JiABCH \\ 
Earl Matthews: —We shell the nuts, being 
careful not to break the skin which covers the 
kernel, then plant them in hills three feet each 
way, dropping two or three kernels in a hill. 
When the plants are well up, pull out all but 
one. Keep the ground well stirred and free 
from weeds. Flat culture is imperative, my 
papa always tolls us. Always be careful aud 
not lift the vine after the “finders” have shot 
downward. Just before frost we dig them by 
using a common four-ti tied dung fork, Run it 
deep enough to go below the nuts and loosen 
the earth and nuts, then with the hand pull the 
center or main root and turn it bottom up¬ 
wards on the ground. After sunning a day, 
drive the wagon in the patch and throw the 
vines, nuts and all upon it and haul them to 
the barn. Scatter them until well cured. Pull 
off the nuts and mow away the vines. They 
make an excellent fodder. The small Spanish 
nut does better here in Texas than the large 
variety. 
Clarence Johnson:— I put two quarts of 
fine horse manure in a hill and then 1 break 
open the shells but do not take off the red 
skin. Then I set them with the sharp point 
up and then push the manure around the pea 
nut. Cover them with fresh dirt about three 
inches iu depth, and they will come up and 
spread over the ground. They look like 
clover but they have yellow blossoms. You 
must keep the dirt loose around the vines, and 
then lie very careful when you work around 
them, I)o not. let the weeds get a start. I 
raised some peanuts year before last, and took 
them to our county fair and gob the first pre¬ 
mium on them. 
Uncle Mark: —It has been said that our 
seasons are too short for the peanut; but, on 
a small scale, this obj -ction may he overcome 
by starting plants in hot beds and transplant¬ 
ing when the weather becomes warm. In this 
way a family can supply itself with peanuts. 
I hope the members will plant a few nuts just 
to see their manner of growth, if nothing 
more. 
- +-■*-*- ■ ■ 
THE CHILDREN’S GARDEN. 
PROF. W. J. BEAL. 
(See page IBS for Illustration.) 
There is only one child iu my family, but 
several of my neighbors have children. My 
good wife generally supplies them with cook¬ 
ies, maple sugar in generous chunks, and with 
other things which will surely draw the 
youngsters to our door. In one sense, all tho 
neighbors’ children are ours. Our door-yard 
aud garden are their head quarters. One or 
more of them generally unite with our little 
girl iu making a garden. Children like to 
play in dirt. They take to it as naturally as 
young ducks to tho pond. In the Spring of 
the year, if at no other time, every one is in a 
fever to “make garden.” The children imi¬ 
tate the older people. 
Iu 1877, when my child was seven years 
old, she took in a neighbor's girl, aged five- 
and-a-half, as partner, and they made a vege¬ 
table garden. The space selected was not 
large—only six feet square. They made their 
own plans, and sowed a few seeds which were 
given them. For a while all went lovely, hut 
on the approach of hot weather the ground 
became hard and the weeds numerous. Hoe¬ 
ing in the hot sun was not so funny as planting 
iu the mellow earth, in May. The girls were 
sometimes urged to hoe their garden; they 
were sometimes Helped a little. The garden 
looked like too many larger gardens which I 
have seen. The crops were light and easily 
harvested; the profits were small. The rows 
wore not straight, nor were tho distances be¬ 
tween them always well proportioned. Some 
things had room to spare; others were crowd¬ 
ed. Still the garden was nob a failure in any 
sense of the word. It afforded some occupa¬ 
tion for tho long days, and ga ve the children 
a little experience. They studied the gardens 
of older people the more carefully. 
Towards Spring of the next year tho same 
children, Jessie and Anna—one eight, the 
other six-and-a-ha If—took much delight in 
ransacking several illustrated seed catalogues. 
A few seed-* were again given them. They asked 
for help in making plans; some help was given 
thrm. This year the garden had expanded to 
a square rod or mure. They put in seeds for 
a miscellaneous lot of vegetables, which they 
peddled among tho neighbors. One of the 
most profitable plants was a hill of field- 
pumpkins, the fruit of w hich was sold to the 
boys at four cents apiece, for making “Jack 
o’ Lanterns.” Ill the garden, among the green 
or golden fruit, one of the boys had, without 
charge, placed a rude sigu, which read: 
“ Pumpkins for sale.” It drew everybody. 
The money for sales from the garden wus di¬ 
vided between the little gardeners. 
During the next season a better vegetable 
garden was maintained, and an indifferent 
flower garden. Tho location of the latt er was 
not good. My girl, Jessie, showed the usual 
shrewdness iu business matters, which runs in 
the family. She did most of the hard-w’ork, 
and made her little partner the treasurer of 
the firm. Before the next Spring, this little 
treasurer left tho country with her parents, 
taking with her about sixty live cents in the 
little bank, as the balance of cash on hand, 
the result of the hard earnings on the previous 
year. In the Spring of 1880, Jessie had a lit¬ 
tle help from Clara, another girl, about six 
months younger. They were then nearly ten 
and uiue aml-a-half, respectively. 
Listen while I report w hat one of them says 
as she turns over the pages of the seed catal¬ 
ogue, and makes her plans on paper. The 
plans showed the position of all the vegetables 
iu the garden which was yet to be made. 
They received a little help, but their enthusi¬ 
asm needed no stimulating. The subject was 
frequently reviewed, apparently with groat 
delight. Her remark was: “ 1 think Ferry is 
a good man to send me—a little girl—such a 
pretty catalogue. I w^ant to tell you what 1 
aoi going to send for; some of Dreer’s im¬ 
proved Lima beans. See, how close they are 
in the pod! They do not waste a bit of room. 
