the aMEBIC^J^SSS; 
SEASONABLE HINTS. 
M .u, J„a«. ““'"r;”'XSS 
for war, so wiU the provident 
now preparations for his contemplate^^ 
den Next to outlining a complete o 
plan, and to securing all knowledge neeess. y 
iDCarryingitoutsuccossfullyit'.s selc 
TLI. »» te ““"'“T,,. ,tt 
more core end better disoriminatioii tlwn a 
nig( 
tests. 
any other time. . 
IFAaf to Select—In vegetables as in eveiy- 
thing else tastes differ. We heard oiico a 
gentleman express his preference for Mai- 
row-fats over all other .Peas, and wo know 
several persons who detest mealy Potatoes. 
Each one must therefore be guided by his 
own likings and dislikings. 
Some people, and not a few either, are 
constantly hunting for something new, and were 
the first question they ask of the seedsmen 
is about the novelties of the season. 
Novelties are, for once, exceedingly scarce 
this year, phenomenally so, which is a matter 
of congi-atulation, and may give novelty 
hunters an opportunity to convince them¬ 
selves of the value of some of the older kinds. 
Seedsmen get a good deal of blame in this 
matter of inti-oducing novelties, deservedly 
so in some cases, but in many others with¬ 
out a particle of justice. A seedsman who 
has an established business, and who has a 
reputation to lose, would not any sooner, 
knowingly introduce a worthless novelty, 
than he would let his note go to protest. 
But the laws of demand and supply are alike 
in all trades. As long as there are people 
who insist on having novelties in dry goods, 
or bonnets, or hats, or seeds, some one will 
furnish them. 
Trying Novelties brings with it considera¬ 
ble fascination, as much so as investing in 
lottery tickets, and with the same degree of 
probability in getting back the investment. 
Tet their are some prizes in lotteries as well 
as in novelties. The most valuable standard 
varieties of vegetables of the present day 
were first introduced as “ novelties ” by some 
enterprising seedsmen. 
The point wc wish to impress most on our 
readers, in regard to making a selection of 
seeds, is that the lists of our older garden 
vegetables comprise already many varieties 
of the highest excellence, and that tliose who 
wish to experiment will derive probably 
more satisfaction by making themselves ac¬ 
quainted with some of the older varieties 
than by trying novelties. No one need ex¬ 
pect to find much improvement over Amer¬ 
ican Wonder and Champion of England Po.as 
Early Valentineand Refugee Beans, Egyptian 
Beet, Beauty of Hebron and WJiitc .Star 
Potatoes, and many others long cultivated. 
Quality in vegetables as well as in fruits 
depends not altogether upon the variety. As 
in animals it depends upon the “feed as 
much as the breed.” A great part, tlic 
greater in fact, is owing to the conditions of 
soil, fertilizers and the mode of cultivation 
Some kinds of vegetables are actually unfit 
for use unless they are grown rapidly and 
luxuriantly. To derive the full benefit and 
pleasure from the g.arden, one must study 
the requirements and needs of the plants, ' 
A knowledge of the ^^poTtant factors m 
soils is one of the m knowledge 
profitable "'7 
however, IS no ‘ ^ggyver, and it is only 
appear to the casi. repeated ex- 
by carefully co»dnctec^ conclusive de- 
periments that '^" 5 ' Tke results of 
ductions can be oh . ^ fertilizers 
the potato tests of them, 
and with various g. Carman, 
made last sumraei y gcom to 
editor of the Bin a deserving the 
us highly ioBtimctive and c esu 
thoughtful consideration of y 
d^i’in'cvioisly' tlTe WWteS Imving been 
selected as, by its season 
cr qualities and vigor well suited to such 
” Potatoes of nearly the s.aiiie size 
cut in halves lengthwise, the seed end 
of each having been cut oil and rejected. 
The seed conditions were made still more 
equal by using the same weight of seed 
pieces to each plot. Trenches had been dug 
several days previously, two spades wide 
and six inches deep, the trenches six feet 
apart so that the roots of one trench should 
not reach and feed upon the fertilizer of the 
adjacent trenches. I.ater two inches of soil 
were raked into the trenches and upon this 
the pieces—cut surface down—were placed 
one foot apart. Two inches of soil were 
raked over them, and the fertilizers applied 
Twenty-eight plots were planted, the kind 
and number of pounds of fertilizer applied 
to each, the relative growth of vines, the 
total weight of the yield, the tot.al number 
of Potatoes and the number of marketable 
Potatoes being recorded in an admirably ar¬ 
ranged table. Our space does not permit to 
give the entire list, but the following will 
show the most prominent results of these 
experiments : 
Fertilizer applied : Yield in pounds 
large the quantity may be, the crotT^ 
be materially benefited, xhun 54- t 
m 
17 
21 
2S)!4 
SOiC 
ar, 
a? 
