Vegetable Varieties 143 



per cent, more than its nearest rival, Donald's EI- 

 mira. Big yield alone is frequently no recommen- 

 dation of a vegetable to the home gardener, but in 

 this instance it does make a big difference ; first, be- 

 cause Palmetto is equal to any other asparagus in 

 quality, and second, because the asparagus bed is 

 producing only a few weeks during the gardening 

 season, and where ground is limited, as in most 

 home gardens, it is important to cut this waste space 

 down as much as possible. This is for beds kept 

 in good shape and highly fed. Barr's Mammoth 

 will probably prove more satisfactory if the bed 

 is apt to be more or less neglected, for the reason 

 that under such circumstances it will make thicker 

 stalks than the Palmetto. 



Beans (dwarf): — Of the dwarf beans there are 

 three general types : the early round-podded "string" 

 beans, the stringless round-pods, and the usually 

 more flattish "wax" beans. For first early, the old 

 reliable Extra Early Red Valentine remains as 

 good as any sort I have ever tried. In good strains 

 of this variety the pods have very slight strings, and 

 they are very fleshy. It makes only a small bush 

 and is fairly productive and of good quality. The 

 care-taking planter, however, will put in only enough 

 of these first early beans to last a week or ten days, 

 as the later sorts are more prolific and of better qual- 

 ity. Burpee's Stringless Greenpod is a good second 



