886 . THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



sun for two or three days. By pinching off the side branches, the fruit will mature earlier. 

 The vines should be trained on a trellis, or tied to a stake, since this will increase their pro 

 ductiveness, and improve the quality of the fruit, and also keep the fruit from lying upon 

 the ground, where it will be liable to rot. Frequent culture should be given, and the vines 

 allowed plenty of room for spreading. Among the large varieties best for cultivation are the 

 ACME, MAYFLOWER, LIVINGSTON S FAVORITE, ARLINGTON PARAGON, LARGE YELLOW, etc. 

 Among the small varieties for pickling or making preserves are the STRAWBERRY, a small 

 tomato of a pleasant strawberry flavor, excellent for preserving like plums, with the addition 

 of a little lemon juice; the RED CHERRY, YELLOW CHERRY, and YELLOW PLUM. 



Turnips. It will be found convenient to grow a few turnips in every farm garden. 

 The culture should be the same as that already recommended for growing this crop in the 

 field. (See Vol. I, page 358.) 



Garden Herbs and their Cultivation. A few of the most useful herbs, such as 

 those for flavoring soups and meats, and for medicinal purposes, etc., should be found in 

 every garden. They require but little care and room, and are a great convenience, some 

 kinds being a necessity in every household. Some are perennial, and when once obtained, 

 may be preserved for years with but slight attention. Sow the seeds as early in the spring as 

 the ground will admit, in shallow drills, a foot ormore apart, According to the room required 

 for the plants to grow, and when a few inches high thin out or transplant. They should be 

 harvested at the proper time, which is on a dry day, just before they come into blossom. 

 They should then be quickly dried in the cool shade, and packed in dry boxes or other recep 

 tacles, excluding them from the air as much as possible, as exposure to it causes them to lose 

 much of their strength. 



The principal garden herbs are HOARHOUND, LAVENDER, SAFFRON, SAGE, SUMMER SAVORY, 

 SWEET MARJORAM, WORMWOOD, and THYME. CARAWAY, DILL, and FENNEL are also desirable 

 garden plants, and may be cultivated with but slight attention. Of those mentioned, caraway, 

 fennel, hoarhound, lavender, sage, and wormwood are perennial. In localities where the 

 winters are very severe the fennel roots will be liable to freeze, and should be taken up care 

 fully and put in a cool cellar with moist earth packed around the roots, to prevent them from 

 drying up. Set out early in the spring, in rich, deep soil. 



Sage is the most important of the garden herbs. The seed may be sown in drills from 

 fifteen to twenty inches apart, in a warm, rich, and finely pulverized soil, and covered about 

 an inch deep. Thin out, if too thick, when the plants are a few inches high, or transplant. 

 Keep out the weeds by frequent hoeings. They are perennial plants, consequently will live 

 through the winter, if the ground is rather dry. Every spring the plants should be taken up, 

 separated, and reset in a freshly prepared bed. The stems should be cut just before blossom 

 ing, and spread in the cool shade to dry. If seed is desired, permit a few of the strongest 

 and most thrifty plants to blossom for that purpose. The seeds will be black when fully ripe. 



Gardening for Farmers Wives and Daughters. Although farmers wives 

 and daughters are generally busily occupied with household duties a large portion of the 

 time, and therefore do not lack for exercise in this respect, in fact, too many of them are 

 overworked and have but little leisure, still, the majority of them could not only find health 

 ful but pleasant occupation by spending a few moments each day in out-door exercise, and 

 nothing is better for this purpose than gardening. American women, as a rule, are much 

 behind their English sisters in respect to out-door exercise, and consequently have less con 

 stitutional vigor. Much can be done by the farmers wives and daughters in not only having 

 a plenty of beautiful flowers and delicious fruits continuously during the entire season, but 

 nice vegetables also, while there will be found much more pleasure in this employment and 



