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THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Vegetable Varieties TKat Pay 



THE following varieties are recom- 

 mended by Mr. W. G. Home for the 

 district about Clarkson, Ont. : ' ' Pota- 

 toes are grown extensively and for the 

 last four years have been a paying crop. 

 We introduced about four years ago 

 an early variety called Early Envoy, 

 which has proved to be very early and 

 productive. It grows to a good size, 

 is oblong and pink in color. For an 

 early potato it is very smooth, with 

 small eyes, and splendid for cooking. 

 Some of our growers tried the Delaware 

 potato; "which is so much sought after 

 in Toronto," for a late kind, with good 

 results. American Wonder is still a 

 favorite with a great many. In cucum- 

 bers for the early market for slicing, I 

 find the Improved Arlington, White 

 Spine and the Evergreen White Spine 

 the best. Have also tried several varie- 

 ties of tomatoes and find Spark's Ear- 

 liana Tomato, No. 10, the best. The 

 best early muskmelon known in Canada 

 to-day is the Unsworth. Landreth's 

 Extra Early Citron Muskmelon is 

 fully as early but not quite so showy 

 a melon. These two varieties of melon 

 need to be started in a hotbed to be 

 profitable for market. For late varie- 

 ties, the Rocky Ford and Paul Rose 

 cannot be excelled." 



TORONTO DISTRIC. 



For the district around Toronto 

 Mr. J. W. Rush, of Humber Bay, Ont., 

 submits the following: "The time of 

 the year has come again when we must 

 think about what crops will be best 

 for us to grow and where we shall get 

 our seeds. After nearly 40 years' ex- 

 perience, I find it better to buy seed 

 from our local seedsmen, and always 

 to get well-known varieties. Let new 

 varieties and novelties alone. Leave 

 them for the college students to try; 

 we have no time for such work. Al- 

 ways buy the best seed and get it in 

 time to test its germinating power. 



"Radish seed to be sown in hotbeds 

 or greenhouses should be large and 

 plump, and sown rather thin, an inch 

 apart each way; in hotbeds, not more 

 than six inches from the glass ; in green- 

 houses, as near the glass as possible. 

 When sowing spinach in early spring, 

 set the drill one inch deep, sow mod- 

 erately thick and tramp with foot; 

 then every seed will grow. I sow 

 Early Round Summer and Savoy Leaf, 

 as they do best. Beets and carrots 

 may be sown as early as land can be 

 got ready. Be sure and firm soil on 

 the seed. The best varieties of beets 

 are, for early, Crosby, Egyptian and 

 Eclipse Turnip; for late winter, Long 

 Blood Smooth. Two well-known varie- 

 ties of carrots are Chantenay, Stump 

 Rooted and Half Long Danvers. Cab- 

 bage can be sown the first of March 

 in bed or greenhouse; when in rough 



leaf, prick out in flats about two 

 inches each way. For early cabbage, 

 sow Jessey Wakefield and Henderson's 

 Early Summer. Plant out April 20 

 if land is ready. If they get covered 

 with snow a few times it will do them 

 no harm. Give cauliflower the same 

 treatment as cabbage. Snowball and 

 Erfurt are the best varieties; no man 

 can tell one from the other. 



"For early corn, sow Early Market; 

 for medium. Parry's Hybrid; for late, 

 Country Gentleman and Stovell's Ever- 

 green. The best onions are Yellow 

 Danvers, and Southport Yellow; red 

 onions are not wanted in Toronto 

 market. Some Toronto growers make 

 big money growing the silver skinned 

 pickling onions, as there is always a 

 ready sale for them at $2.50 to $3.00 

 a bushel; if 200 bushels or more are 

 taken from an acre, they pay well. 

 We sow New Intermediate and Hollow 

 Crown parsnips. Put plenty of seed 

 in the drill if you want a good catch. 

 Sow the Moss Curled parsley; sow some 

 onion seed with it and pull the onions 

 early and bunch for market." 



MONTREAL AND VICINITY 



For the Montreal district, Mr. Chas. 

