, To Use 28 
 
 Parsley S9 
 
 Parsnip 90 
 
 Hollow Crown 91 
 
 Long White Dutch 91 
 
 Seed 92 
 
 Peas 92 
 
 Buggy 97 
 
 Dwarf 96 
 
 Dwarf, American Wonder 96 
 
 Dwarf, Little Gem 96 
 
 Dwarf, Tom Thumb 96 
 
 Champion of England 95 
 
 Extra Early Kent 95 
 
 Kentish Invicta 95 
 
 Sweet 174 
 
 White Marrowfat 95 
 
 Pepper 97 
 
 Bell 97 
 
 BullNose 97 
 
 Pepper-Grass 66 
 
 Petunia 175 
 
 Phlox, Drummond's 176 
 
 Pinks, Japan 163 
 
 Poisons— London Purple 27 
 
 for Insects 27 
 
 The Care of 30 
 
 Pop Corn 64 
 
 Poppy 180 
 
 Opium 180 
 
 Paeony-flowered 180 
 
 Ranunculus-flowered 180 
 
 Potatoes 98 
 
 Beauty of Hebron 98 
 
 Early Rose 98 
 
 Early Vermont 98 
 
 Portulaca 181 
 
 Pot Marigold 160 
 
 Pumpkins 99 
 
 Connecticut Field 100 
 
 Large Cheese 100 
 
 New Jersey Sweet 100 
 
 Possum-Nose 100 
 
 Purslane 181 
 
 " Pussley," 181 
 
 Quack-Grass, To Kill 13 
 
 Radishes— Summer 100 
 
 French Breakfast 102 
 
 Rose, Olive-shaped 102 
 
 Scarlet Turnip 102 
 
 White Turnip 102 
 
 Radishes — Winter 104 
 
 Black Spanish 105 
 
 California Mammoth White. .. 105 
 
 Chinese Rose-colored 105 
 
 Chinese White 105 
 
 Radish Seed 102 
 
 Rhubarb 105 
 
 Gaboon's Seedling 107 
 
 Linnsens 107 
 
 Victoria 107 
 
 Ricinus 182 
 
 Rosemary 146 
 
 Rue 148 
 
 Sage 141 
 
 Salpiglossis 182 
 
 Salsify 107 
 
 Savory, Summer 144 
 
 Winter 144 
 
 Scallions 83 
 
 SeaKale 109 
 
 Sensitive Plant 170 
 
 Soil for Seed Boxes 22 
 
 Soil, Preparation of 12 
 
 Spinach 110 
 
 Prickly-seeded Ill 
 
 Round-seeded Ill 
 
 Squash— Summer 112 
 
 Early Bush Crookneck 113 
 
 Early Bush Scollop 113 
 
 Squash— Winter 113 
 
 Hubbard 114 
 
 Marblehead 114 
 
 Seed 115 
 
 Starting Plants 23 
 
 \ 
 
INDEX. 
 
 191 
 
 Stocks, Ten Weeks' 183 
 
 Summer Savory 144 
 
 Sunflower 166-184 
 
 California Double 184 
 
 Double 184 
 
 HollowGlobe 184 
 
 Many-flowered. . . , 184 
 
 Single 166 
 
 Swan River Daisy 158 
 
 Sweet Aly ssum 150 
 
 Sweet Corn .' 61 
 
 Swfeet Herbs 141 
 
 Sweet Marjoram 145 
 
 Sweet Peas 174 
 
 Sweet Potatoes 116 
 
 Nansemond 117 
 
 Ten Weeks' Stocks 183 
 
 Thyme 143 
 
 Broad-leaved 144 
 
 Evergreen 144 
 
 Hardy Winter 144 
 
 Tomatoes 117 
 
 Acme 123 
 
 General Grant 123 
 
 Tomatoes, Hathaway' s Excelsior .. 123 
 
 Hubbard's Curled-leaf 123 
 
 Trophy 123 
 
 Raising Seed 123 
 
 Tropaeolum 73 
 
 Turnips 124 
 
 Autumn 125-139 
 
 Early Winter 126-138 
 
 Purple Top Strap-leaf 139 
 
 RutaBaga 126 
 
 Swedes 126 
 
 Swedes, Gathering 134 
 
 Yellow Aberdeen 126-138 
 
 Turnip-rooted Celery 60 
 
 Vegetable Oyster 107 
 
 Verbena 185 
 
 Watermelons 75 
 
 Weeds— Quack-Grass 13 
 
 To Kill 13 
 
 White Hellebore, To Use 28 
 
 Window Boxes 22 
 
 Wormwood 148 
 
 Zinnia 187 
 
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