ABEL’S SEED HOUSE, READING, PA 
Vegetable Seeds 
SQUASH 
Bush sorts: Sow 1 ounce to SO bills; 6 pounds per acre 
Running sorts; Sow 1 ounce to 16 hills; 4 pounds per acre 
Early explorers 
of North America 
found squashes 
grrowinf: in widely 
separated re¬ 
gions. Like maize 
and potatoes they 
seem to be na¬ 
tives of this 
country. For gen¬ 
erations squash 
and its near rela¬ 
tive, the pump¬ 
kin, have been 
staple vegetables 
in the American 
household and 
have formed one 
of our most nu¬ 
tritious and valu¬ 
able articles of 
food. 
There are two 
distinct classiflca- 
tions of squash 
which, owing to 
their habits of 
growth and difference in character, are generally referred to as “Sum¬ 
mer” and “Winter” Squashes. 
In general the culture of squashes is the same as that of pumpkins 
and melons, the trailing varieties requiring as much room as pump¬ 
kins and the brush varieties take about the same space as cucumbers. 
Golden Summer Crookneck. Golden yellow fruit: early and prolific. 
Pkt. 5c; oz. 15c: Vtlb. 45c: Vzlb. 80c: lb. $1.50. 
White Bush Scallop. Early. A good market sort. Pkt. 5c: oz. 15c: 
%lb. 45c: Vzlb. 80c; lb. $1.50. 
Golden Hubbard. Similar to the standard sort except in color. Pkt. 
5c: oz. 15c: ‘/41b. 45c; Vglb. 80c: lb. $1.50. 
Hubbard. The standard winter Squash. Pkt. 5c: oz. 15c: %lb. 45c: 
%lb. 80c: lb. $1.50. 
Fordhook’s. Most desirable for both summer and winter use. Fruit 
oblong, 8 to 10 inches in length, slightly ridged; smooth, thin, 
yellowish skin; flesh very thick and of light straw-yellow. Pkt. 5c; 
oz. 15c; %lb. 45c: ^Ib. 80c: lb. $1.50. 
Italian Vegetable Marrow (Cocozella)< Produces a good crop of 
practically straight squash on a bush similar to Crookneck, but the 
leaves are somewhat different in appearance. The fruit is mottled 
dark and light green, later being marbled with yellow. Measure 
about 15 inches long. Pkt. 10c; oz. 20c: ‘/41b. 55c: V^lb. 75c: lb. 
$1.26. 
SWISS CHARD or SPINACH BEET 
Lucnllns. The stalks are as thick and broad as those of rhubarb, 
being 1% inches broad, heavily ribbed, and from 10 to 12 inches 
long below the leaf. The extra-large leaves of thick texture are 
heavily crumpled or “savoyed” and of fine flavor. Pkt. 5c: oz. 16c: 
%lb. 35c: ‘/gib. 50c: lb. 90c. 
ABEL’S NORTHERN GROWN 
SEED POTATOES 
Seed iPotato Buyers Please Note.—At the time of going to press 
with this Catalogue the Potato Market is so unsettled that we are 
unable to name prices. Please write stating kind and quantity wanted 
and we will quote by letter. 
Pure Early Bose, Bliss Early Triumph, Irish Cobbler, Green Moun¬ 
tain or Improved State of Maine, Spaulding Bose No. 4, Vermont 
Gold Coin, and Dibble’s Busset. 
QUAKER BRAND FIELD SEEDS 
All our seeds have been recleaned and graded. 
If you have not sowed Abel’s Quaker Brand 
Field Seeds before, don’t put off until next 
season. Sow this season and see the difference 
in Quaker Brand. 
We are unable to quote prices as Field Seeds 
are controlled by the market and subject to 
change without notice. Write us for samples 
and prices. 
TOMATO 
One ounce of seed will produce about 2000 plants 
Of alt vegetables, the long bearing season and productive capacity 
of the tomato together with its wide range of usefulness and high 
vitamin content make it one of the most valuable and helpful of culti¬ 
vated plants. A portion of the garden devoted to tomatoes will fur¬ 
nish a constant supply of fresh fruit sufficiently for the family over 
a period of two months or more. 
