POPULAR VARIETIES OF GARDEN VEGETABLES. 



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sort that is usually sold iu bunches in the markets. Those that are allowed to 

 remain in the ground during the summer make very large bulbs, to be sold or 

 replanted the next spring for small onions. They are rather jioor keepers, and 

 the practice here is to spread them on the floor of a barn-loft and cover with 

 straw, where they will freeze and keep frozen all the winter. They will then be 

 in pretty good condition, but if kept in a warm place they must be turned 

 every day, or they will rot, as they will if subjected to frequent freezing and 

 thawing. If they were good keepers they would be very popular. The price is 

 always high, generally about $5 a bushel. 



Another variety not so good or so popular as Potato 

 Onion, is the Top Onion. When large onions of this sort 

 are planted, each one sends up a strong stem, just like the 

 S3ed-stem of the common onion, but instead of bearing on 

 its top a number of seeds it produces a cluster of small 

 onions, just as we show in the engraving. Next spring 

 these small onions are planted, and each one produces a 

 full-sized onion. They can be eaten during the summer, 

 TOP ONIONS. and are often sold in bunches, or they can be kept for 



winter use for spring planting. Each of these large onions, of course, pro- 

 duces a cluster of small ones altera season's growth. Onion culture has become 

 such an important interest, throughout our country, and in fact, throughout 

 the civilized world, that we thought it important to give pretty thorough in- 

 formation on this subject. 



OKRA. 



This vegetable is a native of the West Indies, though now grown in almost 



all warm countries. Its green seed-pods are 

 used in soups, to which they give a jelly-like 

 consistency, as they abound in mucilage, like 

 all of the Mallow family. It is considered very 

 nutritious, and exceedingly grateful to stomachs 

 not over strong. The common name south is 

 Gumbo. It is of the easiest possible culture, 

 and bears well. North it would be best to sow 

 the seeds in hot-beds, and transplant, except in 

 favored localities. There are two varieties gen- 

 erally grown, known as dwarf and tall. The 

 Okra is a vigorous, large plant, requiring a good 

 deal of room, and the large kind should be 

 planted not less than three feet apart, and the 

 dwarf about eighteen inches. In mild climates it is only necessary to sow the 

 seed in the open ground, about two inches deep, and then merely keep the 

 ground clean and mellow, as for a hill of corn. We have grown good Okra 

 here by sowing in the open ground early in May, in a warm exposure and soil. 



PARSLEY. 



Parsley is a hardy biennial plant, and therefore is in use two seasons, but 

 about the middle of the second summer it goes to seed, so that sowings must 

 be made every second year. Parsley seed germinates very slowly : it should be 

 started in a hot-bed if possible. For out-door sowing always prepare the seed 

 by placing in quite hot water and allowing it to soak for twentj-four hours 

 in a warm place. When the plants are a few inches in height, set them in 



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