VOL XLVIII NO. 204U 
NEW YOLK, MARCH 2, 1889, 
PRTCK FIVE CENTS, 
$2.00 PER YEAR. 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the Year 1889, by the Rural New-Yorker, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.] 
VEGETABLES! 
THE LATEST, ITHEj'OLDEST, 
THE BEST KINDS. 
OUFTBEST PRACTICAL WRITERS 
TELL THE STORY. 
ANumberoftheR. N.-Y. that is Worth 
More than Any Book on 
the'Subject. 
The Best Current Information. 
The Teachings of Experience. 
Timely Topics and Suggestions to 
Vegetable Growers. 
SUGGESTIONS AS TO CULTIVA¬ 
TION AND WHEN TO PLANT. 
Peas, Beans, Cabbage, Borecole, Brus- 
sels-Sprouts, Cauliflower, Carrots, 
Beets, Celeriac, Cucumbers, Com, 
Egg-plant, Onions, Leek, Gar¬ 
lic, Lettuce, Mushrooms, 
Okra, Peppers, Radishes, 
Spinach, Squash, Rhu¬ 
barb, Tomatoes, Po¬ 
tatoes, Turnips. 
Communications from Matthew Crawford, 
of Ohio-, J. M. Smith, of W'isconsin ; Wil¬ 
liam Falconer, of Long Island, N. Y .; J. 
A. Foote, of Indiana-, Dr. T. II. Hos¬ 
kins, of Vermont-, Prof. Goff of the 
N. Y. E. Station-, E. S. Teagarden, 
of Iowa-, II. M. Wysor , of Vir¬ 
ginia ; Fred Grundy, ,of Illi¬ 
nois-, H. M. Engle , of Penn¬ 
sylvania ; Jonathan Tal- 
cott, of New York-, A. B. 
Coleman, of Kentucky, 
F. II. Valentine, O. 
II. Alexander, A. 
C. Bales, et at. 
FROM M. CRAWFORl). 
Pour years’ service, in my youth, in a 
market garden of 100 acres gave me such a 
love for the work that it has continued until 
to-day, although it is more_'than a quarter of 
a century since I gave it up for another 
branch of horticulture, that is even more in¬ 
viting. I am still delighted to receive a seeds¬ 
man’s catalogue, and always feel under obliga¬ 
tions either to patronize the sender or in¬ 
fluence some one else to do so. Each season I 
cheerfully yield to the temptation of buying 
several times as many seeds as I need. I sup¬ 
pose it will always be so.^for two nice cata¬ 
logues that came to day make me impatient 
for the coming of spring so that gardening 
may commence. Were it not for the neces¬ 
sity of earning^a living, my inclinations 
would lead me to spend my entire time in test¬ 
ing new things, raising seedlings and seeing 
what perfection could be reached regardless 
of cost. Fine specimens of flowers, fruits and 
vegetables are brought for exhibition, at the 
monthly meetings of our county horticultural 
society, and their merits, with the methods 
used in their production, are freely discussed. 
This is another incentive to the testing of new 
things. I have grown a large number of va¬ 
rieties of squashes and have never yet found 
anything superior to theHubbard,although the 
Marblehead and Butman are about equal to it 
in all important points. When the Hubbard 
was introduced, 80 years ago this spring, I 
procured seed and raised over 300 fine ones. 
In the fall and early winter I ate of them so 
freely that my skin was colored almost to an 
orange tint. I had some doubts as to w he* her 
this was due to the squashes, but these doubts 
were all removed the following winter when 
I saw a number of persons affected in the 
same way, and all of them were exceedingly 
fond of Hubbard squashes. 
I raise from one to three new varieties of 
tomatoes every year, and the Volunteer has 
proved to be the finest I ever had. It com¬ 
bines about every desirable quality. The 
Champion of England pea is as good a variety 
as I ever raised, but I prefer those that 
need no support. Of this class we have found 
nothing better than tbe Yorkshire Hero for 
the main crop. The American Wonder and 
Blue Peter are desirable early sorts. The 
Lima is our best beau, but it is too late unless 
started in a frame. A late frost killed ours 
last year, and the second planting was of 
little account. The Amber Cream sweet corn 
pleases me as well as any variety I have test¬ 
ed. This, with the Cory for early, and the 
Egyptian for late gives a good supply. The 
Early Paris lias been our favorite.cauliflower, 
and 1 have seldomjjif ever seen as flue speci¬ 
mens of any other variety. When’the season 
is moist enough, it is about as certain as cab¬ 
bage. When in Ontario, last September, I 
saw a block of 21,000 of the French Erfurt 
and Henderson’s Early Snowball that were 
finer as a whole than any lot of E^rly Paris 
I ever saw. 
