78 
SEASONABLE-HIIITSi 
In the choice of topics discussed in this 
column we are naturally guided to some ex¬ 
tent by the purport and number of inquiries 
received fi'om oiu’ readers. Information 
about hot-beds seems to be predominantly 
sought for lately, and every person liv¬ 
ing in the eountry ought to know how to 
make a hot-bed. If we had oui- way about 
it we would teach it in every pubiic school, 
and the fundamental horticultur.al and iigri- 
cultmal principles as well. Sueh instruc¬ 
tion, if not more than an hour a week, 
would exert a powerful and beneficial edu¬ 
cational influence, and add imtold riches to 
the wealth of our people. 
Ebt-beds for forcing very early vege¬ 
tables require considerable care in their man¬ 
agement, but for ordinaiy garden purposes, 
little labor and expense is necessary. Pro- 
cni’e fresh horse-manure, throw it in a loose 
he!ip tiU it he.ats, then tiu-n it over, shaking 
it up loosely and mixing it well; le.ave it in 
this heap till it heats again, which will be in 
a day or two, when it is ready for use. Fill 
your frame with it to within eight or ten 
inches of the surface, pack firmly and put 
on your sashes. Now let it alone for a few 
days till it heats again and the greatest heat 
is past, then put in four to six inches of 
soil, if the seed is to be sown directly in the 
bed. Many prefer to sow in boxes and flats, 
in which case little or no soil is required. 
Seed should not be sown before the surface 
heat has declined to 100° or less. After that 
it ufill quickly cool off a few degrees more. 
Li using hot-beds be very careful for the 
first week to allow the escape of steam, and 
to do this you uili have to ventilate at night 
as well as by day. In cold weather cover 
them np -well at night. In watering plants 
in hot-beds do not drench the soil or pour 
on more water than is required, else you 
ufill cool the bed too quickly, and destroy 
the very end you should try to maintain. 
Early PeaK, earlier than one’s neighbors, 
is the gi-eat aim of the ambitious amateur 
gardener. To succeed in this a warm, dry, 
sheltered situation is of first importance. 
But even under such favorable conditions, 
a week may be gained by sprouting tlie seed 
in the house in a box filled wdth moist sand, 
and kept in a warm place. After the young 
.shoots and i-oots have appeared plant the 
Peas carefully in previously j)repa7’ed 
ground. American Wonder may be gi-own 
very sati.sfactoi-ily in a cold-frame. 
Anpararjus sliould be planted as soon an 
the ground becomes sufficiently diy to be 
worked. The iintiquated methods of dig¬ 
ging trenches and laying foundations of 
stones and old tin cans, practiced in the dark 
ages, have held on with I’cmarkahle tenac¬ 
ity, but are being rapidly superseded by 
those more in conformity with the nature of 
the plant. Pdeh, dry soil, .and plenty of 
room are the main requisites for successful 
Asparagus culture, everything else is of 
secondary importance. Good one-year old 
roots are better than poor two-year old ones, 
or such as h.ave been growing too thickly in 
the seed-bed. When pl.antcd, the ci-owns 
should be six inches below the surface. 
Potato sets as used f 1 .^yith 
spend in then- strncUira h- 
grafts of T^ey areuot seeds 
eye sets, avith buds. supposed 
pioper. ""‘I» “ could 
be accomplished only by ra^ jv J- 
•‘>«c i 
t„?»s.o“ dc„l «t light on this uncstlou 
and .are worthy of careful co.^ideration to 
the fall of 1S8.3, says the f^octoi, ^ 
lected and laid aside for seed the ^ 
the smallest tubers from the '"ost pi 
Ive, and the least productive hill of ten va 
rieties growing in the Station garden. 
On the 8th of May, 1884, this seed was mit 
into single eyes and planted, each selection 
bv Itself in the garden. So th.at we had 
four short rows of each of ten varieties, 
the first row containing the cuttings of the 
largest tuber from the most productive hill, 
the second those of the smallest tuber from 
April, 
cuttings of the largest tuber from the least 
productive hill, the fourth those of the 
smallest tuber from the least productive hill. 
The cultivation was alike and the treat¬ 
ment was alike during the whole period of 
growth, and when the tops were dead the 
rows were dug, and yield of marketable and 
unmarketable Potatoes carefully noted. 
In order to bring the results into compari¬ 
son we calculated the yields obtained to the 
100 ejees, and ari-anged the varieties in the 
order of merchantable yield. 
These tables furnish an iin])Ortant clue for 
progress in the irain-oveineut of the Potato. 
They seem to indicate veiy clearly that in 
order to increase our yield of Potatoes, it is 
only necessaiy in digging oui' crop to ex¬ 
pose the hills separately, and then before 
harvesting go through and select our seed 
Potatoes from those hills which show the 
most .abundant ci'op. 
