1884 .] 
AMERIOAI^ AGRICULTURIST. 
147 
baskets are most popular in the market, and use 
that kind. Have all crates plainly marked. 
Eitclten a.ud Market 4j»ar<leii. 
Success in the garden largely depends upon hav¬ 
ing good seeds and sowing them at the right time. 
Do not depend upon seeds of doubtful vitality, but 
test them beforehand. Count out twenty seeds 
and sow them in a cup or other vessel of soil, and 
note what share comes up. The seeds of tender 
vegetables should not be sown until the proper time 
to plant corn. In raising vegetables for market 
sow those kinds that are popular in the locality. 
Plants in hot-beds should be hardened off grad¬ 
ually to prepare them for the open air. Hot-beds 
at this season need close attention. If the sashes 
are left closed a short time, the hot sun will de¬ 
stroy the plants and undo the work of weeks. In 
sowing seeds success often depends upon bringing 
the soil in close contact with them. Some gardeners 
tread down the soil over the seeds with the feet. 
Asparagus is a crop well suited to farmers. It is 
always in demand and the market rarely over¬ 
stocked. If not sold at once it will keep several 
days. Sow seeds to raise plants with which to set 
out a field next year. Prepare the soil as fora root 
crop, mark out drills fifteen inches apart and sow 
the seeds rather thinly, covering an inch deep. 
When well up keep clean by use of the hoe and 
thin with the hoe, leaving the plants as far apart as 
the width of its blade. If they have good soil and 
good cultivation the plants will, in one season, 
grow large enough to set out the next spring. 
Flower Earden. and F>a.wn. 
The lawn should be cleared of leaves, sticks and 
other rnbbish by the use of a rake or a stiff stable 
broom. Artificial fertilizers are preferable to sta¬ 
ble manure, unless that is so well decomposed that 
all weed-seeds are killed. A hundred pounds each 
to the acre, of nitrate of soda and some good su¬ 
perphosphate, make an excellent dressing for lawns. 
The decoration of small lawns in village and city 
front yards is more effective with a single bold 
clump than to cut it up with small flower beds. A 
group of castor-oil plants, or if the place is small, a 
single one, is very showy ; a clump of cannas sur¬ 
rounded by gladioluses is also effective. Where 
flowers are grown to be seen in the bed, one does 
not like to cut them. Have a separate bed to sup¬ 
ply cut flowers in plenty to which all who wish 
flowers can go without asking permission. 
After herbaceous perennials have been three or 
four years in one place they need to be taken up, 
divided, and re-planted in fresh soil. This should 
he done very early. Coleuses, geraniums, and 
other bedding plants should not be planted out un¬ 
til the soil is warmed, and it should be well en¬ 
riched. If there are no woody climbers upon the 
porch or veranda, such as honeysuckles, etc., plant 
some this spring. Annual climbers—morning glo¬ 
ries, cypress vine, thunbergia, canary-bird flower, 
etc.—are useful to hide unsightly fences, etc. 
Sow the seeds when the soil is warm and dry. 
Cireeii-house ^.ntl Window Flnnts. 
The increasing heat of the sun makes ventilation 
necessary, and the demand for water must be sup¬ 
plied. Plants that are to go into the border must 
be hardened off by gradual exposure. Insects wHl 
rapidly increase and frequent attention will be 
needed. Hyacinths, tulipis, etc., that have bloomed 
may be turned out into a reserve bed, and will give 
flowers useful for cutting in future years. Shad¬ 
ing will soon be needed. Small green-houses and 
windows may be shaded by a curtain of sheeting. 
Large green-houses are most conveniently shaded 
with common lime white-wash, made rather thin. 
This is spattered upon the glass with the brush, 
thinly at first, increasing the spattering weekly, 
as the sun gets hotter and more protection is need¬ 
ed. Seeds of balsams, asters, and many others, 
may be sown in boxes in the window. Gladiolus 
bulbs may be planted as soon as the soil is dry. 
Make plantings at intervals of a week or so. 
An Above-Ground Cellar of Wood. 
In Januai-y, page 11, Mr. Rexford strongly rec¬ 
ommended building cellars above ground, and not 
under the dwelling, as is the nearly universal 
custom, and he gave some good reasons. In re¬ 
sponse to our call for suggestions, plans and esti¬ 
mates, Mr. Fred. Grundy, Morrisonville, 111., sends 
us a sketch and description of one made of wood, 
which he says answers its purpose fully as well as 
one made of brick; that nothing has ever frozen in 
it, and that once when the thermometer marked 
thirty-nine below zero outside, the one inside indi¬ 
cated thirty-four above, and a lighted lamp raised 
it to forty degrees in an hour. Its floor is on a 
level with that of the kitchen, with which it is 
connected by an enclosed passage, twelve feet 
long, lighted with a small window on one side and 
a large pane of glass in the door on the opposite 
side.—The foundation is two walls a single brick 
thick, extending eighteen inches into the gronnd, 
with a space between of one foot filled with well 
packed clay. On these walls sills made of two 
planks eighteen inches wide spiked together, are 
laid in cement, making them rat and mouse proof. 
