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THE ILLINOIS FARMER. 



137 



us 



THE GARDENER. 



Garden vegetables will be late in matar- 

 ing this season. Many of the seeds sown 

 early will be lost, and perhaps even the 

 second sowing. Most varieties, however, 

 do well planted any time in May or the first 

 half of June. The ground is now warm 

 and the temperature such as to force their 

 rapid growth. If the weather should con- 

 tinue favorable, the latest planted gardens 

 will be the best. There is now ample time 

 to plant the seeds of cucumbers, melons, 

 squashes, beets, beans, corn, lettuce, okra, 

 peas, radishes, aaisify, spinach, turnips ;T?ab- 

 bage plants for. winter use can be put in the 

 three first weeks of June. 



Hoeing and stirring the ground about 

 vegetables, greatly accelerate their growth. 

 The man who hoed his cabbages once a day 

 to beat his neighbor, was surprised to find 

 that the plants of the latter kept ahead of 

 his own. The secret was his neighbor hoed 

 his twice a day. 



Gahdex Peas. — Persons are not general- 

 ly aware, that these peas produce well when 

 sown broadcast. At this season, they should 

 be covered in the earth at least three inches. 

 \ This could be done by the cultivator. "We 

 know of no better and profitable crop than 

 a good patch of peas of the better sorts— a 

 good supply of which could be gathered 

 near nigh<^ and brought to market early in 

 the morning. In England, all peas are 

 sown broadcast. The old white marrowfat, 

 the dwarf marrowfat, blue Prussian and 

 Champion of England, would be degirable 

 peas for broadcast sowing, for' market pur- 

 poses. 



-—*- 



Onions. — We are informed thdt Messrs. 

 Francis 3: Barrell, at their 'seed store, in 

 Springfield, eince spring opened, have sold 

 nearly 500 pounds of onion seed. With 

 the exception of some fifty pounds of White 

 Portugal and Yellow Silver Skin, this seed 

 has all been of the variety known as the 

 large Wethersfield Red. We have heard 

 from some of the sowings, and the onions 

 have come up and are doing well. . If the 



Garden Beans. — If the season favors, ' 

 the early sorts can be planted as late as 

 July. The Refugee Bean, which has a full 

 fleshy pod, if grown late, can be made into 

 an excellent pickle. 



To Grow Tomatoes. — A writer in the 

 American Farmer says, that "when the 

 plants have grovsin sufiSciently long to tie to 

 the trellis, I select two or three of the 

 strongest shoots and tie them loosely to the 

 trellis, cutting away all other small laterals 

 which mav sirow on the main branches. I 

 let these main branches grow until they 

 have come in flower and set the first bunch 

 of fruit; then I pinch out the top, one joint 

 above ttie fruit, le^^ving the leaf entire. I 

 then ail ow it to go on again until it has 

 flowered., and set another bunch of fruit, 

 when tl le top is pinched out one leaf above 

 the bur ich, the same as the first, and so on 

 of all the rest, taking care to cut out all the 

 lateralis which may grow on the main 

 brandies down to the axels of the leaves, as 

 often as they ar« produced, but leaving the 

 leave s entire." 



The same writer goes on to say that "any 

 pers on who will take this little extra trouble 

 wilL be amply repaid and absolutely astonish- 

 ed at the immense clusters of fine large 

 toi natoes he will have. If planted in a 

 fauorable situation, they will ripen at least 

 as early as those grown any other way out 

 of doors, and frequently three days ottt 



season continues favorable, oaions will be 

 plenty next fall and winter- 

 It is too late to sow onions now for a 

 general crop; but the seed can be soWn to 

 make "buttons'' for next spring's use. This 

 is done by sowing the seed very thick, so 

 that the onions cannot grow larger than a 

 good sized cherry. Should the stalks re- 

 main green in August, a small roller should 

 be passed over them of weight only enough 



to break and bend down the stalks. We 

 make this statement that our country 

 friends may supply themselves with little 

 onions, for next spring's planting, if they 

 choose to do so. 



