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NITROGENOLS FERTILIZERS. 



It is much less trouble to get tomato plants than 

 to raise them from seed. It is well to set a few 

 plants early if you can cover them on cool nights 

 until all danger of frost is over. The 15th or 20th 

 of May set more plants. Hoe often and trim off 

 side branches. Do not set the plants too near to- 

 gether, as half a dozen plants will furnish more 

 tomatoes, and ripen earlier, if you give them space 

 enough, than twice as many crowded together. 



Swedes or Rutabaga turnips should be sown early 

 in June, about half an inch deep. About the mid- 

 dle of July clear away the old vines where your 

 early peas have grown, spade the ground and sow 

 seed of common or English turnip from the 20th of 

 July until the middle of August, and if there is 

 plenty of rain in September, they will grow and 

 mature before cold weather. 



Peppers are valuable for seasoning and for pick- 

 les. The Sweet Mountain and Large Bell are good 

 varieties. You can get plants at the greenhouse 

 and set in garden when the ground is warm, the 

 latter part of May, or sow in hot-bed and trans- 

 plant. 



Do not hoe up all the "pusley" when at work in 

 your garden, but let some get large ; then pull up 

 and cut the roots off and throw in a market-basket ; 

 shake the loose dirt off and wash in several waters. 

 Cook as you would greens, drain through a col- 

 ander and get all the water out, then chop fine and 

 season with salt and butter. It is delicious. 



For early cabbage it is less trouble to get the 

 plants from a gardener. Set the plants toward 

 evening, or after a rain, from one foot to fifteen 

 inches apart. For late cabbage, you can sow your 

 own seed if you prefer. Some sow two or three 



seeds in a hill, and pull out all but one. The large 

 varieties should be set nearly three feet apart. 

 Early York and Early Wakefield are good for 

 for summer use. The Late Drumhead, Flat Dutch 

 and Stone Mason are excellent varieties for fall and 

 winter. 



The cauliflower requires a rich soil and plenty of 

 moisture. Seed can be sown in hot-bed or even in 

 open ground. For late cauliflower, sow seed on the 

 north side of a building or a close fence about the 

 first of May. Transplant toward evening or just 

 after showers, about 20 inches apart. Snowball is 

 one of the earliest varieties, and reliable. Italian 

 and Algiers are good varieties. 



No garden is complete without a bed of parsley. 

 It is a handsome plant, and valuable for garnishing 

 and flavoring. It is very slow in germinating, so it 

 is well to sow with it a few radish or some other 

 seeds that come up soon, so that you can have the 

 use of the ground and keep the weeds out. It is 

 often several weeks after parsley seed is sown be- 

 fore it comes up. It should be soaked in warm 

 water before planting, to facilitate its sprouting. 

 Double Curled is a good dwarf. Champion is an 

 English variety, curled and mossy. Fern-Leaved 

 is good for garnishing. 



It is surprising how few people raise sweet herbs. 

 There is nothing more useful in preparing food. 

 The leaves of celery and parsley should be saved 

 and dried. Pick when ready and dry quickly in 

 paper bags to keep the dust and flies off. Dry in 

 the sun or warming oven. When dry, put in paper 

 sacks or glass cans. The many uses you will find 

 for them will easily repay for the trouble. 



Illinois. Mrs. M. J. Ashton. 



NITROGENOUS FERTILIZERS. 



N THE series of articles entitled 

 "Fertilizers for the Garden," by 

 Joseph Harris, No. XII, in the 

 May American Garden, criticises 

 the Rural Neio- Yorker, which, for 

 several years part, has deplored 

 the indiscriminate use of nitrate of soda, or of 

 soluble nitrogen in any form, unless it is well 

 known that the land is amply supplied with the 

 essential mineral food constituents of potash or 

 phosphoric acid. In the Rii)-als reply, which ap- 

 peared in the June number, the editor of that 

 journal endeavors to impress it upon our readers 

 that, if we err at all, gardeners and farmers had 

 better err on the side of economy, and use nitro- 



genous fertilizers in an experimental way, so as to 

 ascertain to what extent it may profitably be 

 applied. In general, it is safe to say that we may 

 apply potash and phosphates to our land in un- 

 limited quantity, since they remain in the soil for 

 the use of future crops, if not needed by those of 

 the current season. Not so with the costly soluble 

 nitrates or salts of ammonia. All that is not used 

 by the current season's crop is virtually lost. 



The Rural editor's views, as expressed in his 

 reply to Mr. Harris, above alluded to, have been 

 forcibly corroborated by a pamphlet written by 

 Prof. Paul Wagner, director of the Agricultural 

 Experiment station at Darmstadt, Germany, and 

 translated by Prof. Charles Wellington. He holds 



