1886 . 
Eiirly In spring 
had been sown along side 
wbleli a good (inani,i(,y „(■ 
burled. Soon al'lor liu, (p.R,. 
garden. 
oi¬ 
ls 
'I I'nrrow In 
y‘“'d 11111111,,.,. was 
gathered, whleli wa.s a very ' 
badab«ndauts,.owers;new,;,g:,:;;;;;;;-^ 
cs appeared almost lininedlatolv anil 
dueed an abundanee of blossoms and P '' 
more 1 thought than the llrst 
pods were generally smaller 
eas, 
crop. 'I'la, 
. . . the iiiiin 
ber oC seeds m i.hem less than i,i the il 
picking,nevertheless 1 harvested three bushels 
Of good seed Peas from this seeond n.,.owth'. 
Ill this ease all eoiiditions seemed to have 
been favorable, and new roots have probably 
pushed forth into the near-by maiinre, but! 
have 110 doubt that even under ordinary eh-- 
euuistanees, liberal applieations of luiuiil ma¬ 
nure at the proper time would produce siiiii- 
lar results. H. j. Skvmouii. 
EARLY NEW ZEALAND POTATO. 
The specimens of this new Potato sent us, 
and from the most eharacteristie of which 
our illustration was drawn, were large, hand¬ 
some tubers of oblong-oval, flattened shape; 
skin light pink, roughlsh; eyes even with 
the sm-face, or slightly raised, never deeii- 
ened. Even the largest specimens were 
solid to the core and of the 
best cooking quality. 
This variet}-', the introducer 
states, originated on the island 
of New Zealand and was in¬ 
troduced into tile United 
States in 1883; its growtli of 
vines is strong and vigorous, 
foliage large and dark green; 
blossoms abundant; season 
extra early, keeping quality 
unexcelled, and its jdeld im¬ 
mense. He lays special stress 
upon the importance of plant¬ 
ing single eye sets. 
up aflalrs' 
Mi-s. Mdller was grateful. 
wl.M, If "the seed of 
hlLli she would neither sell nor give away. 
IcaL nf*' f ^ ''ugutables, she would 
miv<. 11 t'"** Lettuce and Anally 
gave him some seed. 
i.Jh'“*'"“ thing that pleases the deacon 
ei than to beat me and then laugh at 
people who write for the papers. 
'I'he deacon often told me about the won¬ 
derful Lettuce that Mrs. Mdller grew. I 
confess to have bad little faith in it. It did 
mjt seem probable, I thought, that a woman 
living out here in the country on a cross¬ 
road, working her small farm and garden 
with her own hands and taking her vegeta¬ 
bles to market and iieddling them out in the 
city, should have a variety of Lettuce better 
than could be got from Vihnorin of Paris, 
Denary of Erfurt or the Carters of T.ondon. 
We had the best varieties of the best seed 
houses in the world, and it was not likely 
that JIrs. Mdller could have anything that 
was superior. 
“Well,” said the deacon, “have it your 
own say.” 
261 
THE DEACON LETTUCE. 
In the August number of 
The American Garden, 
“Elm” of the New York 
Experiment Station gives a very interesting 
account of the experiments made at the Sta¬ 
tion with 1.50 varieties of Lettuce. At t le 
head of the list he places “The Deacon.’ 
“All in all,” he says, “this is the flues 
heading variety we have grown, lnt* ““ 
by Joseph Harris. This is one - 
green, thick-leaved sorts. Neai j ‘ 
them are of good quality. Heac coi 
rounded or a little flattened when o 
size and in some plats measuinig 
inches in diameter. Outer defined 
number, which with the perfectly d fined 
head, give the plant a very distinc . 11 
ance.” . „ ,.i,„ rot. 
This is an accurate description o 
tuce under consideration. .jdds, “that 
“I have been ‘ 
this superior variety has n * 1 
der any other name.” follows: 
Thehistorvof this Lettuce !• _ 
EARLY NEW ZEALAND POTATO. 
