498 :n'e\v jersey agricultural college 



Tho stiuly of the salsify hybrids has ilkistrated the remarkable 

 variation in color caused by a union of two species widely different 

 but very constant in the color of their respective blossoms. At the 

 pres(>nt stage of the experiment it seems quite probable that any 

 shade that has come to view may be fixed by close fertilization 

 (that is, within the head), and it is inferred that many other 

 minor qualities may be secured in like manner. 



The experiment was beset with unusual difficulties in the weedi- 

 ness of the plants, their wide dispersion by the winds and the 

 difficulty of protecting any uncovered seed from sparrows and 

 other birds. It w^as discontinued, not from lack of interest, but 

 because it was becoming something of a nuisance. 



NOTES UPON UDO. 



The twenty-five Udo plants came safely through the winter, 

 with only a little cover of coarse manure, and made a vigorous 

 growth. Unfortunately the cover was removed too soon and the 

 blanching of the stems was confined to only a few plants, over 

 which barrels were placed. 



Cuttings w'ere made upon x\pril 20tli and the stalks, prepared 

 like asparagus, proved to be of superior quality. In flavor, th:. 

 Udo is somewhat like that of a parsnip, but of a more delicatt 

 character, with possibly a little of a balsamic taste. As the 

 aralias are closely related to the caraway and celery, the flavor is 

 one that some may not like, while others will be partial to it. 



Upon May 5th, a quantity — sufficient for twenty persons, were 

 the material asparagus — was cut and a few shoots were photo- 

 graphed. Some of the stems, taken from under the barrel, were 

 over two feet long, and in some instances an inch and a half in 

 diameter at the l)ase, while the leaf stalks were a half that size 

 and bleached and very tender. Such leaf stalks quite resemble 

 celery in appearance, but are more cylindrical and longer, equally 

 tender and particularly toothsome when eaten raw^ 



The lower parts of the stems, as shown in Plate XXIV., may 

 be cut six or more inches long, to be bunched, as is the practice 

 with asparagus. Stems of Udo have whatever there is of woody 

 tissue near the outside — the stem being of the exogenous type — 

 wliile the center is as tender as the flesh of a ripe pear, which it 

 resembles when freshly cut. The Udo stems hold their shape 



