Did and New Vegetables That Have Made Good 
- A GUIDE FOR THE PUZZLED AMATEUR WHO IS ABOUT TO MAKE UP HIS 
PLANTING LIST—VARIETIES THAT MAY BE PUT IN THE TRIED-AND-TRUE CLASS 
Of the squashes there are no better sorts than this little Delicata and the 
Fordhook 
T O the man or woman 
planning a garden for 
ithe first time there is no one 
thing more confusing than 
-the selection of the best 
^varieties. This, in spite of 
the fact that catalogues 
should be, and might be, a 
great help instead of almost 
an actual hindrance. 
I suppose that seedsmen 
consider extravagance in 
catalogues, both in material 
and language, necessary, or 
they would not go to the 
limit in expense fo.r .printing 
and mailing, as they do. But from the point 
of view of the gardener, and especially of the 
beginner, it is to be regretted that we cannot 
have the plain unvarnished truth about varieties, for surely the 
good ones are good enough to use up all the legitimate adjectives 
upon which seedsmen would care to pay postage. But such is 
not the case. Every season sees the introduction of literally 
hundreds of new varieties — or, as is more often the case, old 
varieties under new names — which have actually no excuse for 
being, unloaded upon the public except that they will give a larger 
profit to the seller. Of course, in a way, it is the fault of the 
public for paying, the. fancy prices asked — that is., that part of 
the public which does not know. Commercial planters and ex¬ 
perienced gardeners stick to well known sorts. New varieties 
are tried, if at all, by the packet only — and then “on suspicion.” 
It is the purpose of this article to guide the gardener of lim¬ 
ited experience in selecting varieties sure to give satisfaction. 
In practically: every instance-they have been grown by the author, 
but-his recommendations’arehby -no'means based upon personal 
experience alone. Wherever, introductions of recent years have 
proved to ,be actual improvements:upon older varieties, they are 
' - j * "T- - v - ' - given in-preference-to 
the old, which are, of 
course, naturally 
much better known. 
It is impossible for 
any person to pick out 
this, that or the other 
variety of a vegetable 
and label it uncondi¬ 
tionally “the best.” 
But the person who 
wants to save time in 
. making out his seed 
list can depend upon 
the following to have 
been widely tested, 
and to have “made 
good.” 
Asparagus. While 
there are enthusiastic 
claims put forth for 
„ , . , , i several of the diffier- 
Kentucky Wonder, tried-and-true bean, . . 
stringless until nearly mature er *t varieties of aspa- 
F. F. Rockwell 
Photographs by Nathan R. Graves 
ragus as far as I have seen 
any authentic record of 
tests (Bulletin 173 N. J. 
Agr. Exp. Station), the prize 
goes to Palmetto, which 
gave 28 per cent, more than 
its nearest rival, Donald’s 
Elmira. Big yield alone is 
frequently no recommenda¬ 
tion of a vegetable to the 
home gardener, but in this, 
instance it does make a big 
difference; first, because 
Palmetto is equal to any- 
other asparagus in quality,, 
and second, because the 
asparagus bed is producing only a few weeks- 
during the gardening season, and where- 
ground is limited, as in most home gardens,, 
it is important to cut this waste space down as much as possible.. 
This is for beds kept in good shape and highly fed. Bari’s Mam¬ 
moth will probably prove more satisfactory if the bed is apt to. 
be more or less neglected, for the reason that under such circum¬ 
stances it will make thicker stalks than the Palmetto. 
Beans (dwarf). Of the dwarf beans there are three general 
types: the early round-podded “string” beans, the stringless, 
round-pods, and the usually more flattish “wax” beans. For 
. first early, the old reliable Extra Early Red Valentine remains, 
as good as any sort I have ever tried. In good strains of this, 
variety, the pods have very slight strings, and they are very 
fleshy. It makes only a small bush and is fairly productive and' 
of good quality. The care-taking planter, however, will put in 
only enough of these first early beans to last a week or ten days,, 
as the later sorts are more prolific and of better quality. Bur¬ 
pee’s Stringless Greenpod is a good second early. It is larger, 
finer, stringless even when mature, and of exceptionally handsome- 
appearance. Improved Refugee is the most prolific of the green- 
pods, and the best of 
'them for quality, but - 
. .with, -slight ...strings. 
Of the “wax” type, 
Brittle Wax is the 
earliest, and also a 
tremendous yielder. 
The long-time favor¬ 
ite, Rust-proof Gold¬ 
en Wax, is another 
fine sort, and an espe¬ 
cially ^strong healthy 
grower. The - top- 
notch iir quality 
among all bush beans 
is reached, perhaps, in 
Burpee’s White Wax 
— the white referring 
not to the pods, which 
are of a light yellow, 
and flat — but to the 
beans, which are pure c os j ettuce h as m0 re flavor than the ol<L 
white in all stages of sorts. Paris White is good 
(168) 
