Profitable Varieties of Vegetables for MarKet 



ONE of the most important factors 

 connected with the management 

 of a market garden is the selec- 

 tion of varieties. It is a local matter. 

 Varieties that are meritorious in one 

 district may be useless in another. In 

 choosing, the gardener should know 

 what kind of a variety is wanted and 

 what it is wanted for, and then select 

 a variety that approaches the ideal. 

 Old, well-tried varieties are the most 

 reliable. New varieties, or novelties, 

 should be tested but not grown ex- 

 tensively until proved of value. 



List of varieties recommended for 

 the various districts have been pre- 

 pared for the readers of The Canadian 

 Horticulturist. The selections of 

 Mr. Fred Collins, of Chatham, Ont., 

 for his district is as follows : " In choos- 

 ing varieties of vegetables we must bear 

 in mind two things; first, the require- 

 ments of our market, and second, the 

 varieties adapted to our soil. Some 

 of us in this vicinity neglected the 

 first of these precepts last season and 

 grew some red celery. We knew its 

 superior quality, but the public did 

 not like the color. Anyway, we shall 

 not grow red celery next season. A 

 variety of celery better than White 

 Plum for early market is Livingstone's 

 Snow-White; it is a more attractive 

 celery and of better flavor. Golden 

 Yellow, however, is easily the best of all. 



"In tomatoes we grow principally 

 Earliana for early, but for late I would 

 head the list with Matchless. The best 

 general purpose cucumber is the Arl- 

 ingfton White Spine; especially is this 

 an attractive table variety, but it an- 

 swers well for pickles. In all vege- 

 tables we have our individual prefer- 

 ences; I would say that the following 

 are the most popular here: Cauliflower, 

 Snowball and Erfurt; cabbage, Charles- 

 ton Wakefield for early and one of the 

 various Drumheads for late; carrots, 

 Chantenay; onions, Prizetaker, Yellow 

 Globe Danvers, Red Wethersfield; let- 

 tuce. Grand Rapids; corn, Premo for 

 early, Evergreen for late; beets, Cros- 

 by, Egyptian and Eclipse ; muskmelons, 

 Montreal Nutmeg and Osage. 



"When planting seed in greenhouse 

 or hotbed, the soil should be well-rotted 

 turf and stable manure, with an addi- 

 tion of, say, four quarts of sharp sand 

 to a bushel of soil. This should be 

 well mixed and sifted. Small seed, as 

 celery, should be sown on the surface 

 and covered either with dried, sifted 

 moss or with a piece of coarse sacking. 

 When germination takes place, the 

 cover should be removed and a par- 

 tial shade afforded by laying strips of 

 -lath at intervals across the bed. Great 

 care should be exercised in watering; 

 for if the soil becomes too dry or too 

 wet during the process of germination. 



the delicate germ will be injured and 

 perhaps destroyed. Avoid excessive 

 changes of temperature at all stages 

 of growth." 



NIAGARA FALLS DISTRICT 



The following remarks were received 

 from Mr. Thos. R. Stokes, Niagara 

 Falls South, Ont.: "This is stock- 

 taking time for the manufacturer, mer- 

 chant and farmer. The successful busi- 

 ness truck-grower should possess a rec- 

 ord book in which dates of planting 



Flat Cabbages 



and marketing, amounts sold, prices 

 realized, and so on, are correctly kept. 

 With such a record, it is possible to 

 purchase seeds both economically and 

 intelligently. To avoid previous mis- 

 takes, discard unprofitable varieties and 

 eliminate the disappointment of over- 

 production, with its subsequent glut 

 of the market by this or that vege- 

 table. It is the haphazard growers 



Savoy Cabbages 



who are responsible for glutted mark- 

 ets, and they say that gardening does 

 not pay. The annual seed catalogs 

 of reliable seed merchants should 'be 

 carefully read, and new varieties given 

 a fair trial. 



"Starting with asparagus. Colossal 

 is the local standard with Columbian 

 on trial in new beds. Brussels sprouts 

 should be grown only in a limited way, 

 as demand is small compared with 

 cabbage; Dalkeith is the variety 

 grown. The same may be said of Kale. 



"Wax beans — The round, brittle pad- 



38 



ded varieties are the only kind to grow 

 here, such as Burpee's Saddle-back. 

 Green beans — Refugee gives best satis- 

 faction. Beets — For extra early, Egyp- 

 tian; for main crop and pickling. Im- 

 proved Eclipse. Cabbage — -First crop, 

 Early Express, Wakefield ; second early, 

 Early Summer and Vandergaw; late 

 crop and sour-krout, Winningstadt, Dan- 

 ish Ball, Chester King, Gait Dutch 

 Savoy, Chester Savoy and Vertus; red. 

 Red Rock. Carrots — Early, Oxheart; 

 general crop, Chantenay, Nantes and 

 Scarlet Intermediate. Celery — Early, 

 White Plume; second early. Golden 

 Paris; late. Triumph and Pascal. Cel- 

 eriac — Prague. 



"In cauliflowers, the best seed and 

 varieties should be grown; cheap seed 

 and late sorts waste money. Plant 

 Erfurt, Whitehead, vSnowball, Gilt Edge 

 and Danish Summer. Cress — Extra, 

 Curled. Cucumbers — Hothouse, Rol- 

 lison's Telegraph, Duke of Edinburgh ; 

 outdoors. Early White Spine; late and 

 pickling. Evergreen White Spine and 

 Arlington. Com — Extra early, Peep O'- 

 Day and White Cory; second early, 

 Early Giant; late, Country Gentleman 

 and Stowell's Evergreen. Lettuce — 

 Forcing, Grand Rapids; garden crop, 

 Non-Pareil leads in popularity; Big 

 Boston, Calif omian Cream and Trianon 

 Cos. Muskmelon — Emerald Gem is 

 the local favorite, followed by Rocky 

 Ford, Osage and Cantaloupe. Water- 

 melons — Cuban Queen and Plunney's 

 Early. Citron^Colorado Mammoth. 

 Leek — Dunand Limited and Mussel- 

 burgh. Onions — For bunching, White 

 Southport ; pickling, Silverskin and Bar- 

 letta; transplanting, Prizetaker; main 

 crop, Yellow Danvers. Peppers — Hot, 

 Cayenne; sweet, Ruby King. The new 

 Neapolitan established itself as an ex- 

 tra early sweet variety last season. 

 Parsnip — Hollow Crown, Gursney and 

 Elcomb's Giant. Peas — Earliest of All, 

 American Wonder and Gradus lead for 

 extra early varieties, and Telephone, 

 Advances, Hero and Marrowfats for 

 ' main crop. Parsley — Triple Moss Curled. 



"In potatoes Early Ohio is still the 

 leading early variety, although Nought- 

 Six and Michigan are extensively grown ; 

 main crop, Uncle Sam, Carmen, Rural 

 New Yorker, Hebron. Pumpkin — For 

 cooking. Sugar; field, Connecticut. Rad- 

 ish — Rosy Gem and Scarlet Turnip for 

 forcing; French Breakfast and Char- 

 tiers for summer; White and Red China 

 and Black Spanish for winter. Spin- 

 ach — Victoria, Bloomsdale, Viroplay. 

 Salsify — Sandwich Island. Rhubarb — 

 Victoria and Johnston's St. Martin. 

 Squash — Boston is the main summer 

 and fall, and Warted Hubbard tlu 

 leading winter. Vegetable Marrow- — 

 Turban and Marblehead. Tomato^For 



{Concluded on page 40) 



