tdward D^ Qoi^ 
 
Class- — J 
 
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 CPPXRIGHT DEPOSm 
 
The Garden Patch 
 
 'Twas Byron who said, 
 "The ladies inspired the Muse." 
 But to vegetables I'm wed. 
 And dame nature choose. 
 
 y/ 
 
 Vv Cbpyright. 1912 
 By Eiob.'TLINT. Los Gatos. Cal. 
 All rights reserved 
 

 DEDICATED TO 
 
 My Garden Sprite. 
 Whose wise advice, 
 Prolonged my life. 
 
 [2] 
 
 CCI.A330494 
 
To 
 
 Mr. Marksman who did not hit the mark 
 
 A MAN & A HOE 
 
 The man with a hoe, 
 To his garden must go, 
 If he wishes to see 
 His vegetables grow. 
 
 Any reasoning fox 
 Can easily see 
 The man's not an ox 
 Tho' a laborer he be. 
 
 By the hole in me coat 
 
 I'm a skipper afloat, 
 
 When out to my garden I go. 
 
 I care not for heat. 
 
 The dirt, or wet feet. 
 
 While working with shovel and hoe. 
 
 [3] 
 
"My way is to begin with the beginning." 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 This collection of Instructions how to grow 
 vegetables is put into book form for the use of 
 the amateur gardener. 
 
 The writer has endeavored to stick closely to 
 his subject and give in a compact and concise 
 form the desired information so that the reader 
 will not lose time in going over the book. 
 
 It is arranged in alphabetical order with 
 necessary index. 
 
 A few people have what might be called a 
 sixth sense, which enables them to feel a sym- 
 pathy, a fellowship, with plants and trees. 
 This feeling draws them together. To these 
 people plants seem to have sense and feeling 
 and they are sure to succeed as gardeners. 
 Plants thrive and grow better under their care. 
 
 Have you not met people who exclaim, "Is 
 not that beautiful !" and show by their feeling 
 that they are filled with joy, and others who 
 seem indifferent and blind to the beauties 
 around them? 
 
 In the delicious freshness of the early morn- 
 ing, rise with the sun and work in your garden. 
 You can do all the work necessary before it is 
 
 [4] 
 
time for breakfast and not get fatigued and hot 
 as you would later in the day. Do not do all 
 the work at one time and get tired and dis- 
 gusted with labor, but have a job coming. 
 NOTE— This is a good agricultural motto — 
 Never plant anything that is not worth tak- 
 ing care of and keeping alive. 
 
 [5J 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 When we are past our prime or in poor 
 health, we look for out of door employment 
 and recreation. It is natural that we should 
 seek mother earth and her healing medicine, 
 air and sunshine, for a cure for our ills. The 
 smell of newly-turned earth is fresh and health- 
 ful. No class of exercise is so good as work 
 with pick and shovel in the open air. 
 
 The love of dirt was one of our earliest pas- 
 sions. We began by eating dirt, wading in 
 mud puddles, and making mud pies. After we 
 have grown up and sown our wild oats we 
 think we would like to have a home of our 
 own, a flower and vegetable garden. We spend 
 our spare time working in the garden and learn 
 some of the mysteries of nature. We resolve 
 to retire from business some day and give our- 
 selves up to our favorite pursuit and enjoy a 
 long rest in our old age. 
 
 Is not this better than to be a slave to busi- 
 ness and to find no pleasure but in making and 
 storing up wealth? 
 
 The writer hopes by giving his knowledge to 
 the purchaser at a moderate cost to meet recog- 
 nition from those who have a small garden. 
 He relies on the generosity and fraternal feel- 
 ing of plant lovers to read his book and pass 
 on to their friends, a good word in its praise. 
 
 [«] 
 
Said fhe man to the weed, 
 If I do this deed, 
 My body must hinge, 
 For my back gets a twinge. 
 
 [7] 
 
Work with the hands is physical; work with the 
 
 brain divine. 
 As we are animals in the likeness of God, 
 We should labor with our hands and mind. 
 
 IMPLEMENTS 
 
 It is necessary to enumerate a few tools for 
 use in the garden : 
 
 The vineyard-hoe deserves first place as it is 
 used for digging, hoeing, weeding, mulching, 
 planting and tamping the ground after plant- 
 ing. It is a strong durable hoe the points of 
 which should be kept sharp. 
 
 Garden-hoe. 
 
 Garden-rake. 
 
 Long handled spading fork. 
 
 One twelve quart watering pot for garden. 
 
 One four quart watering pot for hot-bed. 
 
 One garden wheelbarrow. 
 
 One trowel. 
 
 Fifty feet ^-inch garden hose. 
 
 One hundred feet of strong twine. 
 
 [8] 
 
"Give me the secret of the sun, 
 Thereby the world is ever run." 
 
 HOT-BEDS 
 
 For a small garden you can make a double 
 bed, cover one-half with a glass sash the other 
 with an open lath frame. Size of hot-bed 3x6 
 feet. 
 
 Use the bed covered with glass to start the 
 seed and the frame to make them hardy, before 
 planting out in the garden. Sow the seed in 
 small shallow boxes and place on the ground 
 under the glass in hot-bed. You will find 
 cherry or currant boxes the rig*ht size. This 
 method is more convenient for moving the 
 plants from the hot-bed to garden than plant- 
 ing the seeds in the ground in the hot-bed. 
 Use leaf mould, sand and a little well-rotted 
 manure in your seed boxes. If you put the 
 soil thus prepared in a hot oven it will kill 
 the weed germs, worms and life of any kind 
 and you will not be troubled with weeds grow- 
 ing up with your seed. 
 
 [9] 
 
"Seed time and harvest." 
 
 SEED 
 
 Seeds will keep for years. Seeds found in 
 Egyptian tombs thousands of years old have 
 germinated and grown. Seed in the ground 
 germinates when exposed to the air and may 
 have been in the ground for years. 
 
 Seed will keep for five or ten years, but 
 nurserymen do not keep it for more than one 
 year. The average time for seed to germinate 
 and show above the ground is six days. 
 
 Seeds sown in the fall must be watered to 
 start germination. If the ground is level sow 
 the seed in a bed and make a trench on the side 
 to irrigate the bed by sub-irrigation and not on 
 top as the sun will bake and crack the soil if 
 irrigated on the surface. Cover the trench after 
 the water has disappeared. 
 
 Never plant the same kind of plant in suc- 
 cession in the same part of the garden. Alter- 
 nate planting. If you have planted potatoes or 
 any root vegetable in a certain bed, next year 
 plant tomatoes or some plant having top roots. 
 This method of planting will keep your soil from 
 deteriorating. 
 
 [10] 
 
"A true repose of the soil is a change of its products.' 
 
 SEED 
 
 Seeds germinate more quickly if soaked in 
 warm water over night. This is true of all 
 seeds having a hard shell as corn, peas, egg- 
 plant, etc. Sow seed in shallow trenches in 
 heavy soil and in deeper trenches in light soil. 
 Cover small seeds with light covering of soil. 
 
 Large seeds can be planted three or four 
 inches deep. Always press the soil down over 
 the seed after planting. Small seeds like let- 
 tuce should be sown broadcast in bed and the 
 rake used to press the soil down over the seeds 
 after planting. It is best to keep seeds in paper 
 packages, as paper absorbs the moisture. 
 
 [11] 
 
'They shall all grow in fields of light, 
 Transplanted by my care." 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR PLANTING AND 
 PREPARATION OF SOIL 
 
 Nothing is gained by sowing the seed too 
 early in the season. There is a time for pre- 
 paring the soil, making it ready to receive the 
 seed. If the weather will permit, you may 
 commence to prepare the ground for sowing 
 in March. If March is stormy, wait until April 
 or even May 1st. 
 
 Plow or spade under all weeds and manure 
 as deep as you can. Then harrow or rake the 
 ground as fine as possible. You must do this 
 after the earth has dried. Do not attempt to 
 work wet ground, for if the soil is clay or adobe 
 it will turn up in lumps and bake hard. Divide 
 the garden into beds and sow seed at your con- 
 venience. The soil should be warm and mel- 
 low. Seed in wet ground will germinate, but 
 the roots will either curl up instead of striking 
 down or the germ will rot. 
 
 You should study the fertility of the soil in 
 your garden and the kind of vegetables that 
 will do best in certain locations, as the soil 
 often differs in even a small garden, and you 
 should make the most of what you have. 
 
 [12] 
 
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"More studious to divide than unite." 
 
 ARTICHOKES 
 
 Native of Southern Europe and Africa. 
 
 They are propagated from seed or partitions 
 of the old roots. Be sure that the root has one 
 or more eyes. Plants started from roots will 
 bear sooner than those grown from seed. 
 
 In January prepare the ground by spading 
 and loosening the soil and plant each root about 
 six inches deep and three feet apart. Then 
 water to settle the earth around the root. The 
 buds and not the flowers are the edible part 
 and should be cut before the bud opens. The 
 French eat the whole of the very young buds, 
 but the English prefer the more mature buds 
 and eat only the base of the leaves and bottom 
 of the bud, freed from the seed-down. The 
 leaves of the plant are good fodder for stock. 
 
 The artichoke will grow in almost any loca- 
 tion and make a good hedge. The bud will 
 grow larger if you tie a ligature of string 
 tightly around the stem about three inches be- 
 low the bud. 
 
 The dainty oddness of the taste 
 Repays one for the seeming waste, 
 It can be served in many ways, 
 With hot drawn butter or mayonnaise. 
 
 [16] 
 
What an odd shoot? 
 
 Before potatoes, the ancients used the root. 
 
 JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE 
 
 Plant the same as Artichoke. The tuber of 
 the root is used for food, cooked like the po- 
 tato, boiled or mashed, with butter added. 
 
