THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



19 



TURNIPS. 



The season for the growth of Turnips is so 

 short that they fit into a garden nicely as a 

 second crop, so that there need be scarcely 

 any vacant spots during the latter part of 

 summer. After the early Potatoes and Peas 

 have been removed, some of the varieties of 

 the Swedish Turnips (another name for im- 

 proved old-fashioned Ruta Bagas) may be 

 planted as late as the middle of July. They 

 will have ample time, if well hoed, to grow 

 to a good table size. Overgrown Turnips 

 are not desirable for the table, as they are 

 coarse and pithy. Early planted ones are 

 objectionable for the same reasons. There 

 are white and yellow varieties of Swedes, 

 nearly all globe-shaped, the Improved Amer- 

 ican, Laing's Improved, and Long White 

 French being among the best. All Turnips 

 of the Euta Baga class should be planted in 

 drills, with the plants from ten to fifteen 

 inches apart and the rows from eighteen to 

 twenty-four. 



The Flat Turnips, of which Red-Top Strap- 

 Leaf and Purple Top are the best known, as 

 well as the yellow-fleshed varieties repre- 

 sented by Yellow Aberdeen and Yellow- 

 Stone, may be sown until August. The seed 

 may be sown broadcast, but not too thick, or 



would give an increase of large, handsome 

 Onions sufficiently great to yield a profit 

 equal to the best black seed kinds. Seven 

 years ago I found such a variety, and have 



... ■'X 



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they will not bottom. Wood-ashes are excel- 

 lent manure for Turnips, and a sprinkling of 

 plaster (ground gypsum) on the young plants 

 will always give, them a fine start. In dry 

 weather, an occasional sprinkling with house 

 slops stimulates their growth. A very small 

 plot of ground may be made to yield a 

 large crop of Turnips, which may be useful 

 on the table, and are more nutritious than is 

 generally supposed. When Pota- 

 toes are high, the globe varieties of 

 Turnips, in a measure, take their 

 place, and furnish requisite vege- 

 table food. In dry weather, the 

 seed should be covered at least ; 

 half an inch deep ; when the ground 

 is moist, the seed can be covered 

 sufficiently with a garden rake. 



POTATO ONIONS, OR MULTI- 

 PLIERS." 



I notice that the editor of The 

 American Garden is quoted in 

 the ' ' Tribune " as saying that the . 

 fault of this variety of Onion is that 

 theyare not good keepers. Ibelieve 

 that there is more than one "variety " of the 

 Multiplier, or Potato Onion. In fact, I know 

 there is. For many years I tried without 

 to find an Onion of this class that 



CLUMP OF POTATO ONIONS. 



grown it extensively ever since. This variety, 

 properly handled, is by far the best keeping- 

 Onion that is grown. They are ripe for har- 

 vest in this latitude (forty-five degrees N. ) 

 July 15th. When gathered carefully, dried 

 under cover, bunched upon wisps of straw 

 in peck bunches, and hung in a cool, dry cel- 

 lar, they will certainly keep a year, and, I 

 believe, much longer. In fact, when so man- 

 aged, they never sproiit until put in the 

 ground, or otherwise subjected to moisture. 

 As to rotting, if well ripened, well cured, 

 and not kept in a warm place, rotting never 

 occurs except as a consequence of bruising. 

 But Onions bruise easily. To insure such 

 perfect keeping as I speak of, every Onion 

 nmst be handled like an egg. The work 

 must be intrusted only to reliable help. The 

 Onions must not be thrown about in pulling, 

 or dumped from baskets, barrows, or carts 

 in housing. An Onion dropped two feet 

 upon a hard floor is spoiled for keeping over 

 winter. If these precautions are observed, 

 the largest stock, bunched and hung to the 

 cellar beams as above mentioned, will win- 

 ter perfectly. My losses will not average 

 two per cent, from all causes. The small 

 Onions keep equally well spread upon well- 

 ventilated shelves, not over three inches 

 deep, in the sand-cellar. In color they resem- 

 ble the Danvers, but are a shade darker. In 

 size they equal or exceed that variety, but 

 are flatter than the best type. In quality 

 they are excellent. Well cultivated, the' 



10SS CURLED 



LETTUCE MILDEW. 



The market-gardeners in several localities 

 have suffered more or less from the attacks 

 of this fungus pest, which, in its methods of 

 working and microscopic structure, is very 

 much like the grape mildew, a description of 

 which is given on another page of this num- 

 ber. Its damaging effect, especially on early 

 forced Lettuce, has been so serious that, in 

 some cases, the growth of Lettuce lias been 

 abandoned because of its destructive preva- 

 lence At present it is not much known 

 outside of the market-gardens in the neigh- 

 borhood of large cities, where Lettuce has 

 been grown upon the same ground for a num- 

 ber of years. There is but little to suggest 

 in the way of remedies. There is an objec- 

 tion to using Flowers of Sulphur, as the foli- 

 age is the portion to be dusted and also that 

 which is eaten. Lime sprinkled upon the 

 affected plants has proved of considerable 

 value in some cases. If a soil upon which 

 Lettuce has been grown for a time has be- 

 come foul, so to speak, it had better be 

 planted to some other crop, and the pest 

 eradicated 1 >v starvation. 



yield is about twelve-fold. There is no 

 waste, every bulb being perfect for seed or 

 market. I need not say that I esteem this 

 variety highly. 



RED-TOP STRAP-LEAVED TURNI 



The usual time for sowing Parsley for 

 market purposes is early spring. The seed 

 is then sown hi a. deep, rich, loamy soil, 

 and as it is very slow in coming up, a few 

 Radish seeds are generally sown with it, 

 which, sprouting quickly, mark the rows bet- 

 ter and facilitate early cultivation. The tops 

 are cut off in June and again in 

 September. During November the 

 roots are dug and heeled in thickly 

 in cold frames for early winter, 

 and in shallow trenches for later 

 use. 



In a small way, for family use, 

 Parsley may be sown in shallow 

 boxes, say four to five inches 

 deep, or in flower-pots, as late as 

 August. Where there is a green- 

 house, the space under the front 

 staging is the best place for these 

 during winter; otherwise they 

 may be kept in a light cellar or 

 near a kitchen window, where, 

 with an occasional application 

 of liquid manure, the plants will 

 thrive splendidly and afford several cut- 

 tings during winter. The "Moss Curled" 

 is the most desirable variety for gar- 

 nishing. 



