270 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



August, 



hills. When the plants are up keep them 

 lightly dusted with plaster or air-slacked 

 lime, to protect from bugs, and when well 

 established, remove all but the two or three 

 best plants in each hill. Cultivate freely 

 and in hoeing draw the fresh soil up around 

 the plants. As a protection against borer 

 injury the first two or three joints next the 

 root may be entirely covered with moist 

 soil. Harvest the winter sorts before even 

 the slightest frost could touch them, and 

 store in a dry room. 



Among the early or Bush varieties we have 

 the White Bnd Yellow Bush Scalloped, Bos- 



white STRASSBURG RADISH. 

 ton Marrow, and the Summer crookneck. 

 The latter is especially popular for the home 

 garden. The list of fall and winter sorts in- 

 cludes Essex Hybrid, Marljlehead, Butman, 

 Vegetable Marrow (a favorite English sort) 

 and Hubbard, the latter most popular tor 

 market. Cocoanut and Little Gem are 

 small, but prolific sorts, good for summer or 

 winter, with running vines and of the great- 

 er hardiness of the Bush class. 



Thyme (Class F.) This, also a perennial, 

 and easily propagated by division or cut- 

 tings, is generally grown from seed as an an- 

 imal. Sow in shallow drills one foot apart, 

 in April or May, and thin to (i or 8 inches. 

 Cultivate same as other herbs. The leaves 

 and young shoots are used for seasoning. 



Tomato (Class B.) This crop is too easily 

 grown for a field crop to make its cultivation 

 profitable for the market gardener except 

 for the very early demand. The main crop 

 is a farm crop more than a market garden 

 crop. A few dozen plants properly taken 

 care of will give the home grower a full 

 supply. 



To secure early fruit we must start the 

 plants early under glass, give them plenty 

 of room to grow stocky, and harden them 

 well before setting in open ground. This 

 transfer should not take place until the at- 

 mosphere and ground has become thorough- 

 ly warm, which at the north is not much 

 before June. The soil should be warm, but 

 it need not be very rich. In thin sandy soil 

 have the hills three and one-half feet apart, 

 and before setting the plants mix a shovel- 

 ful of wellrotted compost, or a little com- 

 plete concentrated fertilizer with the soil. 

 In heavier soil the plants should be set fur- 

 ther apart, certainly not less than tour feet, 

 and when very rich, five and even six feet 

 each way. Cultivate and hoe occasionally 

 until size of vines forbids. In the family 

 garden the plants m'ay be trained to a simple 

 trellis ,tied to a stake, or given some sort of 

 support if such is desired. The grower for 

 market simply allows his vines to spread 



over the ground with equally good results 

 so far as fruit is concerned. 



To produce largest possible crop, the To- 

 matoes should be promptly gathered as fast 

 as they reach or approach maturity. This 

 treatment gives those coming after them a 

 fair chance. The leading ones among a 

 large number of varieties for market are 

 Acme, Perfection, Paragon, Favorite, Potato 

 Leaf. Early King is an extra early but 

 rather inferior sort; Dwarf Champion an 

 ideal sort for the home garden. The latter, 

 on account of. its compact and rather upright 

 growth can be planted as close as three 

 feet apart each way. 



TUBNIPS (Class E). As these are perfectly 

 hardy they may be sown very early in 

 spring to be used like Beets for bunching. 

 For main crop, as also in the home garden, 

 Ruta Bagas or Swedes are generally sown 

 in May or June, and the quicker growing 

 Strap-leaf sorts in July and August or even 

 later. Sow seed in drills eighteen inches 

 apart; guard the young plants against flea- 

 beetle attacks by sifting plaster, air-slacked 

 lime or wood ashes over them, and when 

 well established thin to 6 or 8 inches apart. 



The leading Swede (Ruta Baga) varieties 

 are American Purple Top, I^aing's Improved 

 Swede, Shamrock, Large White French, 

 Sweet German, etc. Among the Strap-leafs 

 we have Red-Top, Extra Early Milan, Pur- 

 ple-Top, White Globe, White Egg, etc. 

 Seven-Top is grown for greens at the south. 



Sea Kale (Class A). Sea Kale, although 

 one of the most delicate and palatable of 

 table vegetables, is scarcely known in our 

 markets and only very rarely cultivated in 

 the home garden. It can be grown from 

 seed or from division of the roots. If from 

 seed,select well prepared and well enriched 

 ground and sow in spring in drills one foot 

 apart, and when the young plants have 

 made four or five leaves, transfer to the 

 permanent bed in rich soil three by two feet 

 apart, and give good culture. Or if old 

 roots can be obtained these are cut in 

 pieces four inches long and planted in hills, 

 as directed for seedlings. The plants need 

 protection against northern winters, and 

 the crowns must be covered by a pretty 

 thick layer of coarse manure or other litter. 

