May, 1890. 
101 
ORGHRRD 
GARDEN 
Lima may be good but few of us can afford 
a novelty at $1.00 per four seeds. In pole 
beans the old Large Lima still holds its place 
at the North, but south of the the Potomac 
it is universally unproductive. Hpre the 
small Lima or Sieva known here as Butter 
bean is much more reliable. Dreer’s Lima, 
too, does well southward. Giant Wax is 
also a valuable pole snap bean as also is the 
Crease Back. 
In setting out a few tomato plants early 
in the season in tlie home garden, a good 
plan is to saw some old flour barrels in 
two, knock out the ends and place them 
around the plants. This will protect them 
from winds, and if a cold night comes it 
will be easy to throw an old bag over all to 
protect them. The half barrel can be left 
around them if no better supj .ort is furnish- 
ed and will keep ’hem largely off the 
ground. 
French growers always cut asparagus by 
carefully scraping the soil away down to the 
crown of the roots and pulling the stalk off 
so asto leave no stump to decay. They mound 
up the earth over the crowns to keep the 
stalks white. We prefer the stalks green 
Hubbard Squash. Fig. 1091. 
and tender. Don’t allow any asparagus 
plants to ripen seed during the summer, but 
pull off all the stems with pistillate flowers 
so as to keep from exhausting the roots by 
seed making. 
Rhubarb stalks should not be pulled too 
late, but allowed to make a strong growth. 
Better rhubarb can be had, however, if not 
as large, by raising a new set of roots an- 
nually from seed to replace the old plants 
in the fall. If you have a greenhouse the 
old roots can be profitably used by digging 
them up in the late fall and setting them 
under the benches and covering with soil 
or sphagnum moss. They will give a fine 
crop of nicely blanched stems in winter and 
are then to be thrown away. 
The general setting out of early Tomato 
plants in latitude of Philadelphia had bet- 
ter, be deferred until after the l'dh of the 
month. The varieties are now so numerous 
that it is hard to say which are best. The 
old Hathaway’s Excelsior is as early as any, 
but for quality the Tgnotum is hard to beat. 
We have now 40 varieties under test and 
will have something to say about tomatoes 
this summer. 
In Beets the New Eclipse is a great im- 
provement on the Egyptian which we think 
ought to be dropped for its poor quality. 
For family use we still prefer the old Early 
Bassano though some object to its light color. 
Sow at the same time Blood Turnip Beet 
for main crop and later on sow Pineapple 
for late use. 
In summer squashes the Early Golden 
Crook Neck we prefer to the patty pan sorts 
usually sold. If you have room for it the 
Perfect Gem squash is a fine thing both for 
summer and winter use. Southward we 
Red Cherry Tomato. Fig. 1108. 
do not use winter squashes much as our 
abundant sweet potatoes take their place 
for all purposes to which they are applied. 
And here I would say to all who find sweet 
potatoes hard to keep, try slicing and dry- 
ing them when they are abundant in Fall 
and they will find them an admirable arti- 
cle for winter pies, by first soaking them. 
Marblehead, Hubbard and Butman are all 
good winter squashes. 
In muskmelons or canteloupes the Jenny 
Lind is still a favorite early sort and for 
later use Emerald Gem is still my favorite, 
though Delmonico and Bayview are both 
excellent. The big, coarse sorts may be 
good in Canada and New England, at least 
we are willing to take the growers’ word 
there for it that they think so. But though 
Montreal Market and other big canteloupes 
grow and come to great size and perfect 
ripeness here, they are utterly worthless for 
table use with people who are accustomed 
to high flavored melons. Quality in melons 
usually depreciates as the size increases. 
Martynia Fig. 1099. 
In watermelons, Kolb’s Gem is still a favor- 
ite shipping variety but for home use the 
Georgia Rattlesnake is much better. Most 
of the newer sorts of watermelons are no 
improvement in any respect over the older 
sorts. 
In speaking of beans I forgot to say that 
the rule not to plant in freshly manured 
soil does noi apply to the Lima beans which 
agree well with liberal annual manuring, 
and if so treated can be grown on the same 
land for an indefinite period to advantage. 
Irish potatoes at this season are more a 
crop of the farm than the garden, but if 
room can be had some of the later sorts can 
well be planted. Burbank and White Ele- 
phant are good sorts and there are legions 
of new ones offered. 
Egg Plants had better be kept in frames 
until the latter end of the month, as they 
want hot weather for growth and if stunted 
at the start will seldom do well. Make the 
ground very rich for them and give fully 
three feet each way between the plants. New 
York Improved is the best and largest sort. 
In Peppers some of the new sorts are fine. 
Ruby King is a good picking sort. Child's 
Celestial is pretty enough for the flower 
garden, as also is Crimson Cluster. 
Celery plants should be pricked out and 
transplanted in beds or frames where they 
can be shaded. Set them two or three 
inches apart each way and supply them 
with water as needed. Their final trans- 
planting should be deferred until the middle 
of July or late in August 
in places south of the Po- 
tomac. In fact, in North 
Carolina September 1st is 
usually early enough. The 
past winter was so mild 
here that celery never stop- 
ped growing all winter 
through, and complete! 
earthing was impossible. 1 
In any locality where mer- ' 
curv does not go much be- 
low zero, celery is always 
better grown in beds and green Cluster Cu- 
covered where it grows, cumber. Fig. 1242. 
Lifting the roots deteriorates its crisp 
quality. 
With the first warm weather weeds will 
grow with great rapidity, but the good gar- 
dener does not wait to see them but keeps 
the surface constantly stirred in advance of 
their appearance. Only the slothful man 
is plagued by weeds and grass. Keep the hoe 
and cultivator going and as soon as one crop 
comes off be ready at once to pitch a later 
one. — W. F. Massey. 
Vegetables for Pickles. 
No garden is complete without an assort- 
ment of suitable vegetables for pickling. 
The cucumber is often the only one used 
for this purpose but there are others equal- 
ly as essential, and some that will add 
beauty and flavor to the collection. Such 
as peppers of various sizes, small tomatoes, 
cauliflower or broccoli, the White Queen 
onion, Refugee beans, picked when young 
and tender, martynia, nasturtium seed, etc. 
We illustrate here the martynia, the pods of 
which are used for this purpose. They are 
curious looking objects but make a good 
pickle. We also show the little cherry to- 
mato which is admirably suited for pickling 
by reason of its shape and size. In peppers 
those of various sizes should be used and the 
beautiful yellow variety Golden Dawn con- 
trasts well with the brilliant red of other 
sorts. 
