166 
AMERICAN HOMES 
AND GARDENS May, rg1i 
The growing crop of mustard and cress 
Salad at any Time of the Year 
By S. Leonard Bastin 
MIE RE are few things in the household more 
prized than a supply of fresh salad. In 
the town residence, and it is to be feared 
in a good many country places as well, 
the regular use of greenstuff is not the 
recognized feature which it should be. Of 
course, everything depends upon the ma- 
terial being newly gathered, and nowadays, when the city 
dwellers must depend so much upon the shops, this is not an 
easy matter. By a little arranging, however, it will be possible 
to scheme so that a regular supply of salad may be secured, 
not only in the summer, but practically throughout the 
whole year. ‘The method of culture which is outlined in 
the following paragraphs can be carried out in almost any 
situation; indeed the average living-room is well suited for 
the purpose. 
The particular greenstuff which it is so easy to grow is 
the ever popular ‘‘mustard and cress.” In all the salads 
which are available for the table there are not any more 
acceptable than the tender leaves of the bright, green seed- 
lings. The old-fashioned manner of producing mustard 
and cress was to sow the seed on the garden bed or perhaps 
in boxes of soil, but this has been entirely superseded by 
the modern method. No earth or similar medium is re- 
quired at all, and the culture throughout is so clean that 
even the most fastidious will find nothing to offend. 
In order to get ready for the production of the salad it 
is first of all necessary to construct a frame-work of wood. 
This should be made of 
four pieces about two inches 
deep, and rather thin 
in proportion, tacked to- 
gether im the form’ of a 
square or an oblong. For 
those who wish ‘to save 
themselves the trouble of 
making a frame it may be 
pointed out that excellent 
substitutes are to be found 
in the sides of wooden 
sweet boxes, when the bot- 
toms have been knocked 
out. It may be well to 
strengthen the frame some- 
what in this instance by the 
addition of a few tacks to 
those already in place. In 
The seeds should be well watered 
order that a succession of crops may be obtainable it is wise 
to construct several of these frames, so that a number can 
be in use at the same time. 
The next step will be to secure some large pieces of flan- 
nel. ‘This material should be of good quality, rather thick 
in texture, and if it is not new, it must be strong and in good 
order. The pieces of flannel should be cut to allow a 
good inch all round beyond the size of the frames. Now 
get some strong twine, and after stretching the flannel 
over the frames tie the cloth round the woodwork, in the 
manner shown in an accompanying illustration. ‘The flan- 
nel should be quite tightly strained over the frame, and as 
this is rather difficult to do, it may be useful to indicate a 
different method. ‘This is only applicable when new flannel 
is being used and the mode of procedure consists in tack- 
ing the cloth around the sides of the frame instead of tying 
with twine. Get the stuff as tight as you can, but as a final 
measure thoroughly saturate the flannel with water. When 
dry it will be found that the shrinking of the cloth will have 
tightened it up so that it is almost like the surface of a drum. 
Mustard and cress seed is to be obtained at any garden 
store. The seeds are sold separately, and a few cents will 
command a sufficient quantity to make a good start in the 
growing of the salad. The germination of cress seed is a 
comparatively slow process when compared with the rate 
at which the mustard will come to perfection. On this ac- 
count the cress, the seeds of which are the small brown ones, 
should be sown first. Take one of your frames which has 
the flannel in position and 
sprinkle the surface of the 
cloth with water. Now 
with a small spoon take a 
quantity of the seed and 
scatter it rather thickly 
over the flannel, trying to 
spread it as evenly as pos- 
sible. If the starting of 
the seeds is wanted to take 
place quickly the frame 
should be removed to a 
dark cupboard; it is a well 
established scientific fact 
that seeds always germinate 
more rapidly when light is 
absent. The matter of 
temperature is of some im- 
portance and a fairly warm 
