120 SALSIFY Oil OYSTER PLANT. 



twelve inches apart, giving the soil between the rows a 

 good stirring at the same time, repeating it five or six 

 weeks afterwards, or as often as may be necessary to keep 

 down the weeds. 



As the seed germinates very quickly, and is very liable 

 to be eaten off by the turnip fly, the drills, after the seeds 

 are covered in, should be well dusted with soot, lime, or to- 

 bacco dust, mixed with an equal quantity of dry ashes, 

 repeating the dusting every morning and evening for a 

 week ; a peck a day would suffice for an acre of ground. 



There are numerous varieties of the ruta-baga, but the 

 sort best adapted in this country for garden cultivation is 

 the Improved American. 



SALSIFY OR OYSTEE PLANT. 



Salsify is sometimes called oyster plant, from a fancied 

 resemblance of the flavor of the root, when cooked, to that 

 of cooked oysters. The roots are white, and resemble 

 small carrots in size and shape. 



It requires a good mellow, rich soil, well pulverized to 

 a depth of fourteen or fifteen inches. The seeds should be 

 sown in April or May, in drills an inch deep and twelve to 

 fourteen inches apart. When the plants are two or three 

 inches high, they should be thinned out to six inches apart. 

 The after cultivation is the same as that for parsnips. 

 As the seed does not ripen evenly, much of it does not 

 vegetate; it is th3refore necessary to sow it somewhat 

 thickly. 



Salsify is quite hardy, and can therefore be left in the 

 ground all winter, but to have a supply during the winter, 

 a sufficient quantity should be taken up late in the autumn, 

 and stored in moist sand or earth in a dry, cool cellar. 



