162 



I September, 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Spinach, "which is by far the most delicate 

 of all the vegetables used for greens, is 

 strangely neglected in most farm gardens. 

 In city markets it is found the year round, 

 but to the country resident its greatest value 

 consists in its furnishing a fresh vegetable in 

 early spring, when no other is easily obtain- 

 able. 



The seed should be sown during the last 

 week in August or the first of September ; 

 further south, sowing may be deferred till 

 the middle of the month. It is sown thinly 

 — about two or three seeds to the inch — in 

 drills one and a half to two feet apart, cov- 

 ered about one inch, and firmly packed, 

 smoothing the ground afterward. 



As soon as the plants appear above the 

 surface, they should be hoed, and the soil 

 between the rows kept loose and clean, and 

 when large enough to crowd each other, they 

 are thinned out to three or four inches apart. 

 If the remaining plants, as they grow, be- 

 come crowded again, which will probably be 

 the case in rich, warm soil, the alternate 

 plants may be taken out, with the roots, just 

 before the ground freezes up, and heeled in 

 close together in a cold-frame, where they 

 keep fresh and in good condition for a long 

 time. Those who find these repeated thin- 

 nings too laborious may sow the seed so that 

 the plants, from the start, will stand from one 

 to two inches apart, and then thin them out 

 as wanted for use. This mode, although it- 

 does not produce the largest heads for mar- 

 keting, gives generally sufficiently satisfac- 

 tory results for home use. 



In northern climates it is necessary to 

 cover Spinach during winter with a thin 

 layer of straw or salt hay, similar- to the 

 mulching of Strawberries. This cover should 

 not be removed before the plants commence 

 to grow again in spring, or when wanted for 

 use. 



Exceedingly simple as is the cultivation of 

 Spinach, it is vain to expect good results 

 without a deep, rich, and thoroughly mel- 

 lowed soil, nor without good seed. The 

 prickly '-seeded and Savoy-leaved are the best 

 varieties for autumn sowing. 



Lettuce for forcing during winter has to be 

 sown now, and, when large enough, trans- 

 planted to cold-frames. The hardy varieties 

 may be sown in an open bed, sheltered from 

 cold winds and lightly protected during win- 

 ter. Any rough structure of boards, covered 

 with corn-stalks or other coarse material, 

 will answer the purpose. 



A few years ago a great many self-sown 

 plants of "Brown Dutch Lettuce "came up 

 during autumn, in a well-sheltered corner 

 of our garden, furnishing a bountiful supply 

 till nearly Christmas, when a heavy snow- 

 fall covered all. The snow did not disappear 

 entirely till spring; but as soon as it com- 

 menced to melt, the fresh green and bronze- 

 tipped leaves peeped brightly up from under 

 their snowy mantle. Many of these plants 

 made good-sized heads where they stood, 

 while others were transplanted to the hot- 

 bed and open ground. Ever since that expe- 

 rience about the hardiness of Lettuce, we 

 have always endeavored to sow some Let- 

 tuce seed in autumn. 



EAELINESS IN PEAS. 



The relative earliness in different varieties 

 of Peas does not remain the same when 

 planted at different seasons, and the earliest 

 varieties show their superiority in this re- 

 spect only when planted at the earliest dates 

 possible. In the trials made at our experi- 

 ment garden this season, "Earliest of All" 

 was the first to produce edible pods. They 

 were planted on April 30th, and had edible 

 pods on June 16th, forty-seven days after 

 planting. The following varieties were all 

 planted at the same date, April 30th : 





First Edi- 



HeiijJit of 





ble Foils. 



Vines. 



Earliest of All 



June, 16 



2 feet 



First and Best 



.. 17 



2 



Iinpr. Daniel O'Rourke. 



" 17 



2* •" i 



American Wonder 



" 18 



8 inches 



American Racer 



" 20 



3K i'eet 



Kentish Invicta. 



" 20 



2K " 



Early Kent 



" 21 



3 



Blue Peter 





12 inches 



Laxton's Supreme 



July 2 



4 feet 



Bishop's Dwarf 



i 



1% 



Yorkshire Hero 



i 





Forty-fold 



i 



i 



Telephone 



" i 



i 



Fillliasket 



6 



VA " 



Bishop's Long Pod 



C 



2K " 



More extended experiments, with a view 

 to determine the relative earliness of Peas, 

 were made at the New-York Experiment 

 Station. The final results, as given in the 

 Station Bulletin, correspond mainly with our 

 own, except that the time of edible maturity 

 in our trials was considerably shorter. The 

 station results with the early varieties are 

 expressed in the following table : 



Laxton's Earliest of All — 



Kentish Invicta 



Henderson's First of All . . . 



Ferry's Extra Early 



Thorburn's First and Best. . 



