NOTES AND ABSTRACTS. 



805 



Vegetables, Garden (U.S.A. Exp. Stn. Oklahoma, Bull. No. 56, 

 12 1902). — A short summary of the methods of planting and cultivating 

 the usual garden vegetables, with the names of such varieties as have 

 been found valuable in Oklahoma. 



Full directions are given for the cultivation of the Tomato as an open- 

 air crop, for it is considered the most important vegetable grown in the 

 farm garden, the season being a long one and the canned fruit being 

 available in winter. 



Single-stem training as practised in England is not recommended, on 

 account of the extra labour required and the weaker quality of fruit 

 obtained. A list of forty-four varieties is given, of which twelve are 

 recommended. 



Twenty- six varieties of Onions are given in a table, with the yield per 

 acre, date of gathering, colour, and percentage as to keeping qualities. Of 

 these, the six best varieties are described in detail. 



Lettuce can only be grown successfully in the spring, with occasionally a 

 crop in the autumn. There are many varieties, but the Curly-leaf Lettuces 

 ' Grand Rapids,' 4 Early Curled Silesian,' &c. are better adapted to the 

 climate than the Head Lettuce, of which ' Paris White Cos,' ' Early Prize 

 Head,' ' Silver Ball,' and 1 New York' are the best. 



Beans are divided into two classes, Bush and Pole Beans, of which 

 the former are more commonly grown, as they do not require such a long 

 season as the latter. 



Peas are divided into "smooth" and "wrinkled," the former being the 

 hardier and separated from the latter by two or three weeks. — C. H. C. 



Vegetables, Sowing Of. By A. Nasier (Bull. B. Soc. Tosc. Ort. 

 2, p. 50 ; February 1903). — In cold countries sowing should take place in 

 April or early in May ; but under glass much earlier, viz. from March 20 

 to middle of June. In places of moderate temperature the majority of the 

 sowings take place in March. The seeds of vegetables are greatly subject 

 to enemies. One of the first of these is the gardener himself who sows 

 too early, and thus exposes his seeds to all the inclemencies of early spring 

 weather. But an earlier sowing can be effected by mixing the seed 

 with sand in a pot, keeping the whole moist, and from time to time re- 

 mixing the seeds ; and on the former showing signs of germination they 

 should be planted out in the open. Other atmospheric enemies of seeds 

 are excess of heat, drought, and violent winds. The worst enemies are 

 slugs, snails, earthworms, mice, &c. The sowing should always be done 

 far from anything that is likely to harbour these enemies, such as hedges, 

 palings, grass, &c. As soon as seedlings begin to appear above ground the 

 whole ground should be completely covered with soot, so as to ward off 

 the noxious creatures above mentioned, while at the same time enriching 

 the soil. Powdered lime is good for slugs, spread on the ground in early 

 morning or evening. 



To purify the seeds, it is recommended to bathe them in a solution of 

 sulphate of copper of 1 per cent, strength ; they should be well stirred in this 

 liquid for half an hour, and afterwards removed and spread out to dry. 

 They are then mixed with chalk-dust in the proportion of one kilogram 

 of the latter to 50 kg. of seeds. A writer in the 1 Revue d'Horticulture 



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