ASPARAGUS.

This is the earliest vegetable to be ready for use in the spring, excepting those that have been forwarded under glass. While it is quite hardy and withstands much ill treatment, nothing will better repay careful culture and generous feeding. One row across the kitchen garden would make a liberal supply for an average family. The seed should be sown where the row is to stand, and the young plants thinned out until they stand one foot apart in the row. This should be done as soon as they are three or four inches high and well started; if left longer it will be a very troublesome job. These young plants should have every encouragement of manure and cultivation, to make as strong a growth as possible; the stronger and faster they grow the better will be the size and quality of the shoots when old enough to cut. No shoots should be cut until the third spring after sowing, and then should not be cut too long the first season. The fourth and succeeding seasons it may be cut from the time the first shoots appear until the first peas and lettuce are ready to take its place on the table. Then it should be well worked and allowed to attain its full growth, that strength may be stored in the crowns to furnish the shoots for the next season’s cutting. As soon as the tops begin to yellow, and the berries to ripen in the fall, it should be mowed off close to the ground and the tops burnt, taking care that all the seeds are consumed; if left on the plants all winter the seed becomes scattered, and, owing to its capacity for sending up shoots, it is a very difficult weed to exterminate. If you do not wish the labor of sowing the seed and tending the young plants, a year can be gained by purchasing the plants. The one-year old plants are preferable unless the older ones have been transplanted each year, as they are gross feeders, and become stunted if allowed to crowd each other while young. To produce the large, fat shoots, it is necessary that the seed shall have been saved from the strongest shoots obtainable, and the plants fed constantly. The best way is to cover the crowns, after the ground is frozen in the fall, with as much manure as can be spared, and work it down to the roots in the spring as soon as it can be forked in; or, if there are several rows, the manure could be placed on them thickly and the soil ridged over it for the winter by throwing up a couple of shallow furrows with the plow; this to be worked down with a sharp harrow in the spring. As soon as it is dry enough in the spring, the soil and manure of the bed should be lightly forked over with a manure fork and the surface raked fine; the reason for using the stable fork is that the tines are slightly curved, and if the handle is held in a nearly horizontal position the bed can be dug down to the roots, and the fork will slide right over the tops of the crowns without injuring them. Where more than one row is desired they should be planted about three feet apart, to admit of cultivation and free access to the beds for cutting. An advantage in sowing the seed is that the crowns are naturally established at a proper depth. In planting the crowns obtained from the nursery-man they should be set at a depth of three or four inches at the most; not one foot under the surface, as is the common practice of truckers. Market gardeners cut the shoots as soon as the tips appear above the surface, so that their shoots are blanched for their whole length; but they do this at the expense of the table quality, as only the tips are edible in this way, and even these taste very much like old hay to any one who has been accustomed to the richness and delicate flavor of shoots cut at the surface when they are from three to four inches in height; this method has also the advantage of not destroying the young shoots just coming up, as the stalks are only cut an inch or so underground, and the knife only reaches the one intended to be cut. If the appearance of the blanched asparagus is desired, it can be much better obtained (that is, with less sacrifice of quality) by placing four or five inches of hay, straw or other litter over the crowns, which can be pushed away from the stalk when cutting and easily replaced. There is another strong reason for not following the deep planting, as usually practiced, and that is, in having your crowns so much nearer the surface they feel the warming and growing influence of the sun sooner in the season, and you are able to have your asparagus for cutting a full week earlier than your neighbor who plants deep.

VARIETIES OF ASPARAGUS.

As mentioned above, this succulent is capable of great improvement by careful selection of seed from the best stalks. The old Purple Top variety is no longer grown, its place having been taken by the larger shoots and better quality of the variety known as Conover’s Colossal. This latter, however, has been propagated so extensively and with so little care that it is now almost impossible to obtain seed or plants that will produce the splendid shoots of the original stock. Of the new varieties Barr’s Mammoth seems to be the most promising, and as grown in some fields in the vicinity of Philadelphia produces shoots which will average nearly an inch in diameter.

BEANS.

