18 THREE NEW PLANT INTRODUCTIONS. 



taste, like the midrib of a lettuce leaf, with a slight but most agree- 

 able suggestion of pine flavor. The tenderest young shoots of celeiy 

 could not be more brittle than these blanched stems of udo. 



From the 1st of October until the middle of May this vegetable is 

 for sale in the markets of Japan, and in this winter character, aside 

 from its being an excellent salad, lies its great value. It is compar- 

 ative^ cheap and is eaten by the poor Japanese as well as by the rich. 



From its adaptability to winter culture and its excellent quality, this 

 plant deserves to become as well known as asparagus or celery. 



Botanically the plant is known as Aralia cordata Thunb. It has been 

 recognized as an ornamental plant in Europe and America, where its 

 large, sharply lobed. regular leaves have been highly prized for their 

 decorative effects. (See PI. IV.) The edible portions of the plant are 

 its young shoots, which are blanched by being covered with earth. 



There are two varieties of udo, called respectively "kan udo'''' and 

 "moyashi udo." and these, though of similar appearance as they are 

 placed on the market, are quite differently cultivated. 



Through the assistance of Mr. H. Suzuki, of the Yokohama Nut- 

 sery Company. I was able to learn from the growers of this vegetable 

 how it should be cultivated. Its cultivation is not difficult and will be 

 easil3 T understood by anyone acquainted with the ordinary methods of 

 forcing asparagus. 



THE CULTIVATION OF KAN UDO. 



The seeds of this variety are sown broadcast in seed beds, prepared 

 of rich garden earth, in the month of March or April, and are allowed 

 to grow there for one year. The following spring the individual 

 seedlings are transplanted from this seed bed, after the tops, which 

 have died during the winter, have been removed, and they are then set 

 in rows 2 feet apart and 10 inches from each other in the rows. In 

 these rows they are cultivated all summer, or until September, when 

 the leaves begin to turn brown. The stems are then cut back close 

 to the rootstocks and the earth is piled up in a mound 2 feet high 

 above the latter. In forty days the new shoots, which begin to form 

 as soon as the old ones have been cut back, appear above the surface 

 of the mound. They are then ready for cutting, and the mound is 

 opened and the marketable shoots cut. Each rootstock produces 

 about five of these blanched shoots, three of which are probably tit 

 for the market at the first cutting, early in October. The remaining 

 small shoots are covered up again and allowed to grow for a second 

 cuttino- a week or so later. In removing these shoots for market 

 care is taken to cut close to their bases, so as not to leave stubs, as the 

 presence of the latter is said to prevent the rapid growth of the 

 remaining young shoots. 



Generallv only two crops of shoots are secured of the kan udo, but 