1 had my own say. Wesowed many difler- 
ent varieties of Lettuce,—French, German, 
Eno-lish and American, but the deacon beat 
me°every time. Finally Mrs. Mdller let me 
have a few ounces of seed, and then, by the 
aid of plats of manure and superphosphate, 
sowiuo- in rows 21 inches apart, andthinumg 
out the plants six or seven iiiehe..* apart m 
the row, Il>eat the deucon. 
oTown this Lettuce and sold the 
But so far as I can 
Living near me on a 
small farm 
uii " I liGl* 
Mailer. For many years 
hus- 
a- many yeais = ^j^rdeners m 
hand were successful marke ° -phe 
Irondequoit, southeast of The 
family moved into my peig jj.iejul and 
husband died, and my 8"°“ ..ghnell 
best door neighbor, Deacon 
was 
I have 
seed for several years. 
, fuo .ii-riele bv “Elm” m Ihe 
TMEmSS Gakpen is the first notice it has 
Sedfroin any agricultural or hortieul- 
Thavriust been to see Mrs. Mdller. I 
, ^ H her -ind her daughter digging Potii- 
told her that the New York Experi- 
“ ; 8 tatiou had tried her Lettuce, and out 
meut Statio different names, her 
«,•«<> I.....* 
Qiies. I am an old 
fshlllsooii be seventy. I want to 
woman, I shai j 
make a go about as I used to. 
Ans. A French lady from the place where 
I came from, near Strassburg, brought me 
some seed. .Strassburg is in Germany now; 
but I do not care. This is iny country. 
Ques. And you sowed the seed and found- 
it goody 
Ans. Yes. 
Ques. Why is it so goody 
Ans. Because it is. 
Ques. I mean, why is it better than other 
Lettuce y 
Ans. It is sweet and tender and always 
makes a head even on poor soil. But the 
richer the soil the better, and you do not sow 
it too thick and you should sow it early. 
“Yes,” said the daughter, “last year 
motlier was cleaning the seed in the water 
and threw the cliaft on the snow, and in the 
spi-ing when the snow went off the Lettuce 
plants came up.” 
Ques. Cannot you tell me something more 
about ity Did the French lady tell you its 
nainey 
-Ans. No. I have told you all there is to 
tell about it. 
Ques. You have grown this same Lettuce 
ever since the French lad 3 ' gave it you forty 
j-ears ago. How did 3 'ou manage to keep it'y 
Ans. (Smiling at 1113 - simplicity.) I raised 
seed m 3 'self. I left some of 
the very best heads every 3 'ear 
for seed. And the people in 
Irondequoit wanted us to tr 3 '- 
some other kind. I saved the 
seed in another part of the 
garden. Y'ou know Lettuce 
will mix. I never found an 3 '’ 
other Lettuce as good as mine 
and I always grow the seed 
apart by itself. 
Ques. How do 3 'Ou manage 
to grow the seedy 1 can’t 
make it go to seed. 
Ans. Some seasons you 
can't get any seed. But it 
will keep for many years and 
the old seed is just as good. 
Ques. Do you do anything 
to make it go to seedy 
A us. Nothing except to select the best 
heads and then break ofl’ the lower leaves 
and open out the head. 
1 imagine that this last suggestion is valu¬ 
able for general adoption. 
1 st.—It seems clear that this so-called 
“Deacon Lettuce'’ was a good variety to 
start with, or the French lad 3 '’ would not 
have thought it woi-th while to have brought 
it to this country. 
2d.—That SL-s. Mfiller by keeping it firm 
and by continuing selecting the best heads 
has made it what it is. 
3 d.—It is not any better than it should he. 
It is good, or as “Elm” says, “thefine.st head¬ 
ing variet 3 '- we have grown, • because nearly 
iilf our Lettuces are so poor. I have often 
said that they are a disgrace to seed growers 
and seed sellers. Aud they will continue to 
be so till we adopt Mrs. Mttller’s method of 
selecting the best heads for seed. 
Joseph Harris. 
The Sweet Potato crop has suffered from 
drought in many localities, especially in the 
Southwestern aud some Western States, 
while in parts of New Jersey it is reported 
as tlie best in ten years. 
1 '• 
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