MES ie st : e ae patie a oe POPE en they HELCEEE SES MEM sche sae af SSHeGe One ere Cornell University Dibrary OF THE Hew Work State College of Agriculture [8679 ie. | 3518 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924002827149 Farm Life Series FARM CROPS By CHARLES W. BURKETT ORANGE JUDD COOK BOOK By ADELINE O. GOESSLING PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING By C. A. SHAMEL THE GARDEN BOOK By V. H. Davis PROFITABLE POULTRY PRODUCTION By M. G. Karns THE FARMER’S VETERINARIAN By CuarRLES WILLIAM BURKETT HANDY FARM DEVICES AND HOW TO MAKE THEM By RoLFEe CoBLEIGH MAKING HORTICULTURE PAY By M. G. Karns Other Volumes in Preparation CROPPING. PEAS AND HEAD LETTUCE Note the trellis supporting the peas DOUBLE The Garden Book A popular treatise on the growing of vegetables under both home and market conditions. Containing concise and dependable information concerning the planting, cultivation, spraying, harvesting and marketing the common garden vegetables in such manner as to secure the largest measure of satisfaction, pleasure and profit. By VERNON HAYES DAVIS Professor of Horticulture, Ohio State ‘University ILLUSTRATED NEW YORK ORANGE JUDD COMPANY 1915 Lhe fs. 1; we Copyright, 1915, BY ORANGE JUDD COMPANY Printed in tho U. 8. A. PREFACE The primary object of “The Garden Book” is to help and encourage the home gardener in his efforts to secure for himself and family an abundant supply of vegetables, and thereby obtain a greater economy in the food supply of the home, together with a greater measure of health and happiness for every- one concerned. Remembering, however, that these small areas about the home are often only the beginning of an interest and success that rapidly grow into large commercial importance, this phase of the work has not been neglected. The commercial gardener will find the book helpful and suggestive in selecting his location and in planning and managing the planting, cultivation and marketing of his crops. The importance of good seed carefully selected is discussed in its various phases. The insects and diseases of vegetables receive their share of atten- tion. These enemies of the garden are discussed from. the standpoint of their place in the natural order of things, and the reasons why these pests are more numerous today than in former years also suggests many natural methods for their control. The Garden Book makes little claim to originality. The endeavor has been to state in as simple and direct manner as possible those methods and prac- tices that home and commercial gardeners have found most desirable and profitable. Should this little book prove helpful in making both home and commercial gardening more pleas- ant and profitable, the author will feel that his efforts have not been without some measure of success. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER J Home Gardens . F ‘ 4 : ‘ I Cuapter II Soils and Locations . : ; : ; 5 CHAPTER III Tillage and Tillage Tools . : : - 10 CHAPTER IV Manures and Manuring : ; : . i CHAPTER V Crop Rotation . ‘ ; : . i 387 CHAPTER VI Irrigation : < : 39 CuHapter VII Insects and Diseases . é a F - 44 CuHapter VIII Succession and Double Cropping . ‘ ~ 65 CuapTer IX Storing Vegetables i . - . - 68 CHAPTER X Marketing . : : : ‘ A - 77 CHAPTER XI Greenhouses . : 85 CHAPTER XIT Hotbeds and Cold Frames . ‘ 5 - QI CuHaPTerR XIII Seeds and Seeding : ‘ ‘ . - 97 CHAPTER XIV Leading Vegetable Crops. ‘ - = As | = P50 no. ge Wed it = OPENING FOR COLD AIR S b. jj, , Sp YY TILE DRAINSZ MMM A PROPERLY CONSTRUCTED CELLAR STORAGE 68 STORING VEGETABLES 69 satisfactorily met only by the use of some plan of storage. On the other hand, storage, particularly from a commercial standpoint, has many disadvan- tages, and for this reason many gardeners prefer to sell outright when the crop is ready for harvest- ing. Storage involves much extra handling, which rapidly increases the cost of production and market- ing, and correspondingly high prices must be secured in order to offset this expense. Much short- age, both in weight and volume, will always occur, more with some kinds of crops than others. The qual- ity of most stored vegetables likewise depreciates more or less rapidly, although in some cases this is not suf- ficient to be of serious consequence. Risk of loss is always present, and is, perhaps, one of the most important factors to be kept in mind in determining the probable advantages or disadvantages of storing. A storage for vegetables requires proper amounts of moisture, the right temperatures and thorough aeration. Some vegetables, such as the sweet potato and the onion, require cool, but extremely dry conditions for the best results, while celery requires a comparatively moist atmosphere with low temperatures. Potatoes require medium degrees of moisture and temperature. Greater variations in moisture are necessary than in temperature. From 34 to 40 degrees will usually be found the best tem- perature at which to keep most vegetables. Special attention should be given to proper aeration of the storages. Certain plant processes are continuously going on, even in storage, resulting in the setting free of carbonic acid gas, which, if confined closely about the plants, quickly encourages rot and decay. Vegetables to be stored for any length of time should be harvested with this point in mind. In 7O some cases they should not be allowed to become quite so mature as when they are to be used at once, while other plants