 The third season from planting the young 

 shoots may be blanched and used. The 

 crowns in early spring are covered with 

 some suitable material, sand, mold, etc., to 

 exclude light and blanch the shoots. Some- 

 times inverted flower pots, boxes, etc., are 

 used for the same piu'pose with good effect. 

 When cooked Sea-Kale is pronounced by 

 many epicures to be superior to Asparagus 

 or Cauliflower. 



Achyranthes- Culture and Varieties. 



CHAS. E. PARNELL, yUEENS CO., N. Y. 



The several species or varieties of Achy- 

 ranthes form when taken together a very 

 interesting and useful group of highly orna- 

 mental bright-leaved Foliage plants belong- 

 ing to the Natural Order Amaranthaceae. 

 They may be described as being stove or 

 warm green house plants of somewhat suc- 

 culent habit, and rapid growth attaining a 

 height of from twelve to twenty inches and 

 having opposite cordate or oblong lanceolate 

 leaves which vary greatly in color, some 

 being carmine, crimson and bronze, while 

 others are beautifully marked and veined 

 with green, yellow and pink. The flowers 

 are quite insignificant. All are of the easi- 

 est culture, and retain their bright colors 

 throughout the hottest summer weather. 

 All are very beautiful, indeed, and are large- 

 ly employed in ribbon gardening and other 

 situations where plants are to be grown in 

 certain shapes and forms. They require the 

 full sunshine to bring out, and perfectly de- 

 velop their intense colors. They can also be 

 grown to good advantage as single spec- 



mens or groups in the mixed border, while 

 for show or exhibition purposes or for the 

 decoration of the warm greenhouse during 

 the winter season their value is recognized. 



For the decoration of the flower border, or 

 for use in ribbon work, bedding or massing 

 purposes, young plants should be rooted as 

 early in the season as possible, and grown 

 on in a moderate temperature, until the 

 weather becomes settled (or about the mid- 

 dle of May) when they can he planted out- 

 side. Previous to that time they should be 

 pinched back occasionally, to obtain com- 

 pact plants. For inside decoration during 

 the winter season, or for show or exhibition 

 purposes, some of the most promising of the 

 young plants should be selected and planted 

 out in a deep well-enriched border, where 

 they will require but little care and this will 

 consist in pinching them back about once a 

 weak in order to obtain compact specimens. 

 Water thoroughly whenever necessary. 

 About the tenth of September they should 

 be taken up and potted. In potting use por- 

 ous or soft baked pots, and let them be pro- 

 portionate to the size of the plants, drain 

 well and use a compost composed of two- 

 thirds turfy loam, one-third well decayed 

 manure, and add a fair sprinkling of bone 

 dust. Water thoroughly and place in a close 

 moist situation for a week or ten days, so as 

 to enable them to take hold of the soil ; then 

 they may be brought inside. 



For winter they should be given a light 

 sunny situation where an average tempera- 

 ture of 5.5 is maintained. Water should be 

 given thoroughly whenever it is required, 

 and as soon as the plants have become well 

 rooted, liquid manner should be given once 

 a week. Slugs are very partial to the Achy- 

 ranthes and will soon ruin a plant if permit- 

 ted to have their own way. Among insect 

 pests green fly and red spider should be care- 

 fully guarded against. Propagation can be 

 most readily effected by cuttings of the half 

 ripened wood. 



The generic name is derived from " Achu- 

 ron " (chaff) and " Anthes " (a flower) in al- 

 lusion to the chaffy nature of the floral leaves 



The following are the most desirable 

 Achyranthes varieties : 



A. Verschaffclti, a native of Brazil, leaves 

 cordate in shape, the upper side being of a 

 dull crimson maroon, underneath they are 

 of a deeper crimson. Stem crimson, a robust 

 growing variety attaining a height of from 

 eighteen to twenty-five inches. A. V. aurca 

 reticulata is a variety of the above, of dwarf 



^S_ ,^'r> .'"^■;'- ~=J 



ENGLISH FORCING TOMATO FRAME. 



compact growth. Its leaves, which are of a 

 light green color, are regularly marked with 

 a net work of yellow. Stems purplish car- 

 mine. A very pretty variety. A.V. avn- 

 minata, a variety of spreading habit, having 

 sharply acuminate dull crimson leaves. A. 

 V. Cascii differs from the above in the vari- 

 egation of its leaves, which are light green 

 with yellow veins. Stem purplish crimson. 

 A. Lindcnt is of dwarf compact habit grow- 

 ing about eighteen inches in height, leaves 

 lanceolate in shape and of a dark blood-red 