I want some improved Early Turnip beets for 
greens, and the bottoms for cooking. No 
cabbages for me. The worms trouble me so. 
Professor Johnson, last year, had some great 
nice heads, which Clara cut off. Mamma 
says carrots won’t pay. They do not sell 
well. Nobody wants any. Cauliflower aud 
celery are too much bother. 1 shall have to 
raise lots of com to make it pay; a. little does 
not amount to anything. Early Minnesota 
is pretty good for early, and 8 to well’s Ever¬ 
green for late. I am not going to raise any 
cucumbers, because I do not want to hoe 
them. The vines spread t out and always get 
in the way. We raised one hill last year, and 
nobody bought any. I want lettuce very 
early. We can sow Tennishall before the 
ground is warm. It will be an early crop. 
Ferry’s Early Prize head is a good kind, be¬ 
cause it heads up nicely, so you don’t have 
to pick it over much. The dirt can’t get in 
any more than iuto a head of cabbage.” 
“ But,” continued she, “I am going to try 
Martynias. They bear lots of splendid little 
pickles, if picked when young. Cucumbers 
do not bear so lavishly, and besides, every¬ 
body has cucumbers. Last year we raised 
one melon vine, and the melons did not ripen 
well. I never have any luck with melons. 
They do not amount to anything, and we eat 
them and got no money. Money is what we are 
after. Yellow Globe Danvers is a good kind 
of onion, 1 w ill have one row. 1 w r ant a lit¬ 
tle parsley. That is beautiful for bouquets and 
for garnishing. What, is garnishing ? Ob, it 
is for trimming up dishes of meat and things. 
I shall raise more peas next year—Ferry’s 
First and Best, is an early sort. Shall w'e have 
some late sorts if Yes, I guess so. The Cham¬ 
pion of Englan 1 is good. They need poles. 
We cannot hoe between them without poles. 
The moles took our peas last year and year 
before. Why try again to raise peas ? If 
they trouble me, I will hoe the peas all down 
and not raiso any. 1 want some long, red, 
cayenne peppers, to strengthen up pickles. Ev¬ 
erybody wants a few peppers to go in with pick¬ 
les. They are sharp—awful sharp, if you only 
just touch the tip of y r our tongue to one. Largo 
Bell or Bull-nose is tho best for pickles, be¬ 
cause it is not so sharp. Wo can sell 
them, because lots of folks wanted them last 
year. I do not know whether to raise pota¬ 
toes or not. Home one says ‘ you said they 
paid you last year the best of anything you 
raised ’ I guess so. Put iu a dash there 
about potatoes. I have not decided to-night. 
“ Radishes, Early Short top or Long Scarlet 
is a good kind ; 30 is Improved Early Scarlet 
White-tip, These are handsome with a little 
white tip on the end. That is all about rad¬ 
ishes. Spinach, for greens, that Is, Early 
Thick-leaved Summer. 1 do not want any 
vegetable oysters, 1 had no luck with them 
last year. I do not know of anybody who 
likes them to eat. As easily raised as parsnips, 
are they I Well I don’t want any. Squashes ?I 
I don’t want any. There is too much fuss with 
a big vine for a little squash. Wo raised some 
Crook Necks last year. The vines ran all over 
our potatoes. We sold five squashes at two 
cents a piece. We will raise some tomatoes. 
The scil over to Clara’s House is just the thing 
to raise them in because it is poor. The cata¬ 
logue says that tho soil should be light aud 
rich. At Clara’s house they had tomatoes 
last year two weeks earlier than anywhere 
else. 1 could have sold some last year. Mrs. 
K. wonted some. Ferry’s Improved Eaily 
Red is one of tho best. Trophy is too late for 
us. I guess 1 will have some Trophy to use 
late for canning, when the others are gone. 
No turnips. No sweet herbs. Tint ends the 
list.” 
The former experience of the children has 
made them more or less familiar w ith most of 
the common flowers and vegetables. They 
have learned that it is the best way and the 
easiest, to hoe or rake a garden often, and 
never let weeds get much uhove the ground. 
They see tho beauty and the convenience of 
straight rows. They see an advantage in 
order and system. This beauty and order 
tend to make them neat and particular, aud 
this tends to Increase their interest in the gar¬ 
den, and an Increased interest causes them to 
keep a better garden, and the better garden 
produces more and better flowers or vegetables, 
in proportion to the work expended. From 
early Spring till Autumn, every thing during 
1880 was clean and well kept, The sales, 
although not large, encouraged the little 
gardeners. 
Previous experience in managing the money 
was of some benefit to at least one of the girls, 
and not soon to be forgotten. Some of the 
money that year was used to buy fireworks 
for the Fourth of July. After the display 
was all over, and the excitement was gone, 
there came a reaction. One of the girls cried 
hard to think she had thus burned up so much 
money for which she had worked so hard 
during tho year. She would never do so 
again. Here was a valuable less.n on the 
right use of money. 
In going from house to house one day, the 
children culled on u lady who had not been 
long in the neighborhood, and who did not 
understand the plans of the little girls. They 
had lettuce to sell that morning. Would she 
like some? “Oh, ye?, it is nice, I am very 
fond of lettuce. Tell your mother, L am very 
much obliged toiler.” The girls were surprised, 
but one of them said, “You are welcome.” 
She w as too polite to say at tliut time that she 
brought the lettuce to sell. Iu relating their 
experience, one of them told her mother that 
it was a good joke on the lady. It was not 
Night Effect of Evening Piumkoke-Draw n »v Ai.fhkd Farsoss—A fter Roliiiisou’s Wild Garden—Fio. 82. 
Persian Insect Plant—Pyrktukum roseltm— Page 170— Fig. 88. 
