THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



15 



supports, being a tall grower, hut it is a very jiro- 

 ductive variety. 



Beans are of much easier culture than peas and will 

 succeed in soils where peas would be an utter failure ; 

 they can also be picked over quite a long season ; we 

 have picked string beans as early as June 28 and last 

 year as late as October 12, which gives a fairly long 

 season. First sowings of string beans can be made 

 from .\pril 15 to 20, and successional sowings made 

 initil August 1 fcir late pickings. Triuni])h of the 

 Frames and Plentiful are the earliest varieties we 

 have grown. Stringless Green Pod and \ alcntine are 

 excellent later sorts. Improved Goddard and Dwarf 

 Horticultural are splendid string and shell varieties. 

 Wax beans are handsome and sell well ; their appear- 

 ance helps them to sell, liut their flavor is far inferior 

 to that of the green podded sorts. Rustless golden 

 w-a.x and stringless white wax are reliable varieties. 

 Lima beans should not be sown until we get settled 

 warm weather. The dwarf varieties are of compara- 

 tively recent introduction, and for the small grower 

 are far to be preferred to the pole sorts. The earliest 

 of these is the small Henderson Bush Lima : many pre- 

 fer the flavor of this to all others. Dreer's Lima is a 

 sure cropper in wet seasons. Fordhook Lima is su- 

 perior to the Burpee's in bnth size and flavor and w ill 

 eventually supersede it. 



Potatoes are the most imjKjrtant of all garden vege- 

 table crops. They will succeed in a great variety of 

 soils, if proper preparation of manuring has been 

 given, but the best soil is a .deep, rich, friable loam, 

 well drained, where there is no possibility of water 

 standing in a wet season. Far more owners of .gar- 

 dens shoidd grow their own potatoes : they cost the 

 average household more money than any other vege- 

 table, and there is nothing difficult in their culture 

 which should deter anyone from planting them. Fresh 

 manure should never be used when planting potatoes ; 

 it can, however, be worked in the soil the previous 

 fall : the best plan is to plant them to follow some crop 

 for which the ground was heavily manured the pre- 

 vious spring. Early planting pays the best, particu- 

 larl}- so when we get such severe droughts as in tlie 

 summer of 1911. Rows three feet apart and sets fif- 

 teen inches are correct distances. For a very early 

 crop it pays to sprout a few tubers in boxes containing 

 a single thickness of each, stood erect and as close as 

 they can be packed. The general practice is to spread 

 fertilizer in the drills before ]ilanting the sets ; a far 

 better plan is to broadcast it after the potatoes have 

 heen planted. Where fertilizer alone is used, 600 

 pounds acid phosphate, 500 pounds kainit, and 200 

 pounds nitrate of soda per acre can be applied, using 

 the nitrate of soda after the growth has started. Small 

 growers had better use some special potato fertilizer. 



Dift'erences of opinion arise about cutting sets ; we 

 like them to have two eyes each, and such sets from 

 large potatoes are more productive than if cut from 

 small ones. Single potatoes of small size do not ax'cr- 

 age so well as sets cut from large potatoes. The ground 

 should be kept constantly stirred, both liefore and 

 after the potatoes start to grow, and this must be done 

 very persistently, and ]«rticularly alter each rainfall. 

 The ])otato beetle and blight can be controlled by 

 spraying. As to varieties. Early Norwood and .\roos- 

 took Pride as earlies, and Green Mountain as a main 

 crop variety are sufficient. If restricted to one va- 

 riet}', it would be the reliable Green Mountain. 



The Brassica or cabbage family cannot be cmiitted 

 from any vegetable garden ; all like well-manured 

 land. Excellent cabbages for early are Copenhagen 



Market and Jersey VVakeheld ; for late, Danish Bald- 

 head and Danish Roundhead ; these latter are harder 

 and far superior to the Drumhead types. Early cab- 

 bage can be started in a frame in ]\larch and planted 

 out about April 15. Winter sorts should be sown 

 aljout June 1. Cauliflowers for an early crop are best 

 grown in a cold frame where they can be watered. 

 For a fall crop, seed should be sown as near May 25 

 as possible. Kronk's Perfection Erfurt for early, Dry 

 Weather and Snowball for late, are splendid varieties 

 to grow. Brussels sprouts should be sown as soon as 

 the ground is open, and later planted out in rows three 

 feet apart, and two feet between the plants. These 

 are splendid and choice winter vegetables ; with the 

 cabbages they should be lifted and heeled in a cool 

 cellar before the frost becomes too severe. Aigburth 

 is a first-class sort, so is Debbie's Selected. Savoy 

 cabbage is preferred by some to the common cabbage ; 

 the culture is the same, and the Drumhead variety the 

 best. Green curled kale or borecole is a very hardy 

 member of the Brassica family, and of very easy cul- 

 ture ; heeled in with the cabbages it can be used from 

 Februarv to the last of April, and is superior to the 

 greens brought from the South. It should not be 

 housed until it has had several good freezings. 



No garden is complete without tomatoes. These 

 are easily raised in the house or cold frame, and if 

 strong jjfants are set out, fruit may be picked by the 

 middle of July and until killing frost. To secure good 

 tomatoes they should not be allowed to ramble over 

 the ground at liberty, but trained to stakes, fences, or 

 some other support. We prefer to retain two of the 

 bottom laterals, with the niain stems, and to rub ofi 

 all other laterals, also cutting back some of the leaves., 

 especially when the plants are tied up to stakes. 

 Trained plants have many advantages to compensate 

 us for the care bestowed upon them, the fruit is always 

 clean, and readily seen when wanted, ripens better, and 

 has a superior flavor to those borne on plants which 

 are bespattered with soil after every rainfall. Excel- 

 lent early tomatoes are Chalk's Early Jewel and 

 Lister's Prolific. For a main crop, nothing is 'superior 

 to the old reliable Stone.- Aristocrat and Dwarf Stone 

 are fine dwarf types, excellent for very small gardens. 

 Golden Queen is the finest of the large yellow varie- 

 ties. The small fruited tomatoes have of late years 

 come greatly to the fore ; for salads, decorative ef- 

 fects, and preserving they are very fine ; the finest of 

 these is Yellow Plum ; others to be recommended are 

 Red Cherry, Peach, Pear and Red Plum. 



.\n important crop is sweet corn ; no vegetable will 

 withstand severe drought and heat better if persistent 

 culture is given the crop. It succeeds well in either 

 hills or drills, probably in the latter the stalks will not 

 bl(iw over so much during the wet windy weather. The 

 first sowing can be made in a warm piece of ground 

 from .\]3ril 15 to April 20; even if it is cut down by a 

 late frost, the seed is easily sown again, and the loss 

 is but trifling. The soil for sweet corn should be very 

 rich for best results. Seeds can be sown at intervals 

 of from eight to ten days until July 1, in the case of 

 Stowell's Evergreen, and a few days later with Crosby. 

 We have sown early varieties as late as July 15, and 

 they have yielded an abundant supi)ly of crops when 

 frost held (iff late. In the way of early varieties. First 

 Cro]) Sugar, (iolden Bantam, Early Cory, and Peep-o- 

 dav, are all good. In medium earlies we have Golden 

 Dawn, an excellent yellow variety of fine flavor, and 

 the always reliable Crosby; Porter's Excellent is an- 

 other sort of excellent flavor ; of late varieties, Sto- 

 well's Evergreen produces the largest cobs, and they 



