March, 1889. 
63 
ORG HJVRD 
GARDEN 
but usually comes too early and interferes 
with the Wakefields. We have always found 
that Fottler’s Brunswick “filled the bill” 
with us, and is a very certain heading sort. 
South of Baltimore the Winningstadt cab- 
bage is but little behind the Wakefield and 
makes a much larger head, and for private 
gardens we would prefer to use it for the 
larger part of the earliest crop. I mentioned 
this fact about the Winningstadt to some of 
my northern friends years ago, but hardly 
think they believed me : but the fact is that 
I can always cut Winningstadt the same 
week with the first Wakefields. Private 
gardeners neglect the Savoys too much. 
They are incomparably superior to the 
course Drumhead class. The Dwarf Ulm 
Savoy is a good little early sort, but the 
Netted Savoy is the queen of this class, and 
for family use is worth a dozen big drum- 
heads.— W. F. Massey. 
Good versus Bad Onion Seed. 
Experienced gardeners always lay great 
stress upon the importance of procuring 
good, fresh onion seed and it has often been 
and the pumpkins which are of medium ' suited to the sweet potato, drying 
size, ripen early. To those who are fond of winds are quite likely to prevail in spring, 
“punkin pie” we commend this new sort and if the manure is left exposed till near 
for trial. [See illustration opposite page.] planting time, it is in danger of getting dry ; 
• 1 if covered in this condition it sometimes re- 
Tlte Sweet Potato. mains so through the season and it is there- 
This delicious ve- fore one of the most important points to have 
getable, although it covered in the ridges just as early as the land 
called a potato, 
bears very little re- 
semblance to our 
common or round 
potato, being bo- 
tanically classed 
with the Morning 
Glory family as 
Convolvulus bata- 
tas by Linnaeus; 
and both plant and 
flower resemble the common Morning 
Glory, although the flowers are much small- 
er and most varieties in cultivation here do 
not produce them. 
PREPARING THE SOIL. 
The sweet potato requires a rather long 
and warm season and cannot be grown to 
asource of wonder to the inexperienced why advantage as far north as New England. It 
this should be insisted upon so much more a i so succeeds much better on soils which 
than in the case of other vegetable seeds. are quite sandy, sufficiently so as to work 
Our illustration, for 
the use of which we 
are indebted to Messrs 
W. Atlee Burpee & 
Co. , shows the differ- 
ence between the 
good onions and those 
which are termed 
scallions. This vege- 
table is exceedingly 
susceptible of being 
bred up to a high de- 
gree, and when the - 
seed grower makes 
careful selection of the earliest and best 
shaped specimens for seed, and continues 
this careful selection for years, the result 
can only be a strain of good seed. The 
scallions are those onions which remain 
large and stiff around the neck, the stalk 
failing to fall over and shrivel up as in the 
case of properly developed bulbs. Such of 
course are not marketable but next to 
worthless. The unscrupulous seed grower 
who takes no pains to select his onions, but 
sells his marketable onions in the fall and 
plants his scallions in the spring, will sell 
you seed at a very low price but which will 
give you with unering certainty an exceed- 
ingly large percentage of scallions in your 
crop. Hence the importance of onion seeds 
from trustworthy sources. 
The Japanese Pumpkin. 
Among the specialties offered by W. At- 
lee Burpee this season, we find this new 
pumpkin which we tested last season and 
which gave such satisfaction as to lead 
us to call attention to it here. Its points for bedding, to accumulate from September 
of excellence are: very thick flesh with to March in the open air, and when it heats 
small seed cavity, good keeping qualities | so much as to endanger burning, throw on 
and fine flavor when cooked, being dry water enough to prevent this and I have 
and mealy. The vine is an excellent bearer I never found anything better. In climates 
very free and loose. In preparing the land, 
no manure should be spread and worked in, 
but all put in hills or drills. Sometimes all 
the land is plowed, but I prefer only to 
open shallow furrows, ‘6% feet apart, leav- 
ing the balance without plowing, deposit 
the manure in these furrows, at the rate of 
two-thirds to a full shovelful to each plant, 
and turn back a furrow over it from each 
side; because experience has shown me that 
with only a moderate depth of loose soil the 
tubers are more likely to grow thick and 
short, which makes them more salable. 
Some growers think that the same result 
can be attained by selecting short, thick tu- 
bers to grow sprouts from, but carefully 
conducted experiments do not sustain this 
theory. 
MANURES. 
Well decomposed stable manure is the 
best fertilizer. In my practice I allow the 
manure made from a horse and cow, freely 
mixed with leaves, waste cornstalks cut up, 
and any waste grass or other material used 
is in condition to work, which on land suited 
to this crop, will generally be in March or 
very early in April in this section. 
GROWING THE PLANTS. 
It is possible to grow sweet potatoes from 
pieces of the tuber, after the weather gets 
warm, but not practicable, and sprouts are 
therefore, always used. These may be grown 
in ordinary hot-beds made with manure, or 
the beds may be heated by a furnace, and 
the potatoes for this purpose should be of 
medium or rather small size and should be 
put in quite thickly — almost near enough to 
touch. It is important that they should be 
on a perfectly level surface, so as to insure 
an even covering and room for all the 
sprouts to make good roots above the tubers. 
Cover about one inch when put in and af- 
ter the sprouts begin to show themselves 
above ground pretty freely, put on two in- 
ches more. Some growers claim that clear 
sand is just as good as 
rich earth for this 
covering, but I prefer 
very rich friable soil, 
with a pretty good 
mixture of sand, for 
the reason that l get 
more and stronger 
plants and they pull 
easier. 
PLANTING. 
When the time for 
plan ting arrives, 
which here is from 
May 20th to June 20th, the ridges (which 
have been purposely left rough as turned 
by the plow) are raked smooth, and 
a quantity of freshly pulled plants placed 
in a vessel of water. Then take a handful 
in the left hand and with the right 
make a pretty deep opening in the ridge, 
put in a plant, draw a little earth over 
it and press it very firmly over the 
roots by a sharp blow with the fist, leaving 
a basin around the plant that will hold a 
gill of water ; 18 
inches to 2 feet in 
the row is a proper 
distance. If a warm 
and sunny day, it is 
better to plant after 
three o’clock r. m., 
as this gives time 
for the plants to re- 
cover a little before 
the sun shines hot 
on them. If the land 
is in good condition, 
plant, or slip. as to moisture, they 
frequently do just as well without water- 
ing, but some growers always water when 
planted ; if this is to be done it is best to 
apply it the same day they are planted, 
