February 1906 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



21 



Edible podded peas are ready to pick when the 

 peas are just beginning to form ; about eight weeKs 

 from planting. They are very sugary 



less any rule for cooking red ones would be 

 equally satisfactory for yellow tomatoes. 

 Ours have always been particularly fair, 

 large and sound. 



BLACK MEXICAN SWEET CORN 



Black corn is a striking sight to anyone 

 who has not seen it before. Ours caused 

 considerable comment among our friends. 

 It is suitable for a small garden, because it is 

 very productive but does not take up much 

 space. The stalks are short and slim and can 

 be* planted close together. Good returns will 

 be obtained in a spot where corn of a ranker 

 growth could not be accommodated. It is 

 one of the sweetest kinds, and bears a good- 

 sized ear for a small growing sort. On May 

 8th we sowed a row thirty feet long. Al- 

 though it was a very dry season the seed 

 sprouted so thickly that we had to thin out to 

 keep it from growing too close. We trans- 

 planted enough to make eight hills. In spite 

 of the fact that this was done more than five 

 weeks after sowing, when some of the corn 

 was a half yard high, it did not appear to be 

 injured by its removal, and came into bearing 

 only a week later than that in the original 

 row. The result would not have been so 

 satisfactory if we had not taken precautions, 

 such as transplanting when the soil was damp 

 from recent heavy rain, and also shielding 

 the plants for several days from the sun. The 

 black corn in the original row was in tassel 

 just two months from the date of sowing, and 

 three weeks afterward, July 28th, we picked 

 the first ears. The bearing season lasted a 

 month, and the yield from the thirty-foot row 

 was seventy ears. We picked as many as 

 twenty ears in a day, and that after the corn 

 had been in bearing for two weeks. The 

 stalks stood six or eight inches apart in the 

 row. 



Corn is hungry for both food and culti- 

 vation. A handful of commercial fertilizer 

 rich in nitrogen is a good addition to the 



hill when planting. Our black corn was 

 slightly troubled with "smut." Knowing 

 there was "no remedy that will not kill the 

 plant also," we broke off the parts of the 

 stalks affected and burned them, and also 

 burned the whole planting after the season 

 was over, for fear of spreading the disease 

 another season. The crows also troubled us 

 until we covered the corn with old chicken 

 wire so they could not scratch it up. Another 

 way to circumvent these pests is to put the 

 corn in coal tar and then give it a dusting of 

 plaster. 



LEMON CUCUMBER 



The lemon cucumber was a suspicious 

 novelty until we tasted it. Now it has a per- 

 manent place on our lists. Of all the many 

 varieties of cucumbers raised in our garden 

 none have had a finer flavor than the lemon 

 cucumber. There is a strong resemblance 

 to its namesake in its size, shape and color. 

 It has a thin skin, the crispness, tender- 

 ness and sweetness are all that could be 





A good sort of sweet corn for the small garden is 

 BlacK Mexican, because it does not maKe a ranK 

 growth, and is productive. Some people object to its 

 color 



The lemon cucumber, round and pale yeiiow, 

 can be cheerfully recommended for the small garden. 

 It is tender, sweet and of a desirable flavor 



desired, and it seems to lack the bitterness of 

 the common cucumber. We made two 

 sowings, the second week in June and the 

 second week in July. Doubtless earlier 

 sowings would have done equally well. It is 

 attractive in appearance for using sliced, 

 whole or as pickles. The best time for pick- 

 ing is just as it turns yellow. It requires 

 rich mellow soil and good cultivation. All 

 cucumbers grow best in cool, moist weather, 

 but a touch of frost kills them. The vines 

 always make a good growth at the end of the 

 summer ; in order to take advantage of this it 

 is well to make a sowing late in June for fall 

 bearing. Earlier sowings will do well if they 

 can be shaded by planting between corn or 

 similar crops. The vines are very sensitive 

 and will not bear bruising, so that the fruit 

 should be cut with a sharp knife, not pulled 

 or twisted from the stem. They will produce 

 longer if none is allowed to ripen. Those for 

 the table should be picked early in the morn- 



Kohlrabi, a deep rooted cabbage is one of the 

 most useful vegetables for the amateur; it matures 

 early, is hardy, and economical of space. Best when 

 used young and tender 



ing, because they are superior in quality to 

 those gathered under the heat of the sun and 

 will keep much longer. The first month 

 after sowing is the time to watch for cucum- 

 ber enemies, after that the vine can take 

 care of itself better. Frames of wire netting 

 or old window screens are a help in keeping 

 off the bugs; tobacco stems are also good for 

 this purpose. Ashes finely sifted will discour- 

 age the black fly; this must be applied when 

 the plants are wet with dew, or radishes 

 sowed in the same hill will attract the flies 

 from the cucumbers. 



EDIBLE COW PEA 



Another queer vegetable that was good 

 eating was the edible cow pea. It was al- 

 most impossible to tell, from the looks and 

 taste of the shelled and cooked peas, whether 

 they resembled peas or beans the more closely. 

 The vine and pods were decidedly like beans, 

 while the blossom was like that of a pea vine, 

 only larger and gayer in color, being both 

 purple and yellow. A bunch of the flowers 

 would be taken for some new and attractive 

 sort of sweet pea. The pods are long and 

 thick-set, some containing as many as twenty 

 good-sized pea beans. The vine makes a 

 slighter growth than the ordinary pole bean, 

 so that a three-foot trellis made of chicken 

 wire gave them sufficient room for climbing. 

 We sowed them April 2 2d, but did not try to 

 use them young; they were full-sized early 

 in September. A part of the crop is to be 

 used dry as a winter vegetable. Be sure not 

 to sow until the ground is warm; the cul- 

 tivation is the same as for any ordinary garden 

 crop. 



A vegetable that resembles the cow pea in 

 every particular except that the pod is on a 

 larger scale is the asparagus bean. Those 

 on our vines grew to ten inches in length and 

 a quarter of an inch in width. 



The yellow-fruited tomatoes are as prolific as the 

 commoner red ones, are less acid and more sugary. 

 They do not looK as rich however 