 Care should be taken to gather all the roots 
 and not allow any to remain in the ground, as 
 the small roots will grow and produce inferior 
 plants. 
 
 CARDOONS 
 
 Native of Canada. 
 
 The Cardoon Artichoke is planted and 
 grown like artichokes. The stem of the leaves 
 is the edible part after being blanched, and is 
 used in salad, soup, or stew. The leaves may 
 be kept a long time, if covered with sand and 
 stored in a cool place. 
 
 [17] 
 
To what extremes we go, alas! 
 
 When we eat the head of succulent grass, 
 
 And hold in our fingers the slippery mass. 
 
 ASPARAGUS 
 
 Native of Persia. 
 
 Asparagus can be raised from seed or 
 planted from year old roots, thus saving a 
 year in waiting for the roots to mature. It 
 bears lightly the second year and a good crop 
 the third and fourth years. After that, with 
 care, a bed should last twenty to thirty years. 
 
 Prepare the bed by mixing manure with the 
 soil and adding sand if the soil is heavy. Spade 
 in the manure and level the surface of the bed 
 with a rake. 
 
 Plant the seed in rows about an inch deep, 
 one foot apart. Press the soil down over the 
 seed with the back of the rake. Thin out the 
 young shoots to one every six inches, weed 
 the bed and keep the soil mulched. Sow the 
 seed in March or April. 
 
 When the roots are one year old transplant 
 them to the bed prepared to receive them. In 
 preparing the bed for one-year-old roots you 
 must first have a bed that has a natural drain- 
 age or you must arrange for artificial drainage. 
 Suppose your bed has clay subsoil; dig out 
 
 [18] 
 
the soil and put rock, brick or other coarse 
 material at the bottom, then fill in with sandy 
 loam and spread manure about four inches 
 deep and mix by spading. 
 
 The ground must not be wet, but have good 
 drainage or the roots will rot and die. Plant the 
 young grass roots about eight inches deep and two 
 feet apart in rows, making about four parallel 
 rows to a bed. Be sure and spread the roots out 
 well in the bottom of the hole when planting 
 and plant in an upright position — not spread 
 out flat. When the young grass heads appear, 
 allow them to grow about three inches above 
 the ground. 
 
 To harvest them take a sharp knife with a 
 long blade, run it down about four inches un- 
 der the ground and cut off the shoot with a 
 slanting cut. Care must be taken not to cut 
 or wound other young shoots, which are not 
 in sight. After cutting two or three crops of 
 young shoots, allow two or three shoots from 
 each crown of roots to grow to maturity. This 
 treatment will keep the roots alive and strong 
 for next season. 
 
 After the seed stalks are old cut them down 
 even with the ground and clear the bed. Cover 
 the bed with three or four inches of manure 
 and spade in but be careful not to go deep 
 enough to disturb the crown roots. 
 
 [19] 
 
Hen manure mixed with gypsum and sand 
 is the best fertilizer, but well rotted barn-yard 
 manure will do. No fertilizer should be sup- 
 plied in the spring, but lime and common salt 
 should be spaded in with the weeds and the 
 bed mulched often and kept free from weeds. 
 
 [20] 
 
"Corn and beans, these be twin brothers." 
 
 BEANS 
 
 Native of North and South America 
 and Palestine. 
 
 Beans are of two general kinds, pole and 
 bush beans. The bush and the pole beans 
 are both planted in the garden for the young 
 string beans. The pole beans are larger in 
 size and more productive. The habit of the 
 pole bean to climb makes it necessary to fur- 
 nish some support for the long tendrils that 
 start from the top of the young plant. Long 
 poles are driven into the ground on the inside 
 of the rows near the vines, tied together with 
 string or rope. The tendrils take hold and 
 twine around the poles as soon as they com- 
 mence to flower. 
 
 The seed pods are found on both the bush 
 and the tendrils. 
 
 Plant corn between rows to support the 
 runners. 
 
 Pick the pods when young and tender. 
 
 Water frequently, mulch the ground and 
 keep free from weeds. 
 
 The lazy-wife pole bean has long green 
 pods and is a favorite with the ladies, notwith- 
 
 [21] 
 
standing its name. The pods are easily broken 
 into pieces and have no strings to the back. 
 Cut the bean pod lengthwise and then cut into 
 pieces about an inch long, for cooking. 
 
 Before planting it is advisable to mix the 
 seed of two of the same habit, so the pollen 
 of the flowers will mix and make stronger and 
 larger seed pods. 
 
 [22] 
 
This bean so shy, 
 Under sunny sky. 
 Loves the salt air, 
 Cool nights and fair. 
 
 LIMA BEANS 
 
 Native of South America. 
 
 There are both bush and pole limas. The 
 pole beans produce the larger seed and are 
 more commonly grown. The pole limas are 
 allowed to trail on the ground and the run- 
 ners are cut off as fast as they appear. The 
 young bean is used after removing the seed 
 from the pod. The dried beans are stored for 
 winter use. The flavor is rich, nutty and 
 sweet, green or dried. They grow best in Ven- 
 tura and San Luis Obispo counties, near the 
 coast. 
 
 Plant the seed when the ground is dry and 
 warm. Dig the trench about three inches 
 deep and drop your bean, with eye down, as 
 it is difficult for such a large flat bean to turn 
 over in the ground and come right side up. 
 Cover and tamp the ground over the seed. 
 
 Thin the plants to one every six inches. 
 
 [23] 
 
Beans for the horse, beans for the cow, 
 Horse beans for the Portugese, he knows how. 
 'Tis the bean for the man who follows the plow. 
 
 HORSE BEANS 
 
 Native of England. 
 
 Horse beans are planted in rows about three 
 feet apart. Drop a seed every foot and about 
 four inches deep. They grow into a tall bush 
 about three feet high. 
 
 Cattle are fattened on the dry beans, ground 
 up or broken, and are fond of the green pods 
 and beans, but refuse to eat the plant or leaves. 
 The beans are used for food by Italians, Por- 
 tugese and Germans. The young beans should 
 be soaked in hot water and the skins removed 
 before boiling. 
 
 The beans are roasted and ground and 
 mixed with coffee to adulterate it, by dishon- 
 est dealers. 
 
 [24] 
 
This succulent root, served hot or cold, 
 Notching can beat it for young or old. 
 
 BEETS 
 
 The beet was first found in the wild state 
 in Egypt and along the Mediterranean coast. 
 
 Plant seed in rows about one inch deep, 
 two feet apart. Thin out to one every six 
 inches. Keep the ground loose and free from 
 weeds. The tops make good greens, like 
 spinach. 
 
 BEETS 
 
 The Mangel Wurtzel beets are raised for 
 stock. They grow to immense size. 
 
 Plant in rows about two feet apart and in 
 furrows about two inches deep. When plants 
 are about two inches high thin out to one 
 every eight inches. Plant in the fall and irri- 
 gate until rains furnish the desired moisture 
 or in the spring about the middle of May. 
 
 [25] 
 
Oh! vegetable Brussel, Where is your fruit, 
 We have looked for sprouts, down at the root, 
 They are under the leaves, down on the stem, 
 Why need you further look for them. 
 
 BRUSSEL SPROUTS 
 
 Native of Belgium. Known since 1213 
 A. D. 
 
 The plant is grown from seed the same 
 as cabbage. Plant seed and thin out plants. 
 Transplanting the young plants sometimes 
 makes it go to seed and not grow sprouts. 
 
 The sprouts appear on the stem of the plant 
 when about six months old, if they make their 
 appearance at all. 
 
 [26] 
 
Nestled in its leaves of green, 
 
 The most eatable snow-ball erer sceH. 
 
 CAULIFLOWER 
 
 Native of Cyprus and Mediterranean coast. 
 
 Plant seed in the open garden or hot-bed. 
 Transplant the young plants and cultivate 
 same as cabbage. Water the young plants 
 frequently. Keep ground mulched and heaped 
 around the stems. 
 
 The flower or head is the edible part. The 
 top should be protected by tying the large 
 leaves together. This will keep the head from 
 separating and starting out in blossom. It 
 is both a summer and winter vegetable, but 
 does better in winter. 
 
 [27] 
 
'I have fed like a farmer, 
 I shall grow fat as a porpoise." 
 
 CABBAGE 
 
 Native of Southern Europe and England. 
 
 First found wild with no appearance of a 
 head. The seed may be sown in the fall or 
 spring for summer or winter consumption. For 
 winter transplant the young seedling to gar- 
 den about the first of October. For summer 
 sow the seed in a box in the hot-bed about 
 January first and when two inches high trans- 
 plant to the garden about March. When the 
 danger from frost has passed, place the young 
 plants in left hand between the thumb and 
 linger and place in a hole already prepared 
 about four inches deep. Place fine soil around 
 the roots and cover, adding a cupful of water 
 to settle the soil around the roots. When the 
 water has disappeared put in more soil ; later 
 fill the hole when the plant has grown and 
 you are mulching the ground. Water often 
 and mulch ground in summer. 
 
 [28] 
 
The carrot has a fluffy top, 
 
 Eat plenty and you'll have a "mop." 
 
 CARROTS 
 
 Native of the sea coast of Southern 
 Europe and England. 
 
 Colors, red, white and yellow. The small 
 red carrot, called French carrot, is the favorite 
 for the table. The white, red and yellow long 
 rooted varieties are used for feeding and fat- 
 tening stock. It should be started from seed 
 in the early fall as it is a winter vegetable. 
 Plant seed in shallow furrows about one inch 
 deep and one foot apart. Thin out to one 
 plant every three inches. If you have not the 
 heart to do this ask the assistance of your 
 neighbor. Keep the soil loose around the 
 roots. They do best in sandy soil. Heavy soil 
 retards their growth, unless it is worked up 
 fine and kept loose around the roots. 
 