If confined to a single variety of cabbage, 
my choice would be Fottler’s Brunswick 
Last season I had Maule’sSurehead.and it is 
very fine. I never raise early varieties. To 
have the best success witn cabbages and cauli. 
flowers it is important to have good plants. 
My plan is to sow the seed, about May 10, in 
a shallow' box containing about two inches of 
potting soil. This is set, on a shed roof and 
kept wateredjuntil the plants are three inches 
high. They are then pricked out a few inches 
apart uni.il needed. The fly never gets to 
them, there are no worms at the roots, and 
thoy grow right alone when transplanted. 
Last season I had the Eclipse, Lentz and Ar¬ 
lington Favorite beets. The last is the finest 
turnip beet I ever raised, and the Eclipse is the 
best early variety for us. There being no 
great pleasure in raising cucumbers, I do no 
experimenting in that line, but let the White 
Spine answer for all purposes. 
I take real pleasure in raising onions, and 
had 10 varieties iast season on about three 
square rods of land. Of tbe lot I would 
choose two—the Wethersfield for home use, 
and the Yellow Danvers for market. The 
former is of fine flavor, a good keeper and 
may be cooked in a few minutes. The 
Danvers is rather earlier, and more salable. 
Each of these yielded at the rate of over 800 
bushels per acre. The Spanish King yielded 
at the rate of over 1,200 bushels per acre; but 
the variety is not well fixed in color or shape. 
Many of them were lemon-shaped and had 
thick necks. The Mammoth Pompeii are very 
large, flat, and ripen well, but they were of 
several shades of color. The Early Pearl, 
Giant Rocca, Prizetaker and Silver King, 
were not a success here. 
I never fail with common strap-leaf turnips. 
My plan is to clear off a place about the first 
of August, and put on a good allowance of 
dissolved bone and wood-ashes, and then go 
over it with a wheel-hoe until the surface is 
very fine. It is best to sow after a rain. The 
White Russian has given us great satisfaction 
as it is of fine quality and a late keeper. 
I have a weakness for good potatoes, and 
test a great many. Of over 20 varieties 
grown last season, the Delaware gave the 
greatest proportion of large, fine-looking tu¬ 
bers. The quality is good, too. The Puritan 
seems to be all that was claimed for it, and it 
must become a favorite. The Monroe County 
Prize and the Everitt are very productive and 
seem to be quite desirable. I am greatly 
pleased with two Ohio varieties that are to be 
offered this spring—tbe Gov. Foraker and 
Mrs. Foraker. The former resembles the 
Burbank, but is even more uniform in shape 
and size, while the latter is like a fine speci¬ 
men of the Snowflake, with eyes even with 
the surface. I think that the Mrs. Foraker is 
the most beautiful potato ever introduced. 
We have’relied upon the Beauty of Hebron 
for our main crop, but the Clark’s No. 1 is 
about as desirable. The Empire State is per¬ 
haps the most profitable market variety 
grown in this vicinity. 
Summit Co., Ohio. 
FROM WILLIAM FALCONER. 
Beans, Snap. —Mohawk and Valentine are 
favorites of mine; because botn are green- 
fleshed and of capital flavor, and they do not 
ripen up all at once; and as the Mohawk is a 
few days earlier than the Valentine, by sow¬ 
ing a couple of rows—one of each kind—once 
a week, I can have au unbroken succession of 
good beans. The Golden Wax is as good as 
any yellow-fleshed snap bean I have grown. 
Pole Beans.—I love to grow the red- 
flowering Scarlet Runners for their blossoms 
more than for their pods. Giant Wax is a 
good sort to grow for pods, but for shelled 
beans I think all varieties pale before the 
Limas. 
Beans, Lima.— Dreer’s Improved is my 
first choice, because it is the best flavored. 