should be perfectly ma- tured before harvesting for storage. The process of maturing or ripening goes on gradually in stor- age, and the time during which they can be held without serious loss of quality will be greatly lengthened by attention to this point. Avoid all injuries to vegetables to be stored. Whenever the tissues are broken or bruised, decay is almost sure to start, especially if moisture and temperature conditions are not quite ideal. This is true of such vegetables as cabbage and sweet potatoes. In many cases the entire quantity stored will be almost completely destroyed in a very short time by the rots carried into the storage from the fields and largely spread by the cuts and bruises of careless handling. Storage rooms and houses adapted to the needs of the home gardener and the small commercial gardener are of especial interest. The storage problems of the large truck gardener are compar- atively easily solved. His business is sufficiently large to justify the building of houses along the most approved lines, but for the person who grows vegetables for home use or to supply his local mar- ket in a limited way, these expensive houses are out of the question. The common place of storing, when storing is done at all, in both city and country, is the house cellar. As it is ordinarily constructed, it would be hard to conceive of a poorer place for this purpose, and with the much more general use of furnaces in the country as well as in the city, its value has been still further decreased. The air of the ordinary cellar STORING VEGETABLES vt is entirely too dry and too hot. Poor ventilation is usually afforded and the stench of decaying veg- etables readily finds its way to the rooms above, rendering living conditions more or less unpleasant, and, in many cases, decidedly insanitary. Yet with some little thought in the construction of the house cellar these objections can be largely obviated, and the place made a very satisfactory storage for the family supply of fruits and vegetables. Excellent insulation can usually be secured at little cost, and it is only necessary to remember that cold air settles while warm air rises, to arrange for and secure splendid ventilation in such a way as to maintain relatively low temperatures. The prob- lem of ordinary storage, except for a very few days of winter, is not a problem of keeping warm, but of keeping cool. In laying the floor above the cellar, matched lumber should be first laid over the joist and then a heavy layer of waterproof building paper over which the flooring should be placed. The same order should follow on the ceiling of the cellar under the joist. This leaves a dead air space, which cuts off practically all the heat from the upper part of the house and prevents any odors from reaching the living rooms above. The entrance to the cellar should preferably be from the outside of the house. Although something is lost in the matter of convenience by this arrange- ment, the conditions for storage will usually be greatly improved, much less dirt will be carried into the house and the sanitary conditions made better. In any case, the entrance door should be double and should be made to fit perfectly tight, somewhat on the order of the ordinary refrigerator door. At least two small openings should be pro- 72 vided at the very top of the cellar wall, always in the outside walls. At least one, and, where pos- sible, two one-half cisterns should be dug on the outside of the foundation down to the floor line of the basement. Openings should be made through the walls at this point. Both the top and bottom openings should be made in such a way that they can be closed practically airtight or opened at will. Ingress has now been provided for the cold outside air and a place likewise prepared for the escape of the air that has become warmed. The manage- ment of the storage is now a simple matter. VENTILATORS ERSTE 9 CVS LE Rae ae eke CEMENT FLOOR AISSTASLY Bi DE WOE Pa AP : ZA QNS wad HY A “DUG OUT” OR HILLSIDE STORAGE On cold nights both the upper and lower windows should be opened wide; and even the entrance door may be thrown open if a screen or slat door has been provided to keep out intruders. The warm air of the cellar is quickly crowded out by the cold air from the outside. In the early morning all STORING VEGETABLES 73 openings should be shut perfectly tight. This holds the cold air throughout the day, and even for sev- eral days if the door is not opened too frequently. This treatment should be repeated every night when the outside temperature is lower than that of the storage. When severe freezing weather exists it may be necessary to keep the openings closed the most of the time in order to prevent freezing. Even under these conditions some ventilation should be given in order to remove the foul and stagnant air, replacing it with the cold fresh air from the outside. With a little care this can be done with- out chilling or freezing the vegetables in any way. Where the entire cellar is not desired for storage purposes a small room may: be partitioned off from the furnace or work room, complying with the above requirements and giving excellent satis- faction. It is difficult to understand why so few people, owning their own homes and in almost every case with basements under the entire house, have yet provided no place for the proper storage of fruits and vegetables. The result is that these supplies are bought from day to day for double