1S,S6 



GJ.EANmGiS IN J]EE CULTURE. 



579 



lieails (almost as liard and lieavyas a, tiiniii)) 

 lr.)ni our patch of liOOU early cabba;4es. Now, 

 while the majority are of heads like these, 



PETER HENDERSON'S NEW " NEW YORK." LETTUCE. 



quite a good many are making no head at 

 all. They don't quite understand what is 

 wanted of them, and so they are just acting 

 foolish, and are of no use to auybody. They 

 remind me of some boys and girls I have 

 seen in this world. With the cabbage it is 

 the fault of the parents and tlie early train- 

 ing ; and I am afraid it is true, too, with 

 foolish l)oys and girls — it is the fault of the 

 parents and early training. Now, I have 

 never raised cabbage-seed, and I don't know 

 what Ijcan do ; but I am so well satislied of 

 wiiat may be done that I w^ould give to-day 

 ten dollars for the seed of one cabbage-head 

 in that patch of UOOO. Do you want to know 

 why V Because it commenced making a 

 head almost as soon as the plant was taken 

 from the greenhouse and set in the held, and 

 a beautiful little head, too, hard and lirm, 

 and ready for the market fully two loecJis 

 ahead of any other plant in that lield. The 

 books on seed-growing say that this cab- 

 bage-head must be kept over winter before 

 one can get seed from it. Well, it was rais- 

 ed so early I am afraid it will be a iiard mat- 

 ter to keep it over winter, but I am going to 

 try hard. T think I can get some sprouts 

 from the stump, to raise some more heads 

 later in the fall, that will give me seed next 

 year, if I can not get seed from this one. 

 Doubtless some of the older heads will smile 

 to see me come out in print and confess my 

 ignorance. Never mind, dear reader; let 

 them smile. I have been " smiled at " a 

 good many times in my life ; but the ones 

 who did the smiling at first, often smiled in 

 .'iurpri.sc a few years afterward. Seed-grow- 

 ers have great dinieulty in li.^jjg the type of 



tlieir seeds, I well know; and when a new 

 and sui»eri()r seed is placed before tiie peo- 

 ple, the growers are entitled to a good re- 

 A\ard. And this reminds me that, aft- 

 er our 13oston-market lettuce was sold 

 and gone, we had arranged for a suc- 

 ceeding crop of Henderson's new "New 

 York" lettuce, as he calls it. This let- 

 tuce not only produces immense heads, 

 but it is remarkably slow about shoot- 

 ing up to seed. Great nice heads will 

 stand for many days waiting to be , 

 picked, and the quality is equal to any ".. 

 tlnng we ever had. It is a large late 

 lettuce, so it probably will not answer ' ,' 

 as well as for greenhouse culture. As' 

 this " New York " lettuce seems to 

 be quite an acquisition, we give a cut 

 of it. 

 This lettuce makes wonderfully large 

 heads. It is nothing to have them weigh 

 from a pound to a pound and a lialf ; and 

 the inside of these great heads is as white";, 

 and crisp and nice as celery. As it is not at ' 

 all bitter, I have of ten eaten a whole head 

 with great relish Avhile out in the lields. 

 Although it is very slow in sending up seed- 

 stalks, we tind somewhat of a tendency to 

 rot, unless it is cut, say, in a week or ten '■ 

 days after the heads get fully grown. 



In the fore part of this chapter I mention- 

 ed the prejudice that existed toward our 

 market-w\agon when it fLrst started. Well, 

 notwithstanding this prejudice, and not- 

 withstanding it did not at lirst pay expenses, 

 we kept it going right along day after day, 

 and even during the winter : when the roads 

 were suitable we went with either wagon or 

 sled. In the winter time we carry apples, 

 turnips, potatoes, parsnips (when the weath- 

 er is suitable to dig them), vegetable oysters, 

 winter sipiashes, celery, etc. When the 

 roads were too bad to go with a single horse, 

 we sent out a stout double team, one that is 

 generally used for plowing, drawing manure, 

 etc. Going out under unfavorable circum- 

 stances during l)ad weather occasioned crit- 

 icisms again, because people generally could 

 not understand why we should stir ourselves , 

 so much for so litth' trade. JSIy purpose 

 was, to give them to understand that the" 

 market-wagon expected to be a regular in- 

 stitution, and one to be depended upon. 

 Well, it seemed for a time as though preju- 

 dice was so great I should have to give if up; 

 but I have found the little text at the head ' ' 

 of our chapter true in businiess matters as, ' 

 well as in spiritual things. A writer on ibff ', ' 

 management of horses once saicl, if a hOrse '" 