 Carrots fed to cows give the butter a richer 
 color and improves the taste and quality. They 
 should be washed and cut up and fed with cut 
 hay, bran or meal. 
 
 [29] 
 
How could we flavor our salad or soup 
 If it were not for celery sitalk and root? 
 
 CELERY 
 
 It was first found in the wild state in Eu- 
 rope and was rank and poisonous. By cultiva- 
 tion it has become crisp, sweet and juicy. It 
 is not often planted in the garden as it re- 
 quires a deep, rich, well drained, swampy soil. 
 When four to six inches high the yOung 
 plants are transplanted to trenches for blanch- 
 ing, which are about twelve inches deep. The 
 plants are repeatedly earthed up until they 
 have risen two feet or more above the natural 
 surface. 
 
 [30] 
 
The root is w^hite and round, 
 In lettuce salad often found. 
 
 CELERIAC 
 
 Sow in boxes in the hot-bed. When the 
 plants are about two inches high transfer to 
 the garden. Plant in rows about two feet 
 apart and the plants one foot from each other. 
 Keep the soil up around the roots, give plenty 
 of water and cultivation. When plants are 
 growing remove the earth from around the 
 roots and cut oflf all lateral roots, leaving only 
 the long tap root. 
 
 The root is used for salad, cut up in slices, 
 either raw or boiled. It grows best in wet soil 
 like the celery. 
 
 [31] 
 
A beet, but not a "dead beat." 
 
 CHARD 
 
 A native of Switzerland. 
 
 It belongs to the beet family. The root is 
 hard and not edible. The leaf alone is used. 
 The large mid-rib of the leaf is stripped of 
 the soft green leaf and cut up into pieces and 
 cooked like cream celery, which it resembles. 
 The green part of the leaf makes good greens 
 or spinach. It is good stock food for poultry, 
 hogs and cattle. 
 
 Plant the seed in open bed and when plants 
 are about an inch high transfer to the garden. 
 Plant the small beets about two feet apart each 
 way. It will grow for two seasons. Break 
 off the leaves from the roots as wanted. Be 
 careful not to pull up or disturb the plant. 
 
 What would we do for some Dutch dishes 
 If we had not Chives to fill our wishes? 
 
 CHIVES 
 
 Native of England and Northern Europe. 
 
 It grows and increases like garlic. The 
 leaves are used in salad in place of onions. 
 
 [32] 
 
"With his soft and shining tresses, 
 With his garments green and yellow, 
 With his long and glossy plumage, 
 Stood and beckoned at the door." 
 
 CORN OR MAIZE 
 
 When the new world was discovered corn 
 was found under cultivation by the natives 
 from New England to Chili. The Indians gave 
 the early settlers corn when they were starv- 
 ing and gave them seed and showed them how 
 to grow it. There are three distinct varieties. 
 The field — red, white, yellow, and variegated 
 Dent or Flint corn, the white sweet corn, the 
 white and black popcorn. 
 Dent Corn. 
 
 The Dent corn is edible if picked while the 
 corn is young. After it ripens and hardens it 
 is ground into meal and is used for fattening 
 animals and poultry. The plant is put into 
 silos, where it ferments and is fed to stock. 
 Sweet Corn. 
 
 This corn is grown for the young ears 
 which are very sweet and wholesome, boiled 
 or roasted. Succotash is a mixture of corn 
 and lima beans. 
 
 Sweet corn ripens quicker than field corn. 
 Corn crosses very easily and different kinds 
 should not be planted near each other unless 
 you desire to make a cross. Corn grows best 
 in the same locality it was grown in before. 
 
 [33] 
 
Keep the seed and plant your own selected 
 seed, taken from the largest and best devel- 
 oped ears. The Golden Bantam corn is a new 
 variety with short ears, of rich golden color, 
 very sweet and nice. 
 Popcorn. 
 Well, every child knows what that is. It is 
 white and black, but after popping both come 
 out a creamy white. 
 
 Corn is planted in hills about four inches 
 deep and three feet apart and in furrows. The 
 
 seed should be selected from the middle of 
 the cob. Do not use the seed of either end, as 
 it is small and imperfect. The seed is usually 
 planted by a corn planter that drops the seed 
 the desired distance apart. If planted by hand 
 in the garden, thin out the plants two feet 
 apart and when thinnmg break off the two 
 side suckers, so the strength will all go into 
 the main stalk. When the corn swells and the 
 tassel begins to wilt, open the end of the corn 
 husk and examine the ears and see if the seed 
 has filled out full and round. If so it is ready 
 to pick. If not ripe pick out the corn worm 
 that you will generally find there and put your 
 heel on him. Fold back the leaves of the husk 
 and the corn will not be harmed and will keep 
 on growing. Hoe the soil up around roots. 
 This helps support the roots and prevents the 
 wind from blowing the plant over. 
 
 [34] 
 
"Remember the fish w'hich we did eat in Egypt freely 
 The cucumber and the leek, and the onion and the 
 garlic." 
 
 CUCUMBER 
 
 Native of Egypt and Southern 
 Mediterranean. 
 
 Plant in hills about ten seeds in a hill and 
 thin to two plants. Pinch off the ends of run- 
 ners and water often and mulch the ground. 
 The young fruit is used for pickling and sliced 
 up in vinegar. Do not eat cucumbers and 
 drink milk; it is fatal. 
 
 COLLARDS 
 
 A species of cabbage grown for leaves. Plant 
 and cultivate like cabbage. 
 
 CORN SALAD AND FETTICUS 
 
 Native of England. 
 
 The plant is used as a substitute for let- 
 tuce. The greens are cooked like spinach. 
 Same culture as lettuce. 
 
 [35] 
 
Oh, dandy-lion with mane so white. 
 The children blow your seed so light. 
 Old women use the weed for tea. 
 In every garden a pest you be. 
 
 DANDELION 
 
 A domestic variety with large leaves is 
 grown in the garden for the leaves which are 
 used for salad and greens like spinach. 
 
 It is commonly used as a tonic for the blood. 
 
 Do not let it go to seed. "A word to the 
 wise is sufficient." The wild dandelion is a 
 pest in our gardens and destroys many a fine 
 grass lawn. 
 
 "Herbes that 'have on them cool dews of the nig"ht." 
 
 ENDIVES 
 
 A vegetable grown like lettuce. Sow seed 
 in June or July. Thin out plants to six inches 
 apart. When grown the outer leaves should 
 be brought up around the plant and tied to- 
 gether. This whitens or blanches the inner 
 leaves and heart. 
 
 [36] 
 
Oh! vegetable egg, of deep purple hue, 
 
 Best picked in the morning covered with dew. 
 
 EGG PLANT 
 
 Native of South America, India and 
 Africa. 
 
 Plant seed in a box under the glass in the 
 hot-bed about February first. Soak the seed 
 in warm water over night, no matter if the 
 water cools off. Cover seed with light cov- 
 ering of sand and water once a day. When 
 plants are about an inch high transplant them 
 into small three-inch pots. After two or three 
 weeks plant out in the garden two feet apart 
 each way. Cover the young plants for a few 
 days if the weather is hot. The open end can 
 makes a good cover. Water frequently and 
 mulch. They like water and heat, worms and 
 bugs like them, so you will have lots of trouble 
 raising them. Put wood ashes around plants 
 to protect them from worms. The soil must 
 be sandy loam and have warm exposure. Ni- 
 trate of soda placed around the plant is a good 
 tonic and makes them grow faster. A table- 
 spoonful of nitrate of soda mixed with sand 
 is the right quantity for small plants. 
 
 [37] 
 
'Let garlic atoms link within the bowl, 
 And half suspected animate the whole." 
 
 GARLIC 
 
 Native of Europe. 
 
 Separate the cloves of the bulb and plant one 
 clove, about two inches deep and six inches 
 apart, in rows. When the plant matures in 
 June, pull the plant up and hang bulb, with 
 top attached, in dry place to be used as wanted. 
 
 "Oh gently breafhe a tender sigh." 
 
 ROCAMBOLE 
 
 Plant and cultivate same as garlic. Many 
 consider it milder and better flavored than 
 garlic, but the bulbs are not as large. 
 
 "The biter, bitten." 
 
 HORSE RADISH 
 
 Native of Southern Europe. 
 
 Cultivated in the garden for its roots which 
 are used as condiments. Used also as medi- 
 cine. It needs a deep sandy soil. Increases 
 by planting part of the old root. 
 
 [38] 
 
"Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed 
 that is upon the face of the earth." 
 
 HERBES 
 
 You should plant the following for use in 
 seasoning different dishes : Thyme, sage, 
 sweet marjoram, parsley and mint. It takes 
 parsley seed a long time to germinate. 
 
 "To be, or not to be? 
 That is the question." 
 
 KOHL RABI 
 
 Plant and cultivate like cabbage. It should 
 be transplanted very young when about an 
 inch high. The root or bulb is the edible part 
 and grows above the ground. It is used as a 
 substitute for turnip and for salad. 
 
 "Come ! give us a taste of your qualities." 
 
 KALE 
 
 Sow seed and cultivate like cabbage. It 
 does better in winter. Seed should be sown 
 in September and young plants placed in gar- 
 den when about two inches high. It is grown 
 for the leaves, which are broken off and fed 
 to poultry and stock. 
 
 [39] 
 
"No feast complete was ever seen, 
 Without fresh lettuce crisp and green." 
 
 LETTUCE 
 
 Native of Asia and Africa. 
 
 It has been cultivated in England for more 
 than two hundred years. It has been known 
 from early Biblical times. 
 
