208 
THE^ 
September, 
SEASONABLE EIKIS. 
Selecting Potatoes for Seed .—The proper 
time for selecting seed Potatoes is when dig¬ 
ging the crop. Every careful observer will 
have noticed that there is considerable dif¬ 
ference in the yield of diftereut hills of the 
same variety and under apparently exactly 
the same conditions. This individual or 
family prolificacy, so to s.'iy, seems to be in¬ 
herent and c.apablc of being perpetuated. 
Kecent experiments at the N. Y. Agricul¬ 
tural St.ation h.ave shown that the smallest 
tubers from the most productive hilts yield 
more crop than the largest tubers from the 
least productive hills, thus indicating very 
clearly that m order to increase the. yield of 
Potatoes it is only necessary in digging to 
expose the lulls separately, and then go 
througli and select seed from those lillls 
which sliow the most abundant crop. 
Siceet Potatoes should be dug and stored 
before cold weather sets in. They arc far 
more tender than common Potatoes, and a 
frost th.at would not afiect tlie latter in the 
least, when in the ground, might ruin the 
first. If permitted to remain long in cold, 
wet soil after they are ripe their eating as 
well as keeping cpiality becomes greatly in¬ 
jured. They should always be well dried 
before housing, and stored in a diy, warm 
place. A Sweet Potato that has been ex¬ 
posed to frost is not worth carrying home. 
Sjnnach is one of the most delicate vegeta¬ 
bles, and coming at a season when there are 
very few other “greens" it is the more highly 
appreciated. Sown now in a cold-frame, it 
becomes fit for use during the winter months, 
and if in the open ground it will be ready 
with the earliest spring. It requires rich, 
deep soil, and in the Xoithern States some 
light winter protection. For filling some odd 
spaces in the kitchen garden at this season 
there is nothing more suitable than the 
Spinach. 
Cold Frames should now be made ready. 
Cabb.age, Cauliflower, Lettuce, etc., when 
desired to winter the phiiits, have to be sown 
about the middle of this month. 
The raising and wintering of cold-frame 
plants is not hehl in as inmdi favor as form¬ 
erly. 'I’lic jn-ocess requires a gotal deal of 
labor and attention, and jdaiits started early 
in sitting in a hot-bed or plant house, and 
afterward prh-ked out like, cold-lranie 
plants, give, ,'is a rule, as much satisfaid.ion. 
Celenj, when earthed up too early, is liti- 
hle to rot. It is therefoi-e not advi,sable to hill 
up more thiin wlnit is wanted for early use. 
In tlrawing the soil around tin; stalks can- 
should be taken not to allow any earth to 
come into the heart of the plant. 
ToinoMies are desti-oyed by the. first fi-ost. 
A few bushes may sometimes be .saved by 
throwing sheets or matting over them when 
frosty nights threaten. 
Melons in Georgia are quoted at twenty- 
five cents a dozen. 
After trying eveiy known method of rais¬ 
ing Celei-y, the editor of the Jtural .Vew- 
Yorkor gives the preference to shallow 
' six inches deep. 
OOEN SALAD. . 
The name of this plant is prf 
The name of mis p.a... 
from the custom of sowing ^^H^d 
fan «mo«* meat, 
‘Corn” in Europe. In 
“Corn” in itiuropc. x.a — o 
cUmate there, it attains 
for tall and early winter use, am 
grain .affords ample protection to 1 ^ ^ 
the remaining plants through win • 
Salad, or FetFiciis, under whic > ^ 
also known, is used as a sub.stitute ' 
tuce, ami in places where there is a t • 
for it—as exists in most large o\\ ■ • 
cities—it may be made a remunerative gul¬ 
den crop in a small way. 
Sown in spring in moist land it seldom 
fails to grow and mature an abumliint cro)i 
according to the richness of the soil, but as 
it runs to seed very rapidly in spring and 
there are so many other kinds of salad at 
that season that take its place the demand 
for it there is but small. Early fall sowing 
m.atures a crop for tall or early wintei sales, 
and is therefore best in all respects. 1 he vi¬ 
tality of the seed is very uncertain. Only the 
very best and fresh seed should be used; 
two-year-old seed is useless. In the dry 
soil and .•I'tmospherc of .-Viigust and Septem¬ 
ber, the seed comes up slowly, and must there¬ 
fore be sowed thickly and then be troddi-n 
CORN SALAD. 
down with the foot to compact the soil and 
keep out the. air. I have known some, of the 
seeds to remain in the ground moi-e than six- 
weeks before germinating under unfavora¬ 
ble circumstances. 
The early frosts of autumn which kill the 
weeds do not injure the Corn .Salad, 
which when full grown trrthe fall is a very 
marketable crop. 1 market it in crates and 
baskets, the same as 1 use for Strawberries. 
