1883.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
varieties, differing in the size and color of 
the seeds. In composition the lentils closely 
: resemble peas and beans, and contain a simi¬ 
lar amount of nitrogen. The inert skin or 
hull of the lentil is very much larger in pro¬ 
portion to the seed itself than in the pea or 
bean, and it is much more indigestible than 
those foods. 
The Garden Sorrel. 
The weed too well known to all cultivators 
-as Sorrel, has an own brother which is a use- 
the garden sorrel ( Rumex acetosa). 
lul culinary plant: Garden Sorrel (Rumex 
■acetosa). This has long been cultivated in Con¬ 
tinental Europe, and is gradually making its 
way into our gardens, and even appears, 
though sparingly, in our markets. The 
original species, which is a native of Europe, 
Northern Asia, and British America, has pro¬ 
duced in cultivation several varieties, in 
which the foliage is larger, more succulent, 
and less intensely acid than in the wild form. 
The variety the most esteemed is the Bell- 
ville sorrel, a young plant of which is shown 
in the engraving. The garden sorrel is a pe¬ 
rennial, and when one has a few plants to 
start with, it can be multiplied readily by 
dividing the old roots in the same manner we 
do rhubarb. The plants are perfectly hardy, 
and are not particular to the kind of soil. 
The leaves, which appear early in spring, 
are the portions used, and the larger ones 
should be cut singly, leaving those in the 
centre to grow. Sorrel is largely used by 
the French in soups and in salads, and also 
by itself, cooked in the same manner as 
spinach. Its tartness is especially relished 
as an accompaniment to veal. We find that a 
small quantity of the leaves, cooked with 
spinach, gives that vegetable an agreeable 
flavor. The seeds are now kept by our dealers, 
and may be sown in spring the same as beets. 
Tlie Cultivation tlie Pear Or¬ 
chard should be kept up, at least until the 
trees come into good bearing, say for the 
first five years, and only hoed crops grown in 
the orchard. These should be fertilized lib¬ 
erally with well-rotted stable compost, enough 
of which should go to the trees, to keep them 
growing vigorously, while cultivation is duly 
appreciated by pear trees. No hot, violent 
manures should be put on the orchard, as 
they force an unhealthy growth, which is a 
serious injury to the young trees. Some 
doubt whether it is best to keep up the culti¬ 
vation after the trees get into profitable bear¬ 
ing, but we have always found it pays. If.it 
is thought that the trees are making too much 
wood, seed down the orchard to clover, and 
fine grass, for one or two years, and then 
turn it under, keeping the grass and clover 
grubbed away from the trunk of each tree. 
Plowing Gardens in Winter. 
Periods of mild weather occasionally occur 
during the winter, and where the fall plow¬ 
ing has been omitted, it may profitably be 
done later. The agency of frost in making 
the soil fine and increasing its fertility, is 
not sufficiently appreciated. If the soil be 
trenched or plowed after the crops are 
gathered and left in deep furrows, nearly 
twice the surface is exposed to the frost. 
The alternate freezing and thawing breaks 
down the coarse lumps and makes the plant 
food therein more available for the crops of 
the coming season. Plowing at this season 
also disturbs the winter retreat of many in¬ 
sects that will be destroyed by exposure to 
frost. The advantage of working the soil in 
late fall and winter is seen in the cultivation 
of celery. The stirring of the soil in blanch¬ 
ing the crop, aud the rough shape in which 
the trenches are left, give the frost and rains 
a fair opportunity to improve its tilth. Frosts 
will fine the soil more perfectly than any 
tools of the cultivator. It not only releases 
the inert plant food in the soil, but makes 
the manure that is added more available for 
the crops of the next season. 
Is there a Substitute for Glass? 
Many who would gladly raise early vege¬ 
tables for their own gardens, or for sale, are 
deterred by the cost of the glass sashes. 
Those who cannot or think they cannot afford 
the outlay for glass, ofteu ask us if there is 
any substitute? If the question implies a 
complete substitute, we must say, no ! Still, 
there are methods by which the quantity of 
glass required may be materially lessened. 