 In the spring prepare a bed in a sheltered 
 spot by digging and raking the soil up fine. 
 Sow the seed broadcast and cover lightly with 
 the rake. Sprinkle bed with water to settle 
 the soil around the seed and to start germina- 
 tion. If weather is warm cover the bed with 
 some light litter. When plants are well grown, 
 say an inch across, take a pointed stick or fork 
 and loosen the roots before pulling them out 
 of the bed. It is important to take up plants 
 with full roots. If root is broken the plant 
 may live but will never do as well as the one 
 with large full roots. Plant in rows about 
 sixteen inches apart each way. Water the 
 young plant just set out and mulch. 
 
 The lettuce is very hardy and can be planted 
 every month in the year. Lettuce planted in 
 summer should be thinned, not transplanted, 
 as the transplanted lettuce will rapidly go to 
 seed and not head up. Water often and mulch 
 ground. The variety called Los Angeles is 
 the best. 
 
 [40] 
 
It looks so green and like the grass, 
 It might be pulled for a weed, alas! 
 
 LEEK 
 
 Native of Switzerland. 
 
 Sow the seed in January or February in 
 rows about one inch deep and one foot apart. 
 Thin out plants to one every three inches. 
 Water and mulch often during warm weather. 
 It should be gathered when the root has devel- 
 oped. It seeds the second season like onions. 
 
 LENTILS 
 
 "The pottage of Esau," the Edom or red 
 pottage was prepared by seething lentils in 
 water and adding a little (mantua) or suet for 
 flavoring. 
 
 Plant in rows about an inch deep and two 
 feet apart. Thin out plants to one every three 
 inches. It grows about ten inches high and 
 needs no support. It resembles the pea, in 
 leaf, flower and seed pod, but the seeds are 
 small, flat and round. 
 
 [41] 
 
"Give us the luxuries of life and we will dispense 
 with the necessities." 
 
 MELONS 
 
 Native of Guinea, India, Persia and 
 Asia. 
 
 Under the heading melons, we will describe 
 watermelon, muskmelon, nutmeg melon, citron 
 melon, casaba melon and cantaloupe. 
 
 Watermeloru 
 
 Watermelons are a native of Africa. They 
 do best in sandy soil and in a hot climate. 
 Sow the seed in hills, about six feet apart each 
 way. Thin out leaving one or two plants to a 
 hill, water often and mulch. Stop watering 
 when fruit is as large as a hen's egg. This 
 applies to all melons. Cut oflf ends of runners 
 to make plant more compact. 
 
 Muskmelon. 
 
 Muskmelon, so named from the musky odor 
 and flavor. Sow seed in hills, place a dozen 
 seeds in a hill. Thin out to one or two plants. 
 Better let three grow until they are a month 
 old so you will have one or two to spare if 
 the cut worm destroys any. You cannot trans- 
 plant the young melon successfully unless you 
 take up lots of earth with the young plant. 
 
 [42] 
 
Nutmeg Melons. 
 
 Nutmeg melons are a small, early variety, 
 fine for the breakfast table. Cultivate same as 
 muskmelon. 
 
 Cantaloupe. 
 
 Cantaloupe is a large oblong yellow melon of 
 good flavor when not too ripe. It is a general 
 favorite. Cultivate same as muskmelons. 
 
 The network or lines on the skin of the 
 melon is caused by the heat cracking the skin. 
 You can scratch a name on a melon or squash 
 and have it come out in raised letters. 
 
 Casaba Melon. 
 
 Also called the Christmas melon, from the 
 fact it will keep until after Christmas. It will 
 keep better than any melon known. Plant the 
 seed in light, sandy soil, as described before, 
 when danger from frost has passed. 
 
 The melon is light olive green wth slight 
 creases or ribs. The flesh is white, thick and 
 juicy. The flavor is deliciously sweet. When 
 ripe it can be eaten vv^ithin a quarter of an inch 
 of the rind. The melons are about ten inches 
 long and oval in shape. When the rind be- 
 comes soft and moist the melon is ripe. Do 
 not gather the melon until the light streaks 
 turn yellow. Stow away in a cool place and 
 do not let them touch each other. 
 
 [43] 
 
Citron Melons. 
 
 Citron melons are both round and oblong 
 and closely resemble the watermelon in shape 
 and color. Boys often tap them to see if they 
 are ripe or carry them of¥ and find too late 
 that they have had their trouble for nothing. 
 They are good cut up for pickles, but not 
 edible. In all melons the male flower blooms 
 before the female. They are small at the base 
 while the female flower has the shape of a 
 melon three-quarters of an inch long and three- 
 eighths inch in diameter. The male flowers are 
 in the center of the plant while the female 
 flowers are on the runners. 
 
 [44] 
 
"Will make even heirs and widows weep." 
 
 ONIONS 
 
 Native of Persia, Afghanistan and 
 Egypt. 
 
 It belongs to the lily family. The Weathers- 
 field Red, Yellow Danvers and Silverskin are 
 those usually planted. The red onion is the 
 most common, the Silverskin the daintiest. 
 The Silverskin is a native of Egypt. It is a 
 small white onion of a mild, delicious flavor. 
 
 Onions are a summer and winter vegetable. 
 For winter use plant the sets in September or 
 October. For summer use plant sets January 
 to May. 
 
 Onions can be planted in the same ground 
 year after year, if ground is heavily manured. 
 The onion has two periods of growth, first 
 from the seed to sets, second from sets to ma- 
 ture onions. The seed is planted in rows about 
 half an inch deep and a foot apart. Cover seed 
 over lightly, using the rake, and press the soil 
 down with the back. 
 
 The first growth of young onion sets will 
 mature in a few months and the young onions 
 should be pulled and dried in the sun, until 
 
 [45] 
 
the tops are dried off. The sets can then be 
 
 planted in rows about a foot and a half apart, 
 
 six inches separating them. Take a sharp stick 
 
 or dipple and make a hole in the ground near 
 
 the line which you have set to make straight 
 
 rows. Place a set in each hole and let the top 
 
 of set be even with the surface of the ground. 
 
 Press the soil around the set. You will need 
 
 an ''iron back with a hinge" if you plant a 
 
 large bed. Sets will grow into mature onions 
 
 in about eight months. The bulbs will show 
 
 above the ground, but they do not like to be 
 
 confined, so let them have their own way. 
 
 When the seed head starts, cut off the head as 
 
 the bulb needs all the sap. When the tops are 
 
 large and drying up bend the stalk over on 
 
 the ground. This will ripen the onion and 
 
 help it to mature. If the onion is allowed to 
 
 seed it will spoil it for food, as the bulb will 
 not grow round and full, but long and pithy 
 
 and of no use. 
 
 Chicken manure mixed with sand and gyp- 
 sum is the best manure for onions. 
 
 If you want to raise your own seed secure 
 large dried onions, plant them with tops even 
 with the ground. They will grow one or more 
 seed heads, but the onions will be ruined for life. 
 
 Keep onions in a dry cellar and cut off the 
 tops. If they sprout new tops keep them cut 
 
 [46] 
 
off and remove the bad ones from the others. 
 Onions are one of our healthiest vegetables, 
 either cooked or eaten raw. 
 
 The onion is carried to sea by sailors to keep 
 off the scurvy. 
 
 POTATO ONION 
 
 Do not laug*h. 
 
 This onion is very prolific, increasing by 
 bulbs which it throws out underground. Each 
 bulb l^as a top and six or more may be joined 
 together at the root, like the potato, hence 
 the name. 
 
 It is planted from seed and sets like the true 
 onion. It is not large but is useful when the 
 other kmds do not keep well. 
 
 [47] 
 
Okra and gumbo, for soup a la mode. 
 
 OKRA OR GUMBO 
 
 Sow the seed in hills about April first. The 
 fruit or pods should be gathered when young 
 and tender. They are used in soup. 
 
 "Dumb as an oyster." 
 
 OYSTER PLANT OR SALSIFY 
 
 The seed is planted in rows about an inch 
 deep. Cultivate like carrots. 
 
 "Held in much esteem by the Romans, who boiled 
 them and ate them with honey." 
 
 PARSNIPS 
 
 Sow seed and cultivate like carrots. It is a 
 good table vegetable and also used for stock 
 food. It is rich in saccharine matter and adds 
 to the richness of cows' milk, if freshly dug 
 and fed freely. 
 
 [48] 
 
Peppers red and peppers yellow, 
 Good for the liver of every fellow. 
 
 PEPPERS 
 
 Native of Brazil. 
 
 Sow seed in a box and place in the hot- 
 bed. Transfer plants to garden when about 
 two inches high. Plant like tomatoes. 
 
 The Bull-nose or Bell-pepper is used green 
 for salad or stufifed peppers. The long red va- 
 riety is ground fine and made into cayenne 
 pepper. The small red are used in pickles. 
 When seed pods are ripe cut them off, string 
 and hang them in cellar. 
 
 [49] 
 
"With potatoes g-alore, and strong beer at one end, 
 In one corner yourself, the other your friend." 
 
 POTATOES 
 
 Native of Peru and South America. 
 
 Potatoes were carried to England by Sir 
 Walter Raleigh from Virginia in 1586 but did 
 not come into general use for a hundred years 
 after. The Spaniards brought them into Eu- 
 rope about 1559 A. D. The tubers consist 
 mainly of a mass of cells filled with starch en- 
 closed in a thin, corky rind. They are three- 
 fourths water. It reaches its highest perfec- 
 tion in sandy soil. Salinas valley produces the 
 finest potatoes in California. They grow in 
 great abundance on the river bottoms of the 
 Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. 
 
 One kind is known as the Salinas Burbank 
 and the other as the River Burbank. The 
 Burbank potato was an accidental cross, and 
 found in the seed ball of an Early Rose plant 
 in the year 1871 by Luther Burbank when he 
 lived in Massachusetts. He planted the seed 
 and obtained 26 varieties, of which the "Bur- 
 bank" proved the best. The other seedlings 
 were allowed to die or were destroyed. The 
 year 1873 was a boom year in potatoes in Eng- 
 
 [50] 
 
land. Some new varieties sold as high as $500 
 for a single potato, to be used for seed. 
 
