VEGETABLE SEEDS 
We have aimed to catalogue only the very best varieties of vegetables, of both the newer and the older strains, and those which are 
especially adapted to the peculiar conditions on the Pacific Coast. These are indicated by using larger, heavy-faced type, and one 
may be sure that such varieties are the very best of their class, and are recommended by us. 
REMEMBER — We grow most of the seed we sell, ourselves, on our own Seed Farms, and know the difference between those 
properly grown and those improperly grown, and we exercise the greatest care and intelligence in growing — our reputation proving this 
statement. Some varieties of seed do not attain the best quality when grown on the Pacific Coast and these we purchase in the East and 
some in Europe — buying only from seed growers of the very highest reputation. We do not, however, accept any seeds without a thorough 
test as to vitality. Every variety that comes into the house is sampled and this sample is planted in the Trial Grounds. If we detect that 
certain growers are not giving us the best possible strains, we immediately choose another source of supply. 
TRIAL GROUNDS — We conduct an elaborate system of Trial Grounds on our Seed Farms at Carnadero where samples of everything 
we have grown the past season are planted each year, and also samples of every individual lot we purchase are planted. One to three short 
rows are planted and labeled and a record of the purity kept in a book. Anything and everything which does not prove to be true and pure is 
immediately thrown out. 
This Trial Ground feature of a seed business is one of the necessities of a modern first-class house and represents an enormous outlay of 
expense to say nothing of care and attention. 
EXPERIMENT GROUNDS — An important feature of our Seed Farms is what we locally style our "Work Shop" where new selections 
are tested and novelties developed. The twelve new Sweet Peas offered in our catalogue this year are examples of patient development 
work and are only a few out of the fifty or sixty new selections we are working on. These experiment plots cover about ten acres of ground. 
ARTICHOKES 
Artichokes are cultivated for the edible bud, which resembles a giant thistle. The plants want a very rich soil and plenty of moisture. In 
California the seed should be planted in boxes in January and the young plants transplanted in March or April. While plants usually bear 
for five or six years, it is advisable to start new ones from seed occasionally. They do not, however, come wholly true from seed, and it is 
necessary to discard a good many plants, using the best ones only for propagating. The suckers from the large plants are also good for 
transplanting. 
LARGE GREEN GLOBE. The most popular variety. Buds large, globular, deep green, with tint of purple at base. Pkt. 10c; oz. 35c; 
M lb. $1.00; lb. $3.50. Strong two-year-old roots of this variety, 15c each; $1.50 per doz. Too heavy to mall. 
JERUSALEM, OR TUBEROUS-ROOTED ARTICHOKE. Entirely distinct, and grown exclusively for their 
which are valuable for feeding hogs, the yield often exceeding two tons per acre. They 
dug, but the hogs can turned into the field to root them up; one acre will keep twenty 
condition until spring. The tubers are also edible, and are delicious when well cooked. 
ASPARAGUS SEED AND ROOTS 
large potato-like roots, 
need not be 
b head in good 
. Per lb. 15c; 
postpaid, 25c 
r L per lb.; 100 
I lbs. at mar- 
ket rates. 
It requires three or four years from the time of planting asparagus seed to the time that the 
— seed about one pound per acre 
the Spring in drills 12 to 14 
its to grow two full 
about 3000 
plant produces shoots suitable for 
is required, or one ounce for about 800 plants, 
inches apart and thin to about 3 inches in the row. 
then transplant to permanent beds. It requires 
plants to set an acre. When set out for crop, in 
in beds, they require plenty of room, since 
spread from the root, and therefore grow larger 
In the field the rows should be from six to ten 
A loose, porous soil is necessary for good aspara- 
the flavor of the young shoots greatly depends 
character of the soil. The light, fibrous soils of 
mento River Islands seem especially adapted 
asparagus. 
In the house garden, the soil, if naturally heavy 
must be made porous and light by spading in 
amount of manure and sand. During the 
plants fro 
Sow early i 
Allow the pi 
PAL- 
METTO 
purposes, especially for ship- 
ping. Shoots are light green 
and tinted slightly with pink 
(see illustration) . Pkt. 5c ; 
oz. 10c; Mlb. 25c;lb. 85c. 
ASPARAGUS ROOTS 
doz., postpaid; $1.00 per 100, 
Large vigorous roots of Pal- 
metto and Colossal, 25c per 
by express; $5.00 per 1,000. 
Artichoke— Large Green Globe 
the shoots must be cut as fast as 
they reach the surface. Later in the 
season all the shoots should be al- 
lowed to run to seed, and in the 
autumn all the tops should be cut off 
and burned and the land thor- 
oughly cleaned up, and a good 
dressing of manure and wood 
ashes and sand should be 
spaded into the beds. 
Barr's Mammoth. A favor- 
ite with market gardeners. Shoots 
very large, tender, quick grow- 
ing, and thick to the top. Pkt. 
5c; oz. 10c; M lb. 25c; lb. 85c. 
Columbia Mammoth White. A large, thick 
variety; very white even above ground. 
Pkt. 5c; oz. 10c; ft lb. 25c; lb. 85c. 
CONOVER'S COLOSSAL OR 
BOULDIN ISLAND i*g*g™*S. 
pecially for canning. It is the popular variety used on Kouldin 
Island and other river points in California , where it is canned in 
immense quantities. It makes large, thick, white shoots of deli- 
cious flavor, and we recommend it as the best variety tor all purposes. 
Pkt, 5c; oz. 10c; H lb. 25c; lb. 85c. 
11 
