OKRA OE GUMBO. 79 



with a few short sticks. The nasturtium is grown for 

 both ornament and use. The flowers are very beautiful, 

 and the seed-pods are pickled and used as a substitute for 

 capers. A row of the dwarf kind, with a few short sticks 

 eighteen inches long, and stuck a foot apart, not on the 

 sides, but in the center of the row, is a charming addition 

 to any garden. 



It is desirable to get the plants as early as possible, 

 but they are very tender, and if we sow early, we run the 

 risk of having them destroyed by frost; but we can well 

 afford to take the risk. Sow two rows. The seed is cheap. 

 Sow one row at the same time you plant corn. The seed 

 is large and may be covered from one to two inches deep, 

 according to the nature of the soil. The earlier you 

 plant, and the heavier the soil the shallower should be 

 the seed. A good plan is, to make a double row, just as 

 we sometimes do for peas. The rows may be about four 

 inches apart, with one seed to each two inches of row. 

 The sticks can be placed between these narrow rows. If 

 more than one of these double rows is needed, the large 

 climbing nasturtium should be planted in rows five feet 

 apart, but the dwarf may be planted in rows thirty inches 

 apart. The second planting, which should never be 

 neglected, may be made about the time we plant beans. 



OKRA OR GUMBO. 



At the North it is desirable to raise Okra plants in a 

 hot-bed, or in a box in the house, and transplant them 

 to the garden about the middle of May. If the seed is 

 sown out of doors, select a loose, warm soil, with a 

 southern exposure. There are two varieties, the Dwarf 

 and Tall; the former is the best. Plant the dwarf kind 

 in rows thirty inches apart, and from eight to ten inches 

 in the row, or sufficiently wide to admit the free use of 



