AugtJLSti 
188 
THE AMERICAN 
garde^n- 
SEASONABLE mNXS. 
At this season of the year, the skill and 
good management of a gardener ndll show 
themselves in the condition of his grounds 
plainer than at any other time. AVhile in a 
well-managed garden every foot of ground 
is occuiried with useful or ornamental plants, 
and second and third crops follow the pre¬ 
vious ones in quick succession, in far too 
many instances, decaying staUts and vines 
and rank weeds are the only occupants of 
the land made vacant by the removal of 
early vegetables. 
Clean Culture.—To those who have never 
tried it, it would seem wonderful how much 
a small piece of ground can be made to pro¬ 
duce with clean cultm-e, and how much 
easier it is to destroy weeds in their nascent 
state than after they have taken possession 
of the entu-e ground. But the object of cui- 
tivation is not only the Idlliug of weeds; the 
loosening of the soil is of not less import¬ 
ance. Loose soil forms the best possible mulch 
and safeguard against drought. The care- 
fid cultivator finds rarel}' any weeds to kill, 
but stu-s the ground frequently because he 
knows that by so doing he benefits his crops. 
Thinning Boots of all kinds. Carrots, Pars¬ 
nips, Beets, Turnips, etc., is,, next to rich 
soii, the most essential condition to success 
in their culture. To crowd half-a-dozen 
roots into a space that affords room and 
nourishment for one only, is about as rea¬ 
sonable as to turn six times as mauj- cattle 
into a pasture as there is forage for. 
Baising Seeds .—AVhen one has an unusu¬ 
ally good strain of certain Idnds of vegeta¬ 
bles which it is desirable to retain, the wise 
thing to do is to save some seed for future 
use. But to gather the leavings of Peas, 
Beans, Corn, etc., for seed, is not perpetu¬ 
ating a valuabie stram,itis, on the contrary, 
a sui'e way to deteriorate it from year to 
year. Only the best and earliest seeds 
should be saved for sowing. 
This is not an easy matter in an ordinary 
garden, unless separ.ate plats are set aside for 
seed-raising e.xclusively. It is for this rea¬ 
son that seedsmen's seeds, which are the en¬ 
tire products of the crops, are, as a rule, 
better than those saved from the private 
gardens. 
Peas and Beans of early varieties may 
still be planted; it .should be remembered, 
however, that all seeds sown in inidsummei’ 
have to be covered deeper than in .spring. 
Deep planting defies ilrought, produces 
larger yield and promotes continuance of 
bearing; six inches is not too deep for Peas, 
provided there is sufficient depth of soil. It 
would be folly to ifiant seeds into a sterile 
sul)-soil. 
IS'inter Badishes make an excellent relish 
for winter use. The seeil may be sown at 
any time this month. The treatment is the 
same fis that tor early Badishes, but to in¬ 
sure crisp and tender roots, deoj), I'ich, mel¬ 
low soil is still more essential. The Kose- 
colored China is the variety most frequently 
seen in our markets, but for home use we 
prefer the California Mammoth White. 
Packed in sand they keep all winter. 
SOME NEW AND OLD LETTUCES. 
The different sorts of Lettuce ^ 
range of variation, and one Af« 
in believing that all can belong to ■ 
species. The Deer Tongue has distn ctly 
laneeolate leaves, two or three times . 
as broad, with a long, PO^ited apex, an 
nearly entire unwaved borders. 1 ic ^ 
Fringed has leaves decidedly broader • 
long, with a finely dentate and intricately 
rulHcd border. Between these two extremes, 
we have varieties exhibiting almost e\ ei y 
possible shade of variation, lliese mu i 
farious varieties almost always come rue 
from seed, even when the sorts f roin winch 
the seeds were taken were grown in close 
proximity. In other words, the varieties do 
not seem to self mix to any great extent. 
I have seen no evidence of cross-fertilization 
in upwards of 50 varieties, grown .p'oin seed 
of mj' own saving, except when I intention- 
aliy crossed two sorts. 
Although there are many varieties of Let¬ 
tuce that are truly distinct, the names printed 
in the catalogues are usuall}’’ far more nu¬ 
merous than the varieties which thej'^ repre¬ 
sent. Of the sorts grown in our Station 
garden, about 150, I have collected more 
than 700 different names. I will describe a 
few of the more interesting varieties. 
The Deacox.— All in all, this is the finest 
heading variety we have grown. Introduced 
by Joseph Harris. This is one of the dark- 
green, thick-leaved sorts, nearly all of which 
are of good qualitj% Head compact, round¬ 
ish or a little flattened when of full size, and 
in some plants measuring fully five inches 
in diameter. Outer leaves few in number, 
which with tlie perfectly defined head give 
the plant a very distinct appearance. Mr. 
Harris writes me that he ])roc,ured the seed 
of a Mrs. Miller, residing near Bochester, a 
woman who came to be widely known as a 
grower of fine Lettuce. I have boon sur¬ 
prised that this truly superior variety has 
not appeai-ed under any other name. 
