SOME COMMON GARDEN 



PLANTS AND THEIR 



IMPROVEMENT 



HALF-HOUR EXPERIMENTS WITH MANY 

 PLANTS 



I^TOTWITHSTANDING the large num- 

 ^^ ber of garden vegetables, all the common 

 forms fall into a few groups. 



Thus there is the great family of melons and 

 squashes, technically known as the gourd family, 

 which gives us such familiar vegetables as the 

 gourds and squashes, the pumpkin, the water- 

 melon and muskmelon, and the cucumber. 



Then there are the cabbages of various types, 

 with which is botanically associated the turnip, 

 kale, kohl-rabi, and with which the gardener will 

 incorrectly also associate the familiar lettuce plant. 



Another group includes the familiar root veg- 

 etables, the carrot, parsnip, and radish. These 

 have a characteristic manner of growth, demand 

 somewhat the same texture of loose, sandy soil, 

 and respond to the same treatment. 



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