ROOTS AND TUBERS WE EAT 163 



times escape from gardens, and give the farmer 

 trouble enough as a flourishing weed. When 

 this happens, the plants make more head than 

 root, and "go back" to their ancestral form. 



The early spring radishes are little, and mature 

 quickly. In salads, the leaves are often used, as 

 well as the fleshy root, when the earliest crop comes 

 on. Red or white, globular, olive-shaped or long, 

 the early radishes are known in many varieties. 



Summer radishes, varieties that best withstand 

 the heat and drought, and winter radishes, big 

 and solid, that take months to grow, furnish valua- 

 ble food supply throughout the year. Winter 

 varieties keep without sprouting or becoming 

 hollow or withered until time for the early spring 

 crop. 



Radishes from China and Japan have been 

 introduced. They are very large, but tender and 

 mild, and very easy to grow. 



The seed pods of radishes, gathered when still 

 crisp and tender, are a fine addition to home-made 

 mixed pickles. The half-formed seeds are em- 

 bedded in the pulp of the pod; seeds and all have 

 the flavor of mustard, without any of the strong, 

 bitter taste, or stringy fibre that is later found. 



We have learned the use of the pods from Euro- 

 pean gardeners who grow one stringy-rooted spe- 



