50 



<SI)e jTarmci's iUontMi) bisitov. 



or thereiibouls, when tliey are to go into trencli- 1 

 es. Make tliu trenches a luot deep iinil a loot 

 wide, and put them not le!<8 than live feel asun- 

 der. The ground that you make the trenches in 

 shouM not he (reshdii;;,hut he in usolid slate,nliicU 

 very convenienily may he; lor celery comes on 

 juctaslhe peas, early ruhh.i^'es and caiilitiowers 

 liave gone off. Lay the eartli that you take out 

 in llie middle oriTie Fpace JM^ween ihe trenches, 

 so that it may not he washed iiilo them hy the 

 heavy rains ; tor it will, in such case, cover the 

 hearts of the plants, and will j>o very nearly to 

 destroy them. When yon have made your trench, 

 put alon;; it some ^ooil rich compost tnamu'e, 

 partly cmisistinj! of wood ashes, not dunj;, or, at 

 least, not <lmi^' fresh from the yard; for if you 

 use that, the celery will he rank and pipy,i\iH\ will 

 not keep nearly so lonc,'or so well. Di;; this ma- 

 nure in, and hrenk all the earth very fine as ynu 

 go. Then take up your plants, and trim off the 

 ioiig roots. You will finil that every plant has 

 offsets to it, coming' up hy ilie side of the main 

 stem. Pidl all these off, and leave oidy the siu^'le 

 stem. Cut the leaves off so as to leave the whole 

 platitahoiit six inches loiiL'. Plant tliem six inch- 

 es apart, and fix them in Ihe manner so minutely 

 dwelt on under the article Cabbage, keepinfr. as 

 yon are at work, your feet close lo the outside 

 ed^es of the ireiiirlj. Do not water the plants ; 

