JAMES VICK ; ROCHESTER, N. Y. 
93 
MARTYNIA. 
M. proboscidca 
produces its seed 
pods abundantly 
which,when ten¬ 
der, are prized 
for pickling. 
Martynia proboscidea, per oz. 75 cents. io 
MUSTARD. 
Mustard being very 
hardy, seed can be sown 
as soon as the soil is free 
from frost. Sow in shallow 
drills, and cut when a few 
inches in height. It grows 
rapidly, and several sow¬ 
ings may be made. The 
young Mustard leaves arc used for spring salad. 
Mustard, White, best for salad or culinary pur¬ 
poses ; per lb. 50 cents : per oz. 10 cents, ... 5 
Chinese, a variety with larger leaves and more 
succulent stems than the other sorts, and prized 
for salad ; per lb. 85 cents; per oz. 10 cents, . . 
Black, this is the kind usually used for commer¬ 
cial Mustard, being stronger than the White; 
per lb. 50 cents ; per oz , 10 cents,. 
MUSHROOMS. 
Mushrooms can be grown in any dark room or cellar, 
where the temperature can be maintained at from 50 to 
60 degrees. From some old pasture procure the soil, 
and store it away. To one bushel of this soil add two 
bushels of fresh horse manure. Of this well-mixed com¬ 
pound prepare a bed, say four feet in width. Put down 
a thin layer and pound it down hard, and go on until 
you have a bed eight inches thick. It will soon become 
pretty hot, but let the heat recede until it is only 85 or 
90 degrees. Then make holes, say a foot apart, and 
put in the spawn, two or three pieces as large as a wal¬ 
nut in each hole. Cover the holes, and press the soil 
solid and smooth. Let the bed remain in this condition 
about twelve days ; then cover the whole bed with some 
two inches of fresh loam, and over this place four or 
five inches of hay or straw, and the work is done. If 
the temperature is right in six to eight weeks you may 
expect Mushrooms. The bed will continue bearing 
from twenty to thirty days. After the first crop is 
gathered, spread over the bed an inch of fresh soil. 
moisten with warm water, and cover with hay as before. 
Success in Mushroom growing depends so much upon a 
proper and uniform temperature, moisture, and perhaps 
other conditions of the atmosphere, that success is not 
always certain with the amateur. One pound of spawn is 
enough for a bed two feet by six. 
Mushroom Spawn, per lb., by mail,. 40 
Per 8 lbs., by express, not paid,.1.00 
OKRA. 
The Okra is a vigorous, 
large plant, requiring a 
good deal of room, and 
the large kind should be 
planted not less than three 
feet apart, and the dwarf 
about eighteen inches. In 
mild climates it is only- 
necessary to sow the seed 
in the open ground, about 
two inches deep, and then 
merely keep the ground 
clean and mellow, as for 
a hill of corn. 
Okra, Long Green, long, pale green, and ribbed ; 
per lb. $1.00; per oz. 10 cents . 5 
Dwarf Green, earliest and best for the North; 
per lb. $1.00; per oz. 10 cents, . 5 
ONIONS. 
The Onion must have a clean and very rich soil. Use 
well rotted manure freely, and be sure to get the seed 
In as early as possible in the spring ; thin out early, and 
keep the soil mellow and clear of weeds. Sow in shal- 
sow drills, not less than a foot apart, and thin out when 
the young Onions are about the size of quills. In doing 
this, disturb those that remain as little as possible. 
As Onions grow on top of the ground, they’ may be 
allowed to remain pretty thick, no matter if they’ crowd 
each other. In hoeing to destroy weeds and keep the 
ground mellow, do not cover the young bulbs with earth. 
Four pounds of seed are usually required for an acre. 
Onion seed, this season, owing to a short crop, is ex¬ 
ceedingly scarce and dear. Our American Onion seed, 
this year, is all of our own growing, every Onion ex¬ 
amined before planting, and we believe it lobe the purest 
and best in the world. Any one who plants 100 seeds, 
and gives them good care may' not only reasonably expect 
90 good plants, but 90 good sound, round Onions, unless 
they arc sown so thickly as to make it necessary to re¬ 
move a part of them. We give correct engravings 
of the leading varieties, but they arc only' about one- 
fourth the natural size, and the Italian sorts even much 
less than this, perhaps about one-fifth. 
In cold or mucky soils, where the Danvers and Weth¬ 
ersfield varieties will not form bulbs, the Early Red 
should be tried, and will often succeed while others fail ; 
it is an excellent variety and a good keeper. The New 
Italian Onions, of which there are several admirable 
varieties, arc of a sweet, mild flavor, and grow very large, 
often from one to four pounds. They seem to do well 
at the South. Our engravings show Large Elat W hite 
Italian , Giant Rocca and Blood Red Tripoli. 
It has been found difficult to grow Onions from seed 
in the South, while from Sets good crops are grown, 
and quite early. These Sets are little Onions grown 
the previous year, and taken up when as large as Peas. 
Set out in the spring they very soon form good large 
Onions, Their size and appearance are shown in the 
engraving. 
There are two other kinds of Onions that are not 
grown from seed, the Potato and Top Onions. The 
Potato Onion grows in clusters, under ground, as exhib¬ 
ited in the engraving. These little bulbs arc planted in 
the spring and produce large Onions. The large Onions 
