4 i 8 GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



Varieties of Tomatoes. There is an endless number of varieties. There are smooth, 

 round and egg-shaped, both red and yellow. There are large and quite small fruited, 

 as well as some of medium size. Some carry great clusters, some are nice to eat raw 

 as table fruits, some to eat as salad, and some when cooked. The most popular ones 

 are those which produce good-sized, round, handsome red fruits, and in great profusion. 

 Good ones are: Perfection, Carter's Sunrise (splendid), and Duke of York. Good egg 

 or plum-shaped fruits are: Ai, Regina, Challenger, and Peerless. There are some of 

 a reddish, terra-cotta colour, but these are not in favour. The best yellow varieties bear- 

 ing good showy fruits are: Golden Jubilee, Blenheim Orange, and Sunbeam. The best 

 small-fruited or dessert yellow is Golden Nugget, one of great excellence, the fruit the 

 size of damsons, rich colour and excellent flavour. The best reds are : Red Dessert and 

 Cluster, both wonderfully productive, the fruit being about the size of pigeons' eggs. 



Early Winter Crops. When plants are raised from seed about the middle of June, 

 and are grown on into large pots, as previously described, they are kept outdoors till the 

 end of August. These are put into a greenhouse, near the glass and without heat, till 

 the end of September. Good quantities of fruit will be produced, and if then warmth of 

 from 60 to 70 degrees be furnished, all these plants will ripen fruits well up to the end of 

 the year, and at a season when Tomatoes are scarce. 



Turnips. These root vegetables can be had in gardens for a long season. A common 

 fault is to sow seed too thickly and largely at once during the spring and summer. 

 Frequent but quite small sowings of but a few yards in extent are usually ample, if made 

 once in three weeks from March till the middle of August, when others of more extensive 

 breadth should be made, as those will have to furnish a supply for the winter months. 

 It is a common rule in good gardens to make up a bed of manure and leaves to furnish 

 warmth ; on that to place a wood frame, to half fill it with soil, then to sow seed in drills 

 9 inches apart, to water, and place a glass light over, covering up with mats to preserve 

 the heat. The seeds germinate in a few days. Light must then be given, except at night, 

 when covering up is needful. The plants need to be thinned to about 2 inches apart. 

 The best varieties for this purpose are the Long Forcing, or tap-rooted, much like a long, 

 white radish, but a capital table variety and keeping fresh a long time ; and the round- 

 rooted Early Milan. The former is, however, the best. Then successive sowings of either 

 of these varieties should be made in April and succeeding months, in drills 12 inches 

 apart and thinly. Large roots are not required, but the soil should be rich and kept well 

 watered in dry weather, as quick growth is needful to secure crisp, fresh, sweet roots. 

 Very moderate thinning of the plants whilst small suffices. In August two sowings, one 

 early, one in the third week, may be made of that excellent variety Snowball, a very 

 white, round form. The sowings are best made in drills 12 inches apart, the plants being 

 thinned down to 4 inches apart. Sowing in drills facilitates thinning and hoeing, and 

 also saves waste in sowing seed. A free use of the hoe between the plants whilst quite 

 young keeps down weeds, and helps the plants to make good growth. From these 

 August sowings of the Snowball, roots may be pulled of the best table quality up to the 

 end of the year, and if the weather be not severe much later. For late winter pulling it 

 is wise to make, about the 2oth of August, where ground is available, a sowing of Red 

 Globe, as that is hardier than the Snowball, and takes longer to produce roots. These 

 will need to be thinned out to 6 inches apart, as the leafage must have ample space. If 

 some of the larger roots be pulled, trimmed, and stored in sand in a cool shed in January 

 they will be safe from hard frost and give a supply for several weeks. A capital Turnip, 

 very popular in Scotland, and of marrowy texture, is Golden Ball, the flesh quite yellow. 

 This needs similar treatment to the Snowball. 



Swedish Turnips. These are of a distinct race, and are consumed generally by cattle, 

 but small roots, such as may easily be grown in gardens, make very nice food in the 

 winter if properly cooked. Seed should be sown in drills 12 inches apart at the end of 

 May or early in June. The seedling plants require to be thinned out to 12 inches apart, 

 and kept free from weeds, and well hoed through the summer. The roots are fairly 

 hardy, and may be left in the ground until January, then be pulled, trimmed, and stored 

 in sand for use as needed. The flesh is soft and pleasant eating. Unused roots of these, 

 or white Turnips, planted outdoors during March, will soon make growth, and furnish 

 tender sprouts or tops that make a pleasant green dish. Swede Turnips will repay grow- 

 ing for this purpose only. 



Vegetable Marrows. Although the Gourd family is a large one, and contains many 

 members that produce handsome ornamental fruits, yet relatively few are worth growing 

 for edible purposes, the forms known as Vegetable Marrows being the best. Vegetable 

 Marrows include fruits long, narrow, and white, or green in colour ; others of medium 

 length, of short or almost round form, and of the custard type, those of quaint shape 

 like a little round pie turned out from a basin. All however have, when cooked, flesh of 

 somewhat similar character, soft, succulent, watery, but yet very pleasant eating. Plants 



