1454 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



Okra Gumbo 



1 chicken; 



1 onion; 



One-lialf pod of red pepper, without the 

 seeds; 



2 pints of okra, or about 50 pods; 

 2 large slices of ham; 



1 hay leaf; 



1 sprig of thyme or parsley; 



1 tahlespoonful each of lard and but- 

 ter; 



Salt and cayenne to taste. 



Clean and cut up the chicken. Cut the 

 ham into small squares or dice and chop 

 the onion, parsley and thyme. Skin the 

 tomatoes and chop fine, savmg the juice. 

 Wash and stem the okras and slice into 

 thin layers of one-half inch each. Put 

 the lard and butter into the soup kettle 

 and when hot add the chicken and the 

 ham. Cover closely and let it simmer 

 for about ten minutes. Then add the 

 chopped onions, parsley, thyme and to- 

 matoes, stirring frequently to prevent 

 scorching. Then add the okras, and 

 when well browned add the juice of the 

 tomatoes, which imparts a superior 

 flavor. The okra is very delicate and is 

 liable to scorch if not stirred frequently. 

 For this reason many Creole cooks fry 

 the okras separately in a frying pan, sea- 

 soning with the pepper, cayenne and salt, 

 and then add them to the chicken. 

 Equally good results may be obtained 

 with less trouble by simply adding the 

 okra to the frying chicken and watching 

 constantly to prevent scorching. The 

 least taste of a "scorch" spoils the flavor 

 of the gumbo. When well fried and 

 browned, add about 3 quarts of boiling 

 water and set on the back of the stove 

 to simmer for about an hour longer. 

 Serve hot with nicely boiled rice. Round 

 steak may be substituted for chicken, 

 but it must be borne in mind that the 

 chicken gumbo is the best flavored. 



Another recipe for okra gumbo which 

 is very similar to the one just preceding, 

 the manipulation being practically the 

 same, is as follows: 



1 quart of tomatoes, sliced; 



2 pounds of good beef, cut in small 

 pieces; 



2 quarts of okras, sliced; 



4 tablespoonfuls of butter; 



One-half pound of corned ham or pork, 

 cut up; 



Small piece of red pepper, without the 

 seeds; 



Spray of parsley. 



Okra Salad 



Boil the young okra pods whole. When 

 cold, dress with vinegar, salt and pepper, 



or, if preferred, use plain French dress- 

 ing and serve very cold. This is a most 

 delightful summer salad, the okra being 

 very cooling. 



Boiled Okra 



1 quart of young okra; 



1 tahlespoonful of vinegar; 



Salt and pepper to taste. 



Wash the okra well in cold water and 

 place in a porcelain or agate saucepan. 

 Add a pint of water and a teaspoonful 

 of salt. Cover the saucepan and let the 

 okra simmer for about half an hour. 

 Place in a dish, season with salt and 

 pepper, pour over the okra a tahlespoon- 

 ful of tarragon vinegar and set to cool. 

 Serve as a salad with roast meats, etc. 

 Baked (jrumbo 



Place a thin layer of rice in a baking 

 dish, add a layer of sliced okra, then a 

 layer of sliced tomatoes; add salt, pep- 

 per, a little currie and a small lump of 

 butter. Repeat with alternate layers of 

 rice, okra and tomatoes until the dish 

 is filled. Cover and bake in the oven 

 until the rice is thoroughly cooked. Re- 

 move cover and brown on top. Serve in 

 the baking dish. The rice should be 

 washed in cold water before using, and 

 the okra pods and tomatoes washed and 

 sliced rather thinly. 



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"itra it lit 



Meocosmospora vasinfecta (Atkinson) 

 Eew. Smith 

 This is one of the cotton wilts and is 

 due to a fungus which attacks the plants 

 under all varieties of climatic conditions. 

 It is a soil fungus which persists in spite 

 of severe temperature changes. Plants 

 in sandy soils seem to be affected more 

 than in heavier soils. 



Control 



No adequate control measure has been 

 worked out for this disease and the selec- 

 tion of resistant varieties is the only 

 suggestion made. 



Literature 



Duggar. Fungus Diseases of Plants. 



OKRA PESTS 

 Tlie Japanese or Mexican Wax Scale 



Geroplasfes ceriferns (Anderson) 

 Oeneral Appearance 

 The adults look like lumps of dough 

 stuck to the branches. The body proper 

 is black and about the size of a garden 

 pea, with a prominent posterior tubercle 

 or pygidium. The waxy covering is very 

 thick, making the diameter of the scale 