The first planting of snaps or dwarf bush beans can be made when the first planting of peas and beets are sown, but will not do as well nor produce beans of as fine quality as those planted about two weeks later, when the weather has become warmer and more settled. These yield very abundantly, and a drill fifty feet long will produce as many as can be used in a large family. While planting in a drill, for the sake of convenience and quickness in planting, the seed should be dropped in hills about ten inches apart and five seeds to a hill. If the beans are kept picked closely, the plants will continue longer in bearing, and they may be had throughout the season if successive plantings are made, though the pole snaps are to be preferred through the summer and fall, for their greater bearing qualities and the ease of gathering them. In both the bush and pole snaps, care should be taken to secure varieties that are entirely stringless, as they are not only much easier to prepare for use, but are much more tender. The different “Wax” varieties are very fine, but the bush beans of this class have not done well in this locality for the last three seasons, the pods being covered with a species of black spot or rot that spoils fully two-thirds of them.[1]

The pole beans should not be planted until the ground is thoroughly warmed in the spring, or until the thermometer stands over 60° all night. It is quite common to plant these with poles 8 to 9 feet in height. I think this is a mistake, as no ordinary picker can reach higher than about six feet to advantage, and as the vines grow to the tops of the poles before commencing to fruit, both beans and time are lost. The poles should be set in rows four and one-half feet apart and two and one-half to three feet apart in the rows. Two hundred poles of Limas will furnish an ample supply throughout the season, and will ripen a bushel of dried beans for winter use as well. Twenty-five poles will furnish an ample supply of snaps, though we allowed one row across the garden in the diagram given, the surplus being allowed to ripen for winter use. Where the saving of room is an object and the ground has been well manured, these pole snaps can be planted in the hills of corn, and allowed to use the stalks as poles; they will produce a good crop, but not nearly so many, nor are they as easy to pick as when grown on the poles. For this purpose they should be planted with some strong growing variety of corn, such as Stowell’s Evergreen or other late variety.

The white soup bean, that is dried for winter use in various ways, including the famous “Boston Baked Beans,” is generally grown by dropping one or two hills between each hill of corn, and instead of picking them, the whole plant is pulled up in the fall, and the beans thrashed out with a flail when dry. For Limas and pole snaps, the poles should be set by the aid of the garden line, and where any pole is bowed or crooked it should be planted so as to bring it in line with the row, lengthwise, as nearly as possible, that they may present an orderly appearance. In setting the poles, make a hole from one to two feet deep by driving the sharp end of a crowbar into the ground, place the butt end of the pole in this hole and ram it firmly in its place; then put one or two shovelfuls of compost around the base of the pole, and with a sharp steel rake make a hill of fine dirt over the compost. Five or six beans should be planted to each hill, but if all grow should be thinned out to two or three. If the young plants do not climb the poles readily at the first start, they should be trained up and tied till they begin to take hold for themselves. Be careful, in planting Lima beans, to push them into the soil with the eye down, for, as the first leaves are quite large and heavy, it assists them materially in breaking through the soil to plant them in this manner.[2]

The Limas may be brought into bearing somewhat earlier in the season by placing pieces of sod, cut four inches square and about three inches thick, grass side down, in the hotbed, and planting four or five beans in each piece; if this is done in the latter part of March they will be of good size by the time it is warm enough to plant them out, which is done by planting the piece of sod at the base of the pole, in hills, as prepared for the seed. If the end of the vine is pinched off when it is about four or five feet up the pole, it will assist the lateral shoots in blooming early, and consequently produce beans earlier, though, like all forcing methods, it will, to some extent, lessen the vigor of the vine, and most likely, to some extent, the amount of the crop.

Bush Beans—Golden Wax.—This is one of the best bush beans; it matures early; the pods are of very handsome appearance, brittle and entirely stringless; it is a good bearer and makes an excellent shelled bean for winter use.

Best of All Dwarf Bean.—This is a green-podded bean, and is probably the best for the first planting, as it is not only very early but also very productive; the pods are six inches long, entirely stringless, very fleshy and rich flavored.

Champion Bush Bean.—This is a strong grower, attaining about fifteen to eighteen inches in height, and an immense cropper. The beans can be used as string beans in the green state, but its chief quality lies in the superiority of the beans when dried, and the large crops which it produces when grown for winter use.

Pole Beans, Snap Varieties—Golden Wax Flageolet.—This bean is of recent introduction, and is worthy of all the praise that has been bestowed upon it; it is a tremendous bearer, and is almost as early as the dwarf wax varieties, the pods are much larger, being seven to eight inches long, round and very fleshy; they are entirely free from strings and of the finest quality. Unlike the other pole beans, it begins to produce beans at the bottom of the pole as soon as it starts to climb; and if these are used as they mature, it will continue in bearing the entire season.[3]

White Creaseback, or Best of All.—These for early and the Lazy Wife’s for late are the best of the green-podded pole beans. The pods are about six inches in length, thick fleshed, and of very fine quality. The Creaseback is very early and matures its crop in a short time, thus making it a very profitable variety for market. Both varieties are very productive, entirely stringless, and of superior flavor.