None, 
Di-sol ved bone-black, 
Nitrate of Soda, 
Sulphate of Potash, 
Nitrate of Soda, Dissolved bone-black 
and Sulphate of Potash, 
Yard manure, two years old, 
Mapes’ Potato Manure, 
Mapes’ Potato Manuro, Kalnit and 
Hay Mulch, 
As stated above, to insure accuracy, the 
rows were planted six feet apart, but there 
IS no doubt that the yield would have been 
as good, if not bettor, had they boon only 
thiec feet apart. Assuming the latter dis 
t,incc, the yield from the uninanurod soil 
Stair 
, , , ,* increase of li 
bushes, and Mapes’ Potato Manure will, 
Kainitand May Mulch produced .Tl-I hu.shels 
pei acre, an increase of 20r, bushels 
unmiinuj'cd (.(roiiiifi, 
“Many farmers who have trloil • 
porphosphatos jih.iic I'aw 1.. 
potash alone, or any two', will ’Jeg ’r.',’"'’’ 
tests,” comments M>. n from our 
Bf-ouhl not condemn ;o.;':S^ ''"“y 
If a soil needs 
is supplied with blit 
over the 
two, 
any 
i markoil increase of crm. 
< ull kinds of i)l.n,i f„ 1 ’ ’’■ 
^ith l.ni. und 
matter how 
that in our careful tests, potash ale 
good. Dissolved burnt bone, which f lo 
es phosphoric acid only, did no ^ 
trogen increased the growth of th”^’ 
which, for want of potash and ph** 
acid in'the soil, gave no increase of?''®*’' 
But the complete fertilizers—thos 
furnish all three—gave an increase* f*'’’®’' 
in every case. ‘ ttop 
“Study this question, fanners and e 
crs. It will pay you to do so. If yot , 
know what your land needs, use compkn 
i.iih/ers until you’find out. You caafl 1 ^ 
naking just such experiments asV”* 
Plants, like human creatures, ne T' 
complete food, and it the soil does not* * 
ply it, we must feed the soil with theT 
ficient element. If the soil from exhaust’ 
needs every element, we must supply a 
plete food. 
“We are not advocating the use of ferta 
izers at all—neither are we discussing thj 
question as to whether, at their present 
price, we can afford to use them. ’We merely 
wish to show that they do furnish the con¬ 
stituents of food to plants the same as 
stable or farm manure or composts of leaves 
muck, straw, or any other substance furnish 
them, and that we have but to supply the 
elements which our soil needs, to render it 
fertile.” _ 
PBBPAEINe OELEET POE MAEKET, 
When properly groum and bleached, and 
carefully prepared. Celery is not only a most 
delicious vegetable, but contributes an es¬ 
sential part to the decorations of the table; 
it has therefore to stand the test of sight as 
well as taste, the white or amber of the 
foot-stalk, shading into the green of the 
upper leaves, the firm, brittle qualify of 
its substance from center to extremity, the 
agreeable nutty flavor heightened by proper 
cultivation are qualities sought both by pro¬ 
ducer and consumer. 
Uiion the proper bleaching process depends 
much the value of the crop. An un¬ 
biased judgment will, I think, give prefer¬ 
ence to earth-bleached Celery, which conies 
into market after the middle of November. 
The early crop is generally affected by t e 
heat; while the later is sometimes injure 
by .the artificial bleaching, necessary to 
preservation during the winter 
There are many ingenious devices 
ing Celery, all aiming to dispense wi 
handling of so much earth; 
considered, the earth process is to m) 
the best yet discovered. [(j 
Bloiiching with sea weed is tbo 
method along the coast of _ ' j„d 
is that which gives tho excellent 
color to tho Boston Celery. l’'t 
by tho e.xelusion of sunlight ftHd am ci^ 
toiuporaturo is olToctual but not ab'*J‘ 
satistiiclory. ,, pw 
the Celery sow P 
very 
Aly oxporiouce is that 
ous to tho holidays; is 
part of tho crop that kept later 
vious to tho holidays; is tho a'ost ia®|' , j,, 
f is subjoo 
so many losses by mice, Hood, ^' ’ ([,0 
and dooiiy, that although tho for 
dozen may bo higher tho average in 
one hundred roots, are no greater 
November. 
It is possible to keep small 
of (^oloiy undisturbed in j-iodi*'*'* 
tomporaturo for a considorablo P® 