 A. Smith, of Lachine, recommends the 

 following: "Beans, butter, Currie's Must 

 Proof, one of the best, Wardwell's Kid- 

 ney Wax, and Yosemite Mammoth, 

 round, padded ; green. Early Red Val- 

 entine and Refugee ; kale, Dwarf Green 

 Scotch, curled ; beets, round, Egyptian 

 Turnip; long, Improved Long Blood; 

 half long, Bonsecours Market; Brussels 

 sprouts, Edinburgh Prizer; cauliflower, 

 selected Dwarf Early Erfurt; cabbage, 

 early. Early Express, Early Etarnpes; 

 midsummer, Henderson's Early Sum- 

 mer and Cannon Ball; late or winter, 

 Autumn King, Flat Dutch, Marble Head, 

 Improved Brunswick; carrots, early. 

 Early French Horn; general purpose, 

 Chantenay, Half Long Improved, Van- 

 nery Half Long; long. Scarlet Inter- 

 mediate, Long Red Stump-rooted; cel- 

 ery, White Plume; yellow, Paris Gol- 

 den Yellow; red, Dobbie's Selected Red. 



"The best varieties of early corn are 

 Sugar Cory, New Champion ; late. Mam- 

 moth, Stowell's Evergreen; midsum- 

 mer, Kindal's Giant, None-such, Cros- 

 by, Country Gentleman; cucumber, 

 White Spine; egg plants, New York 

 Purple, Early Round White, Luke's 

 Musselburgh; onions. Red Wethersfield, 

 White Globe, Red Globe, Prizetaker, 

 Yellow Globe Danvers; parsnip, Hol- 

 low Crown, Student; peppers. Cardinal, 

 Giant Large Red; peas, Gradus, Early 

 Star, American Wonder, Heroine, Strata- 

 gem, Market Garden; salsify. Mam- 

 moth Sandwich Island ; vegetable mar- 

 row, Long White Bush, Boston Mar- 

 row; tomatoes, Earliana, Freedom, Per- 

 fection, Dwarf Champion and Trophy." 



Producing Early Beets 



The best variety of beets for the early 

 market is the flat Egyptian. The seed 

 should be sown in the greenhouse from 

 the last of February to March 20. It 

 is best to plant them in rows, because 

 when they are being transplanted they 

 can be taken in bunches and odd ones 

 left on the bench to get stronger. If 

 sown broadcast, all will have to be trans- 

 planted at once. Sowing in rows also 

 results in less trouble from the "damp- 

 ing-off" fungus, which becomes very 

 common if the young plants do not 

 receive plenty of air. Moist air aids 

 the development of the disease. 



A liberal watering should be given 

 when the seeds are sown, and then 

 no more for some time. No damage 

 will result if the plants are allowed to 

 wilt down before more water is given. 

 It is difficult to grow beets successfully 

 in hotbeds ; but they can be handled if 

 all the steam is allowed to escape from 

 the bed before the seed is planted. 



Once the plants are "pricked out" 

 the trouble in handling them is over. 

 They should be set out as early in the 

 spring as the ground can be worked. 

 In preparing the soil, it should be made 

 as rich as possible with manure and then 

 top-dressed with some high-grade fertil- 

 izer. This should be followed with 

 thorough harrowing, and then be 

 smoothed off with a plank drag. Best 

 results are obtained from setting the 

 plants three to four inches apart in rows 

 14 or 15 inches apart. Cultivation 

 then has to be done with a wheel hoe 

 by hand. Too much cultivation can- 

 not be given. 



The earlier a hotbed is made the larger 

 should be the quantity of manure used. 



Value of Carbonate of I^ime 



Is carbonate of lime a good fertilizer for market 

 garden soils, particularly for the growing of 

 table roots?— L. M. A., Waverley, N.S. 



Carbonate of lime may be looked upon 

 as an indirect fertilizer. Its chief func- 

 tions in the soil seem to be to improve 

 the physical condition, to neutralize 

 acidity, and to liberate plant food, 

 particularly potash, in the soil. If the 

 soil has been under cultivation for some 

 time and is rich in organic matter, it is 

 quite possible that a dressing of one to 

 one and a half tons an acre of fresh burnt 

 lime would be beneficial to the soil. If 

 the soil is a clay, it is probable that lime 

 will improve the physical conditions and 

 will liberate potash and thus aid in the 

 growth of whatever crops may be grown 

 upon it. Roots of all kinds require 

 large amounts of potash. Lime will 

 liberate this constituent from insoluble 

 forms of combination, and to that extent 

 will aid in the growth of roots. — Answer- 

 ed by Prof. R. Harcourt, O.A.C., 

 Guelph. 