The exijcriment also seems to indicate 
that deterioration in a variety, whereby a 
good variety tends to become less and less 
profitable to grow, .arises from the entii-e 
hack of .selection fi’om the i)oint of view of 
the prolilic plant, aiid that to obviate this 
deteinoration it may only be necessary to 
yearly select oiu- seed fi-oin the more pro¬ 
lific hills, instead of h.ap-ha/.ard from the 
harvested croji. 'I’he imjioitance of this ex¬ 
periment perh.aps Justifies the massing of 
our conclusions in the following table: ° 
bl)H. por 100 IiIIIn 
Avuriigc. 
prolific hill exceeded the yield of the small- 
est tuber taken from the least prolific hill; 
fourth, that the smallest tuber taken from 
the most prolific hill exceeded in yield the 
largest tuber taken from the least prolific 
hill; fifth, that the largest tubers from the 
hiost prolific and the least prolific hills 
yielded more crop than did the smallest 
tubers from the same hills. 
The question may arise whether the 
smaller size of the cuttings from the sm.all- 
est tubers may not account for the differ¬ 
ence in yield. The smallest tubers from the 
most productive hills, however, did not ex¬ 
ceed in .size the smallest tubers taken from 
the least productive hills, and hence our re¬ 
sults must be interpreted that the tubers 
from the most productive hills possess more 
inherent vigor th.an do those of the least 
productive hills. 
While we cannot regard a single experi¬ 
ment as in .any sense conclusive, says Dr. 
Sturtevant, yet the evidence seems so cle.arly 
in favor of using for seed only tubers from 
the more ])roductive hills of Potatoes, th.at 
think we cannot err in commending 
the most productive hill, the t nic lou le careful consideration of 
Potato growers, and we, would be very 
gl.ad, this coming season, to have those who 
are interested in the subject make a tri.al ac¬ 
cording to this method, and experiment for 
themselves, and report the results, however 
they may result, to the public. 
I-iibnrH from moHt 
From hirifuHl, 
prolilic hill 
^'pralineKm' 
^ pn'mnchll'r' 
'■■priiKir 
.Mkl.hlti. 
Toliil. 
Kt 
100 
(h; 
ST) 
(!1> 
HS 
*15 
00 
first, tl 
■at the. 
From this table it ajij.ea 
mercli.ai,table and 1 . 1 ,,, Cotal .yield 
seed laken from the most pmliffe hill 
yielded in excess over the seed taken froin 
the e.a«tproh(le hill; second, that the yiel 
tuber fron. the most pr’ollllc 
hill exceeded the yi(dd of the larimst tubei. 
from the least jiroliffe hill; third thatn 
y*cidof the smallest tube; f;;:;'’,;;;;:.:;:; 
EXPEEIENCES WITH PEAS. 
, An experience of many years in Pea¬ 
growing leads me to the conclusion that the 
same varieties may vaiy .so much in differ¬ 
ent years as to give the impression that they 
were different kinds. The American Wonder, 
for instancCj did splendidly with me when 
raised from headquarter seed, but when I 
planted the seetl I had raised m.yself, from 
this stock, the crop was as early but very 
unsatisfactory as to quantity, while the 
quality was excellent. I never succeeded in 
producing single vines that would have 
more th.an a dozen pods; but the pods were 
large and full, and the Peas very sweet 
and line-llavored. For the home garden 
they are excellent, the.y require no brush 
and can be jilanted in rows one foot apart, 
or as near as Bush Beans. 
In raising Peas for market I have looked 
for quantity as well ns quality. So my 
choice has fallen on some of the smooth 
white Peas like Carter's First (h'op, or Phila- 
del|)hia lOarly for first, Mel.ean's .Advance 
for setmnd, and Black-Myed Marrowfat for 
late. 'I’he Kugenie and (thampiou of Kng- 
laiid are good second early Peas. Dealers 
have a habit of allixing their own name to 
some early Pea; tvhieh malu'S about as 
many kinds as there are. seed dealers. 
fNmditions of soil, vitality of the swl, 
time of planting, will make a difference in 
time of ripening in .seed's from the .same 
stock. I'larl.v Peas are thus inueh like the 
scholars In the old-fashioned spelling class; 
they have turns of going to the head. 
uniform condition of earliness and yield, is 
the great consideration in a market Pea. 
Borne kinds slundd be idanted thick and 
others thin. 1 had an llhrstration of this 
Inst year with Carter's I’lcst Crop Poas lliat 
were In bloom and hadiiods well set with Poas 
when the frost of May aoth ocourred. 
The 
