VEGETABLES. 168 



most vegetables. As a rule, each seed has its appropriate time 

 for putting forth — a time when it will germinate and send out 

 healtliy roots and leaves — and which cannot be greatly varied 

 without interfering with its normal growth. This is not a fixed 

 day of the month, but a fixed condition of the ground, and at- 

 mospheric temperature. When the soil has become mellow, 

 and the air of the proper warmth, then it is seasonable to plant. 

 And neither before, nor much after this time, except in the case 

 of such seeds as mature two crops in the year. 



And this naturally leads to the statement of the universal 

 practical rule in vegetable culture, viz. : time the planting, and 

 prepare the soil so as to secure in all cases quick germination 

 and rapid growth. The whole success of the kitchen garden 

 depends on it. The quicker a seed can be made to germinate 

 the more vigorous the shoot, the quicker the growth, the better 

 the quality. Every one is familiar with this principle as applied 

 to such plants as radishes and lettuce ; but it is no less applica- 

 ble to the larger vegetables. Seeds put in the cold soil of early 

 April, and some seasons, of early May, never vegetate healthily. 

 The chill they get necessarily engenders a consumption. A 

 potato planted May 10, will, in our ordinary seasons, ripen its 

 crop as early as one planted a month earlier, and the yield will 

 be larger and of superior quality. The value of stimulants lies 

 in the fact that a quick growth is secured ; and where not over- 

 forced, the gain in this respect is very important. The rapid 

 elaboration of the juices seems to add to their vital power, and, 

 what is quite as valuable, to their perfection of quality. A cab- 

 bage or a beet that takes the whole season to grow is worthless 

 for the table. Ninety days should suffice to mature most of our 

 garden vegetables. 



And in this connection it is obvious to mention the importance 

 of good seed. Even with generous manuring, and timely plant- 

 ing, and careful culture, there is sometimes a failure which can 

 be traced directly to poor seed — i. e., seed grown from imma- 

 ture plants, or such as had been injured by exposure to rains, 

 or heats, or bad winter storage. And sometimes old seed which 

 has lost its vitality is the cause of some disappointment. Un- 

 less he has made careful trials, no one is aware how much the 

 quality of the seed has to do with the amount and character of 

 the crop. Perhaps it is not extravagant to say, that, all other 