Limas—Extra Early Lima.—This variety matures very nearly as early as the Small Lima, while the beans are more nearly the size of the late Lima; the quality is very fine and the quantity large, as it bears the pods in clusters of four, with four to six beans in a pod.

Dreer’s Improved Lima.—This variety is early and very productive if measured in the green state; the pods are smaller than in the ordinary Lima, but the beans are very plump, and are so close together in the pods as to crowd against each other. As a green bean it is very early, and shells out more quarts to the basket of pods than the larger varieties; but the quality is not as fine, and in the dry state the beans shrivel up till they are only about the size of dry bush beans, and are not nearly so good as the other varieties.

King of the Garden.—This is a new variety, in which the green beans are of unusual size and very fine quality. I have seen half an acre planted with this variety which I am sure had at that time more than twice the quantity of beans that could be grown on the same ground of the ordinary kinds; vines were loaded with clusters of pods seven to eight inches in length, and it was no rarity to see them with five very large beans in a pod. From its great productiveness and the fine quality of the beans, it deserves the first place among the Limas.

BEETS.

Seed of these should be sown when the first planting is done in the spring. They may be had still earlier by planting the seed in a hotbed while the ground is still frozen, and transplanting them to the garden a week or so after the cabbage and lettuce have been planted out. Care must be taken in transplanting the young beets, that the tap-root does not get broken, or it will make a number of fibrous roots instead of the large, smooth globe desired for the table. When the seed is well up, the plants should be thinned out until they stand six or ten inches apart, as the size of the variety demands. A second sowing should be made about June 1st, and the main sowing about the 15th of July or 1st of August, to raise roots for winter use. These frequent sowings are necessary to have the beets of fine quality; as the roots get older and larger they become “woody,” or hard and fibrous, and exceedingly tasteless. Where the season is short, or there are prospects of a dry fall, the second sowing should be large enough to produce the winter crop, as the later one may fail to mature in time. The beets may be stored and the flavor retained by the method described for pitting turnips, and will keep in good order until spring.

The Bassano and other light beets are of quick growth and are tender and palatable while young, but are of coarse texture and not nearly so fine in appearance when cooked as the blood beets. The blood beets retain their deep, rich color, while all the light-leaved or light-stemmed varieties are colorless, or nearly so, when cooked. It certainly adds to the attractiveness of a dish for the vegetable to have a handsome appearance when cooked.

The seed should be sown in drills, from twelve to eighteen inches apart, if to be worked with the wheel hoe; if for horse culture, two and a half to three feet will have to be allowed between the rows. The ground should be raked clear of clods and made as fine as possible. A drill is made by drawing the rake or hoe handle along the line. The drill should be about an inch in depth and the seed should be dropped about two inches apart, thinning out to six or eight inches apart when well started, and if it is desired, the thinnings can be transplanted to another row. If no small roller is at hand, the drill can be covered and packed by the same operation, by removing the line and shuffling along the row with the feet placed in a V, the forepart of the foot drawing in the fine soil while the heels at the point cover and press the dirt down upon the row; the foot, of course, is only moved a few inches at a time, but with a little practice the rows can be covered in this manner quite rapidly.

VARIETIES OF BEETS.

Eclipse.—This is a very early beet, of quick growth and very fine quality. As the leaves of this variety are small and the stems short, they can be grown quite closely together. The roots are perfectly smooth, regular, globe shape, blood-red skin and flesh, fine grained and very sweet when cooked.

Edmand’s Early Turnip.—This variety is turnip-shaped, that is, tapering more gradually below the shoulder than the Eclipse; the foliage is short and stocky, enabling a heavy crop to be grown, as they can be grown as closely as six inches apart; the flesh, of a deep blood red, is of the finest quality.

Burpee’s Improved Blood Turnip.—This beet attains quite a large size and is very smooth and regular in appearance; the flesh is deep blood red and of fine quality, whether eaten in summer or stored for winter use; it is one of the best varieties for the latter purpose, and should be sown as described for the winter crop.

CABBAGES.

Of this vegetable two distinct crops are raised in every garden, while many gardeners, by successive sowings and the use of several varieties, have them fit for use constantly from early spring until fall, and throughout the entire winter by storage. In the ordinary garden the same result may be obtained by planting larger quantities of the early and summer varieties, and cutting them as wanted for use, as most of them will stand the whole summer without bursting or going to seed, and by early fall some of the winter cabbage will be large enough for use.

