28 
MAY'S CATALOGUE OF NORTHERN GROWN SEE DS, BULBS, PLANTS AND FRUITS. 
MUSHROOM SPAWN. 
Mushroom Spawn. 
Okr a. 
French — Gomb. 
Spanish — Quibombo. 
German — Safran. 
A vegetable that is extensively grown for its green; pods, 
which are used in soups, stews, etc. Sow the seed thickly in rich 
ground about the middle of May, or when- the ground has be- 
come warm, in drills 3 feet apart and 1 inch deep; thin out to 10 
inches apart in the drills. 
TALL, GREEN — Long, slender 
pods, light colored, keep edible a 
long time and are very tender. 
Pkt. 5c, oz. 10c, % lb. 20c, lb. 50c. 
DWARF GREEN. — A very de- 
sirable sort, as it is very product- 
ive 'and free from hard ridges. 
Pkt. 5c, oz. 10c, % lb. 20c, lb. 50c. 
ROUND POD OR WHITE VEL- 
VET.— The pods are perfectly 
round, smooth and of an attract- 
ive white velvet appearance. Pkt. 
5c, oz. 10c, % lb. 20c, lb. 60c. 
Prices quoted on this page 
include the prepayment of 
postage by us. If wanted by 
express or freight at pur- 
chaser's expense, deduct 1© 
cents per pound. . 
'German— Champignon-brut. French— Blanc de Champignon. 
Swedish — Champinjoh. Spanish — beta. 
Mushrooms may be grown in cellars, under benches of 
green-houses, or in sheds, wherever the temperature of oO- 
or 60 degrees can be kept up through the winter. The bed 
should be made from November to February, according to 
the time the Mushrooms are wanted; and it requires about 
two months for them to begin bearing. Secure tresh 
horse manure, free from straw and litter,, and mix an equal 
bulk of loam from an old pasture with it. Keep this un- 
der cover taking care to turn it every day to prevent heat- 
ing- until the pile is large enough to make a bed of the re- 
quired size. Three or four feet wide, eight inches deep 
and anv length desired, are the proper proportions for a 
bed- these may be varied. Prepare the mixture of loam 
and' manure, making the bed in layers, and pounding 
down each with the back of the spade. Leave this to 
heat through for a few days, and as soon as the heat sub- 
sides to 90 degrees, make holes in the bed about a foot 
apart each way, into which put pieces of the spawn two or 
three inches in diameter, fill up the holes with the com- 
post, and at the expiration of a week or ten days the 
spawn will have thoroughly diffused itself through the bed. 
Spread a layer of fresh soil over the heap to a depth of two 
inches and cover with three or four inches of hay, straw or 
litter Examine the bed often to see that it does not get dry. 
When water is given it should be at a temperature of about 
100 degrees. , „ 
ENGLISH. — The best. Per lb. 25c, postpaid. By express* or 
freight, 5 lb. lots or over, 10c per lb. 
German— Senf. Mustard Spanish— Mostaza. 
Swedish— Senap. IflU^UtrU. French— Moutarde. 
BLACK OR BROWN. — More pungent than the white. Pkt. 
5c, oz.. 10c, lb. 40c. 
OSTRICH PLUME. — Plants are of vigorous growth; leaves 
"dark green, curled like parsley; fine for garnishing, leaves 
cooked as spinach are most delicious. Pkt. 5e, oz. 10c, *A lb. 
25c, lb. 75c. • 
WHITE OR YELLOW. — Desirable for salads and flavor- 
ing. Pkt.' 5c, oz. 10c, lb. 40c. 
SOUTHERN CURLED. — This variety is A'ery highly es- 
teemed in the South. Plants grow to a height- of about two 
feet and form immense bunches. Pkt. 5c, oz. 10c, % lb. 20c, 
lb. 50c. 
Nasturtium. 
French — 
Capucine. 
German— Nasturtium. 
Spanish — Maraneula. 
Sow early in the spring, in drills about 1 inch deep, in 
light rich soil, when all danger of frost is over; train the 
Tall on brush, trellises or fences, and grow the Dwarf in 
beds. ' 
TALL MIXED. — Pkt. 5c, oz. 10c, % lb. 20c, lb. 50c. 
DWARF MIXED. — Pkt. 5c, oz. 10c, % lb. 20c, lb. 60c. 
Okra or Gumbo. 
How to Raise Onions Successfully. 
The Onion.js- not only valuable as a medicine, but has considerable nutritive properties; parsley will in a great measure do 
away with the unpleasant odor imparted to the breath. 
