November, 
262 
THE AMERICAN 
oardbn. 
PBESERVING WATERMELOITS AMD SQUASHES. 
It is not generally known that Watei- 
melons may be kept in good condition until 
neai* Oiristinas; yet it can easily be done. 
I have often kept them until after Thanks¬ 
giving day, and had I started with a suffi¬ 
cient quantity, or had I been more frugal in 
their use, could, I am confident, have car¬ 
ried them up to Christmas. The trouble 
was, that they kept so well that we couldn't 
keep them long enough. It is as hard to 
keep Melons—from being eaten—as it is to, 
keep a row of Peas for seed from the earli¬ 
est ripened patch. 
The method of preserving Melons is vei'y 
simple indeed. A big box or bln in a cool 
corner of the woodshed, or in a tolerably 
dry cellar, is the first requirement; a plenti¬ 
ful supply of Oats, bran, s.awdust or some 
such dry, light substance, the next; a layer 
of a few inches of this is put in the bottom 
of the box, and then as many Melons laid in 
as can be without bringing them 0113- nearer 
together than three or four inches, keeping 
them awa}^ from the sides of the box about 
the same distance. The bran or other mate¬ 
rial used must then be sprinkled in .among 
the Melons until all the spaces are filled, and 
another layer of three or four inches spread 
over the whole. This is continued until the 
box is filled. 
The Melons should be picked for this pur¬ 
pose before they are fairl3' ripe. Late in 
the Melon season when frost threatens, the 
greener ones maybe treated in this way,and 
thus saved from destruction and to serve as 
an imaccustomed luxury in wintiw weather. 
Squashes for late keeping must not be 
bruised in handling. Too often the3' are 
pitched into the wagon-box or rack at 
garden peppers. 
The Pepper is one of the most valuable 0 
our garden plants 
good, long throw, so that every one of them 
is badly bruised. TSTierever bruised the3' 
will rot, and that quickl3^ Freezing, how¬ 
ever slight, is also fatal to them. Some 
growers leave their Squashes on the vines 
until frost cuts down the top leaves so that 
they can readily be seen and gathered, but 
such frost is pretty likely to touch the top 
sides of the Squashes also, and whenever so 
touched they will soon rot. Tliey sliould be 
gathered as soon as the greater part of 
them are fairl3- ripe, and when growing 
near the cellar where tliey ai-e to be stored, 
they may easily be hauled in on a stone- 
boat with side boards attaclied. The .Squash¬ 
es if picked and laid carefully on this con- 
ve3^ance will not be in danger of becom¬ 
ing bruised. Small load.s must necessarily 
be taken in this manner, but the time thus 
consumed will be amply compensatetl lor by 
the extra keeping quality of the Squashes. 
Xever should Squashes be piled up in 
huge heaps in the cellar as is often done, as 
it is sure to cause early and general decay 
of the whole mass. It is bad enough to 
store any vegetables in this way, but to the 
Squa.sh it is certain destruction. It will rt^- 
quire but little more space and a few feet 
of lumber to change the bin into a number 
of broad shelves where each Squash will 
have to bear only its own weight, and decay 
of one will not materially affect the others. 
Squashes are usually a salable mai-ket article 
in winter, and even if no better use could be 
made of them than to feed to stock, they are 
worth the little care necessary to preserve 
VV. I). BorN'JON. 
... 1“ 0'“' experience, it is 
seldom that we find fifty plants grown f 10m 
the same sample of seed that are alike m 
their foli.age and fruit. The flowers are very 
subject to cross-fertilization, aud unless le 
different varieties are carefully separated, 
the seeds will not reproduce their kliid. Bu 
all the variations that occur do not appear 
to be the result of cro.ss-fortilization. Foi 
example, certain plants of a variety often 
bear their fruit upright, while all the others 
have pendant fruits, the plants showing no 
other differences. 
During the past four years, several new 
naines have been added to our list of Pep¬ 
pers, but most of these are new in nothing 
except their names. I will mention a few 
of these newer synonyms, and append a 
brief description of the lairieties to whicli 
the3’^ belong, aud of a few other soi-ts. 
Monslrouii, or Grossnm. Tills does not ap- 
pe.ar to be an old vai'iet3', at least Mr. Burr, 
who wrote in ISGo, does not mentiou it; yet 
if the seeds we have planted have been 
true to their names, we have grown this Pep¬ 
per under thefoliowiugappellations: “Alon- 
strous or Grossum" (Tliornburn&Co.,lSS 2 ), 
“Spanish Jlamraoth,"' and “.Monstrous” 
(Vilmorin, ISS-t), “Rubv King" (Benson 
Maule & Co., 18 S- 1 ), “Crimson Queen'' (Til- 
linghast, 188 . 5 ). The plant of this variet3f 
is one and a half to two feet high, leaves 
veiy large, the larger ones sometimes four 
inches long, and more than two inches wide. 
