22 
HO USE 
GARDEN 
GETTING THE MEAT OUT OE THE CATALOGS 
C o m m o n - S e n s e Methods to Simplify the 
Problem of What Vegetables to Plant 
F. F. ROCKWELL 
A KEY 
TOTHE CATALOGS 
Make 
logs. 
list of what you want, irrespective of the cata- 
Vith this as a basis, make the final selection. 
BEANS: 
Hardiest, early quality green pod. 
Early wax. 
Late wax. 
Bush limas. 
POLE BEANS: 
Green pod. 
Wax. 
Pole limas. 
BEETS: 
Best table quality, extra early. 
Main crop, to keep in good condition for some time. 
Best for winter storage. 
CABBAGE: 
Extra early; uniform good size. 
Longest keeping in summer. 
Hardest headed and best keeping for winter storage. 
CARROTS: 
Extra early. 
Best table quality, for summer use and winter storing. 
CAULIFLOWER: 
Surest heading early. (Can be used also for late.) 
CELERY: 
Most reliable for early or fall use. 
Be.st table and keeping quality for late fall and winter. 
CUCUMBER: 
Best for quality and vigorous growth. 
Small fruiting for pickling, if desired. 
EGG PLANT: 
Early, especially where seasons are short. 
LETTUCE: 
Loose-leaved, for earliest results in spring. 
Best table quality butter-heads for spring use. 
Best table quality, heat-resisting crisp heads for summer 
use. 
Medium early or late butter-heads for late fall use. 
MELONS, MUSK: 
Extra early for first fruits. 
Green or salmon fleshed (round or oblong shaped ac¬ 
cording to personal preferences) for main crop. 
Dwarf or bush forms for very limited space. 
MELONS, WATER 
Medium or medium early of good quality for northern 
states. 
ONIONS: 
“Sets” for earliest eating, or cooking size. 
White for most delicate flavor. 
Flat white for earliest results from seed. 
Extra large yellow Spanish for slicing or mild cooking. 
Yellow globe for winter storing. 
PEAS: 
Extra early smooth for first planting. 
Extra early wrinkled^ for second planting. 
Productive high quality late for third or fourth planting. 
Early and late wrinkled for succession plantings. 
Dwarf or bush types (according to conveniences avail¬ 
able for brushing or trellising). 
PEPPERS: 
Extra early sweet for first cooking. 
Medium early large sweet for main crop. 
Hot» small fruited, if w'anted for pickling. 
POTATOES: 
Good quality fairly early. 
Late, preferably of known good quality in your section 
(Yield per acre of minor importance.) 
RADISH: 
Red, white, or mixed. 
Round, oblong, or long. 
(Extra large, red globe, most satisfactory general 
purpose.) 
Large summer for planting after June 15th. 
Winter kinds for storing for winter use. 
SQUASH: 
Scalloped, crooked neck (according to preference) for 
summer. 
Long keeping, medium size for fall and winter. 
If space is limited, a small fruited variety good for both 
fall and summer. 
TOMATO: 
A few extra early for first use. 
Highest quality medium-sized for main crop. 
■Small fruited cluster type for whole fruits for salad. 
Small “fancy” fruited for preserving whole. 
TURNIPS: 
For winter, long keeping yellow or white or table rutabaga. 
For summer, long keeping, white or yellow fleshed. 
Early, good quality white. 
T he average person has lit¬ 
tle conception of the work 
that goes into the preparation of 
a good seed catalog. 
Last March in the office of one 
of the largest seed houses I 
found the man who had charge 
of the preparation of their cata¬ 
log work already deep in the 
preparation of his 1917 annual, 
going over his lists carefully to 
see where a description could be 
made more accurate and true to 
fact; where a variety, some bet¬ 
ter type of which was now avail¬ 
able, could be dropped or “dis¬ 
couraged” : and weighing the re¬ 
sults of hundreds of careful tests 
to see what new things were 
really worthy of a place in their 
list. As the shipping season was 
still at its height, I expressed my 
surprise that he found it neces¬ 
sary to get at the 1917 catalog 
so far in advance. In answer he 
showed me two hand-colored il¬ 
lustrations of a certain dower. 
