Tlie Canadian Horticultnrist. 



127 



and is very attractive in appearance. 

 It is a heav}- fruiter, and I believe is 

 destined to become as popular as the 

 Industry, and, unlike that variety, it 

 can be propaj^atetl successfull}-." 



P. C. Reynolds, editor of the Rural 

 Home, August iHth, iH(SS, says: 

 " We found a few bushes showing a 

 good, vigorous growth of wood, and 

 one of them not yet picked, heavily 

 laden with large, yellow fruit of 

 excellent quality. It was singularly 

 free from mildew, although evidently 

 of foreign origin. It occurred to us 

 that it would be a good mate to the 

 Industry, that being red and this 

 yellow." 



The Staehys ; a New Garden 

 Vegetable. 



Noticing in several of our exchanges 

 mention made of a new garden vege- 

 table, which seems to possess con- 

 siderable merit, we wrote to Mr. 

 Elmer E. Summey, of La Salle, 

 N.Y., for further information. In 

 reply, he writes : 



Sir, — I have no tubers or plants of the 

 Staehys for sale, but I send you a sketch of 

 the vegetable, made directly from tubers 

 which are now growing in pots in my 

 window. 



I notice in the .\pril American Garden that 

 a correspondent reports that the Staehys is 

 growing wild about the Bay of Chaleur, 

 P.Q., and is regarded as a weed. Have you 

 any knowledge of this, or can you gain any ? 

 It hardly seems possible S. tuberifera could 

 become a weed, or that it would be natural- 

 ized in such diverse climates as N. Africa, 

 Florida and Quebec. — Elmer E. Summev. 



Mr. Suniney also contributes the 

 ollowing article on this vegetable, 

 heading it 



A GARDEN NOVELTY OF MERIT. 



Staehys affiiiis, or tuhcrifcrn, is the 

 botanical name of a novel vegetable 

 which but lately has attracted some 

 attention, first in Europe, then in 

 this coimtry. It is a native of North 

 Africa, but comes to us from Japan, 

 where it is called Choro-Gi. It is 

 allied to the P^nglish ornamental 

 Wound wort (Anthyllis arvcnsis), and 



belongs to the same family as the 

 Coleus, and the sweet-scended herbs, 

 Lavender, Thyme and Mint, but 

 differs from its relatives in that it 

 yields edible tuberous roots. 



These roots are formed of ring-like 

 ridges, giving them the appearance 

 of a one-horned caterpillar (see 

 figure), varying in length from one to 

 three inches, and in diameter from 

 one-half to three-fourths of an inch. 

 The skin is thin, smooth and semi- 

 transparent. 



Fig. 35.— The Stachvs. 



This peculiar vegetable requires 

 no more special treatment than do' 

 potatoes, and even poorer soil will 

 answer, though, like everything else, 

 the more attention that is given the 

 greater and more satisfactory the 

 result will be. Planted, a single 

 whole tuber, in hills two feet apart 

 each way, a yield of nearly 500 

 bushels to the acre has been reported, 

 each plant yielding from 200 to 300 

 tubers, which may be planted like 

 potatoes, though each joint of the 

 stem can be used as a set. 



The plant, growing about a foot in 

 height, has a round, bushy habit, 

 having medium sized, oval-shaped 

 leaves, and has many small pink 

 flowers which in themselves are not 

 unattractive. 



As for the use of these roots, they 

 probably will never become a staple 

 article for the market like other pro- 

 ducts, but will tend toward seeming 

 more variety for the table in Winter. 

 When pickled alone and properly 

 seasoned, or mixed with small cu- 

 cumbers, onions, peppers and cauli- 

 flower pickles — they are excellent ; 

 then again when cooked as vegetable- 



