March, 1 918 
WISCONSIN 
HORTICULTURE SUPPLEMENT 
3 
Cabbage : For early cabbage 
Charleston Wakefield, for late Danish 
ball head. 
Carrot: Chantenay: this is a half- 
long 1 carrot and better adapted to 
home gardens either for summer use 
or cellar storage than the Oxheart or 
other large types. 
Kolil Rabi: White Vienna. 
Lettuce: For early “leaf” lettuce 
either Curleti Simpson or Grand Rap- 
ids. The Grand Rapids is rather 
better in quality than the Simpson 
but does not grow as rapidly nor 
stand as much hardship. The Grand 
Rapids is ideal for hot-bed culture. 
For head lettuce plant only May 
King. 
Onion: Yellow Globe Danvers or 
Southport Red Globe. 
Parsnip: Hollow Crown. 
Pea: Laxtonian; this is one of the 
best of the large podded, early dwarf 
peas and may be sown in succession. 
For a late maturing variety plant 
Champion of England or Telephone. 
The latter are tall growing kinds and 
require support. 
Radish: Early scarlet globe or 
any early round or turnip shaped var- 
iety sown in succession. For a later 
variety Crimson Giant; does not get 
“pithy” in hot weather. 
Rutabaga: American Purple Top. 
Spinach: Bloomsdale Savoy. 
Tomato: Chalk’s Early Jewel; 
Ponderosa. 
Turnip: Purple Top White Globe: 
The Yellow Globe is a large late ma- 
turing yellow flesh variety closely re- 
sembling rutabaga and of better 
quality. 
Plants or Sets 
For early onions plant onion sets. 
For early cabbage and tomato buy 
plants; plants for late cabbage may 
be easily grown in the garden; plant 
a packet of seed at the time of sow- 
ing early vegetables. 
For the Gardener Who Has Plenty of 
Room and Time 
Cauliflower: Early Snow Ball. 
Celery: White Plume. 
Cucumber: llmproved Bong Green. 
Sweet Com: Golden Bantam. 
Egg Plant: Black Beauty. 
Lima Beans: Burpee’s Bush Lima, 
or Henderson's Bush Lima. 
Muskmelon: Milwaukee Market. 
Parsley: Champion Moss Curled; 
(Six plants enough.) 
Pepper: Crimson Giant (sweet). 
How to Buy 
Buy seeds only from reliable seeds- 
men. They advertise in reliable pap- 
ers. Avoid “bargains” in seeds, the 
best is the cheapest. The cost of 
seed is not a big item considering the 
returns. Penny packets and depart- 
ment store bargains are to be avoid- 
ed. “Seed Tape” is expensive and 
of doubtful value. 
Quantity of Seed Required 
The problem of how much seed to 
buy is one beset with many difficul- 
ties and not easily solved. 
If we were certain that every seed 
we buy would germinate and produce 
a vigorous plant under the adverse 
'conditions of soil and climate com- 
monly encountered, we would need to 
buy but very little seed. 
Carrots, for instance, should be 
spaced at least two inches apart in 
the row for best results. A package 
of carrot seeds contains about 5000 
seeds which spaced at two inches 
would be enough to plant over 800 
feet of row. In practice an average 
packet is enough to plant a little less 
than 40 feet of row. Why use so 
much seed? Firstly, because not all 
the seeds will germinate and as all 
the poor seeds may fall in one place 
\ve must allow enough to insure a 
good stand. 
Secondly: conditions in the garden 
are never perfect for germination and 
growth and many of the plants perish 
before reaching daylight. 
Thirdly: Seeds must be covered 
with earth, which is a dead weight 
that must be lifted by the plantlets. 
We must, therefore, plant seeds 
enough to afford lifting power to 
break the surface crust. 
Fewer seeds are required when 
sowing later in the season than for 
earlier sowing, as the ground is then 
more mellow and seeds come up 
easier. 
As war gardeners are interested 
only in small areas, ounces and quarts 
may be left out of consideration and 
attention directed mainly to packets 
of seed. In order to learn something 
of the actual size or contents of 
“packets” offered by reliable seeds- 
men 31 packets of seed were pur- 
chased from four seed firms and the 
seeds in each counted. The results 
follow: 
Seedsman A — Onion, 1210; Carrot, 
5427; Beet, 335; Bean, 156; Pea, 257; 
Radish, 1032; Spinach, 777; Parsnip, 
1126. 
Seedsman B — Onion, 1016; Beet, 
500; Bean, 265; Pea, 394; Radish, 
1408; Spinach, 990; Parsley, 850. 
Seedsman C — ‘Onion, 910; Carrot, 
3720; Beet, 356; Bean, 258; Pea, 340; 
Radish, 1108; Spinach, 440; Parsley, 
700. 
Seedsman D — Onion, 1690; Beet, 
585; Bean" 94; Pea, 169; Radish, 790; 
Spinach, 782; Parsley, 1892. 
Av. — 1206, 5473, 444, 193, 290, 1084. 
747, 1142. 
Combining these figures with the 
experience of skilled gardeners as to 
the proper number of seeds to plant 
per inch or foot, one packet of onion 
will plant 10 feet of row, carrot 4 0 
feet, beet 29 feet, bean 2 0 feet, pea 
25 feet, radish 10 feet. 
Summing 1 up it may b said that for 
(lie average family garden one pack- 
et of seed is enough of any of the 
kinds named except possibly peas 
and beans. By careful sowing one 
packet of most of the vegetables 
named is more titan enough for tlic 
first planting and some may be saved 
for later planting. 
Plant a Few Flowers 
While food production should be 
the main consideration in our garden 
making efforts, every gardener may, 
at slight additional expenditure of 
time and money, add cheer and 
brightness to the garden by planting 
a few packets of flower seeds. Seeds 
of common annual flowers may be 
sown at practically the same time, in 
the same manner and in the same 
garden as the vegetable seeds. Aster 
and beet, mignonette and onion will 
grow in the same row and never quar- 
rel. 
In making out your seed list in- 
clude one packet of each of these: 
Aster, Snapdragon, Candytuft, Alys- 
sum, Coxcomb, California Poppy, 
Marigold, Mignonette, Nasturtium, 
Zinnia. 
For additional copies of this bulle- 
tin address State Horticultural Soci- 
ety, Madison, or Colltge of Agriculture, 
Madison. 
The next circular in this series will 
be by the Department of Horticulture, 
University of Wisconsin. 
Potatoes should be kept in a 
temperature of about 38 degrees. 
If the air is dry, they should be 
covered with sand. They should 
also be kept from light, which will 
turn them green. Keep off till 
sprouts. 
By means of the Florists’ Tele- 
graph Delivery it is possible to 
send flowers to any part of the 
United States by giving the order 
to a florist who is a member of this 
organization. They may even be 
sent to the soldiers in the French 
hospitals through the connections 
of this society in France. 
Cut out old wood and thin the 
■lew growth of currants and goose- 
berries when the snow goes off. 
Too much brush and no cultiva- 
tion make small berries. 
