103 



Reply of Aaron Low of Essex, who received premiums for new 



varieties of Squashes and Tomatoes. 

 To the Chairman of the Committee on Vegetables : — 



The soil on which most of our vegetables are raised, particu- 

 larly those varieties for early use and marketing, is a warm 

 loam which appears best adapted for Early Peas, Beets, Cab- 

 bages, Potatoes and Sweet Corn. We depend mostly on stable 

 manure, but use considerable Fish Guano, Stockbridge Manure 

 and Darling's Bone. We manure liberally, as we follow all of 

 our early crops with a second planting, either of Squashes, Cu- 

 cumbers or Cabbages. The past season I planted among our 

 early peas and potatoes my New Hybrid Squash, planting the 

 seed between the rows after the last hoeing, from the 25th of 

 June to July 4th, putting a shovelful of stable manure to each 

 hill, and hills about eight feet apart each way. Cultivated and 

 hoed them twice, and as a guard against bugs, sprinkled the 

 plants as soon as up with flour of plaster. In planting so late 

 in the season we escape the worm that destroys the roots of 

 the vines. The squashes, coming up very quickly and growing 

 rapidly, soon cover the ground and keep down many weeds 

 that would otherwise be troublesome. This new variety appears 

 well adapted far late planting, as it matures very quickly, (pro- 

 ducing the past season, in two months from the planting of 

 the seed, squashes weighing twelve pounds and well ripened,) 

 is very productive, of good quality, and an excellent keeper, 

 specimens of last year keeping till June 10th. We keep our 

 squashes in as cool, dry place as we can without injury from 

 frost. The results of the two crops to the acre would be, I 

 think, if the three varieties of potatoes planted are Clark's No. 

 1, Beauty of Hebron and Early Rose, 200 bushels and from 8 

 to 10 tons of squashes. 



I think that it is quite an advantage to follow an early crop 

 with a second, as it can be produced with much less labor, and 

 in my experience fully as large a product as if only the first 

 crop was obtained. Of course, the land must have an extra 

 amount of manure applied to perfect both crops, but the extra 



