. nnd on the 
HU(i- 
i> diinip or 
jit- 
iiii- 
... th(iy reoeivo 
tween (lio time of an-lval nn.l ,>i„„tlnn. Z 
ponds, not unfreiiucntly, tlioir c„turo 
cess. It the day iiappons t;o ho 
„londy one, they may bo phmtod out at onoo 
but if tiio weatiuu- is <lcy and sunny, a safer 
plan is to heel in tlic plants oarofullv in a, 
damp find shady place until a more favor¬ 
able day occurs. It is dampness in tlie 
niosphere—not in tlio soil—tliat is most 
portant at tlio time of plantin}^. 
SALSIFY. 
Tills root, commonly called Oyster-plant 
is of very easy cultivation ami should 
be in every well-managed garden, p, jg 
a hardy biennial, maturing bite in tiie 
fall of the first year, can be loft in the 
ground in safety, and tlirows up the .seed 
stalk tlic following season. A large bud 
and a purple blossom mature a pod that 
opens much like a Thistle, full of long, club- 
shaped seeds. The English sparrows carry 
these off as fast as tliey open sutlieieiitly, 
and the seed has tlierefore to be gathered 
every day, to save it. 'I'licse abominable 
birds carry off my I.ettuce seed in the same 
waj’’. 1 iiave not found the seed to germinate 
well the second year, although some claim 
vitality for it for four years. 
The .seed planted early in the spring, at 
the time of the Onion or Carrot, will be sure 
to sprout. I sow rather thin, as it isdinieult 
to pull up the young plants after once taking 
root; sown in rows one foot apart it is easily 
kept clean, as it lias an upright liabit of 
growtli. Tile ground needs to be worked 
deep, and made rich for it; the normal size 
of the roots is about one inob in diameter. 
I have bad them larger; but it is unusual. 
They need tlie wliole season to perfect their 
growth, but can be eaten as soon as the roots 
are big enougli to scrape for boiling. 
I usually mow tlie tops before liard 
frosts sap the vitality of the roots. A short 
top will spring up afterwards, tliat is left 
on at the time of digging. For marketing, 
the roots should be straiglit as in the illus¬ 
tration ; but tlie side shoots have often to be 
removed to gainthis aiipearance; this should 
•je done at the time, of digging, as it makes 
tbein more convenient to handle subse- 
buentiy. ] pack them close together in 
sod on the cellar floor, 4,000 roots in a 
space of ;IG feet srpiare. 'J'liey are lield in 
an upright po.sition by tlie earth, and closely 
Surrounded by it; tlie tojis remain green, and 
some growth is made, while the root will 
■foop fi-osi, till 3 , 1 .,y ij- these conditions are 
not provided ami tlie roots protected they 
"’dl wilt very rapidly. Tlie principal daii- 
Soi' is from rot late in the .season. I find 
diem a profltable market crop as they can 
*0 grown cpiite near together if they do not 
each otlier, liutahard .soil makes them 
straggly/! 
are not as iiiuch ap- 
‘ among soutberii people, and by 
Ih 
preparing the roots for tlie table, one 
of 
J’ceds to use some care, as tlie milky juice 
de plant stains the hands like tlie Dande- 
toii. 'Fo avoid this and the discoloring t le 
oots, which will turn black if left exposed 
® air after scraping, they should be 
d the water in wliich they are to be boiled, 
'“'mediately after scraping. They may be 
spared in various ways, and wlien pi 01 
BUNCH OF SALSIFY. 
French and Germans. 
'I’lie Seorzonera, a black-skinned variety, 
having a seed shaped like a wooden shoe-peg, 
differs in some respects from the Salsify. 
'The leaf is lighter green, tlie root is more 
brittle, has a different flavor, does not grow 
in as good shape as the Salsify, and will not 
keep .as well. 'J'beir uses are the same, but 
for general cultivatioutlie Salsify gives more 
satisfaction than the black-rooted variety, 
and will on the whole grow to a larger size. 
AV. H. Bull. 
THE WONDER OF FRANCE BEAN. 
Tliis novelty represents a peculiar tribe of 
Beans with seeds of bright green color. It 
is immensely productive and very early, the 
leaves falling off’ just befoi-e the maturity of 
t 
It 
WONDER OF FRANCE BEAN, 
the pods, tlius causing* quick ripeiiing. 
makes a very good string bean, but its mam 
usSsnsusheUbeaii. Wien cooked it retains 
Its attractive color, and is of a rich, dehcate 
flavor, similar to the Lima Bean. 
1886 . -PTTi- L 
AMERICAN GARnP'hJ 
HEELINa IN VEGETABLE PLANTS 
Fhuitsordmaid from a, distance are not al- slTLr'^*’’.in 
preoiated as 
111 
FIRMING THE SOIL. 
Small, flue seeds should always be covered 
very lightly, and the best way to accomplish 
this is to scatter them evenly over the smooth 
surface, and then sprinkle fine soil over them 
just enough to cover them, and press down 
with the hand, or a light hoe. 'Hiis will 
greatly facilitate their germination, as in 
order to .sprout and grow, it is absolutely 
necessary that each seed should be in imme¬ 
diate contact with the soil. ’I’licomission of 
this firming of tiie soil is a more frequent 
cause of failure than the want of vitality in 
the seeds themselves. 
Seeds should nevei- be sown when the 
ground is wet, much less should the soil be 
pres.sed down when in this condition, else 
it will surely bake" after a few dry, warm 
days and the tiny sprouts will not be able to 
force their way tiirough it, and the seeds 
will rot. This applies especially to stiff, 
clayey soils, which should not be firmed un¬ 
less they are dry and mellowed. 
The hc.st advantages of Arming are secured 
in hot weatiier, when the soil is so dry that 
•seeds placed in it loosely would not germi¬ 
nate. When the ground is dry and hot even 
the heaviest clay soils will bear any amount 
of Arming. X. .j. .SriEi’iiKRD. 
FRESH SPROUTS. 
A good wiieel-hoe is as much superior to 
the eoimnou hoe for cultivating a gai-den, as 
is the mowing-machine to the sickle in the 
hay-fleld. 
Size and plumpness in seeds furnish no 
more reliable criterion as to their intrinsic 
qualit)!' than the 3 '^ do with men and women. 
It’s the blood that tells. 
farmer in Salem County, X. .1., la.st .sea¬ 
son raised S,S tons of Tomatoes on six acres 
of land. 'The crop was sold to the canning 
establishment for $7 per ton. 
At a recent meeting of Maryland farmers, 
the general opinion was in favor of north¬ 
ern-grown seed Potatoes, as better adapted 
for that latitude than liome-grown ones. 
The Beauty of Hebron was considered the 
most proAtable varietj!. 
Bran is highly recommended by several in¬ 
telligent farmers, as a manure for Potatoes. 
Waldo F. Brown considers it cheap for this 
purpose, at §1.5 per ton. Damaged br.an, 
which is just as good as the best, can often 
be bought for §5 per ton. 
Frank L. Burt believes- that the farmers 
of New England can raise Corn at less cost 
than they can bu,y it from the West. From 
an acre of land to which were applied GOO 
])Ounds of Stockbridge Corn Fertilizer he 
has raised 103 bushels of shelled Corn. This 
is what a boj^ can do; farmer Burt is only 
eighteen j’^ears old. 
W. H. Bull is of the opinion that where 
the right conditions exist a man can support 
a famil}’’ of six persons and sometimes more, 
on eight acres, and do it 3 ’-ear after year. 
[Eight .acres would seem a large farm to 
some of the Ifew Jersey market gardeners 
who support themselves and their families 
on one and two acres of land.— Ed.] 
