184 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
SALSIFY, OR OYSTER PLANT. 
This root is as easily grown as the pars¬ 
nip, and why it is not as generally culti¬ 
vated we are unable to say. It makes a 
much more palatable dish, and is certain to 
be relished by all who affect the delicious 
bivalves of the same name. If you have a 
spare square rod of land, do not fail to put 
in a paper or two of Salsify seed, from a re¬ 
liable seed store. 
Salsify may be sown from the first of 
April, or earlier, until the second week in 
May, in this latitude, and later still, further 
north. The soil should be moderately fer¬ 
tile, and not very heavy, and be spaded pretty 
deeply, or better, trenched, with a little man¬ 
ure put at the bottom of the trench only. 
Sow thickly, in shallow drills, eight to ten 
inches apart, and cover not more than half 
an inch deep. When the plants are well up 
weed them, and thin out so that the plants 
will be four or five inches from each other 
in the rows. A few weeks after, Avhen the 
growth is well established, one-half of the 
weaker ones should be again removed, so as 
to leave them eight or ten inches asunder 
for the final growth. 
Repeat the weeding afterward as may be 
needful, and during dry weather give a plen¬ 
tiful watering occasionally. It will be found 
highly advantageous to add to the water a 
little Peruvian guano, say, an ounce to two 
gallons, thoroughly stirred in. Urine from 
the house, or manure liquids from the stable 
or yard will answer the same purpose. No 
other cultivation is required. 
In September and October the roots will 
have attained a considerable size, and you 
may commence taking them up for use. 
When plants are left in the ground till the 
following Spring, they send up shoots which 
may be cut and used for asparagus. 
The plant is a native of Great Britain. 
The root is not so large as the parsnip, but 
may, with good cultivation, be brought to an 
inch in diameter. The root is hardy, and 
may remain out all Winter. A part of the 
crop may be dug and put in the cellar in 
sand, to be used when the frost prevents 
digging them. 
They make an excellent dish, cut in thin 
slices, rolled in batter and fried like oysters. 
How much they taste like that shell-fish 
will depend somewhat upon the strength of 
your imagination, and the measure of your 
faith.— Ed. 
OKRA. 
This is another plant not yet extensively 
cultivated at the North, but which deserves 
a high popularity. It is much cultivated in 
the Southern and some of the Middle States, 
chiefly as an addition to soups. Its long 
green pods, full of seeds, and abounding in 
mucus, form the chief ingredient in the fa¬ 
mous “ gumbo soup.” It also makes an ex- 
cellenUstew, cooked as snap beans. The 
plant grows some six feet high, has a beau¬ 
tiful leaf and flower, and is worthy of its 
place in the garden, for ornamental pur¬ 
poses. The flower resembles that of the 
cotton plant. 
The seed should be sown in drills, two- 
and-a-half to three feet apart, early in May. 
Thin out the young plants to six inches 
apart, and hoe frequently, to secure rapid 
growth. The pods are only good in the 
green state, when full of mucilage. 
We last year secured seeds of this plant, 
from the Gaboon River, in Africa. They 
came up well, and matured perfectly. The 
pod is much shorter and thicker than the va¬ 
riety in common use. The seeds, when 
perfectly ripe, are said to make an excellent 
coffee, burnt and ground like the berries of 
the coffee plant. All who affect soups should 
give the Okra a place in their vegetable gar¬ 
den. The plant needs no forcing, is hardy, 
and is grown as easily as sweet corn.— Ed. 
We suppose all good gardeners have a 
thrifty bed of beets already planted, still it 
is not too late to plant another bed. They 
may even be sown to the last of this month. 
A garden well laid out, with all the vegeta¬ 
bles growing in rows, or in imitation of some 
geometrical figure, presents a fine appear¬ 
ance to the eye, and this practice is to be 
commended. W T e have, however, found it 
advantageous to have a plot of beets in some 
less conspicuous part of the garden, which 
was planted more with regard to economy 
than beauty. 