 anil d'yoii plant in fresh-dm;;.'romid, and fix your 

 plants well nouHofthe troulilesiune ajrd cun.hrous 

 business of shading; is al all necessary ; for llie 

 plant is naturally hardy, and if it has heal to with- 

 er it ahove, it has also iliat heat heneath lo cause 

 Its roots to strike out almost iuslanlly. Wheti the 

 plants hegin to jirow, uhich they qtiickly will do, 

 hoe on each side atid heluenn iliein uiiji a small 

 hoe. As ihey grow itp, enrlh Iheir stems ; that is, 

 put the. eai til up to them, hut not too mitrh at a 

 time; and let the earlh that you ptil tip lie finely 

 hroken, and not at all cloddy. While yon do litis, 

 keep the stalks of the outside leaves close itp lo 

 prevent the earth from getting lielween the stems 

 of the oulsiile leaver and the inner ones; tin- il 

 it get there il checks the plant and makes the 

 celery had. When you he^in lite earthing, ttike 

 first the edges iif the trenches: and do not to 

 into the iniiklle of ihe intervals for ihe earili ihat 

 you took out of the irenclies. Keep working 

 backwards, time after time, Ihat is eartliitt;;' alter 

 earthing, till you come lo the earth that yon dug 

 out of the trenches; and hy this time tiie earlh 

 ugainsl the plauls will he ahove ihe l.vel of the 

 land. Then yon lake the earlh out of the middle, 

 till at last the earth against Ihe plants llinn a 

 ridge, and ihe middle of each interval a sort of 

 gutter. Earlh up very often, and not put ittuch 

 at a lime. Every week a litllo earth to he put 

 up. Thus, in October, yon w ill have four ridges 

 of celery acrt>ss one of the plats, each coulaining 

 one hnndrcd and sixiy-eight plants. ] shall sup- 

 pose one of these ridges lo he vv.-mted for use 

 before the ftost sets in liir gooil. J^nave another 

 riilge lo he locked up by the frosi, a miK'b sali-r 

 guardian than your cellar or barn-door. ' Hut yon 

 liiiist cover Ibis rid^e over in such a way thai llie 

 Wet will not );i'i ddwn inio the hearts of ihe cel- 

 ery. Two hoards a fiiol wi.le each, their edges 

 on one side lai<l upon the earth of the ridge, 

 formed into a roof over Ihe point of the ridge, 

 the upper edge of one board going im hich over 

 the nppin' e(I;;e of the other, and Ihe boards fas- 

 tened well with pegs, will ilo the business com- 

 pletely ; iiir it is not the frost, hut Ihe occasional 

 IhiiiDS that you have to li-ar, and ihe wet aitd rol 

 that ibej produce. For the celery that is to set ve 

 friHii the gelling in lo ihe breakiiii; up of the 

 frost, you must have a he<l of sand, or light eiulh, 

 ill a warm pari of a barn, or in a cellar ; and there 

 yon niiisl lay ii in, row alier row, not covering 

 Ihe points of the leaves. To have seed, take one 

 plant, in spring, out of the ridge leli in the gar- 

 den. Plant it in an open place, and you will 

 liave seed enongli lo serve a w hole lownsbip. — 

 For soup, the seed bruised is as good us the plant 

 il.M-li: 



Cucumber. — To give minute ndos for the pro- 

 pagalion and cnllivalion of this plant, in a coun- 

 try like ihis, would bo waste of time. Ilowevm', 

 il yon wish to have ihi-in a month earlii^r than 

 the nalutal ground will brin;: them, do this ; Make 

 n hole, and put into it a litlli! hot diim;; let lie; 

 liole be under u warm fence. Pn' six inches 

 deep of fine, ricb earih on tin- ditnsf. Sow a par- 

 cel of seeds in this earth ; and cover ut night with 



u hit of carpet, or sail-clolh, having first fixed 

 some hoops over this liiih- bed. Before Ihe plants 

 show lite rough leaij jihmt two into a lillleflovv- 

 er-pot, and till as itiany puts iti ihis way us you 

 please. Have a larger bed ready lo put Ihe pots 

 into, and covered with etuih, so that the pots 

 may lie plunged in Ihe eartli np to their tops. — 

 Cover this bed like the last. \\ hen lite plants 

 have got two rough leaves out, tlti-y will begin to 

 make a shool in Ihe middle. Pinch that short off. 

 Let them stand in Ibis bed, lill your cucumbers 

 sown in the natural ground come up : then make 

 some llllle holes in ;;oud rich laud, anil, taking a 

 pot at a time, tnrn out the ball, and fix il in Ihe 

 hole. These plants w'ill hear a iiiontti sooner than 

 those sown in Ihe nalnral ground ; and a square 

 yard will contain thirty-six pots, and will, of 

 course, furnish plants thirty-six hills of cncmn- 

 ber.s, whielt, if well mtinaged, will keep on bear- 

 ing till Seplember. Those who Ititve hot-beil 

 frames, or hand-lights, will do this matter very 

 easily. The cucumber-plant is very lender and 

 juicy ; and, iherelbre, when the seedlings are put 

 into Ihe pois, they should he watered and shadeil 

 for a day or two ; w ben the balls are inriied into 

 the ground, they should he watered, and shaded 

 with a bough fen- one day. That svill be euoui;lt. 

 I have one ob.servalion to make upon the cultiva- 

 tion of cucunthers, melons of all soils, and thai 

 of all lite pumpkin and Mpiash Itihe, and ihal i.-, 

 that it is a great error to sou t ben i /oo //net. One 

 plant in a bill is enough; and I would put two 

 into a poi, merely as a bar agaiitsi accidents. — 

 One will bring inoie weight of fruit than two, (if 

 slaitding near each oilier,) two mine titan llirei!, 

 and so on, lill yon come to fifty in a square fiait ; 