 You must plant the seed that grows on the 
 plant to produce new varieties ; trusting to ac- 
 cidental pollenization or by design. 
 
 The Early Rose is planted in December for 
 early spring potatoes. Potatoes can be planted 
 about March first when the danger of frost 
 is over. Plant large potatoes, cut into sec- 
 tions, each having two or more eyes. Or small 
 refuse potatoes, about as large as a small hens' 
 egg, with the ends cut off to prevent too many 
 eyes starting. The large whole potato makes 
 the best seed. Before planting cover the pieces 
 with wood ashes or slack lime, it will prevent 
 seed from rotting and keep off insects and 
 worms. Let the seed potatoes lie in the sun 
 and dry before planting, it prevents rot. If 
 planted by use of plow prepare the ground by 
 deep plowing and harrowing. Plow a furrow 
 about four inches deep and drop the seed every 
 foot or so and cover. If planted by hand, place 
 the seed in hills about four inches deep, one 
 or two pieces of potato to a hill. When plants 
 appear above the ground hoe or cultivate the 
 ground around the small plants. Cultivate 
 often, bring the soil up around the plant to 
 cover the small potatoes that grow near the 
 surface. The surface potatoes if exposed to 
 
 [51] 
 
the air turn green and are not edible, but poi- 
 sonous. Early or new potatoes may be dug 
 and separated from the vine without killing 
 the plant or retarding its growth. Take off 
 two or three of the largest and cover up the 
 hole. 
 
 The crop of old potatoes, as the ripe tubers 
 are called, are gathered after the tops die 
 down, by digging or plowing up the hills. They 
 may be left in the ground for several weeks 
 and dug as wanted. Dig them all before first 
 rain. Let the potatoes lie in the sun for a few 
 hours to dry before gathering. 
 
 More pounds of potatoes are produced than 
 any other food crop in the world. 
 
 Potato Scab. 
 
 Is much in evidence in potato crops each 
 year. To keep it under control the seed should 
 first be dipped in some disinfecting solution. 
 Two kinds are used, the formaldehyde and 
 corrosive sublimate solution. The formalde- 
 hyde is prepared by pouring a pint of formal- 
 dehyde into 30 gallons of water. Dip the po- 
 tato seed in this for two hours, covering the 
 barrel. Potatoes must be planted soon after 
 dipping or spread out in the sun to dry. 
 
 [52] 
 
We have Irish tubers and sweet, 
 With river and valley Burbank, 
 And raise more things to eat, 
 Than any state of our rank. 
 
 SWEET POTATOES 
 
 Native of China and America. 
 
 The tubers are an enlarged growth of its 
 underground stems. Its aerial stems are creep- 
 ers and leaf and flower resemble those of the 
 morning glory. It has been cultivated as a 
 vegetable from time immemorial and was found 
 among the Indians when this country was 
 first discovered. It is believed to have been 
 an important crop of the ancient Chinese. Its 
 habit proves clearly that it is tropical in origin 
 though it has been acclimatized far to the 
 north. 
 
 It is found in three varieties, Southern 
 Queen, Yam and Nausemond. The sweet po- 
 tato is similar to the Irish potato, but contains 
 more sugar. In starch and ash content they 
 are about the same. It does best in a warm 
 sandy loam with chemical fertilizer rich in pot- 
 ash for manuring and enriching the soil. 
 
 After spading in the manure throw up a 
 ridge two feet wide with a trench on either 
 side. Plant the sprouts on the side of the ridge 
 
 [53] 
 
and water the vine by pouring water in the 
 trenches. Start the sprouts from old sweet 
 potatoes, cut in half lengthwise, and place 
 tubers in sand with the eyes uppermost, using 
 fresh horse manure for bottom heat. 
 
 Start in the hot-bed if early in the season. 
 
 When the sprouts are from two to four 
 inches long and have shown signs of rooting 
 break them off from the tuber and more will 
 sprout until the parent is exhausted. It will 
 take a month for young sprouts to start. The 
 young shoots may be dipped in a solution of 
 manure, soil and water before planting. The 
 vine will send out joint roots. These must be 
 cut off to prevent a greater growth of the vine 
 at the expense of the growing tubers. The 
 potatoes can be kept in a dry place for two 
 or three months. 
 
 [54] 
 
"Lamb, mint sauce and peas. 
 Fit for kings." 
 
 PEAS 
 
 Native of Persia and India. 
 Our garden pea was cultivated by tlie an- 
 cient Greeks and Romans. Peas may be sown 
 for spnng and summer use. For spring peas 
 plant m January and tliey will ripen in May 
 boak the seed in water over night. Plant in 
 rows about four inches deep and three feet 
 apart. It is not necessary to furnish support 
 for the vines, but short pieces of brush placed 
 between the rows make a good support, if you 
 wish to go to that trouble. The best soil is 
 a strong clayey loam with abundant vegetable 
 manure. Prepare the soil by deep plowing or 
 spading and mulch often. 
 
 [SS] 
 
Garvanza pea, a hermit, I see; 
 Shut up in his cell, 
 Of w'hat use can you be. 
 Can any one tell? 
 
 GARVANZA PEA 
 
 Native of Mexico. 
 
 Plant the seed in rows about two inches 
 deep and two feet apart. The plant is hardy 
 and of upright habit and needs no support. It 
 bears but one pea to a pod and it is very slow 
 work shelling them. The dried pea is very 
 hard and is used for food for fattening pigeons 
 and poultry. 
 
 "Just as like as two peas in a pod." 
 
 NILE PEA 
 
 Native of Egypt. 
 
 In habit and growth it resembles the Gar- 
 vanza Pea, but it goes it one better, it has 
 two peas to the pod. Pick the peas young and 
 they are very sweet and hold their dark green 
 color when cooked. The dry pea is used in 
 soup. The plant is very hardy and can be 
 planted late in the season and does not require 
 much water or cultivation. It will grow in 
 almost any soil. 
 
 [56] 
 
"The first born infant of the Spring." 
 
 RADISH 
 
 Native of Southern Asia. 
 Sow the seed from January to May in shal- 
 low trenches about half an inch deep. Cover 
 over with soil and press the ground down over 
 the seed. When about two inches high thin 
 out to one every three inches. It grows best 
 in sandy soil. Color of root may be red, white 
 or red and white mixed. 
 
 "Oh! green and glorious herbaceous treat. 
 It would tempt the dying Anchorite to eat." 
 
 RHUBARB OR PIE PLANT 
 
 Native of Siberia. 
 
 Introduced into England as early as 1575. 
 The Chinese used it as a drug 2700 B. C. 
 
 It may be planted in fall or spring, using 
 plants raised from seed or dividing the old 
 roots. The ground should be deep and rich 
 and well manured as it is a rank feeder. The 
 crown of the root should be placed about two 
 inches below the surface. The plant will grow 
 leaves large enough to use a year after plant- 
 ing. In gathering the leaves the leaf stalk 
 should be bent down and pulled off sideways, 
 and not cut off, leaving no surface to decay. It 
 is used as a vegetable and for drugs. 
 
 [57] 
 
"The feast smells well." 
 
 SHALLOTS 
 
 Native of Palestine. 
 
 Like the garlic in habit, increasing from 
 separation of the bulb. When the tops begin 
 to wither pull up the plant with bulb attached, 
 tie tops together in bunches, and hang up in 
 a dry place. It is used for seasoning soup and 
 gravy. 
 
 "How green you are and fresh." 
 
 SPINACH 
 
 Native of Persia. 
 
 It was not known to the Ancients. It was 
 a novelty in Europe in the 16th century. 
 
 Spinach is of Eastern origin. 
 
 Sow in shallow furrows two feet apart. Thin 
 out to one every six inches. Water often, 
 mulch and keep free from weeds. Irrigate in 
 open trenches along the side of the rows and 
 cover, after water disappears. Like lettuce, it 
 can be planted any month of the year. 
 
 [58] 
 
"Oh! for the pies that mother made." 
 
 SQUASH AND PUMPKINS 
 
 Native of North America. 
 
 Plant seed in hills about six feet apart eacV 
 way. Place about four seeds in a hill in th^t 
 form of a square six inches apart. Thin om 
 to one or two plants. Plant in May when the 
 soil is warm. Nothing is gained by planting 
 earlier because the seed, if it germinates, will 
 not make a strong root, but will curl up and 
 die. 
 
 Of the small variety of squash you can leave 
 two plants to a hill, but the large squash, like 
 the Hubbard, you should leave but one, if you 
 wish to grow large squash. 
 
 When the fruit has formed cut off the end 
 of the vine to throw the strength into the de- 
 velopment of the fruit. The vine has male 
 and female flowers. Twice as many male 
 flowers, which soon wilt and die. Bees and 
 insects carry the pollen from flower to flower 
 making strange mixtures in the family. 
 
 Do not plant different kinds of squash to- 
 gether if you want them to come true. Squash 
 will keep for months in a dry room or cellar. 
 Great care should be taken in handling squash 
 
 [59] 
 
that are to be kept through the winter. Do 
 not break off the short stem, or handle of the 
 squash, or bruise them in moving them from 
 field to store house. 
 
 You can irrigate the young plants for a few 
 weeks if the weather is hot and the soil dry 
 and hard. 
 
 The Summer Squash. 
 
 Look out for squash bugs and small yellow 
 striped beetles and destroy them. The favorite 
 squash is the Hubbard. It is a large dark green 
 warty skin squash, but the meat is mealy and 
 delicious. It makes good pies and is best 
 baked or boiled. The summer squash are of 
 two varieties, red and white. Pick the young 
 squash, as they are very hard, when left to 
 ripen on the vines. 
 
