160 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[April, 
the roots in this are small, much divided, and 
unfit for food. It produces an abundance of 
leaves, having very large and thick leaf¬ 
stalks ; these, when the plant is grown 
rapidly, are tender, and furnish an abundant 
supply of greens. The Leaf Beet is more 
A PLANT OF SWISS CHARD. 
popular on the continent of Europe than 
elsewhere—the catalogues giving half a dozen 
or more varieties, differing in color and in 
the division of the leaves. Our engraving 
gives the general appearance of the plant.— 
Its culture is the same as for the ordinary 
beet, except to give the plants more room. 
In rich soil one foot apart in the rows is none 
too much. Sown very early, the plants will 
be of a full size by midsummer. The seed is 
sometimes sown in September, and the plants 
wintered with a slight covering, to give an 
early crop in spring. The outer leaves are 
pulled away, the same as in gathering rhu¬ 
barb, leaving those in the center to increase 
and continue the supply. In this country the 
leaves are cooked in the same manner as 
other greens. In Europe the plant is espe¬ 
cially valued for the very broad and thick 
leaf stalks, which are peeled, cooked, and 
served in the same manner as asparagus, 
with drawn butter. The plant is often called 
“ Swiss Chard,” and is one of the few plants 
the traveller sees in the little gardens of the 
chalets in the mountains of Switzerland. 
About Sweet Peas. 
What is more beautiful or more fragrant 
than the old-fashioned Sweet Peas! How 
rarely we see them of late! It is true that 
the same thing—the intense summer heat— 
which makes our season of “green peas” 
rather short, also interferes with the sweet 
pea. Those who would have sweet peas should 
plant them early, and plant them deep. 
Three inches of covering is none too much, 
and they should be put in as early as the soil 
is in a condition to work. Of course they 
must have something to climb upon. Pea¬ 
brush, such as is given to the ordinary gar¬ 
den peas, is perhaps the best, but, in the 
absence of this, strings, wires, or whatever 
will allow the plants to climb for about three 
feet, must be provided. The old-fashioned 
Sweet Pea (Latliyrus odoratus ) has. in the 
hands of European florists, given a number 
of fine varieties, the names of which will be 
found in the catalogues of the seedsmen. 
Some of these have beautiful colors, but 
none are more fragrant than the old sort. 
Sweet peas are excellent flowers for cutting, 
as they have long stems, and they retain their 
beauty for very many days. To have sweet 
peas at their best, plant early and plant deep. 
Tomatoes in the Garden. 
We say “in the garden” as distinguished 
from field culture. Those who make a field 
crop of the Tomato, have their own prefer¬ 
ences as to varieties, and let the plants take 
care of themselves, so far as any 
training goes. But those who 
care either for neatness in the 
garden, or for excellence in the 
fruit, will be careful as to their 
selection of varieties, and take 
some pains with the vines. A 
tomato plant, left to itself, can 
be one of the most sprawly, un¬ 
sightly things possible. With a 
little training it may be made, 
•when loaded with clusters of 
fruit, a most attractive object. 
As to varieties, several quite new 
ones are offered this season, 
which we shall try and report 
upon later. The “Trophy” was 
a great advance upon all former 
tomatoes, and though it had its faults, it was 
on the whole so much better than any other 
that it was for years our main reliance. For 
solidity and flavor no other excels it, but it 
is not early, and does not ripen well at the 
stem end. Last year, besides the “Trophy,” 
we had. among others. 
“Acme” and “ Livington’s 
Perfection. ” These gave 
so much satisfaction, that 
we shall make our main 
planting of them the pres¬ 
ent year. “ Livingston’s 
Perfection” seemed to have 
reached the point indicated 
by its name, yet we have 
others, one by the raiser 
himself, claimed to be more 
perfect than Perfection ! 
Those who have never 
trained a tomato plant are 
not aware how much may 
be done with it. If nothing 
more can be done, it will 
pay in the excellence of 
fruit to merely lay down a 
lot of biush to keep the 
vines from the ground. A 
support or trellis of some 
kind can be easily con¬ 
structed ; in previous vol¬ 
umes we have given a 
dozen or more. Supports 
of poles, wire, lath, or 
whatever will hold up the 
vines are such an improve¬ 
ment over the slip-shod 
method that we can not 
too strongly advise some¬ 
thing of the kind. In a 
village garden, the vines 
may be fastened to a board 
fence, or may be trained 
against the side of a barn, 
shed, or other building, 
fastening as needed by 
loops of leather or cloth, 
tacked up with small nails, 
and they will run to the hight of ten feet or 
more if desired. In the way of variety, some 
plants may be kept to a single stake or pole, 
and for those fond of such matters, afford 
much pleasant occupation in the training 
and pruning, besides giving more perfectly 
ripened fiuit. In training to a single pole or 
to a trellis, the heavy clusters of fruit must 
be supported, or they may become so heavy 
as to break their stem away from the main 
stalk and in this way be lost. 
The Christmas Roses—Old and New. 
The Black Hellebore of Europe (Helleborus 
niger), is called Christmas Rose, because in 
England it often blooms in early winter, and 
its flower has some general resemblance to a 
single rose. It has broad much divided ever¬ 
green leaves, which, with the flower stalks, 
spring from an underground stem, and is 
stemless, so far as any above-ground stalk is 
concerned. Our winters shut in so early, 
that the plant rarely blooms with us, save in 
early spring, and our hot summers are so 
severe upon its foliage that it only succeeds 
in a partially shaded place. Though one of 
the hardiest of plants, so far as cold is con¬ 
cerned, we have succeeded best with it by 
growing it in pots. It can thus be given suit¬ 
able shade in summer, and, as it is the nature 
of the plant to form large flower buds in 
autumn, it can, by bringing it into a cool 
greenhouse, be had in flower at any time. 
A pot of the Christmas Rose, with its ever¬ 
green leaves, and a dozen broad white flow¬ 
ers, is a most cheerful thing to have in win¬ 
A HYBRID CHRISTMAS ROSE. 
ter, especially as its beauty lasts for weeks. 
There are several species of Hellehoms, in 
which the flowers are borne upon a regular 
stem, and of late years the florists of conti¬ 
nental Europe have, by hybridizing and cross¬ 
ing, produced a large number of most inter¬ 
esting varieties, which, when they become 