Early or Summer Cabbages.—The seed for these should be sown in a hotbed from the 1st to the 15th of February. As soon as the plants are large enough to set out they should be given plenty of air, and should be gradually hardened off until they are able to stand the cool nights without protection; but they should not be allowed to freeze. Treated in this way they will be ready for planting out as soon as the ground can be worked. In making this sowing I would have it of two kinds—some of a small, hard-heading, early variety, and about twice as many of a larger-heading summer kind. These latter are described as second early in the seed catalogues.

These early cabbages need very little care except to have frequent and thorough cultivation, as they are comparatively free from insect pests as long as they make a healthy growth. If attacked by the black fly or green worm, they should be dusted with land plaster or slug shot early in the morning, while the dew is still on them. The soil around these and all other crops that depend on quick growth for their superior qualities, must not only be cultivated, to kill the weeds, but must be kept loose and well stirred, to admit the air to the roots of the plants; it must not be allowed to lie heavy and packed after dashing rains, but should be stirred up as soon as dry enough. The rows may be as close as can be worked with the cultivator, say about three feet, and the plants about one and a half feet apart in the row, or even closer, if the variety grown makes but small heads.

Late or Winter Cabbage.—As soon as the ground becomes warm in the spring, or early in May, a seed bed should be made and sown with the late varieties of cabbage and celery, or the seed may be sown in drills in the garden; the seed being sown in very thinly, so as to produce plants standing about half an inch apart in the row. Where it can be done, it is best to sow the seed in a special bed or cold frame, where they can be watered and nursed to a good size by the time they are wanted for planting. The Flat Dutch and Drumhead types are the best for this planting, though many prefer the Savoys, claiming a superior delicacy of flavor, on account of their having more leaf surface to the number of ribs or veins; they are not, however, nearly such sure headers, nor are they as good keepers when buried.

It is important to get the seed sown early, that the plants may be had of good size by the middle of June, though they will make a partial crop if planted as late as the middle of August. As these varieties make larger heads than the summer cabbages, they cannot be planted so closely; the rows should be 3 to 3½ feet apart, and the plants 2 to 2½ feet apart in the rows. These can be planted and grown between the rows of early peas, corn or potatoes; but I would prefer to wait until the first crop of corn be cleared off the ground, as it can then be brought into much better condition. It adds greatly to the labor of harvesting the first crop when the ground is so closely planted, and the soil is apt to become hard and packed before it can be cultivated again.

When possible, the young cabbage plants should be set out directly before or after a good rain, but if there is no prospect of rain, they should be planted in the evening and a tincupful of water should be poured in each hole before the plant is set in; then draw the dry earth up around the stem and pack firmly around the plant; this will enable them to withstand at least a week of dry weather. If the drought should continue longer, or they do not come up fresh in the morning after a flagging day, they must be watered in the cool of the evening, when the plant will have the benefit of the water all night. It is waste of time to water them while the hot sun is shining, unless they can be shaded with papers, old pans, etc.

As soon as they become well established, the soil around them must be carefully loosened and cultivation begun. To obtain the best results they must be cultivated frequently and deeply. It is a common sight in some gardens to see the cabbage with stems two feet high and a small bunch of wormy leaves at the top; a closer examination will show that the soil is hard and trampled, and that the plants have been left to grow as best they may, while in the well-cultivated garden the stems are short and the heads are large and solid.

The young plants of late cabbages are generally infested, while in the seed bed, with a small black fly, which greatly checks their growth, and sometimes entirely destroys them. These can be gotten rid of, or better, entirely avoided, by the application of dry road dust, soot, slug shot, or land plaster, dusted on the young leaves early in the morning, while the dew is still on them; this should be repeated every two or three mornings until the fly is exterminated and the plants have grown to good size. When the plants have been set out and are nearly ready to head, the green cabbage worm makes its appearance, and if fine marketable heads are desired this pest must be destroyed. Many remedies for this are given, most of which are ineffectual. It is best to sprinkle well with tar water or alum water, taking care to get it well down into the centre of the loose leaves, using an ordinary watering pot for the purpose; if a garden syringe is at hand, it can be thrown into the plant much better than by sprinkling. To make the tar water, the tar is put in a barrel of water and well stirred; then, when it has been allowed to settle, the water from the top is dipped off and used. It should be strong enough to have quite a decided taste. The alum maybe dissolved in the watering pot, about one tablespoonful to the gallon, and stirred till dissolved. See that the solution gets well into the centre of the loose leaves just below the head, as this is the favorite place of attack by the worms.