 English Marrow Squash. 
 
 The English Marrow is a long white squash 
 a foot or more in length. They are very fine 
 boiled or cut and fried in batter, as you cook 
 tgg plant. Pick the young squash as the old 
 squash are hard and useless. 
 
 The New England Pie Pumpkins. 
 
 The New England pie pumpkins are the ones 
 our mother used for making pies. They are 
 about ten inches in diameter, hard skin and 
 of a reddish color. They are used when ripe, 
 and are often cut up and dried for future use. 
 
 [60] 
 
"Colored with crimson, mellow, rich and ripe." 
 
 TOMATOES 
 
 Native of Peru and South America. 
 Less than a century ago it was almost un- 
 known in northern gardens. It was cultivated 
 as a novelty and called "Love Apples." 
 
 "Never, the little seed stops in its growing. 
 More and more richly the rose heart keeps glowing, 
 Till frorn its nourishing stem it has riven, 
 The delicious love apple, for which it has striven.*' 
 
 Sow the seed in boxes and place in the hot- 
 bed in January. Prepare the soil in boxes by 
 mixing leaf mold and sand with a little well 
 rotted cow manure. Sow the seed broadcast 
 and work the seed into the soil with the fingers 
 and cover lightly, pressing the sand down 
 gently to settle it around the seed. Water 
 lightly every day and do not let the ground 
 dry out. When the plants are an inch high 
 thin out those in the box or transplant them 
 to another box placing the plants three inches 
 apart and remove the box to the cold frame 
 in the day time if the weather is pleasant. Put 
 under the glass at night to protect them from 
 
 [61] 
 
the frost or cover the cold frame. The plants 
 should be three or four inches high, dark green 
 in color and strong and hardy when ready to 
 transplant to the garden. If they are sickly 
 and yellow you have given them too much 
 heat and not enough water. Do not trans- 
 plant them to the garden until after danger 
 from frost has passed, about the first of May. 
 Place your line marking out your squares 
 about four feet apart and dig a hole four inches 
 deep with your vineyard hoe at each corner of 
 the square. This will place your vines four 
 feet apart each way and give plenty of room 
 for the vine to spread. Remember that straight 
 rows look better than crooked and haphazard 
 ones. Take the young plants out of the box 
 with a sharp stick, loosen the earth around the 
 roots and be sure to secure a plant with full 
 unbroken roots. Examine the leaves, root and 
 head, and if weak or imperfect discard it. Use 
 only perfect specimens as the future plant will 
 never do well unless started right. Place the 
 young plant in the hole, spread out the roots 
 and cover them with a little fine soil. Then 
 pour on about a cupful of water to settle the 
 earth around the roots and to supply moisture 
 for the new roots Which must start before the 
 plant grows in its new location. After the 
 moisture disappears cover the plant with earth 
 
 [62] 
 
half the distance from leaves to root. The hole 
 can be filled up later when the plant is larger 
 and you are working the soil loose around the 
 plant. This method of planting gives the root 
 a deep setting and less moisture is required. 
 Do not water the plant unless the weather is 
 very warm and no rain has fallen. If you con- 
 tinue to water the vine you will have a large 
 rank growth and small fruit. If the weather 
 is hot protect the young vines with a shingle 
 placed in the ground to the south, to protect 
 from the rays of the sun. Or cover with an 
 open end tin can for a few days. The can is 
 better as it protects the plant from the cut 
 worm. This worm works at night. See chap- 
 ter on Pests. 
 
 Do not plant all your stock, reserve about 
 a third as many as you have planted for re- 
 planting those that die or are destroyed. When 
 the plants are eight inches high pinch off 
 the top of the vine. This will make the plant 
 short and stocky and throw more strength into 
 vine and fruit buds just forming. You can tie 
 them up to a stake or a trellis, but the vines 
 will bend down and break from their own 
 weight. It is just as well to let them spread 
 out over the ground and when the fruit rip- 
 ens place the fruit on top of the vine to keep 
 it off the ground. Pick the tomatoes as they 
 
 [63] 
 
ripen as they soon rot if left on the vines. The 
 vines will have a good many white and green 
 unripe tomatoes on them in the fall. These 
 can be made to ripen if you pull the vine up 
 with fruit attached and hang it in a dry, warm 
 place. The fruit will ripen sooner if tied up 
 in a small paper bag. The large smooth round 
 tomato is the best for canning and market use. 
 The Ponderoso is a large pink variety. The 
 cross of the pink and the red are desirable for 
 their size and flavor. Cross the two varieties 
 by planting them close together. The early 
 red tomato is smaller than those ripening later, 
 but they come in two weeks earlier. The large 
 yellow tomato is very showy when dished with 
 the red in salad. It is not as good flavor as 
 the red and never will be as popular. There 
 are small red and yellow tomatoes. These are 
 used for pickles. 
 
 The tin can can be used for planting the 
 young tomato plants taken from the box in 
 the hot-bed and grown in the can until from 
 four to six inches high. Transplant from tin 
 can to open ground about May first. 
 
 Tin Cans. 
 
 Take a large tomato can and unsolder the 
 ends and side, leaving a bent piece of tin. Tie 
 the can with a piece of string to hold it to- 
 
 [64] 
 
gether and place it upon end on a board, then 
 fill with earth and plant the young tomatoes. 
 When you transplant them to open ground 
 cut the string, open the side of the can and 
 you will have a ball of earth covering and pro- 
 tecting the roots of the plant. 
 
 [65] 
 
'Much may be said on both sides." 
 
 TURNIPS 
 
 Native of Armenia, Russia and Scandinavia. 
 
 Plant seed in rows an inch deep and a foot 
 and a half apart. If the weather is showery 
 at the time of sowing the seed it will germi- 
 nate quickly. Thin plants, the young plants, 
 should be kept growing with frequent water- 
 ing. It is a general favorite as a vegetable. 
 It is good for stock but the amount of nutri- 
 tious matter is small. 
 
 [66] 
 
Everything that flowers in beauty, in the air of 
 u^^^^\ ^^^^^ '^^^ fairness, its vigor, from its roots 
 iNo^ung living can blossom into fruitage unless 
 through nourishing stalks, deep-planted in th 
 mon soil." 
 
 s. 
 le 
 e com- 
 
 ROOTS 
 
 The roots are the vital part of the plant. 
 When the ground is moist the plant throws 
 out fine white thread-like roots, which are 
 the feeders. These small roots take in nour- 
 ishment from the soil and the sap distributes 
 it throughout the plant to the uttermost branch 
 and leaf, going up through the inner bark and 
 down through the outer bark to the roots. 
 
 The plant breathes through the leaves. The 
 dark green matter in the leaves is necessary 
 for the formation of starch without which the 
 leaves turn yellow and wither and the plant 
 dies. When the plant is dry and suffering for 
 want of moisture these small roots dry up and 
 become hard. Supplied with moisture a new 
 crop of small roots will start out to take up 
 water and food. It is essential that vegetables 
 shall be furnished with an abundance of water 
 and not allowed to dry up or wilt and have 
 any set back if you would grow large and suc- 
 culent fruit. 
 
 [67] 
 
Let us first irrigate, 
 Then let us investigate, 
 Why plants luxuriate 
 With water and muriate. 
 
 IRRIGATION 
 
 Vegetables require to be watered often and 
 must never be neglected and allowd to dry up 
 or wither. If you plant in summer and the 
 ground is level make a trench on the side and 
 irrigate bed from below, letting the water per- 
 colate through, the soil. This method keeps 
 the soil loose on top and prevents its baking 
 and cracking by the sun. If your soil is sandy 
 you will not have this trouble and can irrigate 
 bed on top by sprinkling with water. 
 
 Lettuce, celery, radishes and plants that are 
 about 90 degrees water do well in summer by 
 this treatment, keeping the ground thoroughly 
 wet, without waste of water and everything 
 is watered evenly. Water should be used once 
 or twice a week. Do not water too often. Let 
 the roots absorb the salts after the water has 
 done its work and do not drown the plant by 
 too much water and kill it with kindness. 
 
 The French peasant grows vegetables in his 
 little garden and often secures four or five 
 crops a season. He secures this result by sub- 
 
 [68] 
 
irrigation, by the use of perforated four inch 
 tiling, which is buried in the ground about 
 two feet deep and seven feet apart in straight 
 rows. A piece of sewer pipe with an elbow is 
 placed at the end of the tiling with opening 
 just above the ground in which to pour the 
 water, or place the hose to fill the tiling with 
 water. When the tiling is full of water it will 
 spread out for three and a half feet on each side, 
 irrigating a space seven feet wide. 
 
 Straw can be put over the tiling before fill- 
 ing in the trench. ■ This will prevent the holes 
 in the tiling from getting stopped up with par- 
 ticles of earth. Lay the tile in the trench on 
 a dead level. The French plant their seed in 
 rows immediately over the tiling, but it may 
 do as vv^ell to plant between the tiling. 
 
 [69] 
 
Not a nice subject to be sure. 
 
 But plants thrive better with manure. 
 
 MANURES 
 
 Practically all organic manures contain ni- 
 trogen. Green weeds turned under the ground 
 form humus and humus is a storehouse for 
 nitrogen. Nitrogen is furnished in the most 
 available form, in nitrate of soda. Nitrates are 
 formed more rapidly in warm weather. Nitrate 
 is formed by the action of microscopic organ- 
 isms. All fertilizers must undergo this process 
 of nitration before they are turned into plant 
 food. 
 
 Leguminous crops, such as field peas, 
 vetches, burr clover, etc., when turned under 
 the ground and allowed to rot, supply the soil 
 with nitrogen in addition to humus. The leg- 
 umes have the power to collect and store nitro- 
 gen, which other plants utilize as food. All 
 legumes should be turned under about the time 
 of blossoming to get the best results. Hen 
 manure should be mixed with land plaster or 
 gypsum. 
 
