GARDENING. 879 



&quot;When two or three inches high, transplant or thin out the plants to eight or nine inches 

 apart, and in dry seasons water freely to keep the plants in rapid growth, and consequently 

 in a crisp and brittle condition. For a continual supply the seeds should be sown successively 

 every two or three weeks until midsummer. The leaves may be blanched by gathering them 

 together at the top, and tying, to hold them in this position. This should be done when they 

 are quite dry, or they will be apt to rot. When wanted for winter use, the plants may be 

 taken up carefully with a ball of earth attached to each, and placed close together in a dry 

 cellar or cold frame, when it can be used during the winter as desired. 



Garlic. The garlic plant succeeds best in light, rich soil. Plant in April or May in 

 drills fourteen inches apart, and five or six inches apart in the rows. The soil should be kept 

 free from weeds, and when fully grown, which will be about the last of July or first of August, 

 the bulbs may be harvested the same as onions. 



Horse Radish. This plant, the roots of which when grated are used as a condiment, 

 is a very profitable product when grown near cities, where it finds a ready market at remu 

 nerative prices. We have known this crop to net from two hundred to four hundred dollars 

 per acre. Besides being palatable when eaten with meats, it is a stimulant in promoting 

 digestion, and very healthful. It is cultivated principally for its roots, which are white, and 

 very sharp and pungent in taste, but the leaves, when young and tender, are used for 

 &quot;greens,&quot; or as a pot herb. The soil should be deep and rich, a rich loam being the best, 

 although it will grow on almost any soil of fair quality. Good crops have been produced on 

 even a mucky soil that was quite wet. The ground should be deeply plowed. This crop is 

 generally propagated by planting pieces of the root. The planting should be in the spring, 

 in ro ws about eighteen inches apart, the pieces being covered three or four inches deep. Press 

 the soil closely around the root, and hoe often enough to keep down the weeds. It is better 

 after remaining in the ground over winter, and is harvested very early in the spring, being 

 plowed or spaded up, the roots penetrating quite deep into the soil. A few roots in a garden 

 will suffice for family use. 



Leek. The leek, a plant of the onion genus, is, as an article of food, more delicate flavored 

 than the onion, and is used in soups, and boiled with meat, etc., the lower part of the plant 

 being eaten. It is a very hardy plant and easily cultivated. It thrives best in a light but 

 well enriched soil. The seed should be sown early in April, in drills one foot apart, and one 

 inch deep. When the plants are five or six inches high, they should be transplanted into a rich 

 soil in rows ten or twelve inches apart each way, as deeply in the soil as possible in order that 

 the neck or lower part of the plant may be blanched. Keep the ground free from weeds and 

 draw the soil around the plants as they grow. 



Lettuce. For an early crop sow the seed in a hotbed in February, and transplant on 

 a bed well prepared in some sheltered corner in April. The soil should be light, warm, and 

 rich, and the seed lightly covered. The richer the soil, and more rapid the growth, the better 

 flavored, more tender and crisp the leaves. The head varieties are the best. These should 

 be set a foot apart each way. Care should be used not to sow too thickly where other varie 

 ties are grown. There should be successive sowings from time to time until July. An early 

 crop may be had by sowing in September and transplanting in a cold frame, where the plants 

 will head during winter and early spring. 



Melons. Melons thrive best on a light, warm soil that has been highly manured with 

 perfectly decomposed compost, or manure that has been well fermented. A sandy soil thus 

 enriched will produce excellent melons of any kind. The fertilizing substance should be well 

 worked into the soil, in and about the hills, and the planting done when the land is quite 

 warm and all danger from frost is passed. Soaking the seeds in lukewarm water twenty-four 



