258 GARDEN FARMING 



To make dill pickles from salt stock, the cucumbers are removed 

 from the brine, placed in a processing tank and covered with fresh 

 cold water, and allowed to remain twenty-four hours, after which 

 the water is drawn off. The tank is then again filled with fresh 

 water, to which are added 2 pounds of alum 1 and 2 ounces of tur- 

 meric to each barrel of pickles in the tank. The whole mass is 

 then heated up slowly to a temperature of 130 F. The fruits 

 are allowed to stand in this cooling mixture for twelve hours, and 

 then are sorted and packed. 



In filling the cask first place a layer of pickled dill herb at 

 the bottom, then fill it half full of processed cucumbers, and add 

 another layer of dill herb, at the same time inserting a quart of dill 

 spice. This spice should consist of the following proportions of 

 whole spices : 4 ounces of allspice, 2 pounds of crushed black 

 pepper, 4 pounds of coriander seed, and i pound of bay leaves. 

 After adding this spice and the layer of dill herb, complete the 

 filling of the cask, but before replacing the head of the cask scat- 

 ter another layer of dill herb over the top. After being reheaded, 

 the bung is removed and the cask filled with dill brine consisting 

 of J barrel of dill herb, il pounds of alum 1 and 100 gallons of 

 30-degree brine. At the time of filling the barrel I gallon of 50- 

 grain vinegar is added to each 10 gallons of the brine. The brine 

 should be allowed to stand twenty-four hours before using it to 

 cover the processed cucumbers in the barrels. 



DANDELION 



Botany. The cultivated dandelion is the same as the wild plant 

 so common in yards and in the fields of our Eastern states. It is 

 a perennial introduced from Europe, but now naturalized over a 

 considerable portion of the United States. The leaves, which are 

 long, deeply and often sharply lobed, are all radical. The hollow 

 flower stalk carries a single blossom head several inches above the 

 root. The seeds are small, oblong, brownish in color, and retain 

 their vitality two years. A gram contains 1200 to 1500 seeds. 



Cultivation. The dandelion as a weed thrives in a variety of 

 soils and situations, but when cultivated as a salad plant it gives 



1 See footnote, page 257. 



