Illustrated and DescriiotiYe Catalcrae 



GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR CULTIVATION. 



J^^The Terms axid Prices of Vegetable Seeds will be found in the Retail Price lost, in 

 the last part of this Catalog-ue. 



ARTICHOKE. 



French. Artichaut. — German, Artischoke. 

 Lax^e Globe. — The garden Artichoke is esteemed 

 a great luxury by epicures. 

 The edible portion is the 

 undeveloped flower head, 

 which is only fit for use 

 before it begins to open its 

 bloom ; it is about the size 

 and somewhat the shape of 

 a small pine apple. 



Culture. — Sow early in 

 spring, in drills an inch and 

 a half deep, and one foot 

 apart. When about ten 

 inches high transplant into 

 permanent beds composed 

 of three-quarters decom- 

 posed manure and one- 

 quarter leached ashes. 

 They should stand in rows 

 four feet apart, and three 

 feet apart in the row. They 

 will produce heads the first 

 year from summer till fall, 

 and from spring till the 

 middle of summer annually 

 thereafter. When the head 

 is cut, the stalk should be 

 cut close to the root. A 

 bed will continue in good 

 bearing for about five years. 

 Jertisalem. — This vari- 

 ety is cultivated for its tu- 

 bers, which are produced 

 in great abundance. They are used in every way that 

 the potato is, and sometimes pickled like the cucumber, 

 and again sliced and eaten raw, as a salad. They are 

 propagated from the tubers, being planted and culti- 

 vated precisely like potatoes, and are a very profitable 

 crop to raise for stock. 



ASPARAGUS. 



Fr. Asperge. — Ger. Spar gel. 

 This is a favorite vegetable with nearly all, and almost 

 every rural family has a bed of it in their garden ; there 

 is always great competition among neighbors in cutting 

 the first bunch of the season. Soak the seed twenty- 

 four hours in warm water, and sow early in the spring, 

 in drills, two inches deep, and one foot apart from row 

 to row, and keep clear of weeds by frequent hoemg. 



Jerusalem ArtichoKe. 



After the plants *are either one or two years old — the 

 former preferred — transplant them into permanent beds. 



Conover's Colossal. _ ^ A,,A^^a>. 



— A mammoth variety of 

 vigorous growth, sending 

 up from fifteen to forty 

 sprouts each year, from 

 one to two inches in di- 

 ameter. Color, deep 

 green, and crown very 

 close. 



Giant.— The old, fa- 

 vorite variety, producing 

 abundantly-. Tops green 

 or purple, according to 

 the soil in which they are 

 raised. 



CuLTURE.-The ground 

 for the beds should be 

 thoroughly trenched, 

 bur>ang in plenty of ma- . 



nure, as no more can be AsparagUS. 



applied after the beds are planted, except by surface 

 dressings ; the soil can scarcely be too rich, for the 

 sweetness and tenderness of the shoots depend on the 

 rapidity of their grov.-th. A plot of ground twenty feet 

 wide and fifty feet long will be large enough to supply 

 a moderately sized family ; over it sow one hundred 

 pounds of salt, mixing it thoroughly with the soil, to 

 the depth of four inches. Set the plants in trenches six 

 inches deep and nine inches apart, exposing them to 

 the sun as little as possible, taking care to set the crown 

 of the root two inches below the surface. Cut down the 

 stems the last of autumn, and after clearing off the 

 weeds, cover them with a dressing of manure or rich 

 compost, which is to be forked in the next spring. The 

 plants must be properly established before cutting, 

 which will require at least two seasons. 



^^"The purchase of roots will save one or two years' 

 time, which is often of great importance. These we 

 can supply, one or two years old, of the Conover's Col- 

 ossal. For prices, see Retail Price List. 



BEANS-Dwarf, Busli or Snap. 



Fr. Haricot. — Ger. Bohne. 

 Under this name are classed all the low-growing sorts, 

 called in different catalogues Busk.., Bunch., Snap., 

 String ox Dzuarf Beans. They are so extremely sens- 

 itive of frost and cold, that it is useless to plant them 

 before the middle of spring, when the ground has be- 

 come warm and light. Hoe often to stir the ground, 

 but only when dry, because earth scattered on the leaves 