and quadruple the price they could be secured for in the fall of the year if some satisfactory place was provided where they could be stored without serious loss. The utter lack of any storage facilities in many city homes is to a very great extent respon- sible for the present high cost of living. The outside cellar is another form of storage de- serving of especial mention in connection with the truck and home gardens. This type is at its best where it can be made in the side of a slope. Here it is commonly known as a cave or dugout, The construction is comparatively simple and the 74 principle of management exactly the same as that described for the house cellar. A room of the desired dimensions is dug out of the soil and usually walled with brick, stone, concrete or block. The roof is made of heavy timber, or still better, with iron girders and reinforced concrete and covered over to the depth of from two to four feet with soil. A ventilator for every 10 feet the room extends backward from the entrance should reach from the roof to the surface of the ground. The ventilator may be very easily constructed out of ordinary drain tile or sewer pipe from three to five inches in diameter. The top of the ventilator should be cov- ered in such a way as to prevent the rain falling into the opening, yet allow ready escape of the warm air from the room below. The entrance door should, of course, be double, as described for the cellar. In a storage of this kind, moisture and temperature conditions are usually more uniform than in the cellar. The outdoor cellar may be constructed entirely above ground if desired by making both walls and roof of well-insulated construction. Directions for building such houses can easily be secured from architects or from publications dealing especially with these types of houses. Pits are available methods of storage worthy of consideration by the vegetable gardener under all conditions. Many vegetables, and especially those, the edible portion of which grew in the soil, can usually be stored in a very satisfactory manner by this method. In the construction of the pit for the storage of potatoes, beets, carrots, parsnips, tur- nips, etc., a well-drained location should be selected. If the soil is decidedly gravelly or sandy in char- STORING VEGETABLES 75 acter it may be excavated to a depth of I0 to 15 inches. If the soils are comparatively heavy it is better to place the vegetables directly on the sur- face without excavation. In either case three or four inches of clean straw should be placed upon the soil and the vegetables placed upon this ma- terial. Care should be taken not to pile too many vegetables of any kind together. The base of the pile should usually not be more than four feet wide, | VENTILATOR rm < A GOOD VEGETABLE PIT and the vegetables then piled about as high as pos- sible in conical form. Where large quantities are to be stored, the pile can be extended in length as far as necessary. After the vegetables are properly piled they should be covered with two or three inches of straw and then with two or three inches of dirt. An ordinary drain tile should be placed at intervals of every five or six feet, and extend above the surface of the soil. Care should be taken not to cover too deeply dur- ing the mild weather of late fall and early winter. As a matter of fact, more fruit and vegetables are 76 destroyed in pits by over-protection than by under- protection. The first layers of soil may be allowed to become solidly frozen before more is added. In most sections of the country eight to Io inches of soil should eventually be added, and when neces- sary further protection may be provided by cover- ing with straw or corn fodder. It is a common plan where potatoes or other vegetables are to be held late in the following spring to cover the pits heavily with straw or corn fodder after the soil has become solidly frozen and covered with several inches of snow. This provides a sort of a cold storage plant and greatly extends the season during which such vegetables may be profitably held. The principal things to be remembered in pitting is to provide thorough drainage and ventilation and avoid over-covering. CHAPTER X Marketing The problems of marketing are, of course, compar- atively unimportant in connection with the home gardens. The principal object in view here is grow- ing an abundant supply for home use. However, it oftentimes happens that a considerable surplus is available for sale and the income derived from the same has awakened and stimulated an interest in gardening from a commercial standpoint and finally developed into a large business enterprise. In com- mercial gardening successful marketing is the key- note to success, and is even of greater importance than successful production. It does not necessarily follow that a good grower is a good salesman, but with some attention to this end of the business rea- sonably good results should be secured by any active, wide-awake individual. Generally speaking, there are two classes of markets open to the grower —the general or wholesale market and the personal or direct. In the wholesale market the products are sold or consigned direct to the wholesale houses, which in turn redistributes them to the retailer, who in turn distributes them to the final consumer. By far the larger amount of vegetable products are handled by this type of market, and in the large dis- tribution of these products the present or a similar wholesale plan seems to be indispensable. The present lines upon which the wholesale business is organized, especially upon the consignment plan, are 77 78 altogether one-sided, however, and have been respon- sible for a great deal of dissatisfaction upon the part of the consignor. The shipper takes all of the risk and receives what is left after all other expenses along the line have been met. The one-sided char- acter of this arrangement has attracted many dis- honest and unscrupulous people into the business who have taken an unfair advantage of the situation and reflected their dishonest methods over the en- au. Square bushel crate. 