The cabbage is quite hardy and will stand considerable frost in the fall without damage, being rather improved in quality by it. By the third week in November they should be put in pits or the vegetable cellar; or, where these conveniences are not at hand, they should be pulled up, root and all, the outside leaves wrapped closely around the head and stood side by side, on their heads, on a well-drained piece of ground; they should be placed in a long row two or three heads wide, and where a good many are to be buried or gotten out at once, two additional rows may be placed on top of these, as shown in the illustration.

Dry soil is then thrown on these heads to the thickness of five or six inches and the roots left sticking out of the top; this covering should be firmly packed, to prevent the entrance of water, and a small gutter should be dug round the heap to carry it off. If, after the cold weather has set in and the ground is slightly frozen, the heap is covered with three to four inches of corn fodder or litter, it will prevent the covering from freezing so hard, and will greatly lessen the work of getting out the heads when wanted for use. When heads are wanted, one end of the bank is opened and as many taken out as are desired; the open end is then carefully covered over with soil. Too many should not be taken out at once, as they retain their flavor better when buried in this manner than when kept where they are exposed to the open air. If it is desired to save some of the best heads for seed, the roots of the plant must be buried as well as the top; they can then be replanted early in the spring and a cross cut made in the top of the head to assist the flower stalks in bursting through, as the heads are sometimes so tight that they will rot before bursting.

Early Varieties—Extra Early Etampes.—This cabbage is the earliest heading variety that I have ever grown. The heads are small but round and very solid, and it is ready for use nearly two weeks ahead of the other early varieties.[4]

Early Jersey Wakefield.—This has long been the chief favorite for the general crop of early cabbage, and is deservedly popular, as it is sure to head when the seed is good; the heads are of good size and shape, and the quality is fine.

Early Summer.—This succeeds the Wakefield, and has heads about twice the size of the latter; they are round, very solid and slightly flattened on top; it has few outside leaves and can be planted closely; this variety matures about two weeks later than the Wakefield, and a month after the Etampes.[5]

VARIETIES OF LATE CABBAGES.

At the head of these I would place Burpee’s Surehead, which has done so well for me since I began planting it, never failing a single season, that I now plant my whole crop of it, instead of planting two or three kinds as formerly, to guard against poor seed or a bad season. It is an improved type of the Premium Flat Dutch, to which it is superior in the evenness and regularity of its heads and the “sureness” of every plant to form a fine head. With me the heads average larger than the Flat Dutch, are rather more rounding in shape and are of the finest quality.

Short-Stem Drumhead.—This variety produces on extra short stems, only a few inches in height, very large solid heads, often twenty-five pounds in weight. It is from this kind that the very large heads seen at the county fairs in the fall are grown, and where the ground is heavily manured and well cultivated enormous crops of this variety can be grown; it is of fine quality, very solid and an excellent keeper.

Danish Ball Head.—This variety has only been recently introduced, but bids fair to take a leading place as a winter variety; the heads are quite round and very solid; they are of medium size and very handsome appearance, which make it a good market variety, while the quality fully equals its good looks.

CAULIFLOWER.

The culture of this vegetable is the same as that for cabbage, in most respects, but it is not a certain crop in our changeable climate and hot, dry summers. It likes plenty of moisture, and if placed in a rather wet location or in a bed where it can be frequently watered, it will be much more certain to produce fine heads. Its superior quality and the high price that good heads command make it a most desirable crop to grow wherever it will do well. I have always found the short-stemmed, extra early varieties the best ones to grow, and as in the ordinary season but about half of them produce heads under ordinary garden culture, the rest of them maturing throughout the summer and fall, it is almost a continuous crop. The seed should be sown as early as possible, in the hotbed, and great care should be taken that the plants do not become either stunted or drawn, as none but the strong, healthy plants will produce good heads. It will greatly improve the appearance of the heads if some of the broad outside leaves are broken half through the stems and the tops bent over the heads while forming. This will blanch and keep them of that pure whiteness so attractive in this vegetable as grown by the market gardeners. The heads should be cut for use or sale as soon as they have reached their full size and before the buds begin to uncurl, as this spoils both the appearance and quality of this, the finest and most delicately flavored of the cabbage family.

