RADISH 



RADISH 



2S97 



seed, ten and two-third ounces small seed, the remainder 

 being bits of gravel, sticks and other impurities. The 

 chief value of this sorting lies in the greater uniformity 

 of the crop. Almost every plant can then be relied upon 

 to reach maturity. It is 'the practice in some houses to 

 transplant the young radishes. The seed may be sown 

 in flats or in beds at one end of the house, and when the 

 radishes have made two or three leaves, they are trans- 

 planted into permanent quarters. In this operation, all 

 the small and weak plants are discarded and the crop is 

 therefore more uniform. It is supposed by some grow- 

 ers, also, that the breaking of the tap-root in the process 

 of transplanting tends to make the tuber shorter and 

 thicker and to induce an earlier maturity. By means of 

 transplanting, the use of the house may be economized. 

 Whilst one crop is growing, another may be started in a 

 seed-bed or in flats. As soon as the first crop is removed, 

 the ground may be thoroughly raked, fertilized, and 

 the new plants put in. In some cases the new crop is 

 transplanted between the rows of the old crop a few 

 days before the latter is removed; but, unless the soil is 

 rich and in good condition, it is better to wait until the 

 crop is removed in order that the land may be thor- 

 oughly fitted for the new plants. Radishes are often 

 forced in connection with lettuce, and they thrive well 

 in the same temperature. The varieties most used for 

 forcing, as also for the early spring crop in the garden, 

 are the globular or half-long kinds. With these varie- 

 ties, a depth of soil of 4 inches is sufficient for good 

 results. L. H. B. 



Another view of the cultivation of the radish. 



There are few garden roots in which fresh crispness is 

 more essential to palatability than in the radish, or which 

 can be more easily held in prune condition for so long 

 after gathering, and usually one is able to secure roots 

 of excellent quality from the market. On the other hand, 

 an abundant family supply can be grown on a small 

 area and the radishes can be quickly gathered and fitted 

 for the table, so that every country garden or even 

 town yard may be easily made to furnish a family 

 supply. Radishes are cool-weather plants, and although 

 when young or quickly grown they may be killed by 

 severe or long-continued freezing, they will endure a 

 moderate frost without injury; the plants do not thrive 

 and the roots become tough and unpalatable if grown 

 in a temperature above 60. Radishes have been in 

 cultivation since earliest historical times and there has 

 been developed a wide range of varietal forms. In some 

 varieties the plants develop very rapidly and are well 

 suited for raising under glass or for growing in gardens 

 in the spring and early summer, while other sorts are of 

 slower growth and come to greatest perfection when 

 planted so that they will escape the summer heat and 

 develop during the cooler weather of autumn. 



Forcing varieties. 



A group of varieties of radishes has been developed 

 in which the roots reach usable size very quickly, in 

 some stocks by the tune the cotyledons are full 

 sized and before more than three or "four leaves have 

 developed, so that under favorable conditions a culture 

 may be planted, grown to maturity, marketed and the 

 beds made ready for a second planting within thirty or 

 forty days. In this group the roots are in prime con- 

 dition but a short time, quickly becoming pithy and 

 unpalatable, particularly if subjected for even a few 

 hours to temperatures above 60 F., and uniformity as to 

 maturity is an important quality. Often in a lot of seed 

 of uniform varietal character, the seed varies greatly 

 in size of grains and it has been found that plants 

 from the larger seed mature some days more quickly 

 than those from the smaller grains, so that the sifting 

 out and rejection of the smaller seed is often desirable. 



There are a number of varietal forms suited for for- 



cing, ranging in shape from those distinctly flat, through 

 flattened, thickened or long turnip-shaped, and globu- 

 lar, to tankard or half-long, and in color from white 

 through various shades of red and yellow to dark purple. 

 In some varieties the color is of uniform shade over the 

 whole root, in others more or less of the lower part is 

 white, while in other strains the generally white sur- 

 face is marked with dots and splashes of red. In the 

 forcing of radishes, 

 uniformity as to 

 rapidity of matur- 

 ing and in attrac- 

 tiveness of color 

 are the most im- 

 portant qualities. 

 The success of any 

 culture is very de- 

 pendent upon the 

 varietal character 

 of the seed used, 

 and seedsmen are 

 continually offer- 

 ing under new 

 names stocks that 

 are in reality but 

 superior strains of 

 the older varieties. 



Spring radishes. 



These are slower 3333. A dainty bunch of spring breakfast 

 in coming into radishes. (XH) 



usable size than 



the forcing sorts, but the plants are larger, hardier both 

 to cold and heat, and the roots are larger and continue 

 in prime edible condition much longer. In garden cul- 

 tures, the first sowing should be made as soon as the 

 ground can be worked and ordinarily it will furnish 

 usable roots in twenty-five to thirty days and remain 

 in edible condition from five to twenty days. To secure 

 a succession, two to five sowings should be made at 

 intervals of ten to twenty days, but it is useless to 

 attempt to grow radishes in the hot weather of mid- 

 summer, as they would not only make a poor growth 

 but the roots would be tough, strong-flavored and 

 unpalatable. 



Radishes require for their best, or even for a good 

 development, a rich friable soil which has been made 

 so by heavy manuring and judicious culture in previous 

 years rather than by recent working. The use of fresh 

 stable-manure is very likely to result in ill-shaped coarse- 

 grained strong-flavored roots, and the uniformity and 

 symmetry of the root is very dependent upon the 

 fertility and friability of the soil. The seed should lie 

 some ten to twenty grains to the foot, in drills about 2 

 inches deep, and covered with about an inch of soil. 

 It has been found advantageous, just before the start- 

 ing plants begin to push through the soil, to cover the 

 row with a liberal sprinkling of either tobacco dust, or 

 of land plaster and kerosene, as a repellant to black 

 beetle and other insects. 



Seedsmen offer a wide range of varietal forms, rang- 

 ing from the quick-maturing red or white Olive-Shaped, 

 the Half -Long or the Long Scarlet, to the later-maturing 

 longer-seasoned Chartier, or White Vienna, and the 

 still larger later Strasburg or Stuttgart, which might be 

 classed as summer varieties, although when planted so 

 as to mature in the heat of midsummer they are likely 

 to be strong-flavored and unpalatable. 



Fatt and winter radishes. 



There are varieties which develop to usable size more 

 slowly than the preceding and which remain crisp and 

 tender much longer. They should not be planted until 

 midsummer or later so that they may come to maturity 

 in the cooler weather of autumn. These require more 

 room for their best development than the spring varie- 



