AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
8? 
is a cheaper food than exclusive hay diet, 
and cattle thrive much better upon it. It is 
not liable to the objection usually brought 
against turnips, for it gives no peculiar taste 
to the milk, and does not injure it for butter 
making. 
To raise Seed , set out a dozen of the best 
roots you can procure, the last of this month. 
Put them in a sheltered place, in good soil, 
and gather the seed when fully ripe. It is 
easily scattered by the winds, and if not 
gathered at maturity it will be lost. Seed 
more than one year old should seldom be 
used. It is so thin that it soon loses its 
vitality. 
LETTUCE. 
The name of this vegetable is from the 
Latin word lac, (milk,) so called from the 
whitish juice which exudes from the stem 
and leaves when broken or cut. This juice, 
when separated, is called lactucarum, and 
has slightly narcotic properties, like opium, 
for which it is sometimes used in cases 
where opium is inadmissible. 
The most common use is as a salad in 
Spring, for which it is unrivaled. It is uni¬ 
versally regarded as a healthful vegetable, 
and is highly relished by persons accustom¬ 
ed to its use. It was introduced into Eng¬ 
land about 1562, since which time it has held 
a prominent place in the kitchen garden. 
There are two varieties, each of which has 
a large number of sub-divisions. The cab¬ 
bage lettuce was introduced from Egypt, 
and its varieties have principally originated 
in Europe, under the treatment of skillful 
gardeners. The upright sorts are from Cos, 
and take the name of the island whence 
they were introduced. They are char¬ 
acterized by an erect growth, and do 
not readily form heads without artificial aid. 
The cabbage varieties grow close to the 
ground, and produce a blanched heart, in the 
form of a cabbage, without any assistance. 
When young they are in general sweeter 
than Cos varieties, at the same age. They 
are grown at all seasons, the Cos are more 
particularly for Summer use. 
VARIETIES. 
Many of the European sorts are not 
adapted to our dry, hot Summers. The fol¬ 
lowing are recommended by experienced 
gardeners, and when propagated from relia¬ 
ble seed, will give satisfaction. Cabbage 
varieties: Brown Dutch, Early and Royal 
Cabbage, Drumhead, Victoria and Large In¬ 
dian. Cos Varieties : White Cos, Brown or 
Bath Cos, Paris and Green Cos. These are 
not so popular with us as in Europe. They 
should have their leaves drawn together a 
week or two before they are cut and tied 
with a strip of matting. 
CULTURE. 
This vegetable delights in a deep rich 
loam, not too moist. It does better in thor¬ 
oughly decomposed manure, than in fresh 
applications. We have found it to succeed 
admirably in reclaimed marsh land, where 
it has been thoroughly underdrained. 
Though a small plant, it sends its roots deep 
into the earth, and a multitude of them. 
Whatever spot is taken for this crop, should 
be thoroughly trenched and manured, a 
small bed will supply a family very abund¬ 
antly. Make the top soil very fine with the 
garden rake, and sow in drills nine inches 
apart, as soon as the ground is open in the 
Spring. The Early Cabbage, Drumhead, and 
Indian are good varieties for the first sow¬ 
ing. 
Sow again, for a succession, the last of 
April, and at intervals through the season. 
We have found it a good practice to put a 
few seeds about the edges of other beds of 
garden vegetables, as finer heads are pro¬ 
duced by a plenty of room. 
This plant survives the Winter with a lit¬ 
tle protection, and market gardeners are ac¬ 
customed to prepare plants for their earliest 
crops by sowing the previousTall, and keep¬ 
ing the plants in close boxes during the 
Winter, very much like early York Cab¬ 
bages. The Brown Dutch is a good variety 
for this treatment. 
SEED. 
The varieties that head best should be se¬ 
lected for seed, and should be kept at a dis¬ 
tance from all other varieties while in 
bloom. The seed from those that run up 
will not give good heads. 
CONVENIENT IMPLEMENTS, 
We intend to devote a column, now and then, 
to describing and illustrating some of the most 
convenient implements which have not as yet 
come into general use We begin with these 
four simple ones, and 
give plain details, as 
we write, not for those 
who have used and 
are familiar with the 
implements named. 