The borders of the leaves are a little undu¬ 
late, aud the edges are usually curved up¬ 
ward. Their surface is generally somewhat 
blistered. 'The stem is usually tinged pur¬ 
ple at the nodes. 'The fruits are pendant, 
irregularly conical, generally a little curved, 
terminating in an obtuse point, about five 
inches long, and two inches in their largest 
diameter. 'The color when ripe is brilliant 
coral red. It is a sweet Peppei-, and has 
veiy little of the true Pepper taste. In sc.a- 
son it is rather late. 
Swef'l Spanish. 'This old variotv was of- 
feied b3’ Mr. Lveritt last spring under the 
name “Red Prince.” 'The jjiant resembles 
in general appearance that of the one just 
described. 'The fruit is shorter, and very 
blunt at the apex, where it usually cuds 
with thi-ee or foui- rounded |))-otuberanees 
Sometime.s, however, it ends in a blunt poi„t;! 
It IS considerably earlier than the Monstrous 
or Grossum, and is equal to it in sweetness. 
Sy:,;H (loldi'H Dawn. 'This variety we be" 
lieve was lirst offered by .Me.ssrs. 'Thornhurn 
& Co. in 188 .'J, and was hist spring sold hv 
-Mr. Lveritt as “Bnttereup.” As I lind no 
record in the older books of a, yellow I’en 
per answering to the. descriptioi'i of this one 
_/conclude that it is truly a new variety, and 
I rsperhaiis the most valuable new r-opper 
hat has been ollered in many years. ||'|'.., 
the remarkable quality of being so mild i,, 
taste, that it may be eaten Ihm an am ! 
vvithout the Hlighte,st ineoiiyenienee. I yen' 
he seed,s are free, froni.any pungent qua Illy 
I he plant is 12 to 18 inches hhd, wii h r 
ajia resembling that of the viir j 
above. The stem is a little angular, o I , 
same color as the foliage. 'I'lie fruits some 
vWiat rc.senible in foian those of the ' 
bpanish, but they arc usually rathe 
conical, and more ribbed. 
Lcirfje Bell. This Pepper, whieli is known 
also as the Bull-jSTose, Sweet Mountain and 
Mammoth, is one of the oldest and best 
known of the sweet Peppers.' It is early 
and of excellent quality. I do not know 
'that any of the more recently introduced 
red varieties are much superior to it. In 
some seasons I have thought that its fruits 
rotted worse than those of most of the other 
sweet Peppers, but this may have been ac¬ 
cidental. The plant resembles that of the 
iMonstrons or Grosriim, while its fruit is 
very similar to that of the Sweet Golden 
Dawn, except in its color, which is glossy, 
coral red. 
Chili Pepper. 'This variety is quite dis¬ 
tinct from all that 1 have described above. 
'The iilant is low and spreading, the leaves 
arc narrow, smooth aud very numerous. 
'The fruits, which on some plants are erect 
and on others pendant, are conical and but 
two or two and oiMhaif inches long and 
about one-half an inch in diameter; it is red 
in color and extremely pungent in taste. 
Cherry Pepper. 'The foliage of this variety 
is rather intermediate between that of the 
Chili Pepper and the sorts described above. 
'The fruit is about the size of the largest 
Cherries, generall}'^ round though sometimes 
pointed and occasionally oblate. It is red 
and very pungent in taste. 
O.c Heart: called also “Xew Ox Heart.” 
'This variet}' resembles the Cherry Pepper in 
foliage and fruits except that the latter ai-e 
about twice as large. 
Cranberry Pepper. In habit aud foliage 
this variety resembles the Chili Pepper, but 
is more dwarf. 'The fruit, which is round 
aud extremely pungent, is scarcely larger 
than the common Crauberry. 
Cayenne Pepper. 1 am somewhat perplexed 
in regard to this variet3'. Both Vilmorin and 
Burr exprcssl}' state that the Ca5'’eune Pep¬ 
per of commerce is the product of a plant 
belonging to a distinct species from that of 
our garden Pepper, aud which will not en¬ 
dure our climate. Yet nearh'all our cata¬ 
logues mention this sort, and often the word 
“true" is appended to the name. I have 
giown three dilTerent Peppers under the 
name Cayenne, but surely noneof these was 
sulliciently distinct from our other garden 
I cjipers to belong to a dill'crent species. 
“Etst.” 
FRESH SPROUTS. 
Sowing Onions in autumn is gaining in fa¬ 
vor with gardmiers. 'T,, meet\vith success 
III this way the soil mu.st be dry, and in the 
v'■|■,V best eondilion possible,'and the bed 
s lonid receive a light covering during winter. 
.Sweet 
O’ more 
Celery is becoming one of (he leading crops 
“ 1 Iichigiin. La.st season fjiiUm.OOO were 
''^'I'd by the growers near Kalamazoo 
■miiK', while at .lackson and other loealities 
■'"■‘■a of (.lelery growing is rapidly iu- 
ereasing. , ‘ 
Parsley is a vi.ry convenient thing 
li'iiise during winter. It makes 
pretty garni.sidng .,,„i ,, 
I'laiiy ilisiies. By planting 
flower pels or boxi 
sunny window, 
fi'oni tiiem all winter 
to ha ve 
a 
flavor to 
a few roots in 
, and keeping them in a 
gi'eens'’ niikv bo picked 