The price is-SLOO or .-isl.a.j per doz. bas¬ 
kets. Its (jualily varies considerably accord¬ 
ing to the .soil and care it receives. Piop. 
erly grown on rich land and in full leaf it is 
a very payingcro)), but has a certain limit to 
its sale. 
In a light soil its staying qualities are fullv 
eipial to Spinach ; and I have cut it from the 
oiien ground in the latitude of Ilostouas late 
as December. On the. approaid, or sevi-re 
winlm- weather, I Inive biMui able to cut and 
keep a few bushels ovm- in a c.(dd pii,; u,'.,,,,. 
ing it sometimes a monl.li in that way. 
Some exjKiriments, which I made, in sow 
ing the seed broadcast together with Ch.ver 
and gndn have not juoved very satisfaeforv 
tiH-. plants having eithm- be.m smotlmred, m- 
iniured by frost. Sowing in drills In hu.,.,.. 
apart and dnq.ping the seeds about one inch 
-qiart in U.e rows is much to be preferred. 
Alli.i sowing, it requires hardly any cai-.! m- 
culture. If soil and weather are favorable 
It IS generally grown as a second crop, ami 
jmc sno p^paratloiifor.. exeepl ’ a,. ' 
" • 11- Hum,. 
THE PEA. 
notes on varieties. 
One of the question,s th.at we are most of¬ 
ten c.allecl upon to answer by visitors to our 
laro-e garden, is, Which is the earliest Pea? 
As'to bn earliest, means to be most popular, 
e.nndidates for this honor are naturally 
the c.audidates for tins nonor are naturally 
numerous and ardeiit. In seeking to mete 
out justice to all, I have found it necessary 
to .answer a second question, perhaps still 
more difflcult th.an the first; viz., wh.at con- 
.stitntes a variety? Perhaps .some of these 
numerous names offered are counterfeits. 
After much reading, thinking, and querying, 
T have settled ujion .an answer to this latter 
question, not because it is a perfect one, but 
because it is the best that I can find. It is 
this: the plants of two difl'ercnt varieties 
must differ more in tlieir characters, than do 
normal individuals of the same v.ariety. 
Otherwise, they arc synonyms, and cannot 
be admitted as distinct sorts. 
Applying tliis principle to our early Peas, 
I find it makes sad havoc with the names. 
It is like throwing a bombslicll into the 
midst of a company of soldiers. It cuts 
mercilessly. Let us .sec. If my definition 
is right, the following names are all sjmo- 
nyms; Philadelphia, Philadelphia ExtraEar- 
ly,Extra Early Philiulelphia,Cleveland'sFlr.st 
and Best, Cleveland's Pural New Yorker, 
Dexter, Thornburii's Extra Early Market, 
Landreth's Extra Early, Ferry'.s- First and 
Best, Sibley's First and Best, Thorburn's 
First and Best, Henderson's First of All, 
Hancock, and I judge from one se.a.son's trial 
that Vick's Extra Early must be pl.aced in 
the same rank. 
Xo, my judgment is not superficial. T 
have spent hours among these Peas. I have 
viewed the rows side-wise .and end-wise. I 
have noted the height of their steins, and the 
color of their folia.ge. I have measured their 
pods, their internodes, and their peduncles. 
1 have examined their stipules, and leaflets 
and tendrils. I have counted and tasted 
their Peas. ,Vs to their earliness, soinetlnies 
one is ahead and sometimes another. I find 
no regularity in this respect. The extremes 
for the whole of them are no more than 1 
Inive found in dillcrent plantings of the same 
variety. I n-peat; either my definition is 
wrong, or else tln-se naiiics must go into the 
contest as one. 
'I'o do this I’ea justice, it is at the present 
time, as early, as prolilic, and as good as 
any early Pea we have, lam not sure but 
it is the hest. very early Pea. Itlias two very 
powerful rivals in the “Earliest of All'’ and 
the “Express," two blue-seeded sorts. It is 
snlllcieiitly tall to need bushing, has pale fo¬ 
liage and inalures its crop in a remarkably 
short, time. N’ery possibly this many-named 
sort, has bee.n obtained by lotig eonlinued 
selection frmn the Daniel 'o'llonrke, which 
if unieh resembh-s, and through this, from 
file Early lv(.nt., from tln> idd 'Early Frame 
fhat our great-grimdinothers grew.' 
Passing dowti the lim>, the American Won¬ 
der leads the van atnong the wrinkled Pens- 
We have here the eotiihinatioti of the very 
I'cst ipiallty with a very high degree of 
earliness, togetlicr with a. plant .so dwarf 
fhat it needs no bu.shing. 1 do not regard 
ifs extreme dwarfness as very much to its 
•’•'edit, as it requires tuiieli room and much 
setal |;o grow plants and Peas enough for 
I 
