36 



OUR WIDE-AWAKE GARDENERS. 



and therefore, while it is not so well suited for extra 

 early crops as soils of lighter and more sandy texture, 

 it is less adapted to general and late crops, and with 

 these I have good success. 



Of wax-beans we have tried almost all the new varie- 

 ties, and find Landreth's Scarlet and Yosemite Mam- 

 moth the best two for general culture. Their pods are 

 showy and tender, and the plants extremely productive. 

 Saddleback is a very tender variety, very productive, 

 free from rust, but not so showy as the preceding, and 

 therefore not so good for market. Burpee's Perfection 

 has tender, large, showy pods, and is fairly productive, 

 on sandy soil proving one of the best. Pink-eye 

 is one of the best wax-beans for fall culture, being 

 much sought after for pickling purposes. The pods are 

 of medium size, very crisp and tender, and the plant 

 is very productive. Blue-podded butter-bean is dis- 

 tinct and ornamental, at the same time very tender and 

 juicy. Its color, however, a deep blue, is against its 

 sale as a wax-bean. 



Green-podded bush-beans are not so much in de- 

 mand as the wax-podded varieties except for pickling, 

 and for use before the wax kinds mature. 



Early Warwick is probably the earliest good variety 

 in cultivation ; it is stringless, of good flavor and very 

 productive. Extra Early Refugee is an improvement 

 on the old variety ; it has all the good qualities of the 

 old, but comes much earlier to maturity. 



Extra-early Round-podded Valentine is also an ex- 

 cellent sort ; tender, well-flavored, and very prolific. 



Henderson's dwarf Lima with me is about ten days 

 earlier than the pole Limas, and very prolific ; but it is 

 not so well-flavored as the large Limas. Burpee's bush 

 Lima, however being a form of the large Lima, is a de- 

 cfded acquisition, and one of the most valuable addi- 

 tions recently made among vegetables. It is of dwarf 

 habit, prolific, and as fine-flavored as the large Limas. 



Among Tomatoes of the early fair-sized varieties 

 of recent introduction. Early Ruby and Atlantic Prize 

 are the best. When growing side by side, they show 

 little if any difference. They appear to be identical, but 

 under either name, the tomato is a good one for early 

 market. Owing to its weak growth it can be planted 

 much closer together than the strong-growing kinds. 

 The fruit is large, bright red, setting early, the whole 

 crop maturing pretty near at one time. It is of little 

 use for main crop. Ignotum is one of the best for 

 general crop ; it is of good size, striking color, very pro- 

 lific, and producing good fruit to the end of the season. 

 Henderson's 400 is of enormous size, but deeply fur- 

 rowed, and while very solid and of fair flavor, too large 

 and rough for market. Stone is an excellent late vari- 

 ety ; large-, solid, smooth and ripening evenly to the 

 stem. It very much resembles Brandywine in every 

 particular. Both are good and worthy of general cul- 

 ture. I find McCoUum's Hybrid also an excellent sort 

 for main crop — very productive of fruit that is large, 

 solid and free from spot. Table Queen we have only 

 grown on a small scale, but it is one of the most prom- 



ising of the large-fruiting kinds, being smoother than 

 most of the extra large varieties. 



Extra large tomatoes are not so desirable as medium- 

 sized ones. Some of Livingston's varieties, such as 

 Beauty and Favorite, have no equals for a general 

 crop. They are invariably smooth, uniform in size, 

 and of fine flavor, producing fruit to the end of the sea- 

 son. If we had a variety as early as Early Ruby, as 

 perfect in form, color and productiveness as Acme, and 

 free from spot, we would think that perfection had been 

 about reached, as we now view the desirable qualities. 



Ohio. Mansfield Milton. 



MR. NICHOL WANTS EXPERIMENTS IN FORCING TOMATOES 

 FOR FIELD CULTURE. 



The man who would be up with the times in garden- 

 ing must be on the watch for improved methods and 

 varieties. If he is not satisfled that a new introduc- 

 tion is good, he must be prepared to test it in his own 

 grounds, but he should never drop a certainty for an 

 uncertainty. 



We had heard, read and seen something of the "new 

 onion-culture," and therefore tried it, and find it a 

 success, and profitable. We intend to enlarge our beds 

 another season. 



How about setting out tomatoes in the field by the 

 middle of May, and gathering ripe fruit by the middle 

 of June ? This is being done, and can be done in our 

 latitude, even on the acre scale. We wish our experi- 

 ment stations would give us field-growers the benefit 

 of "tomato forcing" for field culture, as well as for 

 " winter-house forcing." 



On acres of the Stone tomato last season, we 

 gathered nearly 1,000 bushels, and many bushels of 

 green ones were left when frost came. Among rad- 

 ishes we were much pleased with the new White 

 Pearl Forcing. Fordhook squash is good, but too 

 small. This is also the case with the Henderson bush 

 Lima bean. 



Those things that have proved a success, we are apt 

 to follow up ; those that have failed we drop. Our fail- 

 ures in gardening we attribute largely to procrastina- 

 tion — putting off until to-morrow what should have 

 been done to-day ; promptness is a prime necessity. 



Ohio. A. NiCHOL. 



ON FORCING RADISHES. 



One of the first vegetables that we crave in the spring 

 is the radish, and as it is of easiest culture, every 

 family can have it crisp and tender, and in abundance. 

 A few square feet will supply a family the year around. 



All that you need are two or three hotbed sashes and 

 a few boards for a coldframe. Make these beds snug 

 and tight. The soil should be made rich by mixing in 

 plenty of well-rotted stable manure. Be sure to add a 

 little sharp sand also ; this is important, for the radish 

 likes a rich, sandy soil. A frame can be planted with 

 radish in this vicinity late in February. Plant in rows 

 about six or eight inches apart ; never allow them to 

 remain thick in the row after sprouting. It is at this 



