312 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



Salsify. This is also called Vegetable Oyster. It is seldom 

 grown, but as its cultivation is easy, and it is healthful and deli- 

 cious when properly cooked, it should be oftener found in the 

 garden. Its management is precisely the same as the parsnip, 

 and like it can be left in the ground all winter. It is cooked 

 like the parsnip, and is also used in soups, to which it gives a 

 decided oyster flavor. There is but one variety. 



Spinach. No vegetable is more easily grown than this, 

 and yet it is not found in one garden out of ten among farmers, 

 but all market gardeners know its value, and find it a very 

 profitable crop. It is very hardy, and may be sown in the fall 

 if lightly protected with evergreen brush, leaves, or straw, or it 

 may be sown as early as the land can be worked. A second 

 sowing may be made two weeks later. It makes delicious 

 greens, and a very small bed will supply a family. It runs up 

 to seed early,. and as soon as past use, the land should be 

 cleared and some other crop sown. There are two varieties, the 

 Round and Prickly Seeded, but the first named is the best. 



Squash. The summer squashes are of easy cultivation. 

 They require a rich soil and good culture, and it will pay to use 

 a gill of superphosphate in a hill, as it gives them an early start; 

 it must not come in contact with the seed, but should be thor- 

 oughly mixed with the soil. Most of the summer varieties do 

 not run, and may be planted four feet apart. There are two va- 

 rieties, the Crook-neck, which is yellow and covered with warty 

 excrescences, and from seven to nine inches long, and is consid- 

 ered the best flavored, and the Scalloped. This variety is grown 

 exclusively at the South, where they are called Cymbals. There 

 are two colors, white and yellow. 



Squash, Winter. We have several good varieties of win- 

 ter squash, among which are the Boston Marrow, Turban, Hub- 

 bard, Marblehead, and Winter Crook-neck. I find the Hubbard 

 the best for market, and the Crook-neck the most profitable for 

 stock. One point in favor of growing squashes is that they can 

 be grown after early potatoes, and make a full crop, and so cost 

 nothing for ground rent. I have never been successful with the 

 Hubbard squash when planted alone, as the striped bugs would 