AATiite Cjtavigxe. —An excellent heading 
sort, probably of French origin. Thick¬ 
leaved, deep green; frequently forms com¬ 
pact heads five inches in diameter: quite 
different from The Deacon, as it is low and 
spreading in habit. 
Lahge Wjiite .Stone Sum.meh. —Another 
superior heading Lettuce, to which there 
are, including foreign .ap])cllations, more 
than a dozen different names. Among these 
arc f lardy 1 foney, l.arge Green, lairge White 
Cabbage, L.ate White Cabbage, Brinc<!ss, 
Boyal Cabbage, Saxony, Sugar, very Barge 
Vellow Pare.sseuseaiid WhiteCabbage. Kor- 
eign names, French ; f.aitue blonde d'ete de 
Saint Omer, I.ailue grosse. blonde paresstmse. 
German: Gelber Faidenzer Cattieh, Grosser 
gelber Dauer Kopf-Cattieh, etc. I have not 
verified all of these synony)ns. .Several 1 
give on the .authority of M. Vilmoriii of 
Paris and Mi’. Bobei’t'l'lionqison of lOngland. 
'Phis is a thin-leaved, yellowish-green vai’iety 
of very large size, which sometimes forms a 
liead.sixinchesln diameter. Both this and the 
White Chavignd may head as well as 'I'ho De,a- 
con, but owing to their more nmneroiis outer 
leaves, tJieyare less attractive in appearance. 
'I’jrE Beui.in, of which there, seem to be at 
least LI dill’crent names. Is also an excellent 
heading sort, though its heads are not as 
large as those of the three described above 
The following names have been given to 
**”a 11 The Year Round (black seed), Berlin 
White Summer, Black-Seeded SatisfacHon, 
Black-Seeded Yellow, Fine Impenal Cab- 
haa-e Leyden White Summer, Salamander, 
,,„d ’satisfaction Black-Seeded. Foreign 
mames, French: Laitue blonde a graine 
uoire, Laitue blonde de Berlin, Laitue blonde 
de Tours, Laitue royale a graine noire. Ger- 
m.au: Berliner gelber. Kopf-Lattich, Grosser 
o-elber Berliner Lattich. 
'ITiE Goi.nEN Slotted is desirable for 
later use, as it is very beautiful in appear- 
•mce of excellent quality, and very slow in 
running to seed. It is not of large size, but 
heads well. Its leaves, which are very thin, 
present a beautiful mingling of golden green 
and brownish red. 
Pelletier.—T his is a very peculiar Let¬ 
tuce and is almost attractive enough foi the 
flower-garden. The borders of the leaves 
are deeply cut into long, pointed lobes, of 
which tlie edges folded together below cause 
the apexes to point upward, giving the plant 
a very singular appearance. It forms a 
comp.act, iiointed head of medium size. 
Bed Besson. —Synonyms: Marvel, Mer- 
veillc des quatre saisons. This is a deep, 
gloss}”^, red variety; the only red variety of 
my acquaintance in which the color is suffi¬ 
ciently bright to make it attractive. It is a 
Cabbage Lettuce having densely blistered 
leaves and it forms a compact head of large 
size, that remains a long time even in hot 
weather. The red Lettuces are not gener¬ 
ally esteemed for the table, at least not in 
this country, but I think this one of tlie best 
of tliem. 
Deacon Hine. —Tliis variet}' sent out by 
Messrs. Ferry & Co., is entirely distinct 
from The Deacon of Mr. Harris. It is a 
very low, spreading, compact growing Let¬ 
tuce, of which tlie thick, dark-green leaves 
overlap one another like the shingles on a 
roof. I judge it is of excellent qualitj'^ though 
it does not form a clearly defined head. 
I have found nothing better for culture in 
frames than the well-known White-Seeded 
Tennis Ball. Landreth's Forcing, which 
closely resembles Dippe's Emperor, sent out 
by Damman & Co. of Italy in 1SS3, is also 
an excellent forcing variety. 
Almost every season some of the old va¬ 
rieties arc offered to the public under new 
names. 'I’hc present year I note that the 
Bochester and Hubbard's Market Lettuces 
and the new Premium Cabbage seem to he 
nothing more nor less tlian the old White 
Summer Lettuce, or All tlie Year Bound 
white seed. 'I'he New Perpetual is to all ap¬ 
pearances the well-known Early Simpson; 
Ihe New Silver Ball is undoubtedly the 
White Paroii of Vilmorin, and the New'stub- 
born-1 leaded is apparently the old Berlin 
Lettuce. 'I’ho Now Orleans Cabbage sent out 
i n 18S1, seems l,o bo the old Turkish or Butter 
Lottue.e. Those are. all excellent varieties, 
Imt they aro not now, as one would suppose 
from the catalogues. “Elm.” 
/Vrno York Agrioultuml /'hquodnient Station. 
A handful of bran spriidtlod over heads of 
fadihage wlion (,ho dow is on, is reeom- 
'"oiulod us as an Infallible remedy for Cab- 
worms. 
