D. M. FERRY & CO'S DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 41 



Culture. — Mushrooms can be grown in the cellar, in 

 sheds, or in hot-beds in open air, on shelves, or out-of- 

 the-way places. Fermenting horse manure, at a tem- 

 perature of about 70 degrees, is made into beds the size 

 required, eighteen inches deep. In this bed plant the 



Mushroom Bed. 



broken pieces of spawn six inches apart, covering the 

 whole with two inches of light soil, and protect from 

 cold and severe rains. The mushrooms will appear in 

 about six weeks. Water sparingly and with luke warm 

 water. 



MUSTHRD, 



Fr., Moutard. Ger., Sen/. 

 Mustard is not only used as a condiment, but the 

 green leaves are used as a salad or cut and boiled like 

 Spinage. 



Culture. — Should be the same as that of Cress. 



Golden. — A new and very superior sort, having broad 

 leaves of a rich, lemon color which they retain after 

 cooking. In flavor it is superior to the old sorts and is 

 also fully equal to them in hardiness. 



Southern Giant Curled. — This mustard is very 

 highly esteemed in the South, where the seed is sown in 

 the fall, and the plants used very early in the spring as 

 a salad. The seed is brown and produces plants which 

 grow about two feet high and form enormous bunches, 

 six of which will fill an ordinary barrel. 



White English. — The leaves are light green, mild 

 and tender when young; seed light yellow. 



Nasturtium. 



The flower buds, scarcely formed, and the green seed 

 pods preserved in vinegar, make a pickle greatly 

 esteemed by many. 



For other varieties see Flower Seeds. 



OKRH, 



Fr., Gombo. Ger., Ocher. 

 This is an annual from the West Indies, cultivated for 

 its green seed pods, which are used in soups or stewed 

 and served like Asparagus. It 

 is highly esteemed in the South 

 for making gumbo soup. The 

 pods when young and tender 

 should be sliced in sections, 

 strung on a thread and hung 

 up in the shade to cure like 

 dried apples; in this condition it 

 can be used for soup at any time. 



Culture. — Sow the seed 

 thinly in dry, warm soil, in shal- 

 low drills two feet apart. After 

 the plants are up, thin them 

 out to nine inches apart; hoe 

 frequently and draw a little 

 earth to the stems as they con- 

 tinue to grow. Gather the pods 

 when quite green, and about an 

 inch and a half long. 



White Velvet.— This 

 provement on the old White or the Green. The 

 plant is of medium height, bearing a large crop of 

 the white, smooth, tender pods, which retain their 

 tenderness until nearly full sized. 



Dwarf White.— The longest podded va 

 Two and a half feet high, very productive; mature 

 pods a foot long, very thick and fleshy. 



Okra. 



variety is a great im- 



Southern Giant Curled. 



NASTURTIUM. 



Fr., Capucine. Ger., Kapuziner Kress. 



Culture. — Sow after the ground is warm, in drills 

 one inch deep, by the side of a fence, trellis work, or 

 some other support, to climb upon. They will thrive in 

 good ground, in almost any situation, but are more 

 productive in a light soil. 



Tall Mixed. — Cultivated both for use and ornament. 

 Its beautiful, orange colored flowers serve as a garnish 

 for dishes, and the young leaves are excellent for salads. 



ONION. 



Fr., Ognon. Ger., Zzviebeln. 



The onion not only contains considerable nutriment 

 and has valuable medicinal properties, but is most use- 

 ful in counteracting the bad effects of sedentary life. 

 The disagreeable odor it imparts to the breath may be 

 avoided in a great measure by thorough cooking, or 

 by eating a few leaves of parsley. 



There is no vegetable where the quality of the seed 

 exerts a greater influence upon the crop than in onions. 

 On our trial grounds we have found a difference of over 

 400 per cent, in the marketable product of two rows of 