The pods are short and the beans are small 
and plump, but the variety is a heavy 
cropper. 
Beets. —Eclipse I consider the best for a 
turnip beet, and Long ^Smooth Blood for a 
long beet. With turnip beets more depends 
upon the purity of the strain than on the 
variety. 
Borecole is better known as kale. Of 
Extra-curled Dwarf Erfurt I got a packet 
from Thorburn & Co. a few years ago, and 
thought so well of it that i have ever since 
kept my own seed. It is a real dwarf, very 
curly, nardy, and capital to eat. Ordinarily, 
kales are too lanky-stemmed. 
Brussels-Sprouts. —For dwarfs we have 
lots of varietal names, but the Dames don’t 
amount to anything; each name simply means 
a strain. The smallerand harder the sprout, 
the better; the bigger, the poorer. 
Cabbage. —Early Jersey Wakefield I prefer 
for early; All Seasons or Early Summer, 
for mid-season; and Drumhead Savoy for 
late. I have lots—Vandergaw, Flat Dutch, 
and other varieties all bedded in the ground 
now—but I don’t eat any of them, because I 
also have lots of Savoys, and the Savoys are 
immensely superior to plain cabbages. 
Cauliflower.— For early, for fall, for 
holding over in frames—it’s all the same—I 
have come right'down to Erfurt. Well, you 
may take it under the name of Snowball, 
Seafoam, or any of many otners; to me 
these are all strains of Erfurt. 
Carrots. —Early Scarlet Horn I select for 
early, also for a small sowing for summer and 
fall use. When young and tender they are 
cooked whole. Half-Long Stump-Rooted I 
like for the main crop, because it is a capital 
carrot .to eat, satisfactory in growth, and 
never too large. Big carrots are all right for 
the cattle, but they are not so good for the 
kitchen. 
Celery.— Give me White Plume for use 
between^ September and December; Golden 
Heart for use from December till spring 
opens; Clark’s Pink or London Red, for a 
red celery. The red celery is the best flavor¬ 
ed. 
Celeriac. —The Prague I think the best, 
because it is the largest-bulbed variety, and 
the “bulb” isn’t so rooty near the top as are 
the Paris or Erfurt varieties. 
Cucumber. —If confined to one variety, 1 
would take Nichol’s, because it is good for 
slicing or pickling, and very prolific. For size 
and fine appearance I like Tailby’s, and for 
growing in frames or green-houses, Telegraph, 
because of its long life and free cropping ten¬ 
dency, but the seeds are too costly. It is use¬ 
less out-of-doors. 
Corn. —The choice in this is much a matter 
of taste and land. Cory is excellent for early; 
Concord for summer crops, and Stowell’s for 
latest. Concord is always reliable with me, 
but not so with some of my neighbors. I 
like white corn and medium-sized ears. 
Egg Plant. —New York Improved comes 
first with me because the plant is vigorous 
and the fruit handsome, and if the latter is 
cut when but a little .larger than a Duchess 
pear, it is just as good to my taste as the 
Black Pekin. I grow several other varieties, 
but regard them as being more odd than use¬ 
ful. 
Garlic. —The common sort I grow. Two 
or three other varieties are cultivated in 
Europe, but, so far as 1 have learned, they 
have not found their way to this country. 
The “ loudest”of the onion race; never use 
it when you expect company l 
Leek. —I prefer what is sold here as Large 
American Flag. All the leess do well. 
Lettuces. —Boston Market is fine for win¬ 
ter, because it hearts well, can be planted 
closely and is pretty hardy. Salamander 
can’t be surpassed for summer, because it is as 
good as any other cabbage lettuce, lasts as 
long without “ bolting,” and I have found the 
strain to be good. A good strain has a good 
deal to do with good lettuce. 
Mushrooms. —The English Gray is my 
choice, because it is tbe most delicious vege¬ 
table on the face of the earth. 
Okra.—D warf Green can be recommended, 
because it takes up less room than the six or 
seven-feet-high tall varieties, also because in 
my opinion green pods are much to be pre¬ 
ferred to pale or whitish pods. 
Onions. —Yellow Danvers,Large Red Weth¬ 
ersfield and Southport White Globe are my 
selections, because I want to have red, white 
and yellow-skinned onions and I don’t know 
three better varieties than these. I wouldn’t 