“You can hardly imagine the 
emergencies for which we have 
to prepare.” he said. “Look at 
these. Last year we paid a tre¬ 
mendous price to a famous 
dower artist abroad to paint this 
dower for our catalog cover. It 
was delayed, and when we got 
it, we found that the color in 
which it was done was a shade 
different from that which this 
particular variety showed as it 
grew for us.” (There was so 
little difference in the coloring of 
the two paintings that I had not 
noticed it at all.) “So we had 
to get the best person available 
here, at a considerable expense, 
to do us another one in a hurry." 
Selecting Seed.s 
A house that is as careful as 
this about what it says and shows 
concerning its seed is careful of 
its seeds. In going to another de¬ 
partment in the same building. I 
came across a number of girls 
sorting sweet corn seeds by hand. 
Machinery had already done the 
best it could with it, but only the 
human eye was trusted to put 
the final “O. K.” on seeds which 
were guaranteed to grow high-grade corn. 
I have mentioned these facts which illus¬ 
trate the great care exercised by the best 
of houses not to misrepresent and to send 
out only the best quality seeds, because I 
know from experience that the seedsman is 
too often blamed for unsatisfactory results 
when the customer was really the one at 
fault; not consciously, but merely because 
he or she had not had the experience or the 
patience to select intelligently from the 
wares the seedsman offered. 
The first of the seed catalogs comes to 
hand early this month. If there is a pencil 
to be begged, borrowed' or stolen anywhere 
within three blocks, you sit down at the 
first opportunity to make out a “list.” You 
go through the catalog page by page, begin¬ 
ning with the splendid new ijovelties and 
put down moderate amounts of the things 
that “sound the best.” 
You probably feel quite satisfied that you 
have done the best that can be done—until 
the next catalog comes. In that, you are 
likely to find a number of things which, as 
far as you can judge from the descriptions. 
will be absolutely indispensable 
for your garden, and a second 
list is made out. By the time 
two or three other catalogs have 
come—with the same result— 
you suddenly realize that you 
must omit some of the wonder¬ 
ful things described, or have a 
very much larger garden than 
you had expected. Incidentally, 
you begin to wonder how all of 
what each catalog says about the 
things it lists can be perfectly 
true! When you had only the 
one concern’s claims to read, it 
was hard enough to make a se¬ 
lection out of the many fine 
things available. When it comes 
to picking the very best from 
half a dozen catalogs, you begin 
to feel—and not without reason 
—that it is absolutely hopeless. 
It is right at this point that you 
should realize what are the two 
big mistakes which the beginner 
is almost sure to make; the first 
is in using the catalogs to make 
up a list from, when the list 
should be made up first and the 
catalogs used afterwards. The 
second is in putting the emphasis 
on varieties in making your se¬ 
lections when the type should be 
considered first, varieties being 
usually a secondary matter. 
A Better Method 
Try a new scheme in making 
up your list of vegetable seeds. 
Set , all the catalogs to one side, 
take a piece of paper; put down 
on it the things you will want to 
have for your garden, allowing 
three or four lines for each; 
after each vegetable, put instead 
of names of varieties (wdiether 
you happen to know them or 
not), a very brief, suggestive de¬ 
scription ; then you will have a 
list resembling that to the left. 
With a list such as this you 
will be prepared to tackle suc¬ 
cessfully the most complicated 
array of seed catalogs and nov¬ 
elties. By its aid, you will be 
sure to pro^'ide a suitable variety 
for each particular result you 
want to accomplish in your gar¬ 
den. In addition to that, and al¬ 
most of equal importance, the wasteful 
duplication which is sure to be a result of 
the haphazard method of selection, will be 
entirely and happily eliminated. 
By applying the “acid test” which this 
list gives you, you can pick out from the 
scores of things which the catalogs have to 
offer and suggest, the one or two varieties 
—and in most cases onfe will be enough— 
which will give you what you want for each 
particular planting. If you have not as yet 
had a garden long enough to know what va¬ 
rieties give you the best satisfaction, you 