 Barnyard manure should be confined in a 
 pit with a clay bottom or in a rock built tank 
 vjith a cement bottom or a tank built entirely 
 
 [70] 
 
with cement, sand and rock. The pit should 
 have a cover. Wet the manure and turn over 
 two or three times during the summer. Horse 
 and cow manure should be mixed, as they are 
 helpful to each other. Gypsum should be add- 
 ed to prevent loss of ammonia or spread on 
 the stable floor and thrown out with the man- 
 ure. 
 
 NITRATE OF SODA 
 
 Is a very stimulating plant food. Very 
 little should be used at one time and it 
 may be rolled or pounded fine and mixed with 
 sand, about half and half, before it is used. 
 Apply it in small quantities a few days apart 
 as a tonic, to get the best results. Place the 
 dry mixture on the ground and wash it into 
 the soil with water. A tablespoonful to each 
 plant is enough. Under its influence you will 
 see a decided change. The leaves will turn 
 darker green and new roots will start and the 
 plant will make rapid growth. Care must be 
 taken not to place nitrate of soda too near the 
 stem or leaves as it will burn and destroy the 
 life. Placed around the plant the ground will 
 absorb the salts, or it can be hoed into the soil. 
 Water will dissolve it and carry it down to 
 
 [71] 
 
the roots. A small quantity does a great amount 
 of good, while the use of large quantities is 
 harmful. The yield of the crop will be limited 
 only by the quantity of nitrates the plant can 
 assimilate. It is of special use for forcing, and 
 the rapid development of vines and young 
 plants. It does its best work in one season 
 with quick results and large returns. It will 
 sweeten sour land. Nitrate of soda is supposed 
 to have been formed by the gradual decomposi- 
 tion of the manures of large and small marine 
 animals and vegetable matter. 
 
 NITRATE OF SODA 
 
 Is found in Chili. The beds of nitrate 
 are several thousand feet above the sea 
 in a rainless region on a desert plain. The 
 deposit is about twenty miles wide and seven- 
 ty-five long. The surface of the bed is cov- 
 ered with earth and rock called costra. This 
 varies in thickness from three to ten feet. It 
 is blasted and removed to uncover the caliche 
 or crude nitrate which averages three feet in 
 thickness. The crude nitrate is dissolved and 
 refined in boiling water in huge vats. The 
 water is run off and the nitrate is collected in 
 crystals like common salt. This is the nitrate 
 
 VJ2\ 
 
of soda of commerce. It retails at from six to 
 seven cents a pound. Ton lots are much less. 
 In hilly land well rotted manure spread on 
 the ground in early spring and plowed under 
 does more good than the old way of carting the 
 fresh manure out in the field and letting the 
 rain wash it out all winter. On level ground 
 the reverse will apply. 
 
 7Z 
 
"Plants are an organized being, originating from a 
 germ and nourished solely by inorganic substance." 
 
 PLANT FOOD 
 
 The Assimilation of Salts. 
 
 Plants require water, air, light and heat, cul- 
 tivation and fertile soil. Every crop removes 
 from the soil a certain amount of plant food. 
 Manure and nitrates must be added to restore 
 fertility. Plant food in the soil comes from 
 decayed vegetable matter, salts and minerals 
 found in the ground. 
 
 The three constituents of the soil most drawn 
 upon by vegetables are potash, phosphoric acid 
 and nitrogen. Of these most soils contain lim- 
 ited amounts in available form and by contin- 
 uous cropping the soil becomes exhausted and 
 the plant suffers from hunger and does not 
 thrive. By adding fertilizer to the soil you 
 furnish the plant its necessary food. 
 
 Humus. 
 Humus is the organic matter of dead leaves, 
 plants and animals that have lived and died 
 upon the land. Leaf mold and peat are ex- 
 amples. Humus is not essential to plant life. 
 Plants do not feed upon humus but upon its 
 component parts, potash, phosphoric acid and 
 nitrogen, which are formed from decomposed 
 
 [74] 
 
organic matter. Plant food contained in leaves 
 and litter cannot be used by the plant before 
 it is thoroughly decomposed. 
 
 Lime. 
 
 Lime is often used, not as a fertilizer, but 
 as a means to improve heavy soils and correct 
 the acidity in sour lands. 
 
 Potash. 
 
 Potash is necessary for the perfect develop- 
 ment of the fruit bud, the filling out of the 
 fleshy portion of the fruit and the formation 
 of sugar and starch. All these give the fruit 
 its rich color and flavor. 
 
 Phosphoric Acid. 
 
 Phosphoric acid enables the plant to assimi- 
 late or make use of the other ingredients in the 
 soil. It has to do with the formation of al- 
 bumen and hastens the maturity of the fruit. 
 Phosphoric acid is necessary for seed forma- 
 tion and fertility. 
 
 Nitrogen. 
 
 Nitrogen promotes the growth of the leaf 
 and stalk, increasing the green to a darker 
 shade in the leaf and plant. Indication of ex- 
 cessive nitrogen sometimes means that potash 
 and phosphoric acid are not in sufficient supply 
 and is indicated by rank growth of top and 
 imperfect blossoms. 
 
 [75] 
 
Wood Ashes. 
 Wood ashes contain an average of 5 per 
 cent potash and one and a half per cent of phos- 
 phoric acid. It is good for loosening heavy soil. 
 
 Virgin Soil. 
 
 Virgin soil will produce more and larger 
 fruit and vegetables than land that has been 
 cropped for years, for the reason that it is rich 
 in available plant food. 
 
 Carbide (lime and charcoal) used in making 
 acetylene gas is good to put on clay or adobe 
 soil to make it porous and soft. Use the resi- 
 due around plants and vines to kill bugs, in- 
 sects and worms. When dry, grind the lime 
 residue up fine and spread over the ground 
 and dig in, or if in liquid form, sprinkle evenly 
 over the ground and rake under. 
 
 Plants, trees and vegetables die of old age ; 
 when their alloted time on earth has passed 
 they will wilt and die, just like animals. If 
 vegetables or plants are not renewed from 
 seed and given the necessary new life by nat- 
 ure-crossing, but are renewed by cuttings, the 
 plant will soon become exhausted and die and 
 a desirable variety may disappear. Many 
 varieties of apples and potatoes formerly in 
 high favor have died out for this reason. The 
 life of plants and vegetables may be prolonged 
 
 [76] 
 
and productiveness greatly increased by feed- 
 ing the proper plant food. Study the wants of 
 your plants and supply the necessary manures. 
 The plant itself will plainly indicate what its 
 requirements are to the observing gardener, 
 and a soil analysis is not necessary. The follow- 
 ing compositions of plant food are in general 
 use: 
 
 Nitrogenous manures are composed of dried 
 blood tankage, bone meal, nitrate of soda, sulphate 
 of ammonia. 
 
 Phosphate manures, tankage bone meal, 
 super-phosphates, basic slag. 
 
 Potash manure, muriate-potash, sulphate of 
 potash, kainit, wood ashes. 
 
 [77] 
 
He who produces a new plant, or vegetable, is a 
 benefactor to mankind. 
 
 Luther Burbank, your achievements are a monu- 
 ment that will live long after j^ou are gone. . . . 
 
 CROSSING 
 
 Crossing of different varieties of plants may 
 be done by design or accident. Accidental 
 crossing is done by bees and insects carrying 
 the pollen, attached to their legs, bodies, or 
 antennae, from one flower to another. 
 
 By design of man, by placing the pollen in 
 certain female flowers with a fine brush and 
 securing against further accidental polleniza- 
 tion, by covering the flower with a paper bag, 
 tied at the mouth around the base of the blos- 
 som. Also by planting different varieties of the 
 same kind close together. 
 
 A single cross of two varieties, say of squash, 
 may produce a new variety much stronger and 
 more productive than either parent, but the 
 second planting of the seed, from the new vari- 
 ety, will often prove a failure. It may be only 
 one in a thousand that proves and holds good. 
 The writer once had a new variety of squash, 
 a cross between the Summer and Hubbard. It 
 produced twenty-seven good size squash, aver- 
 aging seven pounds each, or 189 pounds to one 
 vine, but the plants from this seed were only 
 ordinary. 
 
 [78] 
 
"Fie upon thee, pest." 
 
 PESTS 
 
 The Cut Worm. 
 
 A light olive green worm about an inch long 
 with strong mandibles or nippers. It is found 
 in the loose soil at the place it had its last 
 meal. It goes into the ground in the daytime 
 and works its nefarious trade at night, like 
 any robber. It changes from a worm into a 
 red chrysalis and again into a moth, called the 
 gothic dart moth. Kill him on sight. 
 
 To prevent the cut worm cutting off your 
 tomato and other plants, wrap paper around 
 the stem before planting, as he will not cut 
 through the paper. Or sprinkle wood ashes 
 around the plant. He does not like to crawl 
 over the ashes. Kainit of potash salt is often 
 helpful in destroying this and other under- 
 ground pests. 
 
 There is a small white worm that destroys 
 young squash vines by boring into the stem 
 and root and killing the vine. It is the larv^ of 
 a small beetle v/ith two yellow stripes on its 
 back and looks like a lady-bug. It is called the 
 cucumber beetle. Use lime around the root 
 to destroy the worm. Some may think toads 
 are a pest, if found in large numbers. No, the 
 toad is the gardeners best friend. It destroys 
 cut worms, bugs and beetles. 
 
 [79] 
 
Com Worms. 
 Open the ear of corn while in the silk and 
 you will find a large pink and white worm eat- 
 ing its way through the young corn kernels, 
 down the husk into the cob. It is the larvae of 
 a beautiful moth. The larvae enters the ground 
 to pupitate, after filling up on the milky corn. 
 Destroy the worm "before it turns." 
 