We have found no sin¬ 
gle implement more 
useful, both in the gar¬ 
den and field, than the 
one here shown, called 
the weeding hoe. It is 
also styled the onion 
weeding Hoe. hoe, the bayoant hoe, 
&c. Our cut shows the metal part in the larger 
figure, and the same implement with the handle, 
in the smaller figure. In the latter form, with the 
handle, the usual retail price is 50 cents The 
steel blade is about 6 inches in length, 1J inches 
wide at the end next the handle, and runs to a 
point, with sharp edges. By turning the side to 
the soil, it cuts as wide as the common hoe, and 
may be drawn through the surface soil to loosen 
it without moving the earth along. With the 
point downward, the ground may be loosened the 
full depth of the blade. In this way it may be 
used for opening drills for seed. It is always very 
advantageous to loosen the soil deeply below 
where seed is to be placed. The point can be 
turned to the right or left, and worked in among 
corn, potatoes, and among the smaller plants in 
the garden. We have more recently used this 
for nearly all kinds of hoeing and weeding, and 
have saved with it many a backache, to say 
nothing of sore fingers resulting from pulling 
weeds, where only the broad common hoe was 
resorted to. We would not like to be without 
one, if the cost were much greater. We do not 
know that it is patented, and it is, or should be, 
on sale wherever any kinds of implements are 
kept. 
Next to the weeding hoe, es¬ 
pecially for garden culture, we 
place the scuffle or push hoc. 
The steel blade is from 2 to 3 
inches wide, and from 5 to 9 
inches in length. The front 
edge is bevelled sharp, and 
sometimes the back edge is also 
sharp ; it should always be so. 
The handle is made longer than 
that of the common hoe, and 
one can stand upright and work 
over the surface of the ground 
quite effectually and easily, It 
may be considered a good im¬ 
plement for a weak-backed, or 
“ lazy man,” but is none the 
worse on that account for a 
“ smart man.” The retail price 
varies from 37£ to 75 cents, ac- 
Scuffle or Push Hoe. c()rding ^ ^ j engtL of the 
blade. It is also very useful for working upon 
gravel walks. 
The advantages of a Garden Trowel 
are too little known, as not one farmer 
in a hundred has one. This is similar 
to the common mortar trowel, but the 
blade is curved upon the sides into the 
shape of a trough with open ends. Its 
chief use is in making holes for and 
taking up young plants, without dis¬ 
turbing the soil around the roots. Cab¬ 
bage plants, beets, cucumber plants, 
in short, all kinds of young plants in 
the garden may be safely transplanted, G T ^ e i n 
by using this implement. So, also, field corn, tur¬ 
nips, &c., may all be moved from thick planted to 
thin or vacant spots with eqse and safety. This 
may be done in dry weather, by first wetting the 
portion of soil to be moved. By striking the 
trowel down two or three times, a circular hole 
may be made, and by a similar operation around 
the plant, a mass of earth enclosing the roots can 
be taken up of just the form to fit the prepared 
cavity. Moved in this way, few young plants will 
suffer by change of place. The retail price varies 
from 25 cents to $1, according to size and quality. 
Where a line is used 
for laying out a garden 
plot into beds and walks, 
&c., a Garden Reel is 
quite a convenience. They 
are sold ready made oi 
iron for about 50 cents to 
$1 each. Any one, how¬ 
ever, can construct one 
for himself. A frame, for 
winding the line upon, 
may be made of wood, 
like the iron one shown 
in the cut, or a two-inch 
board, say ten inches long and eight inches wide, 
may be taken and hollowed upon the sides for a 
spool. Through the centre bore an inch hole for 
the upright supporting stake. Into each upper 
corner, put a peg projecting upward an inch or so, 
so that the cord may be crossed between them to 
prevent further unwinding at any desired point. 
A sharpened, hard wood stake, may be tied to 
the end of the cord, and set up at any required 
distance, as shown in the cut When not in use, 
the apparatus may be packed away easily. A boy 
with a hatchet and augur could quickly get up 
such an implement. Those who are procuring a 
complete set of garden implements, or who have 
much use for a line, will of course get the iron 
reel. A light reel or spool is convenient for keep¬ 
ing clothes lines upon. 
0 (i 
Garden Reel. 