 and then yon will have no fruit at all! Let any 

 one make the experimetit, ami he will find ihl.s 

 observ ilion maihemaiically true. When cucum- 

 bers are left eight or ten plants in a hill, they 

 never shoot stronglij. Their vines are poor and 

 weak. 'Ihe leaves become yellow ; and if they 

 hear al all, it is pom, tasteless fruit ihat they pro- 

 duce. Tlieir beating is over in a few weeks. — 

 Whereas, a single plain, in the same space, will 

 send iis fine green vines all aronnil il to a great 

 distance, and if no Iritil lie left lo ripen, will keep 

 heiiring lill the w liiie fronts come in the fill. 'J'he 

 roots of a ciiruniher will eo ten feet, ill fine earlh, 

 in every direciion. .Iudj;e, then, how ten plaiils, 

 staiidiu;; close to one anolber, must produce mu- 

 tual starvation ! — Il yon save a ciicnniher tin' sired, 

 lei il be ihe first fine hnit that appears on the 

 plant. 'Ihe plant will cease to hear niurh after 

 this frnil becomes yellov\jsli. J have said eii'ingb 

 uiirler ilte head of saving seeds to make yon lake 

 care ihat noiliing ol ihe melon, piitnpkiti or squash 

 kind fiiow near a sreil-heaiiitg encumber plaiil ; 

 and Ihal all encumbers of a different soil from 

 that bearing the seed be kept ;tl a great distance. 

 There are many sorls of cncumhers; the Long- 

 PriektiJ, Ihe Slinrt-Prirkly, llie Cluster, atnl many 

 others; hut the pro| iigalioii and cnllivalion of all 

 Ihe sorts are ibe same. 



Mklo.n. — There are, all the world knows, two 

 disiiuct tribes — tin' aias^ and the itm'rr. Of the 

 lormer the sorts are endless, and, indeed, of the 

 latter also. Some of hoili tribes are filobnlar, and 

 others oblong; and in hoili tribes there are dif- 

 ferent colors, as well with regard lo flesh as to 

 tind. In Ihis fine couniry, where they all come 

 to perfect'uni in the nalutal ground, no dislinc- 

 liou is made ns to I'arhness or lateness in sorts; 

 and in other respecis, some like one sort best, 

 and some another. Anion;^ the musk-melons, 

 lite citron is, according to my taste, the finest hy 

 far; and the finest waler-melons that I have ever 

 lasted, were raised from seed licit came out of niel 

 oils grown in (Jeorpia. As to the tnanner of pro- 

 payaiini.', cidtivaliiiL', and sowing the .'■eed ol 

 melons, see Cucumber, and only observe, Ihat all 

 ihat is there saiil applies lo melons as well a.s lo 

 cncntnher.s. To have melons a monih earlier 

 ihan the natiiral-';ronnd sowings will produce 

 ihetii, is an ohjecl of much greater importance 

 than to havt' cucumbers so innch earlier; and to 

 accoinplisb that ohjecl, you have mily lo use lite 

 same niean.s, in every respect, that I have de- 

 scribed liir lill! (.'I'lling of early cncumhers. The 

 soil should be rich for melons; but it ought noi 

 lo he freshly dunged ; liir that is apt to rot the 

 plaiils, especially in a wet year. They like a liLdil 

 and rallier satidv soil, iinil, any W'here nenr ihe 

 sea, wood ashes, or soa|iers' ashes, is probably 

 the best manure, and especially in dry-bottomed 



land ; lijr ashes attract and retain the moi.sture 

 of the atmosphere. It is a great mistake tosnp- 

 po.se that ashes are of a burning qnalily. They 

 always proiluce the most and be,-t eHi;cl in dry- 

 hotlomed land. Alelons should be cultivated 

 well. You should leave but orif plant in a hill ; 

 and should lill the ground heuvcen the plants, 

 w bile they are growing, imiil ti he covered by the 

 vines. If the plants staml too close, llie vines 

 will be weak, and the fruit small, thick-rinded, 

 and poor as lo flavor. 



J'ka. — This is one of those vegetables which 

 all men most like. Itsciilinreis universal, where 

 people have the means of growing it. The sons 

 of peas are very numerous, and I will meiilion 

 a iew of them presently. 'J'he soil shunhl be 

 goofi, and fresh dung is good nianme for them. 

 Ashes and compost, very good ; but peas, like 

 Indian corn, will bear to he actually sown upon 

 dung. Never were finer peas grown llian there 

 are grown in the United Stales; and, as we shall 

 presently see, lliey may be had in the open 

 ground, in Long Island, from first of .Tiitie lill ihe 

 sliarp frosts set in. Ihe sorls are numerous, one 

 class is of small size, ami the oilier large. The 

 latter grow Itdler, and are lon;.'er in cotniiig to 

 perfection than ilte fiiriner. The earliest of all 

 IS Ihe little white pea, called in Long Island the 

 May-Pea, »\ui in Enjilain' the Early Frame Pea. 

