HORSE-RADISH 



HORTICULTURE 



1501 



profitable returns were often secured, but under the new, 

 profits are generally highly satisfactory where enemies 

 are not very troublesome. The season of fresh-grated 

 horse-radish runs almost parallel to that of oysters, 

 with which the root is most frequently eaten in this 

 country. Ungrated roots are, however, kept in cold 

 storage for summer use, since roots dug at that season 

 have an unpleasant taste. 



Horse-radish will do well upon almost any soil 

 except the lightest sand and the heaviest clay, but a 

 deep loam of medium texture and moderate richness, 

 well supplied with humus and moisture, will produce 

 roots of the best quality and the largest size. In dry 

 soils the roots will be small, woody and deficient in 

 pungency; in wet soils, small, succulent, strong-tasting. 

 Drainage is essential, and so is a fairly open subsoil. 

 Hard subsoil induces excessive branching of the root. 

 Applications of nitrogenous ma- 

 nures should be rather light, com- 

 mercial fertilizers rich in potash 

 being given the preference. Rolfs 

 recommends a mixture containing 

 10 per cent potash, 7 per cent 

 phosphoric acid, 4 per cent nitro- 

 gen, 600 pounds drilled in to the 

 acre. A heavier application broad- 

 cast and deeply plowed under, it 

 is thought, would give better re- 

 sults, since the shaft of the root 

 is less likely to become unduly 

 branched when the food is below 

 instead of above and around it, 

 especially when the sets are placed 

 horizontally. A weeder should be 

 used after the harrow periodically 

 until the plants are an inch or so 

 tall. Thorough preparation of the 

 Boil is essential. 



Since horse-radish rarely pro- 

 duces seeds, cuttings are made 

 from the roots not less than 

 Y inch thick and 4 to 5 inches long 

 (Fig. 1849). To facilitate planting 

 the large end up, the upper end 

 is cut off square and the lower 

 oblique. If set small end up, no 

 growth may result. In horizontal 

 planting this special cutting is un- 

 necessary. Root-crowns are sometimes used, but since 

 these develop a large number of roots too small for 

 profitable grating, they are employed only for increas- 

 ing stock. 



The land having been prepared, shallow furrows are 

 laid off 30 inches apart and 2 to 5 inches deep, accord- 

 ing to the method of planting. Sets are planted hori- 

 zontally, vertically, and at all intervening angles, the 

 large ends being made to point in one direction to 

 facilitate cultivation and digging. The angle is a mat- 

 ter of choice, good returns being secured in each. The 

 usual distance between sets is about 12 inches. Culti- 

 vation is given after every rain, or once in ten days, 

 until the leaves shade the ground. 



Double-cropping is common in horse-radish growing, 

 early cabbage, turnip beets and other quick-maturing 

 plants being used. The sets are dibbled in two to four 

 weeks after the first crop, vertically, 18 inches asunder, 

 between the rows of cabbage, which are not less than 

 2 feet apart. One management answers for both crops 

 until the first is removed, when, after one cultivation, 

 the horse-radish usually takes full possession. Deep 

 burying of the sets at the time the first crop is planted 

 is also practised, the object, as in the first case, being 

 to prevent the appearance of the former until the latter 

 is almost mature. 



Horse-radish makes its best growth in the cool 

 autumn, steadily improves after September, and, not 



1849. Root-cuttings of 

 horse-radish. 



being injured by frost if undug, is usually left until late 

 before harvesting with plow or spade. Storage in pits 

 is best, since the roots lose less of their crispness, pun- 

 gency and good appearance than if stored in cellars. 

 In trimming for storage, the lateral roots are saved and 

 buried for next season's planting. Exposure to air, sun 

 and frost robs the roots of their good qualities and 

 injures then- vitality. 



The insect enemies of this plant are those that attack 

 other members of the cabbage family, the harlequin 

 bug being the most dreaded. Remedies are the same as 

 for other pests of this group of plants. Only two dis- 

 eases have been reported, and these are seldom trou- 

 blesome. 



In the neighborhood of cities, especially where oysters 

 are cheap, this crop is generally profitable, the usual 

 retail price being 10 cents a pint, freshly grated, but 

 without vinegar. This quantity weighs a scant half- 

 pound. The cost of growing an acre is about as follows: 



Cuttings, 10,000, at $2 $20 00 



Fertilizer, 1,000 pounds 17 50 



Cultivation, six times 6 00 



Rent of land 5 00 



Plowing, wear of tools, and so on 3 50 



Setting roots, at 30 cents a 1,000 3 00 



Total $55 00 



A marketable crop varies from 3,000 to 6,000 pounds, 

 which may sometimes be sold as high as 5 cents a 

 pound for first-class roots, and 2}^ cents for second 

 grade. Usually, however, prices seldom rise above 4 

 cents and 2 cents for the two grades. Under good culti- 

 vation, the proportion of No. 1 to No. 2 root is about 1 

 to 1 by weight. Lower prices may rule in well-supplied 

 markets, and higher in poorly furnished, and when 

 sold in small lots to retail graters, even 7 cents may be 

 obtained. See Radicula. M. Q 4 KAINS. 



HORTtNSIA: Hydrangea. 



HORTICULTURE (hortus a garden, originally an 

 inclosure; colere, to care for or to cultivate). Horticul- 

 ture is the growing of flowers, fruits and vegetables, and 

 of plants for ornament and fancy. Incident to the grow- 

 ing of the plants are all the questions of plant-breeding, 

 variation of plants under domestication, the bearings 

 and applications of many biological and physical 

 sciences, and the manufacture of many products. 

 Primarily, horticulture is an art, but it is intimately 

 connected with science at every point. From agricul- 

 ture it has no definite boundary. It is, in fact, a depart- 

 ment of agriculture, as forestry is; for agriculture, in 

 its largest meaning, is the business of raising products 

 from the land. It is customary, however, to limit the 

 word agriculture to the growing of grains, forage, 

 bread-stuffs, textiles, and the like, and to the raising of 

 animals. In this restricted application it is practically 

 coordinate, in a classificatory sense, with forestry and 

 horticulture. The nursery business, as understood in 

 North America, is considered to lie within the field of 

 horticulture. 



Etymologically, agriculture is the tending or cultiva- 

 tion of the fields (ager, field). Horticulture apparently 

 was concerned with the area within the inclosure. 

 Equivalent to horticulture in etymology is gardening 

 (Anglo-Saxon gyrdan, to inclose, to which the verb to 

 gird is allied). By custom, however, garden and gar- 

 dening denote more restricted areas and operations than 

 are implied in the term horticulture. The word paradise 

 is connected with the idea of an inclosure and a garden 

 or park. Early gardening books of the cyclopedia type 

 are sometimes known as paradisse. Parkinson's famous 

 "Paradisus," or account of "a garden of all sorts of 

 pleasant flowers," was published in England in 1629. 



The only demarcation between horticulture and agri- 

 culture is the line of custom. Sweet potatoes are usu- 

 ally considered to be a horticultural crop in North 