For this purpose we take about a square 
rod of ground, and as soon as it will do to 
work it, sow it thickly with some early va¬ 
riety of beets, putting on the seed broadcast, 
and digging it in with a hoe. If the plants 
come up very thick, we pull out a part at the 
first weeding. As soon as they begin to in¬ 
terfere with each other, we pull up a quan¬ 
tity, and boil roots and tops together, and 
thus have a good dish of greens. The thin¬ 
ning process goes on almost daily till late in 
the summer, and this single rod of ground 
furnishes us an abundance of greens, and 
there is still left growing a good crop of 
beets, which have been benefited rather than 
retarded, by the stirring of the ground while 
thinning them out. We are aware that the 
above plan contains nothing new to many, 
but we have visited scores of gardens where 
the only practice was to sow beets in rows, 
with the seeds at a distance of three or four 
inches from each other.— Ed. 
THE CABBAGE CROP. 
It is not yet too late for the main crop of 
cabbages. Indeed cabbages to be laid in for 
winter use may be set out all through the 
month of June. If they mature too early, 
the heads burst and prove worthless for 
marketing. It is better to have them still 
growing in full vigor, when you take them 
up the last of November for heeling in. 
Therefore prepare a seed bed the first of 
this month, and another the last, for succes¬ 
sive crops of this vegetable. In making a 
bed, take a bushel or two of refuse char¬ 
coal from the bin too fine too kindle fires, or 
the cinders thrown out from railroad engines. 
This is very valuable in inducing fine fibrous 
roots on the young plants. Rake into the 
bed also about a half bushel of ashes to the 
square rod, at the time of sowing the seed. 
This will prove a safe guard against the at¬ 
tack of the grub. It is also said to prevent 
the club foot, which often destroys this crop 
in old garden soils. We have found the 
Premium, flat Dutch, and the Bergen good 
varieties for late summer and fall use. Get 
good seed from a reliable source. There is 
a great difference in the quality of seed. And 
now while we are speaking of this crop, we 
would say to every cultivator, gr-ow your 
own seed from the finest heads selected for 
the purpose. This is the safest way to make 
a sure crop, and to have the size of the heads 
increase every year. 
You can set the young plants thirty inch¬ 
es apart, between the early Yorks, which 
will be out of the way by the middle of July. 
If the soil is specially prepared, use no ma¬ 
nure from the pig-stye, as it induces the 
finger and toes, and spoils the crop. Stable 
manure well trenched in will give a good 
crop. Sea manures are also valuable for 
cabbage.— Ed. 
NASTURTIUMS VERSUS CUCUMBERS. 
Whoever wants a nice pickle, let him 
plant the seeds of the Nasturtium, or Indian 
Cress. The vines are rampant, and need a 
trellis, or brush to support them. They 
make beautiful screens, wherever one is 
needed. The flowers are very showy, and 
surpass many of the products of the flower 
garden. The curled leaf, stems, and green 
seed pods are eaten as salads, or made into 
pickles, rivaling capers. A row of these 
plants, a rod long, will supply a family. The 
seed pods should be picked every other day, 
when they are young and tender. If left 
till they are old they become hard and more 
unpalatable. They may be washed clean, 
and put immediately into vinegar in glass 
jars, where they will keep a year or more 
without any additional trouble. Most who 
have cultivated them prefer them to the cu¬ 
cumber or the pepper. Order a paper of 
seeds and try them. 
CULTIVATION. 
Nasturtiums will flourish in almost any 
soil, but prefer a light, fresh loam. If the 
ground be very rich there will be too many 
vines and leaves, at the expense of the pods 
or berries. They may be sown from the 
middle of March to the latter part of May, 
in this latitude—the earlier the better, how¬ 
ever. Sow in drills, putting the seeds two 
or three inches apart, and cover about two 
inches deep. As above remarked, they need 
a trellis, wall, or brush, for the vines to run 
upon. For field cultivation, on a large scale, 
the rows should be two feet apart, to admit 
a plow or cultivator between them, but in a 
garden, six to twelve inches is quite suf¬ 
ficient. Weeding and watering, in very dry 
weather, is all the cultivation needed. They 
continue flowering from June to October. 
The berries, for pickling, should be gathered 
in August and September, while green and 
fleshy.—E d. 
A hen is better pleased with a grain of 
corn than a gem. 