The above-ground walls, eighteen inches thick, 
are formed with studding of planks two inches 
thick and sixteen inches wide, covered on the in¬ 
side with planed inch-thick boards, and the same 
on the outside battened. The outer boards, 
standing upright, will need one or more horizontal 
pieces for nailing them to, or they would be 
spread by the packing material, if only nailed to 
the sills and plates. The space is filled with dry 
sawdust, which needs to be well stowed or it will 
settle and leave a blank space at the top. The 
ceiling is of inch boards nailed to two by six inch 
tie-beams or joists, covered with full two feet 
thickness of dry saw-dust. The roof is of boards, 
sheathed tightly and covered with rubber roofing 
held down with battens. Any material desired can 
be used for the roof; shingles, or better still, tin or 
galvanized iron is preferable to rubber or tarred 
paper, unless well protected with a gravel or abes- 
tos covering, as a low roof is subject to fire from 
sparks. The building is lighted by one double 
sash window, fitted with a sliding shutter inside. 
It has only one door, which opens into the pas¬ 
sage. In the ground-plan, fig. 2: a is the door ; 
5, window ; c, passage. A ventilator in the center 
of the roof can be opened or closed from the in¬ 
side. Two grape-vines trained to cover the east 
and west sides aid in keeping the walls cool in 
summer. A well grown and closely trimmed bar¬ 
berry hedge, twelve feet from the building, on the 
north and west sides, is a valuable feature, as it 
causes the snow to bank high against the building 
and act as a blanket during the severe weather 
which usually follows a snow-storm. The cellar 
is kept clean and wholesome and used as a dairy as 
well as a cellar, winter and summer. The size and 
hight may be adapted to the wants of the owner. 
Of course the passage -way may be twelve feet as 
stated, or longer or shorter, allowing only length 
enough for the outside door. If such a cellar be 
used for a dairy room it is important to have an 
apartment with a perfectly tight division wall, as 
butter, and milk are very susceptible to odors from 
roots and vegetables. For a large vegetable and 
root or fruit cellar an outside double door opening 
Fig. 2.— GBOIJND PLAN OP CELLAR. 
directly into the cellar, will save much labor in 
carrying these articles around through the passage¬ 
way. The window might be constructed suflB- 
ciently large to admit of passing them through. 
Some Vegetables not Generally Grown. 
Potato Onions. —Those who wish early onions, 
can have them sooner from these than from sets. 
The seedsmen sell the bulbs, which soon grow into 
large ones. The Top Onions behave in the same 
manner, but we have not had so much experience 
with these. We find the Potato Onions very use¬ 
ful in the family garden, Try some of them. 
Salsify is not generally grown, at least not in 
farmers’ gardens. It is as easily managed as 
parsnip or other roots. The root is rarely more 
than an inch through at the larger end. By 
giving it a rich soil and thinning to five or six 
inches apart in the row, the size may be increased. 
This is often called “ Oyster Plant,” or “ Yegetable 
Oyster.” A soup made from it has somewhat the 
flavor of oyster soup. It may be cut into inches and 
stewed, or boiled tender, dipped in batter and fried. 
Parsley is in demand not only for flavoring, but 
for ornamenting or garnishing dishes; the leaves 
of the finer kinds being really beautiful. The 
seeds are very slow in starting—often remaining 
several weeks in the ground, and when transplanted 
are slow in recovering. Thin seedlings or trans¬ 
plant to eight inches apart. Provide enough plants 
to allow some to be kept in a box, to afford leaves 
during the winter. In sowing seeds of winter cab¬ 
bages, do not forget to try some of the Savoys, 
recommended last month, page 101. Brussells 
Sprouts, another variety of the cabbage, with small 
heads along the whole length of a tall “ stump” or 
stalk is as easily raised as common cabbages. 
This is seldom raised in the market gardens. 
Fig. 1.—EXTERIOR OP AN ABOVE-GROUND CELLAR. 
Sweet Herbs will be in demand next winter, 
and should be provided now. The usual kinds are: 
Sage, thyme, summer savory, and sweet 
marjoram, to which may be added tar¬ 
ragon, basil, and spearmint. The first 
three named above should be sown in 
a seed bed, as soon as the weather is 
settled and the plants kept free of 
weeds, and well cultivated until June 
or July, when they may follow some 
earlier crop. The plants may be set a 
foot apart each way. Sweet Marjoram 
does best if sown where it is to grow. 
Sow the seeds in rows a foot apart, 
and then thin to the same distance in 
the row. Tarragon is a hardy peren¬ 
nial with a pleasant flavor, and is used 
in salads and pickles. The roots may 
be bought rf the seedsmen. Mint, or 
spearmint, is much in demand in 
spring for the “mint sauce,” to ac¬ 
company spring lamb, and an excel¬ 
lent flavoring for soups. It is propa¬ 
gated by division of the roots, which 
are naturalized in many places. Basil 
is raised from the seeds like sage, etc. 