The seed is usually planted indoors about May 1st, using shallow 
boxes or flats and plant in rows about 2 inches apart. Any small con¬ 
tainer or pot will do at first for a small quantity. As soon as the 
seedlings are about an inch high they are “pricked out” into a 
larger box, spacing them about 4 inches apart; rich, loose soil is very 
helpful. When the weather has moderated they should be gradually 
hardened off or acclimated to the outside temperature. A warm, shel¬ 
tered spot where they can be protected at night or in case of frost is 
highly desirable. About 6 weeks after seed is sown the plants are 
ready for setting in their permanent location. By making allowance 
for differences in climatic conditions, usually based on the probable 
date of the last killing frost in spring, every gardener can decide the 
approximate time for planting in his own neighborhood. 
To insure early ripening and perfection of fruit it is advisable to 
train up and trim the vines. Unstaked they require spacing of 4 to 5 
feet but staked plants may be set 2% feet apart, since the growth is 
all upright. 
Abel’s Market Champion. This magnificent new main crop tomato 
possesses all the good qualities to make it the ideal tomato for mar¬ 
ket and the home garden. The vines are large, hardy and produc¬ 
tive. The fruits are bright scarlet, oval and deep, exceptionally 
smooth, ripening evenly to the stem without cracking. This new 
introduction of ours is the best of all tomatoes for canning and is 
unsurpassed as a money-maker for the market gardener. Pkt. 5c; 
%oz. 25c: oz. 50c: ‘/41b. $1.75; lb. $6.00. 
Abel’s Oxheart. Delicious 
meaty variety with few 
seeds. Deep heart shape; 
smooth; rich pink. Pkt. 
5c; V 20 Z. 35c; oz. 55c: 
‘Alb. $1.65; ‘Alb. $3.00. 
Beefsteak. Large size, 
solid and smooth. Simi¬ 
lar to Ponderosa except 
in color. Pkt. 5c; V^oz. 
35c: oz. 55c; ‘Alb. 
$1.65; ‘Alb. $3.00. 
Bonny Best. As early as 
John Baer. Smooth, uni¬ 
form fruit. Bears well 
until frost. Pkt. 5c; 
‘Aoz. 20c; oz. 30c; ‘Alb. 
90c; ‘Alb. $1.75; lb. 
$3.00. 
Earliana. Earliest large 
red. Pkt. 5c; Vioz. 20c; 
oz. 30c; ‘Alb. 90c; ‘Alb. 
$1.75; lb. $3.00. 
Marglobe. Withstands long 
periods of wet and un¬ 
favorable weather, yet 
produces a maximum 
crop of large, well- 
rounded, scarlet-red 
fruits. Plants resistant 
to nail-head rust and fusarium wilt. Pkt. 5c; ‘/4oz. 25c; oz. 40c; 
%lb. $1.15; y2lb. $1.90; lb. $3.50. 
Matchless. A very large sort. Foliage and habit of growth compact 
and upright. Fruit smooth, early, and purplish red. Pkt. 5c: 
% oz. 20c; oz. 30c: lb. 90c: Vi lb. $1.75; lb. $3.00. 
Butgers Tomato. This tomato in shape is very similar to the Mar- 
globe with the exception that it is somewhat flatter at the blossom 
end. The one distinct advantage with the Butgers has over other 
varieties is that it ripens from the inside to the out so that when 
the tomato is ripe on the outside you have a tomato ripe all of 
the way through. The foliage is heavy and it is a heavy cropper. 
Pkt. 5c; %oz. 26c: oz. 40c; %lb. $1.15; %lb. $1.90. 
Pritchard or Scarlet Topper. 95 days. A scarlet, self-topping 
disease-resistant variety originated by the late Dr. F. J. Pritch¬ 
ard of the United States Department of Agriculture in 1931. It if 
a cross between Marglobe and Cooper’s special. Fruits large, 
smooth, globular, solid with thick walls and cross sections, color 
light scarlet. Highly valuable for market garden use and long dis¬ 
tance shipping. Pkt. 5c; %oz. 25c; oz. 40c; ^Ib. $1.15; ‘Alb. 
$1.90. 
IMPLEMENT REPAIRS. Our service will try 
to obtain any part you may need at the rig^ht 
prices if we don’t have it in our stock. 
ABEL’S FLOWERING SHRUBS ,EVER¬ 
GREENS AND SHADE TREES 
An Extended Service to Our Patrons 
Send for our booklet together with prices. 
Page twenty-eight 
