122 GARDENS AND THEIR MEANING 



appetizing. Parsley is also used as seasoning for soups, 

 croquettes, and hash. 



Radish. Radishes are the commonest of garden vege- 

 tables and a real delight to the beginner. There are three 

 varieties, spring, summer, and winter radishes, all requir- 

 ing very much the same food and care. Early radishes, in 

 particular, love cool weather. They must have a good bed 

 of fine, rich earth, and thus the soil must be well worked in 

 preparation. Sow the seed in rows, one-half inch deep, not 

 too thick. Unless the seeds have been sifted through a 

 strainer, and the smallest cast aside, the per cent of germi- 

 nation is uncertain. Plant a new lot as often as every ten days 

 at least. If wanted early, they can easily be grown in boxes, 

 for the French breakfast radishes need only about four inches 

 of good soil. As soon as the seedlings are big enough to 

 handle, thin them out to one inch .apart. Keep the earth 

 always well cultivated, and as soon as the second leaves ap- 

 pear, work in a little nitrate of soda near the roots, but beware 

 of letting it touch them ! Use every device you can think of 

 to make them grow quickly. Then they will be crisp ; other- 

 wise they will be tough and corky. 



Winter radishes are sown in July or August. They are to 

 be pulled up before. the severe frosts come, and stored in sand. 

 They can be freshened up by being put in cold water for an 

 hour before they are required for the table. It is a common 

 thing to have radish plants alternate with lettuce in a garden. 



Radishes are wonderfully free from pests. The only real 

 nuisance is the root maggot. When that does infest the soil, 

 there is almost no getting rid of it, so it must be starved out. 



Radishes will be relished at any -meal ; breakfast is no ex- 

 ception. Then, too, they always make a table look so pretty. 

 They may be thinly peeled or not, as one chooses, or they 

 are sometimes cut part way down toward the root end, to 