VARIETIES OF CAULIFLOWER.

Extra Early Dwarf Erfurt.—This is the best strain for general use; there are usually two or more grades of this offered in seed catalogues, but the best should always be purchased, even if you can only buy a single packet; by taking extra care of it you can make every seed count. This variety is quite early, has short stems, and makes good-sized heads of the best quality.

Early Snowball.—This variety is quite early and makes fine large heads, of handsome appearance.

Burpee’s Best Early.—I have only grown this one season, but found it all that it was represented in earliness and good heading quality. Owing to a drouth early in the spring, the heads were not of large size; the quality was fine, and I think it bids fair to be one of the leading varieties.

CARROTS.

These are ordinarily little used as table vegetables, but will be found very palatable as an ingredient of soups and stews. They are very easily grown, the seed being planted in drills and the plants thinned to six or eight inches apart. The seed should be sown in April or May, and they will be ready for use early in the summer. For winter use they should be stored in the manner described for beets and turnips; they will retain their quality throughout the winter, and form a pleasant variety in the winter supply of vegetables. The rich yellow and red-fleshed varieties are the most popular, and retaining their bright colors when cooked, lend an attractive appearance to the dish of which they form a part.

VARIETIES OF CARROTS.

Danvers Half-long Orange.—This is claimed to have the greatest bulk with the shortest length of root, and is a remarkably heavy cropper. The root is of a rich, dark orange color, and grows very smooth and succeeds in all soils. It is quite a favorite market sort.

Short Horn.—The flesh of this variety is very fine grained, of deep orange color and superior quality. The roots do not penetrate deeply, and the top is small, which allows of their being planted quite closely.

Early Very Short Horn, or Golden Ball.—The earliest variety; the roots are round, turnip shaped, of small size, deep color, and the quality is of the best.

Ox Heart.—This variety is of large size, the roots being seven to eight inches in length and three to four inches in diameter at the top; it tapers gradually down to one and one-half to two inches at the bottom, making very little waste in preparing it for the table. It is of fine quality, while its size will render any surplus valuable for feeding to the stock.

Red Saint Vallery.—This is a large late variety and makes a good kind to raise for winter use; the roots grow ten to twelve inches in length and measure two to two and one-half inches in diameter at the top, tapering gradually to a point at the base. It should have deep cultivation to produce the finest roots. The color is a deep orange red and the quality is very fine.

CANTALOUPE, OR MUSK MELON.

These are universal favorites, and too frequently are not grown by the kitchen gardener, who labors under the idea that they must have a sandy soil in some particularly favored section, and that they require great skill to grow them. If a variety suited to your soil is planted and given the same amount of attention and careful cultivation as the rest of the garden receives, melons may be had in abundance from the first of August till frost comes in the fall, though when the first cool nights come they lose their fine flavor. If the garden has a southern slope, that will be the place for the melons and other warmth-loving vegetables; but they will do almost as well in the level field. The rows of hills should be five feet apart and the hills at least four feet apart in the row, to allow the vines plenty of room to run. It is a good plan to make the hills break joint, as they will then cover the ground to better advantage. When the line is set, a hole should be scraped with the hoe or shovel where the hill is to stand; this should be six inches deep and about twelve inches in diameter. Compost is then shoveled in, two rows being done at once; two or three shovelsful are put in each hill. The dirt thrown out in making the hole is then carefully made into a hill over the compost by using a sharp steel rake, care being taken to remove all stones and hard lumps of dirt. The seed is then scattered on the top of the hill, generally from twenty to thirty seeds being planted in each hill, that there may be an ample supply for the insects and yet leave a good stand. They should be thinned out gradually, extra ones being left in until they are at least a foot in length, as the insect pests are both numerous and destructive.

The hills should not be made until it is time to plant the seed, or they will get packed and too hard for the young roots to penetrate. When the seed has been planted on the hill it should be covered with about half an inch of fine soil, sifted and crumbled on with the fingers, and the whole top patted down with the palm of the hand. The seed should be planted as soon as the ground is thoroughly warm in the spring and when the temperature does not fall below sixty degrees at night. The melons will commence ripening about August 1st, and two rows across the garden should yield from one half-bushel to one bushel daily if the variety planted is of the small Netted Gem or Jenny Lind type. These small, round melons, of the size of a croquet ball, are very prolific, and if carefully grown, the quality is very fine. Some prefer the larger melons, which fill the basket more quickly, but in my experience the small ones have been so much more prolific that the yield has been almost double in bulk on the same amount of ground. The melon rows should be gone over early every morning while ripening, as they should not be allowed to become yellow on the vines. The quality deteriorates very rapidly when allowed to ripen in the hot sun, so that they should be picked while still green. The right stage for picking can readily be told by examining the point where the stem joins the melon; as soon as the stem begins to crack away from the melon slightly, or when the little drops of red juice form round the base of the stem, it is time to pick the melon. When picked, they should be put in a cool cellar or spring house until wanted for the table.