 Aphis. 
 
 It attacks flowers and leaves. It is a small 
 winged insect. Color white, yellow and brown. 
 They are about three-eighths of an inch long 
 with soft bodies. They are easily killed with a 
 spray of soap and water, or take tobacco stems 
 and boil them in water, use the juice with more 
 water added to spray the plants. Whale oil 
 soap dissolved in water is a good compound, 
 but rather disagreeable to use. 
 
 Slugs and Snails. 
 They generally work at night and can be 
 found in the daytime under the leaves and in 
 dark places, under boards. Take a lantern and 
 hunt them at night. Slacked lime placed 
 around the plant will keep them away. Salt 
 placed on their bodies will dissolve them. 
 
 [80] 
 
Squash Bugs. 
 
 Look out for squash bugs in the month of 
 June. The bug is about half an inch long, the 
 female being a little larger than the male and 
 they are usually found in pairs. The female 
 lays its eggs on the under part of the stem of 
 the leaf. The eggs are brown, the size of a 
 pin head and arranged in rows. The young 
 bugs grow rapidly and are as destructive as 
 the parents. The small bugs are bluish black 
 and soft, without wings. The adult is about 
 three-fourths of an inch long with black body 
 and a narrow line of yellow running around 
 the outside of the body and head. The body 
 under the wings is red. They work at night, 
 but are found around the stem and under the 
 leaves in the early morning. Catch them and 
 immerse them in kerosene, placed in a tin can. 
 Put lime water around the roots and dust 
 slacked lime over the plant around its base to 
 keep them away. 
 
 Use tobacco stems soaked in hot water and 
 cool before using. Pour the mixture around 
 the roots of squash and melon vines to kill the 
 larvae of the striped beetle, which bore into 
 the roots and kill the vines. 
 
 Saltpetre will kill insects and is a good ma- 
 nure. Dissolve one pound of saltpetre in four 
 gallons of water. 
 
 [81] 
 
Weeds. 
 
 If we do not keep the garden clear of weeds 
 they will rob the vegetables of plant food and 
 moisture, as they are stronger and the vege- 
 table will dry up and die. We are doing our 
 best to grow vegetables, and the sooner the 
 young weeds are destroyed the better. If al- 
 lowed to grow the roots get longer and harder 
 to pull up. Weeds are very unsightly in the 
 garden and should never be allowed to grow, 
 even in unused places. A garden does not look 
 thrifty, or neat, if one weed is in sight. 
 
 A certain kind of weed will grow thickly in 
 a certain place for one year and the next sea- 
 son almost disappear. The seed seems to run 
 out and the plant food is exhausted for that 
 kind of weed. 
 
 The pig-weed is the most common of our 
 weeds. When you think you have hoed up all 
 the weeds this small summer weed will grow 
 fast and you will have to go over the same 
 ground two or three times before you have 
 killed them all. The ground is full of weed 
 seed. As you plow or turn up new soil you 
 will expose seed that have been waiting gen- 
 erations for a chance to grow. You can never 
 get rid of weeds in the garden, but discourage 
 their growth with the hoe and never allow a 
 weed to mature and scatter its seed. 
 
 You can kill weeds and grass on a path or 
 playground by sprinkling the weeds with a hot 
 brine of salt and water. 
 
 [82] 
 
Gophers and Moles. 
 
 Set a trap as soon as you discover an open 
 hole or fresh mound of earth, where the gopher 
 has thrown the dirt out. Place the trap in as 
 far as you can reach, about a foot, and cover 
 up the hole. Be careful when you pull the trap 
 out, as you may have caught him by the skin 
 of the belly or one toe and will tear the skin 
 and he will escape. If the trap does not come 
 out easily dig him out and take no chances. 
 Gophers are herbivorous and destroy vegeta- 
 bles, plants and trees. You can poison them 
 with a little arsenic placed in a turnip, carrot, 
 raisin or prune. Place the poisoned fruit in 
 the hole and cover up the opening. Use gloves 
 on your hands when you set a trap or use 
 poison, to keen the scent of your body from 
 the animal you wish to destroy. Sometimes 
 you can drown him out with water from the 
 garden hose. 
 
 [83] 
 
Moles. 
 
 Moles are insectivorous and do not de- 
 stroy vegetation, with premeditation and afore- 
 thought. They sometimes work in a new 
 sown bed and push the ground up, disarrange 
 the seed and even kill young plants by up- 
 rooting them. They make these burrows 
 when they are hunting for worms and insects, 
 but it is just as well not to have them for vis- 
 itors. Cats will catch and eat gophers but 
 they do not like moles or blue jays. Some- 
 times you can catch a mole in a gopher trap, 
 but it is an accident and not worth the trouble 
 of setting a trap. This is the best way to de- 
 stroy them. Watch and catch them working 
 and pressing the earth up ; force a spade down 
 behind the moving earth and throw the mole 
 out and destroy him. Moles may be driven 
 away by obstructing their passageways with 
 sticks dipped in tar. 
 
 [84] 
 
BORDEAUX MIXTURE 
 
 This is the most common spray in use and 
 is the reason we give the recipe for making 
 it. It will kill the scale, mildew, worms and 
 diseases of plants and trees. 
 
 Dissolve four pounds of sulphate of copper 
 in four or more gallons of water. Take four 
 pounds of unslacked lime and place in a tub 
 and add water until slacked. When the lime 
 has cooled, pour it into the copper solution. 
 Mix the fluid by constant stirring. Add water 
 to make 40 gallons. Strain through a cloth or 
 burlap before using, so as not to clog up the 
 fine mesh of the spraying machine. 
 
 [85] 
 
TO THE READER 
 
 I hope the book will strike you right, 
 For I have tried with all my might. 
 
 And trust, a tiny ray of light, 
 
 May cross my path to make it bright. 
 
 [86] 
 
AN APOLOGY 
 
 Reader, excuse my verse and jingle, 
 Where grey-matter and soil so intermingle, 
 The subject was so dirt dry, 
 A bit of fun I thought I'd try. 
 
 [the end.] 
 
 [87] 
 
INDEX 
 
 Page 
 
 A Man and A Hoe 3 
 
 Aphis 80 
 
 Apology, An 87 
 
 Artichokes 16-17 
 
 Artichokes, Jerusalem 17 
 
 Artichokes, Cardoons 17 
 
 Asparagus 18-19-20 
 
 Assimilation of Salts, The 74 
 
 Beans 21-22-23-24 
 
 Beets 25 
 
 Bordeaux Mixture 85 
 
 Brussel Sprouts 26 
 
 Cabbage 28 
 
 Cantaloupe 43 
 
 Carrots 29 
 
 Casaba Melon 43 
 
 Cauliflower 27 
 
 Celeriac 31 
 
 Celery 30 
 
 Chard 32 
 
 Chives 32 
 
 Citron Melons 44 
 
 Collards 35 
 
 Corn 33-34 
 
 Corn Salad and Fetticus. . . 35 
 
 Corn Worms 80 
 
 Crossing 78 
 
 Cucumber 35 
 
 Cut Worms 79 
 
 Dandelion 36 
 
 Page 
 
 Dedicated to 2 
 
 Dent Corn 33 
 
 Directions for Planting and 
 
 Preparation of Soil 12 
 
 Egg Plant 37 
 
 Endives 36 
 
 English Marrow Squash ... 60 
 
 Garlic 38 
 
 Garvanza Pea 56 
 
 Gophers and Moles 83 
 
 Herbes 39 
 
 Hinged Man 7 
 
 Horse Beans 24 
 
 Horse Radish .• 38 
 
 Hot Bed 9 
 
 Humus 74 
 
 Introduction 6 
 
 Implements 8 
 
 Irrigation 68-69 
 
 Kale 39 
 
 Kohl Rabi 39 
 
 Leek 41 
 
 Lentils 41 
 
 Lettuce 40 
 
 Lima Beans 23 
 
 Lime 75 
 
 Manures 70-71 
 
 Melons 42-43-44 
 
 Moles 84 
 
INDEX 
 
 Page 
 
 Muskmelon 42 
 
 New England Pie Pump- 
 kins 60 
 
 Nile Pea 56 
 
 Nitrate of Soda 71-72-73 
 
 Nitrogen 75 
 
 Nutmeg Melon 43 
 
 Okra or Gumbo 48 
 
 Onions 45-46-47 
 
 Oyster Plant 48 
 
 Parsnips 48 
 
 Peas 55-56 
 
 Peppers 49 
 
 Phosphoric Acid 75 
 
 Pests 79 to 84 
 
 Pie Plant 57 
 
 Plant Food 74 to 77 
 
 Popcorn 34 
 
 Potash 75 
 
 Potatoes 50 to 54 
 
 Potatoes, Sweet 53-54 
 
 Potato Onion 47 
 
 Potato Scab 52 
 
 Preface 4-5 
 
 Pumpkins 59-60 
 
 Page 
 
 Radish 57 
 
 Rhubarb 57 
 
 Rocambole 38 
 
 Roots 67 
 
 Salsify 48 
 
 Seed 10-11 
 
 Shallots 58 
 
 Slugs 80 
 
 Snails 80 
 
 Spinach 58 
 
 Squash 59-60 
 
 Squash Bugs 81 
 
 Summer Squash, The 60 
 
 Sweet Corn 33 
 
 Table of Planting in Cali- 
 fornia 13-14-15 
 
 The Garden Patch 1 
 
 Tin Cans 64-65 
 
 To the Reader 86 
 
 Tomatoes 61 to 65 
 
 Turnips 66 
 
 Virgin Soil 76 
 
 Watermelon 42 
 
 Weeds 82 
 
 Wood Ashes 76 
 
The Hicks-Judd Co., Printers, S1-6S First St., San Francisco, CaU 
 
DEC 28 1912