22 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



[February,, 



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SEASONABLE HINTS. 



In this latitude, the market gardener's busy 

 season commences with the present month, 

 although the forehanded gardener is never 

 in want of useful employment at any season. 



Hotbeds, without which no garden can be 

 complete, unless there are forcing-houses to 

 take their place, are so inexpensive, easily 

 constructed and cared for, that to any one 

 accustomed to their use it seems almost im- 

 possible to commence the season's work 

 without their aid. Still, to judge by the 

 many inquiries about "how to make a hot- 

 bed," there seem to be a good many gardens 

 without any. The great point in making a 

 hotbed for the first time is not to stand 

 awed in contemplation before the prodigious 

 work on hand, but simply to provide a heap 

 of fresh horse-manure, fine rich soil, some 

 boards and nails, and go to work. 



The Frames may be made substantial and 

 expensive, or plain and cheap, according to 

 one's inclinations and extent of purse. The 

 success of the hotbed, however, is not gene- 

 rally dependent on the cost of its construc- 

 tion. In market-gardens the frames are 

 made in a very simple and cheap maimer. 

 Pits are dug six feet wide, two feet or 

 more deep, and of any desired length, gene- 

 rally not longer than to accommodate about 

 twenty sashes. The bottom of these excava- 

 tions is leveled, and the sides are boarded 

 up by driving stakes in the ground, and 

 nailing any kind of cheap boards against 

 them. 



For private gardens, movable frames are 

 more convenient, have a neater appearance, 

 and, in summer, after the plants have been 

 removed from the beds, may be taken up 

 and stored under a shed till wanted again. 

 A convenient size for frames is twelve feet 

 in length by five feet ten inches in width, so 

 as to accommodate four 3x6 sashes. Any 

 one who can saw a board and drive a nail 

 can make such a frame. It consists simply 

 of a box, without bottom and cover, with one 

 board of about ten inches wide in front, 

 two boards in height at the back, and side- 

 pieces of one board, five feet ten inches in 

 length, with a triangular piece, obtained by 

 sawing a board of the same size in two 

 diagonally. Every three feet, strips two or 

 three inches wide should be mortised in the 

 front and rear boards, and nailed crosswise. 

 Small posts should also be nailed in the 

 corners to strengthen the frame. 



Tho proper preparation of the heating 

 material is generally surrounded with con- 

 siderable mystery in the popular mind, and 

 forms the most discouraging feature to the 

 beginner. But, however formidable the 

 "trade-secrets" of the "professional gar- 

 dener" in this respect may appear, no one 

 needs despair of success as long as he has 

 a good heap of horso-manure to rely upon. 



Manure for hotbeds should be as fresh as 

 possible, and worked over twice before using. 

 If there is not enough fresh manure on hand, 

 a layer of older manure may bo placed on 

 the bottom of the bed. Manure obtained 

 from livery stables contains, generally, not 

 sufficient litter, and should bo mixed with 

 an equal quantity of leaves or cut straw, 

 and, if dry, well watered. 



SALSIFY. 



The Salsify or Vegetable Oyster is one of 

 the most desirable of our winter and early 

 spring vegetables, and one that should be 

 cultivated in every garden, however small. 



To those who are not acquainted with this 

 delicious esculent, it may be described as 

 having a long, white, tapering root, some- 

 what resembling a Parsnip in shape, and 

 having the flavor of an oyster when pre- 

 pared for the table. It is by some consid- 

 ered an excellent substitute for the oyster, 

 and, in addition to this, the young flower- 

 stalks, if cut in the spring of the second year, 

 are prepared and used similar to Asparagus, 

 which they somewhat resemble in taste. 



In order to obtain a satisfactory crop of 

 Salsify, with long, smooth roots, proper prep- 

 aration of the soil is an essential point. This 

 is best done by digging or plowing the soil to 

 the depth of twelve or fourteen inches, and 

 thoroughly working in an abundant supply 

 of well-decomposed stable manure. The 

 ground should be prepared in the fall, and 

 left in ridges during the winter season. As 

 soon as the weather becomes settled in the 

 spring, the ground should be neatly leveled 

 off, and the seed sown in drills from twelve to 

 eighteen inches apart, and covered to the 

 depth of half an inch. When the young 

 plants are about two or three inches in 

 height they should be well thinned out, 

 leaving them standing about six inches 

 apart. During their season of growth they 

 require to be deeply hoed, and the ground 

 should be kept mellow and free from weeds 

 at all times, until the crop is ready for use, 

 which will be about the middle of October. 

 The roots will continue good until spring; 

 but those that are wanted for winter use 

 should be taken up before cold weather sets 

 in, and stored in sand in a cool, dry cellar. 