Ferry's First and Best 



Cleveland's First and Best 



Hancock 



Carter's First Crop 



Daniel O'Rourke 



Early Alpha 



Extra Early Kent 



Sibley's First and Best . 



Bliss' American Wonder 



Blue Peter 



Carter's Premium Gem 



Philadelphia Extra Early . . 



Planted 

 Apr. 21. 



Planted 

 May 12. 



Edible. 



Edible. 



June 21 



June 30 



June 22 



July 3 





July 1 





July 1 





June 30 



July 7 

 June 30 

 July 1 



In summing up these results it is noted 

 that twenty-one days earlier planting gave 

 from six to fourteen days earliness of crop in 

 varieties. 



Averaging the periods between planting 

 and edible maturity, the order of earliness is 

 as follows : 



Laxton's Earliest of All gave crop in fifty- 

 five days ; Cleveland's First and Best, and 

 Hancock, in fifty-five and one-half days; 

 Henderson's First of All, Ferry's Extra Early, 

 Ferry's First and Best, Carter's First Crop, 

 Daniel O'Rourke, Early Alpha, and Sibley's 

 First and Best, in fifty-six days ; Philadelphia 

 Extra Early in fifty-six and one-half days ; 

 Kentish Invicta, Bliss's American Wonder, 

 and Blue Peter, in fifty-seven days ; Carter's 

 Premium Gem in fifty-nine days, and Extra 

 Early Kent in fifty-nine and one-half days. 



To illustrate the value of selection in 

 gathering Peas for seed, says Dr. E. L. Sturte- 

 vant, we last season gathered a small quan- 

 tity of the first pods that ripened of the Tom 

 Thumb variety, and a small quantity of the 



latest ones. We planted one hundred seeds 

 each from the earliest and latest pods on 

 April 21st, and the same on May 12th. We 

 note the difference in the results of the two 

 selections of seed to date, as follows : In 

 vegetation of the seeds there was in the two 

 plantings an average difference of fourteen 

 and a half per cent, in favor of the earliest 

 matured seed ; in the date of blooming, an 

 average difference of three and one-half days 

 appeared, and in the date of edible maturity 

 an average difference of five days, all in 

 favor of the first planting. Perhaps of more 

 importance is the difference in productive- 

 ness of the two selections of seed. Here we 

 can only consider the first planting. Ten 

 plants from the earliest ripened seed have 

 produced, to date, sixty-eight pods, of which 

 thirty- eight are well filled; while an equal 

 number of plants from the latest ripened 

 seed have produced, to date, only forty-nine 

 pods, of which but thirteen can be called 

 well filled. 



The Tom Thumb variety was selected for 

 this trial because the pods are formed dur- 

 ing a longer period than in most other vari- 

 eties. It is possible that in varieties of which 

 the pods nearly all ripen at the same time, 

 the difference in the results obtainable from 

 the first and last ripened pods would be less 

 marked. This experiment serves, however, 

 to illustrate the importance of selection in 

 gathering Peas for seed, and shows that the 

 inherent quality of the seed used may have 

 as much bearing on the resulting crop as the 

 condition of the soil or the methods of culti- 

 vation employed. 



VERMONT GARDEN NOTES. 



TRANSPLANTING BEETS. 



The Egyptian Beet may be transplanted 

 more successfully than most other sorts, 

 owing, perhaps, to its short tap root. By 

 sowing the seed in a hot-bed, and afterward 

 transplanting the young plants to open 

 ground, Beets may be obtained two or three 

 weeks earlier than if at first sown out-of- 

 doors. I usually set them between early 

 Cabbage, thus economizing space. 



SUMMER LETTUCE. 



None of the novelties in the Lettuce line 

 as yet supersede the old Large India for 

 general outdoor culture, unless it is the 

 Stone-head Golden Yellow, a German vari- 

 ety which has apparently not gained the 

 prominence it deserves, which may probably 

 be accounted for by the fact that its leaves 

 are smooth, thus rendering its appearance 

 less attractive than the India. 



DWARF BEANS. 



The Marblehead Early Horticultural Dwarf 

 Bean does not appear to be an established 

 variety, as it comes very near being a pole 

 Bean. As it is in no way superior to other 

 sorts, I do not think it will prove valuable. 



THE BEST TOMATO. 



Among new varieties of Tomatoes, Living- 

 stone's Favorite was the most vigorous at the 

 start, and has held its own through the sea- 

 son thus far. 



LATE TURNIPS AND CABBAGES. 



A family supply of Turnips and Cabbage 

 maybe raised on ground previously occupied 

 by Potatoes, Peas, etc. ; but in this latitude 

 the latter should not be set later than the 

 middle of July, the former any time until the 

 middle of August. W. H. Rand. 