Seed may be saved from the largest and finest-flavored melons; but if your garden is on heavy soil, or if two or three varieties are grown near together, it is best to procure fresh seed from some melon-growing district every year.

The ground between the hills should be cultivated frequently, as long as it can be done without interfering with the vine; the soil in the hills should be kept loose and drawn up around the vines with the hoe. When the vines have grown too long to allow the passage of the cultivator, the patch can be kept clean by pulling out the large weeds by hand, which can be done very quickly after a good rain. The dense shade caused by the luxuriant vines will cause the small and low-growing weeds to rot off. While the vines are still small, it will be necessary to dust them every few mornings with road dust, soot, plaster or slug shot, to destroy the flies and striped bugs that infest them. When healthy young vines suddenly wilt and droop in the hot sun without apparent cause, dig around the root of the plant with the fingers or a stick until the grub is found which has cut the plant off underground. He should be searched for and “made an example of” as soon as the first vine is discovered to be flagging, or he will proceed to eat the whole hill.

VARIETIES OF MUSK MELONS.

Burpee’s Netted Gem.—The finest as well as the earliest of all the small-fruited varieties that I have tried, and where a variety of melons is not particularly desired, it will furnish a generous supply of fine-flavored fruit from the first ripening until killed by frost. It is a very good keeper, retaining its good quality for nearly a week after picking, if kept in a cool cellar. This is often a valuable characteristic in the latter part of summer, as several warm days furnish two or three baskets in the cellar, which keep up the supply if the warm spell is followed by cool or cloudy days, when the melons on the vines do not ripen readily. This variety is thickly netted, the meat is thick and solid, and they run as even in shape and symmetry as a set of croquet balls, which they also resemble in point of size.

Emerald Gem.—This variety has the small size and prolific bearing qualities, with the handsome salmon-colored flesh, that originated in the Surprise Melon some years ago. Too much cannot be said of the quality of this melon, as I do not think there is another variety that approaches it in flavor. The vines are strong and healthy in growth and well set with melons near the hills, and the fruit is early in ripening. The melon has a thin, green rind and very small seed cavity, almost the entire body of the fruit consisting of the rich and luscious meat.

Montreal Green Nutmeg.—A handsome variety, in which large size, regular shape and fine appearance are combined with thick flesh of the finest flavor. In shape they are nearly round, slightly flattened at the ends, very deeply ribbed and heavily netted. These melons have been grown to over thirty pounds in weight, and will average ten to twelve pounds in ordinary culture.

CELERY.

While one of the most troublesome vegetables to bring to perfection in the ordinary garden, this is one of the most desirable, as well as one of the most profitable, when well grown. The Michigan celery that is being shipped to our eastern cities in such large quantities does not seem to have lowered the price materially, but has crowded all the inferior and less finely-grown plants out of the markets, and the high express charges still guarantee a good profit to the near-by grower. When the ground has become fairly warm in the spring, a bed should be made in some shady corner for the seed; if such situation is not to be had, the seed can be sown in a spent hotbed, cold frame or other convenient place, and can be artificially shaded with fresh brush or lath shades through the hottest part of the day. Celery is naturally a swamp plant, and to make a rapid growth should have the ground as rich as possible, and also as much water as possible, without making the ground heavy and sour. The soil should not be allowed to become dry or baked, and the weeds should be pulled out as soon as they appear. This bed, and, indeed, all other seed beds, should be made very rich with well-rotted manure; not with horse-stable manure or phosphate, as both of them are dry and heating, and in dry weather would stunt or entirely burn up the young plants. The seed should be sown in drills about six inches apart, to admit of working the soil with a narrow hoe, as the continued watering will harden the surface of the bed and check the growth of the young plants. When the plants are well up they should be thinned out so as to stand an inch apart in the drills, and if the plants are ready some little time before they are wanted for setting out, they can be made more stocky and stronger by shearing off about half of the tops.