 When lifting the roots, the leaf-stalks should 

 not be cut off closer to the crown than about 

 an inch. Those wanted for spring use may 

 be left in the ground until required; but 

 care must be taken to dig the roots before 

 they commence to grow. An ounce of seed 

 will sow about fifty feet of row. 



There is only one variety cultivated. The 

 so-called Black Oyster Plant is not a Salsify 

 at all, but a Scorzonera, which, although its 

 root resembles the former, belongs to another 

 genus. Its cultivation does not differ from 

 that of Salsify except that, as it has a ten- 

 dency to run to seed, it should be sown later. 



Charles E. Parnell. 



THE SWEET POTATO, 



Growing Sweet Potato plants for the more 

 northern section of the country has developed 

 into quite a business, and in all our large 

 towns and cities the hot-houses are largely 

 devoted to raising the sprouts and slips. 

 They are started about the first of April, and 

 their growth will largely depend upon the 

 condition of the soil and the quality of the 

 seed planted. The forcing-beds are thor- 

 oughly enriched with fertilizers, so as to 

 insure a rapid growth that will enable the 

 grower to put the plants on the market from 

 the 15th of May to the 1st of June. 



The way to plant is as follows : Cut the 

 Potato lengthwise, and put pieces, cut side 

 down, close together, in the drill previously 

 made, and cover to a depth of two or 

 three inches. The soil will need watering 

 with tepid water every few days, so that 



I there will be moisture enough for the sprouts 

 to start and grow ; but too much water must 

 be avoided, or the Potato will rot. In a 

 few weeks, if the Potatoes planted were 

 fresh, and not dried and shriveled up, the 

 sprouts will begin to show through the soil, 

 and in due time commence to grow more or 

 less rapid according to the richness of the 

 soil and the care given them. If they are 

 slow in growing, a little phosphate or guano 

 dissolved in water may be sprinkled on 

 them, but care should be taken not to put on 

 too much, since it is liable to burn the leaves. 

 Very often the grower hurries his plants 

 along so fast that they become too large 

 before the proper time for planting. One 

 should look out for this, as medium- 

 sized plants are best, and should always be 

 selected. Many of our farmers at the north 

 purchase every year from five hundred to 

 one thousand plants, so as to raise enough 

 Potatoes " for their own use." 



Usually we would select a light, sandy soil, 

 well enriched, and the fertilizers thoroughly 

 mixed with the soil. The plants are set in 

 rows three feet apart, and two feet in the 

 rows, so that a cultivator can run between 

 and loosen up the soil. Hoe the young plants, 

 but do not disturb the running vines too 

 much after they begin to cover the ground. 

 It is best, however, to stop their taking root 

 too much as it makes smaller Potatoes in 

 the hill ; but when the vines are lifted, care 

 should be taken not to break them where they 

 have taken root. 



We have grown Sw^eet Potatoes several 

 years with varying success ; some years 

 they would be large and sweet, and another 

 season they would be small and soggy. Still, 

 we would advise any one interested in them 

 to make the trial with a hundred plants or 

 so, and the experiment will be novel and in- 

 teresting to one who has never grown them, 

 while he may succeed in raising a good crop 

 of " Sweets." For northern cultivation, the 

 Early Golden has been found more productive 

 and valuable than later maturing varieties. 



E. R. Billings. 



MUSHROOMS IN CELLARS. 



Procure sufficient horse-droppings to make 

 a bed the size required, and from one foot to 

 eighteen inches deep when beaten or trod- 

 den down firmly. The bed may either be 

 made against a wall, and be flat, or in 

 ridge-shape anywhere in the cellar. The 

 manure must either have been fermented in 

 a heap, and frequently turned and inter- 

 mixed to carry off some of the rankness ; or, 

 if the manure is used fresh, a barrowful of 

 fresh, loamy soil should be added to every 

 four or five barrowfuls of manure, varying 

 the quantity a little according to the fresh- 

 ness of the latter. The bed must be trodden 

 or beaten down firmly, and as soon as the 

 temperature has become steady, if it does 

 ■not exceed 90° and is a little on the de- 

 cline, pieces of spawn as large as a full- 

 grown Walnut may be inserted by making 

 holes with a dibble eight or nine inches 

 apart and three inches deep, closing the 

 holes and making all firm again when 

 finished. Place on two inches of fresh soil 

 as soon as the spawn begins to run freely, 

 and leave the surface smooth and firm. The 

 manure should be that of horses consuming 

 principally corn and other dry food. — Gar- 

 dening Illustrated. 



