D. M. FERRY & GO'S DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 



31 



others for this purpose. Vines of medium size, but remark- 

 ably vigorous and healthy. Leaves of medium size, deeply 

 cut with a peculiar, frilled edge. Fruit of the largest size, 

 round or slightly oval, marked with irregular mottled stripes 

 of dark and light green. Outer rind or shell exceedingly hard 



and firm, resembling that of a winter squash. Flesh bright 

 red. extending to within half an inch of the rind; always 

 solid, very firm, a little coarse, but sweet and tender. An 

 excellent keeper. Seeds dark gray. 



MAM3IOTH IKON CL,AD.— Similar in marking and in 

 general character to the Kolb's Gem, possessing the same 

 good qualities of the fruit, and quite as coarse grained, but 

 differing in shape, this being long and cylindrical, like the 

 Rattlesnake. The vines are also very large and coarse, and 

 are late in coming into bearing, so that it does not succeed in 

 heavy soils. 



MOUNTAIN SWEET.— A large, oval variety; rind 

 green ; flesh scarlet and quite solid to the center, very sweet 

 and delicious. This is an old standard sort and one of the 

 best for the home garden. 



MOUNTAIN SPROUT.— A large, long, striped variety, 

 with bright, scarlet flesh and drab colored seeds; it differs 

 from the Mountain Sweet in color and shape, is rather late, 

 and will keep longer in the fall. 



ORANGE.- An oval melon, skin green; flesh scarlet, of 

 good quality, and is peculiar in that the flesh may be easily 

 separated from the rind like an orange. 



ICE CREAM.— Medium sized, with scarlet flesh, and 

 very sweet; a good variety for main crop. 



CITRON.-Employed in making preserves. Grows uni- 

 formly round and smooth, striped and marbled with light 

 green. Flesh white and solid; seeds red. 



MUSHROOM. 



Agaricus Campestris. 

 The Mushroom is an edible fungus, of a white color, chang- 

 ing to a brown when old. The gills are loose, of a pinkish-red, 

 changing to liver color. It produces no seed, but instead, a 

 white, fibrous substance in broken thi-eads, called spawn, 

 which is preserved in horse manure, being pressed in the 

 form of bricks. Thus prepared it will retain its vitality for 

 years. 



Mushroom Bed. 

 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 temperature of about 

 .0 degrees, mixed with an equal weight of fresh sod loam, is 

 made mto beds the size required, eight inches deep. See to 

 It that the bed is packed very solidly and evenly. In this 

 bed plant the broken pieces of spawn six inches apart, cover- 

 uig the whole with two inches of light soil, and protect from 

 rold and rain. One brick will plant eight to ten square feet 

 of bed. The mushrooms will appear in about six weeks. 

 >\ citer sparingly and with lukewarm water. 



MUSTA^RD. 



Fi'ench, Mouiard. German, Senf. 



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 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. 



AVHITE ENGLISH — The leaves are light green, mild 

 and tender when young; seed light yellow. 



JSA.STURTIUM. 



French, Capucine. German, 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. The 

 flower buds, scarcely formed, and the green seed pods pre- 

 served in vinegar, make a pickle greatly esteemed by many. 



For other varieties see Floiver Seeds. 



OKRA.. 



French, Gombo. German, 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 mak- 

 ing 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 they can be 

 used for soup at any time. 



Culture.— Sow the seed thinly 

 in dry, warm soil, in shallow 

 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 continue to grow. 

 Gather the pods when quite 

 green, and about an inch and a 

 half long. 



WHITE VELVET.— This 

 variety is a great improvement 

 on the old White or the Green. 

 The plant is of medium height, 

 bearing a large crop of white, 

 smooth, tender pods, which 

 retain their tenderness until nearly full sized. 



DWARF WHITE The longest podded variety. Two 



feet high, very productive; mature pods a foot long, very 

 thick and fleshy. 



HiTE Velvet. 



OAJOA. 



French, Ognon. German, Ziciehehi. 

 The onion not only contains considerable nutriment and 

 has valuable medicinal iiroperties. but is most useful in 

 counteracting the bad effects of sedentary life. The dis- 

 agreeable odor it imparts to the breath may be avoided in a 

 great measure by thorough cooking, or by eating a few 

 leaves of parsley. 



HOW TO RAISE ONIONS. 



This is a question we are asked nuiny times every year, and 

 which we will try to answer from our experience in raising 

 many thousands of bushels. 



Soil.— A good crop of o;iions can be raised on any soil 

 which will produce a full crop of corn, unless it be a stiff' 

 clay, very light sand or grhvel. or certain varieties of muck 

 or swamp lands. We prefer a rich, sandy loam, with a light 

 mixtm-e of clay. This is much better if it has been cultivated 

 with hoed crops, kept clean of weeds and well manured for 

 two years previous, because if a sufficient quantity of manure 

 to raise an ordinary soil to a pn^per degree of fertility is 

 applied at once, it is likely to'nuike the onions soft. Large 

 and fine crops of onions are often raised on black nmck 

 lands, but they nmst be ''sweet'' and well drained. Ordi- 

 nary swamp lantl will not do and even (»n the best of muck 

 the'first crop is apt to be soft and " necky." 



