OKRA. 



173 



this planting- out very early in the 



spring-. The seed stalks 

 will attain a height 

 of about three feet. 

 The seed clusters 

 ripen somewhat un- 

 evenly but should be 

 gathered before they 

 are quite dry, or the 

 seed will shell out 

 and be lost. When 

 gathered, they should 

 be dried in airy 

 chambers and after- 

 wards threshed out 

 and cleaned with a 

 fanning mill or they 

 may be cleaned by 

 being thrown into 

 water. The latter me- 

 thod secures the best 

 seed. All the seed 

 that is full and plump 



will sink in water, 

 Fig. R9.-Onion plants in flower. and ag the chaff and 



lighter seed float they are readily 

 separated from the good seed. 

 Some of the seed that floats will 

 grow, but it is not very desirable 

 for planting. The same land that 

 grows a crop of onion seed is some- 

 times used for growing a crop of cu- 

 cumbers or melons at the same time, 

 since the onions clo not shade the 

 land nor take much nourishment 

 from it except early in the spring. 



OKRA. (Hibiscus esculentus.) 



Native of South America. — An- 

 nual.— The seed is round and of Fig. 90.-Dwarf pkra. 

 medium size. It is cultivated for its green seed pods which 