PREPARATION. — Remove all refuse of previous crops In, .time 
to complete the work before the ground freezes up, and sp*read 
the composted manure evenly, at the rate of about fifty cart- 
loads to the acre. This should first be cultivated in, and then the 
ground plowed a moderate depth, taking a narrow furrow, in 
order to thoroughly mix the manure with the soil. Carefully 
avoid tramping on the ground during the winter. Cultivate or 
thoroughly drag the soil with a heavy harrow as early in the 
spring as it can be worked, and then in the opposite direction, 
with a light one, after which the entire surface should be raked, 
with steel hand rakes. It is impossible to cultivate the crop 
economically unless the rows are perfectly straight; to secure 
this, stretch a line along one side, fourteen feet from the edge, 
and make a distinct mark along it; then, having made a wooden 
marker, something like a giant rake with five teeth about a foot 
long and standing fourteen inches apart, make four more marks 
by carefully drawing it with the outside tooth in, and the head 
at right angles to the perfectly straight mark made by the line. 
Continue to work around this line until on the third passage of 
the marker you reach the side of the field where you began; 
measure fifteen feet two inches from the last row, stretch the 
line again, and mark around in the same way. This is better 
than to stretch a line along one side, as it is impossible to pre- 
vent the rows gradually becoming crooked, and by this plan we 
straighten them after every third passage of the marker. 
SOWING THE SEED. — This should be done as soon as the 
ground can be gotten ready, and can be done best by a hand seed 
drill. This should be carefully adjusted to sow the desired 
quantity of seed and about one-half inch deep. The quantity 
needed will vary with the soil, the seed used and the kind of 
onions desired. Thin seeding gives much larger onions than 
thick. Four or five pounds per acre is the usual quantity need- 
ed to grow large onions. We use a drill with a roller attached, 
but if the drill has none, the ground should be well rolled with 
a hand roller immediately after the seed is planted. 
CULTIVATION — Give the onions the first hoeing, just skimming 
the ground between the rows, as soon as they can be seen the 
length of the row. Hoe again in a few days, this time close up 
to the plants, after which weeding must be continued. This op- 
eration requires to be carefully and thoroughly done. The 
weeder must work on his knees astride of the row, stirring the 
earth around the plants, in order to destroy any weeds that 
have just started. At this weeding or the next, according to 
the size of the plants the rows should be thinned, leaving from 
eight to twelve plants to the foot. In ten days or two weeks 
they will require another hoeing and weeding similar to the 
last, and two weeks later, give them still another hoeing and 
if necessary another weeding. If the work has been thorough- 
ly done, at the proper time, the crop will not require further 
care till ready to gather. 
MANURING. — There is no crop where a liberal use of manure 
is more essential than in this. If it is too rank, it is quite 
sure to make soft onions, with many scallions. It should be of 
the best quality, well fermented and shoveled over, at least 
twice during the previous summer to kill weed- seeds. Of the 
commercial manures, we prefer fine ground bone to any other 
but large crops are raised by the use of superphosphates. In 
some cases, particularly on mucky soils, nothing will do so 
much good as a liberal dressing of bleached wood ashes or 
some form of commercial fertilizer rich in potash. 
GATHERING. — As soon as the tops die and fall, the bulbs 
should be gathered into windrows. If the weather is fair they 
will need no attention while curing, but if it is not, they will 
have to be stirred by simply moving them slightly along the 
row. Cut off the tops when perfectly dry, about half an inch 
from the bulb; and then after a few days ; ojC bright weather 
the onions will be fit to store for the winter. 
Onions may be kept in fine condition through the winter 
by spreading straw to the depth of about 18 inches on the 
floor of a barn or shed and on this spread the onions to the 
depth of about a foot and cover them with about two feet of 
straw. 
THE SOIL — A crop of onions can be grown on any soil which 
will produce a full crop of corn, but on a stiff clay, or a light 
sand or gravel, or certain varieties of muck or swamp land 
neither a large nor a very profitable crop can be grown. We 
prefer a rich, sandy loam, with a light mixture of clay; this is 
much better if it has been cultivated with hoed crops, kept 
clean of weeds and well manured for two years previous, be- 
cause if a sufficient quantity of manure to raise an ordinary 
soil to a proper degree of fertility is applied at once, it is 
likely to make the onions soft. The same result will follow ' p 
we sow on rank, mucky ground or that which is too wet. 