 Tlien come the Early Charleton, tlie Hotspur, the 

 Blue Pea, the Dwarf, anil Tall Miirroufats, and 

 se\ eral others, especially the Knight-Pea, ibe seed 

 ol which is ron;;li, niieven shaped and shrivelled, 

 and Ihe plant of which j;i-owsvery tall. Ail the 

 soils may be grown in America, wiihonl sticks, 

 anil even heller I hall with. I have this year ( 1819) 

 the finesi peas I ever saw, and the crop the most 

 ahnndanl. And this is the luanner in which 1 

 have sown and cnllivaled ibeni. I plnuiihed ihe 

 groniid into ridges, the tops of which (for the 

 dwarf .sorts) were four feel apart. I ihen put .i 

 ;;ond parcel of yaril dung into the furrows; anil 

 ploti;;lied the etirlli b.ick upon the dinig. I Ilieti 

 levelled the top of ihe ridge a little, and drew 

 two drills along upon it al six inche.- distaiii from 

 each other. In these I soweil the peas. When 

 the peas were about three inches high, 1 hoed the 

 ground deep ami well liBiween the riiw.^ and on 

 each outside of llieni. I then plungbed the 

 ground from ilieiii, and to llietii a;;;iin, in the 

 same way as in the ca.-se of Swedish lurnips. Iti 

 a week or two afterwards, Ihey li.id another 

 ploughing; and soon after this they fell, and lay 

 down the >ides of the ridges. This was the way 

 in which I maiiMged all the sorls, only in the case 

 of ihe Kiiigld-Pta I put ihe ridges at .-^ix feet 

 asunder, 'i'liis was, of every sort, the very finest 

 crop ol peas I ever saw in my lili?. When not 

 slicked, and sown upon level ground, peas fill 

 about irregularly, and, in case of much wel, the 

 tinder pods rot ; but from the ridges Ihey fall reg- 

 iil.irly, and the wel does not lodfje about litem. 

 Yi.n walk up the fiirrows lo gather the peas, and 

 nothing can be more beauliliti, or more conven- 

 ient. The cnllnre in the garden may be the same, 

 except ihal the work which is done wiihtliH 

 ploni;li in ihe field, iiinsi in the garden be done 

 with the spade. As lo seasons, the Early-Tea 

 may he sown in the (all. Bui in this case, care 

 must he taken lo guard agaiiisi Hii'cf. Sow about 

 four inches deep, and Iread ihe ground well ilow ii. 

 When ihe frost sets in, all is salt; lill winter breaks 

 up. These peas will he earlier by leu or filieetl 

 days than any that yon can sow in the spring. — 

 If yon sow in spriiiy:, do il as soon as the ground 

 is dry enon;;li to go upon. Sow the May-Pea, 

 some (."^harlelons, some llolspnrs, some Bhio- 

 Peas, some iMarrowlats, and some Knight-Peas, 

 all at the same lime, anil ihey will come one after 

 another, so as lo give yon g.eeli peas lill nearly 

 Angnsi. In June, (about llie middle,) sow some 

 Early Peas again, and also some Marrowfats and 

 Knii;hl-Pea ; and lhe.se will give you |.iiih lill 

 Scpli'tnher. Sow some of each sort middle of 

 .Vn^nsMind they will give yon green peas lill tlm 

 liiirdish frosts come, liiil ihe.-c two last souiiit'S 

 (Jime and Angnsi) on;;ht lo be under llie south 

 fence, so as to get as much coohi'Ss a-' possible. 



Uapish. — .\ great VMrieiy of soils. Sown ihin 

 in litlle drills, six inches asunder. Sown as ear- 

 ly as possible! in the spring, and a litlle bed, every 

 three weeks, all summer long. The Early Scar- 

 'it is the best. Radishes may he rai.-ed eai ly in a 

 liol-hed |irecisely as cabbage plants are. 



