GARDEN VEGETABLES. 63 



GARDEN VEGETABLES. 



ESSEX. 



[Statement of Aaron Low of Essex.] 



The soil on which most of our vegetables are raised, 

 particularly those varieties for early use and marketing, is a 

 warm loam, which appears best adapted for early pease, beets, 

 cabbages, potatoes, and sweet-corn. We depend mostly on 

 stable-manure, but use considerable fish-guano, Stockbridge 

 manure, and Darling's bone. We manure liberally, as we 

 follow all of our early crops with a second planting, either 

 of squashes, cucumbers, or cabbages. The past season I 

 planted among our early pease and potatoes my new hybrid 

 squash, planting the seed between the rows after the last 

 hoeing, from the 25th of June to July 4, putting a shovelful 

 of stable-manure to each hill, and hills about eight feet apart 

 each way. I cultivated and hoed them twice, and, as a 

 guard against bugs, sprinkled the plants as soon as up with 

 Hour of plaster. In planting so late in the season, we escape 

 the worm that destroys the roots of the vines. 



The squashes — coming up very quickly, and growing 

 rapidly — soon cover the ground, and keep down many 

 weeds that would otherwise be troublesome. This new 

 variety appears well adapted for late planting, as it matures 

 very quickly (producing the past season, in two months from 

 the planting of the seed, squashes weighing twelve pounds, 

 and well ripened), is very productive, of good quality, and 

 an excellent keeper, specimens of last year keeping till June 

 10. We keep our squashes in as cool, dry a place as we can 

 without injury from frost. The results of the two crops to 

 the acre would be, I think, if the three varieties of potatoes 

 planted are Clark's No. 1, Beauty of Hebron, and Early 