When ready to set out, I run a double furrow where the row is to be—that is, the plow is run both ways in the same furrow, casting up a ridge of dirt on either side of a shallow trench; then in the bottom of this trench fine compost or well-rotted manure is placed to the depth of one to two inches, and some of the fine soil from the sides is drawn down over the manure with a fine rake until the manure is covered about three inches. This will still leave a depth of about two inches below the surface, which will serve to draw and retain the rain water, or, in a dry time, can be flooded with a hydrant hose or irrigating ditch. Where the ground has been heavily enriched or the celery is planted as the first crop—that is, when no early vegetable precedes it on the same ground—no manure is used in the trench or furrow, which is plowed out in the same way, the additional depth assisting in the labor of earthing up for blanching. To obtain fine quality and appearance the plant should be pushed to as rapid a growth as possible from the time the seed is sown until the stalks are ready for use; if allowed to become stunted, the stalks will be knotty in appearance and bitter in taste.

For my own use and marketing I usually sow seed of two or three varieties, so that if one kind fails for any reason, I may still have a crop sufficient for the table from the other varieties, while if it is all good I have no difficulty in disposing of the surplus; this is the more easily done, as it occupies ground that has been cleared of early peas, corn, etc. Another point in not confining your planting to the one variety is that the handsome “Self-blanching” varieties are not good keepers, and as the older kinds take a long time to whiten, and a good deal of cold weather to develop the fine flavor, they are about ready for use when the early kinds are gone.

While celery is raised as a second crop and has always been considered to require frost to develop the fine nutty flavor, at least one row in the garden should be planted with a “Self-blanching” variety as early in the spring as the plants can be procured. For this it is a good plan to sow two or three drills of celery in the hotbed at the same time with tomatoes, peppers, etc., that they may be ready for planting out early in the spring. These will grow quickly before the very hot weather sets in, and in a favorable season will be ready for use by the latter part of August; if kept earthed up they will be of as handsome appearance and as crisp and fine flavored as are the older varieties in December.

For the main crop the young plants should be ready to set out by the 1st of July, though in a favorable locality they can be planted as late as the middle of August, as they spend the summer largely in making roots and do not grow much until the cool weather. As soon as the plants attain eight to ten inches in height, or, rather, length of leaf stalk as they lie spread out, the earthing up should begin on all kinds of celery, although the seed catalogues will tell you that it is unnecessary in self-bleaching kinds. These latter may be bleached easily by tying the stalks together with straw or soft twine, but the earthing-up process is much more satisfactory both to produce a compact bunch of stalks and an even whiteness in color; otherwise, the outside stalks will remain green.

My plan in earthing for the first time, or “handling,” as it is called, is to have the dirt loose and fine on each side of the row, then to stand astride the row, gather all the leaves up and hold them closely in the left hand, and with a short-handled hoe draw the loose dirt in and pack it firmly around the stalks, leaving about two inches of the tips stick out at the top. It is important to hold the stalks closely, that the dirt may not sift down among the stalks, which would either rot the heart or cause the inner stalks to become twisted and crooked. The second and succeeding bankings are done by a boy standing over the row, clasping the stems in his hand closely, while a man on each side banks up the loose dirt with a shovel; as they raise the bank the boy slides his hand further up the stalks, until, as before, all but two inches of the tips are covered. The boy moves along the row backward, facing the two men who are using the shovels; as they finish one plant he grasps and bunches another, always having a plant in each hand. This method is a great time saver, and also enables the work to be done more neatly than where the plant has to be held while the dirt is drawn from a distance with the hoe. This earthing up should be repeated every two or three weeks until it is time to store the celery for the winter. Immediately before banking, I run the light plow or the cultivator on each side of the row, which furnishes plenty of fine, loose dirt ready for use. The soil will pack better and remain in the banked form better if it is moist when handled, but must not be so wet as to be sticky, for it would then “rust” or spot the stalk. The plants should be set in rows five or six feet apart, so that there may be plenty of soil for the earthing up and room to pass between the rows when banked; the taller growing varieties will require full six feet between the rows.

About the third week in November the celery should be dug and stored; for if it is left out longer, there is danger of its being spoiled by hard freezing. If it is to go in the cellar it should be stood upright in barrels or in boxes, the sides of which are as high as the stalks are tall, so as to keep them straight and white; the roots are left on and packed in moist soil, in order to keep the plants fresh and crisp; but the soil must not be allowed to come up among the stalks, or it might cause them to rot. The root cellar must be kept cool and have plenty of air whenever it can be admitted without freezing the contents of the cellar.