THE CULTURE OF VEGETABLES. 



excellent. The very 

 earliest are Extra Early 

 Milan and Dwarf 

 American S trapl ea f. 

 Either of these, sown 

 in April and again 

 monthly or more fre- 

 quently during Ihe 

 summer in small 

 quantities, will furnish 

 an admirable supply for 

 all ordinary require- 

 ments. Then early in 

 August and again 

 towards the end of that 

 month sowings may he 

 made of the White 

 Snowball, the very best 

 of all garden Turnips, or, 

 or Golden Ball, a rich yel 

 the North, and very much 

 Eor a good late winter 



TURNir. WHITE GEM 



if desired, of the Orange Jelly 

 low-fleshed variety, popular in 

 like the Snowball otherwise. 

 :rop none is belter than Red 



Globe, the seed being sown in the third week of August, 

 as it does not grow rapidly. The plants may not he too 

 hard thinned, as only fair-sized bulbs are desirable. 

 Wherever practicable it is best to sow seed in shallow 

 drills thinly, and these should be drawn at I2in. apart. 



So arrange d the plants 

 are equally distributed 

 over the ground, and 

 thinning and hoeing 

 become very easy. 

 Snowball needs very 

 moderate thinning, as 

 the plants bulb readily. 

 When once well up, little 

 attention is needed 

 beyond frequent hoeing. 

 When in hot, dry 

 weather the tiny beetle 

 attacks the plants — and 

 close wall li should be 

 kept on them it is a 

 g ood pla n I o very 

 gently wale r o r 

 nixlure of soft soap and 

 in boiling water, then to 

 ,i ii il , lime, or line dust, as 

 Vs the winter advances 

 -nine of the largest bulbs may be pulled, trimmed, and 

 stored in sand In a cool place for use should h od frost 

 set in. Summer sowings benefit by having occasional 

 waterings, and Turnips generally are all ihe better for 

 occasional soakings with weak liquid manure. 



syringe the seedlings with a 

 quassia chips, snaked all night 

 at i nice strew over the I ireadl h 

 these keep off the insects. 



ASPARAGUS AND ITS CULTURE. 



A SPARAGUS is a native plant ;tnd perfectly hardy. It may not only be grown with com- 

 /\ parative ease, but it is the most enduring of all vegetables, as once a bed or breadth 

 / % is planted in good deep well-prepared soil, and kept properly cared for, such breadth 

 .X jL will endure for many years. Plants are easily raised from seed. If that be purchased, 

 and it is cheap, it is usually good. Those w ho have old beds may save their own seed, selecting 

 growths that are strong and produce berries profusely in the autumn. Cut a few of the 

 strongest of these berried shoots when they turn brown, place out to dry on paper, then 

 rub the berries off and mix with them dry tine sand. Storeaway for the winter in a flower-pot 

 or box, and rub the whole well together in the spring with more sand, and then sow. The 

 middle of April is the best time for seed sowing. Have prepared a piece of 

 ground in the kitchen garden, well dug and manured, also having a fine pulverised surface. 

 On this at the proper time, as mentioned, draw shallow drills with a hoe aided by 

 a garden-line, 15m. apart, and sow the seeds thinly, covering up evenly with fine soil and 

 raking off neatly. Germination takes place in about three weeks. As soon as the 

 seedlings are from 4m. to 6in. in height, run a hoe through freely between the rows 

 of plants, and also cut out the plants to 6in. apart in the rows. Then by keeping the hoe 

 freely used all the summer, the seedling plants will reach a height of from iSin. to :oin. 

 at least, and will produce strong fleshy roots. Cut off the tops when ripened in November, 

 but leave the roots untouched till the spring. Early in April is a good time to plant the 

 roots into permanent quarters. To this end the space of ground to be planted must be 

 efficiently prepared. The work must be thoroughly well done. During the winter the 

 ground allotted should be deeply trenched, throwing out the top spit of 12m., then 

 breaking up the bottom soil, a further I2in. deep, and as the bottom of each trench of 2ft. 

 width, and right across the ground, is thus broken up, a good dressing of half-decayed 

 animal manure should be forked in and mixed with it ; then after throwing in the 

 top spit from the next trench on to the preceding one, proceed to break' up 

 the bottom and manure as before. Finally, after the whole area is thus trenched, 

 wheel on to the surface yet a further dressing of manure, which spread, and add to this 

 fine crushed bone or bono dust at the rate of 2lb. per rod. Fork this dressing well in, 

 and the ground will be quite ready fur planting. To do this mark out the ground in rows, 30m. 



