THB KITCHEN-GAEDEN. 23 



about six inches deep of old rotten dung ; throw thereon about four 

 inches of earth, and mix the dung and earth well with the spade ; after 

 which draw more earth over the mixture, so as to form a circular hill 

 about afoot broad at top. When your hills are all prepared, plant in each, 

 toward the center, eight or ten seeds, half an inch deep and a few inches 

 ■ apart. As' soon as the plants have made two rough leaves, thin them 

 out, leaving only four to each hill. When each has made four or five 

 rough leaves, pinch the point of each shoot to make the plants branch 

 out and fruit earlier. It also strengthens the vines. Earth up the vines 

 thin,'and teep free of weeds. Cotton-batting laid loosely over the young 

 plants, the edges covered with earth, is the best known protection from 

 the striped bug. It also protects them from frosts and cold winds. 



Water-Melons. — The culture is the same as the musk-melon, except 

 that they require planting at greater distances. You should leave but 

 one plant in a hill, and should till the ground between the plants while 

 they are growing, until it be covered by the vines. If the plants stand 

 too close, the vines will be weak, and fruit small, thick-rinded, and poor as 

 to flavor. 



Okra, — The green capsules of this plant are used in soup, stews, etc., 

 to which they impart a rich flavor, and are considered nutritious. Its 

 ripe seed, if burned and ground like coffee, can scarcely be distinguished 

 therefrom. 



This seed should be planted in good, rich ground, the first or second 

 week in May, if settled warm weather, but not otherwise, as it is a very 

 tender vegetable. Draw drills about an inch deep, and three or four 

 feet asunder, into which drop the seed at the distance of six or eight 

 inches from each other, or rather drop two or three in each place, lest 

 the one should not grow, and cover them nearly an inch deep. As the 

 plants advance in growth, thin them out, earth them up two or three 

 times, and they will produce abundantly. 



Onion, — Varieties : New England ■vjhite, large red, yellow or silver- 

 skinned, yellow Dutch, Strasburgh or Flanders, Madeira, potato. 



Of the several varieties of onions, the yellow, or silver-skinned, and 

 large red, are the best for a general crop. The bulbs are handsome, of 

 a firm growth, and keep well through the winter. The New England 

 white are handsome for the table, and very suitable for pickling, as well 

 as to pull while young,, and generally prove a very profitable crop. 



The soil cannot be too rich for this vegetable, nor can it well be 

 planted too early in the spring. Indeed, fall planting (see article Fall 

 Planting) is generally best. When grown from segd, they should be 

 often lightly hoed, never earthed up, and evenly thinned to eight inches 

 in the row. Yet the best method is the following : sow the onions any 

 time between April and the middle of June, in drills six inches apart, 

 and put the seed very thick along the drills. Let all the plants stand, 

 and they will get to be about as big round as the top of your little finger. 

 Then the leaves will get yellow, and when that is the case, pull up the 

 onions and lay them on a board till the sun has withered up the leaves. 

 Then take these diminutive onions, put them in a bag, and hang them 

 up in a dry place till spring. As soon as the frost is gone, and the 

 ground dry, plant out these onions in good and fine ground, in rows of a 



