CATALOGUE OF SEEDS, PLANTS, BULBS AND FRUITS. 
87 
The First Thirty-Two Fagta ofthia CateOofftie Contain our Twentieth Century Xoveltlea and Specialty 
List. Don't Fail to Head. 
through the bed. Spread m. layer of fresh soil over the 
heap to a depth of two inches, and cover with three or four 
inches of hay, straw or Utter. 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. 30c postpaid. Write for 
price on larj;c quantities. 
MII^TilDh German— ©enf. French— Moutarde. 
iTIUdl/lKV* Swedish— Senap. Spanish— Mostaza. 
A small pungent salad used with cress; the seed is also- 
used for ilavoring pickles, pepper sauce, etc. For salads sow 
thickly in shallow drills 6 inches apart, or in frames or boxes 
during the winter, where frost can be partially excluded. 
Successive sowings may be made every week or two. To 
grow seed sow in April in rows 1 foot apart, and thin out to 
3 inches apart, when 2 inches high. 
BLACK OR BROWN— More pungent than the white. 
Pkt. 5c, oz. lOo, lb. 40c. , 
WHITE OR YELL.OW— Desirable for salads and flav- 
oring. Pkt. 5c, »z. lOc, lb. 40c. 
SOtTTHERN CURLED— This variety is very highly es 
teemed in the South. Plants grow to a height of about two 
feet and form immense bunches. Pkt- 5o, oz. lOo, Vi lb. 
25o, lb. Sl.OO. 
IMil^TIIDTIIIM GERMAN-KoStuttiiim. French— 
1 Itlv I UK I HJliI* Si'ANiSH-Maraneula. Capucine. 
Cultivated both for use and ornament. The seed pods, which 
resembles capers, are . gathered while green and tender for pickling, 
and the leaves are used for mixing with salads. Sow early in the 
spring, in drills about 1 inch deep, in light rich soil, when any danger 
of frost is over, train the Tall on brush, trellises, or fences, and grow 
the D\Varf in beds. 
t'^ MUSHKOOMS. 
German— C^Qmptgiioiibrut. French- 
Swedish — Champinjon. 
■Blanc dc Champignon. 
Spanish— Seta. 
MUSHROOM SPAWN. 
Mushrooms may be grown in 
cellars, tinder benches, of green- 
hoiises, or in sheds, wherever the 
temperature ofSO or 60 degrees can be kept up through the winter. The 
bed should be made from November to February, according to 
the time the Miishrooms are wanted, and it requires about two 
months for them to begin bearing. Secure fresh horse manure, free from 
straw and litter, and mix an equal bulk of loam from an old pasture 
with it. Keep this undercover, taking care to turn it every day to pre- 
vent heating until the pile is large enough to make abed of the re- 
3 Hired size. Three or four feet wide, eight inches deep and any length 
esired, 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 subsides to 00 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 compost and at the expiration of a week 
or ten days the spawn will have thorc.ughlv diffused itself 
OftRA. 
German— ©ofrou. French— Gombaud. 
Spanish— Quibombo . 
A vegetable that is extensively grown for its green pods, whicli 
are used in soups, stews, etc., to which they impart a rich flavor 
and are considered nutritious. Sow the seed thickly in rich ground 
about the middle of May. or when the ground has become 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 
alongtimeand are very tender. Pkt. 5c, oz. lOc. '41b. 25c, lb. 75c. 
DWARF QREEN — A very desirable sort, as it is very produc- 
tive .and free from h.ird ridges. Pkt. 5c, oz. lOo. Vi lb. 25c, lb. 75c. 
VELVET POD— It is distinct in appearance, and the pods are 
perfectly round, smooth, and of an attractive white velvet appear- 
ance, and of superior flavor and tenderness. Pkt. 5c, oz. lOc. W. lb 
20c, lb. eOc. 
now TO ONIONS SLCCES^f LLLY, 
The Onion is not only valuable as a medicine, but has considerable nutritive properties ; parsley will in a great measure do away with the nn- 
pleasant odor imparted to the breath. 
PRPPJ R.A TinM Remove all refuse of previous crops in time to 
I l\Lil niAn I IVlla complete the work before the ground freezes 
up, and spread 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 ploughed a moderate depth, taking a narrow furrow, in or- 
der to thoroughly mix the manure with the soil. Carefully avoid tramp- 
ing on the ground during the winter. Cultivate or thoroughly drag the 
soil with a heavy harrow as early in the spring&s it can be worked, and 
thea in the opposite direction, with a light one, after which the entire 
surface should be raked with steel hand rakes. It is impossible to culti- 
vate 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 stand- 
ing fourteen inches apart, make four more marks by careftrWy drawing 
it with the outside tooth in, and the bead at right angles to the perfect- 
ly straight 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 sam? way. This is 
better than to stretch aline along one side, as it is impo.ssible to prevent 
the rows gradually becoming crooked, and by this plan we straighten 
them after every third passage of the marker. 
^nWINfs THP CFPn '^^■^ should be done as soon as the 
^unillU I llti OliLil/s 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 de- 
sired. Thin seeding gives much larger onions than thick. Four or five 
pounds, per acre, is the usual quantity needed to grow large onions. We 
"se a dnll with a roller attached, but if the drill has none, the ground 
should be well rolled with a band roller immediately after the seed is 
planted. 
nil Tl VJI TinN '^"^ onions the first hoeing, just skimming 
'J*Jl» I I III I IVIli 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 
operation requires to be carefully and thoroughly done. The weeder 
must work on his knees astride of the row, stirring the earth around 
tne 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 twelveplants 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 hoe- 
ing and if necessary another weeding. If the work has been thor- 
ouMbly done at the proper time, the crop will not require fijrther 
care until ready to gather. 
U ■ NIIBINfl There is no crop where a liberal use of manure is 
I IttllUIMllUa 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, particular- 
ly with mucky soils, nothing will do so much good as a liberal dress- 
ing of unbleached wood ashes or some form of commercial fertilizer 
rich in potash. 
ri I fUCpiUfT As soon as the tops die and fall, the bulbs 
Un I llulMllUi should be gathered into windrows. If the 
weather is fine they will need no attention while curing, but if it is 
not, they will need 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 of bright weather the 
onions will be fit to store for the winter. 
Onions may be kept in fine condition through winter by spread- 
ing 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. 
THP QOII A crop of onions can be grown on any soil which 
1 OU Owllii will produce a full crop of com, but on a stiff clay, 
very light sand or gravel, or certain varieties of muck or swamp 
lands, 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, because if a suf. 
ficient quantity of manure to raise an ordinary soil to a proper de- 
gree ol^ fertility is applied at once, it is likely to make the onions 
soft. The same result will follow if we sow on rank, mucky 
ground or that which is too wet. 
May's Seeds Postpaid. 
At the prices quoted in our Catalogue we prepay postage on all seeds ordered by packet, ounce, quarter pound, 
pound, pint or quart. On seeds in large quantities, or oflTered by express or freight, purchaser pays the charges. 