In the hot-bed we endeavor to hasten the 
growth of plants by the aid of heat; this 
answers admirably so long as there is a cor¬ 
responding amount of light, but if the light is 
essentially diminished, an unhealthy growth 
will follow. All of the cloth substitutes for 
glass cut off so much light as to render it im¬ 
possible to grow good plants under them. It 
is found far better to give the plants full 
light every other day, than to keep them con¬ 
stantly in the imperfect light afforded by any 
substitute for glass. A sufficient number of 
light shutters are prepared of the exact size 
of the sashes ; bass-wood is preferred, but 
whatever the material, they should be tight 
and well secured against warping by battens. 
These shutters are put upon the hot-bed 
frame, alternating with the sashes ; the posi¬ 
tion is carefully changed eveiy day, so that 
those plants which one day had full light 
under the glass, will pass the next day in the 
diffused light under the shutters, and so on 
in regular alternation. It is well to have a 
sufficient number of shutters to allow the 
sashes to be covered during cool nights. 
A good method is to stitch together, on a 
sewing machine, two widths of sheeting of 
such a length as to be a few inches longer 
than a four-sash bed ; hem tlie edges and sew 
small brass rings on at every fifteen inches 
all around the border. This cover is then 
ready to be prepared to make it transparent 
and air-tight with a varnish made as fol¬ 
lows : To one quart of pale Linseed Oil, add 
four ounces of Rosin and one ounce of Sugar 
of Lead, both finely pulverized ; these should 
9 3 
be heated together in an iron kettle, stirring 
until thoroughly mixed and incorporated. 
This is to be thoroughly applied while hot to 
the cover, which is stretched on a frame for 
the purpose. Clear days are best for this 
work, and a second coat is to be given after 
the first has become well dried and hardened. 
If the covers are prepared sometime before 
they are needed, they will be much better 
than if used soon after they are made. Small 
nails or inverted nails are placed near the 
upper edge of the frames they are to cover, 
to correspond to the rings of the cover, by 
which the cloth is stretched very tight. 
When it is desired to air the beds, one edge 
is unhooked and rolled down, or the whole 
may be taken off and rest upon a board at the 
foot of the bed. We have no doubt that on 
frames into which plants have been pricked 
to harden off, covers of this kind may be of 
great service. On a small scale we should 
prefer to stretch the covers upon frames of 
the size of the ordinary sashes, as this would 
allow of greater ease in handling. 
A Valuable Room Plant. 
The plant here figured on a small scale is 
common in London and Paris. Its botanical 
name is Aspidistra larida variegata. Within 
the past few years this plant is making its 
way into window decorations in this country, 
and it seems to be admirably adapted for 
such uses. The leaves are from 18 to 24 inch¬ 
es long, broad, handsomely undulated and 
brilliantly striped in great variety of light 
and dark green, and different shades of yellow 
in most varying tints. The plant is very 
easy to manage, and deserves a smooth-sound¬ 
ing title. It comes from China and Japan. 
How to keep Squashes through 
the Winter.— Squashes should go into 
winter quarters free from all bruises, other¬ 
wise they will not keep. In the age of home- 
spun, squashes kept fairly in the old-style 
kitchen, where the big back-log and the 
large bed of coals prevented freezing at night. 
They were sometimes put upon a shelf, but 
were oftener suspended by a piece of listing 
from the ceiling or side of the room. The 
main thing is a dry temperature, from forty 
to sixty degrees, and the more even the tem¬ 
perature, the better. We have succeeded in 
keeping squashes in the attic of a furnace- 
heated house until April. In the coldest 
days and nights they were covered with a 
quilt. The varieties were the old-fashioned 
Crook-neck, the Hubbard and the Marble¬ 
head. Squashes do not keep well in a cel¬ 
lar or in the basement rooms of a house. 
The squash, aside from the excellent pies 
made from it, is a toothsome vegetable, and. 
ought to be in every home.' 