0b. 6-quart carrier. c. Rectangular bushel box. tire business. The oft-heard statement that there are no honest commission men is, of course, fal- lacious, and the sentiment prompting it is to be deplored. As a matter of fact, the percentage of rogues and honest men to be found in the commis- sion business will, perhaps, compare very favorably with the percentages of such to be found among vegetable growers, especially if methods of grading and packing are to be taken as an indication of the native honesty of the producer. Much of the dis- satisfaction in dealing with commission men could be largely obviated by the practice of a little common business sense in our relationship with them. Before shipping to a commission hotise some in- vestigation should be made of its standing and repu- tation. The house itself should be visited and the MARKETING 79 shipper should become personally acquainted with the persons who are to dispose of his products. This personal acquaintance, whenever possible, should be kept up by frequent visits. These will have a two- fold advantage. It will have the tendency to stim- ulate commission men to be more prompt and care- ful in the handling of shipments and will give the shipper an opportunity to learn many things in re- gard to the preparation and packing of his products in order that they may arrive in the markets and be offered in the best possible condition. More mar- keting knowledge can be secured by frequently fol- lowing one’s own shipments to market and watch- ing the disposition of them than in any other way. Once a commission man has been selected, take his advice in regard to the best packages for the mar- ket, the best methods of packing, time of shipping and any other points he may mention. His long years of experience have placed him in a position to be a much better judge of the markets and their requirements than the average shipper can ever hope to be. The tendency to sell outright to the commis- sion man is on the increase every year, yet is often done at a great reduction in price over what the markets justify. In buying perishable products outright the com- mission man must be prepared to meet some heavy losses once in a while, in the way of wildly fluctu- ating prices or spoiled materials. Daily reports, either by telegram or telephone, should be demanded of the commission house, and it is oftentimes quite as important that the grower inform the commis- sion house at least twenty-four hours beforehand of any probable shipments likely to arrive. Some disappointments in returns must be expected from 80 time to time, even under the best conditions of marketing. Vegetables are perishable, and heavy and sudden gluts of the markets are of com- mon occurrence. Fluctuations often occur over- night, impossible of belief by the shipper a long distance away. During the present season in the Columbus market good string beans were selling one day at from $1.25 to $1.75 per hamper. The a, Six-basket carrier. b. Hamper. following morning beans of similar quality could scarcely be moved at all at 25 and 50 cents per hamper, and many hundred hampers were dumped at a total loss to the grower. It would be almost impossible for a commission man to explain this situation satisfactorily to any shipper not close enough to get this information at first hand. So much has been said and written about the methods em- ployed by the commission men to rob the producer of his rightful returns that the side of the honest commission merchant has been almost entirely over- looked, very much to the ultimate detriment of the producer as well as to the wholesale business itself. MARKETING &1 The most hopeful signs of the time, from the mar- keting standpoint, is not that more or less produce is going through the hand of the commission man or that more or less is being sold direct to the con- sumer, but that the grower is giving more personal thought and attention to this end of the business and is selecting and planning for his market cam- paigns along much more intelligent lines. The more or less unsatisfactory relations long existing be- tween the commission men and producers, and the one-sided nature of the transaction has caused many plans to be originated and tried out for the solution of this difficulty. Two principal avenues of escape present them- selves. First, the formation of co-operative selling associations ; and, second, direct or personal market- ing. The advantages and disadvantages of co-op- erative selling when properly managed cannot be questioned, but room can hardly be taken in this little volume to discuss this matter except to say that these co-operative efforts are becoming more and more numerous each year and a larger percent- age of them are every year proving successful. Direct marketing appeals especially to the gar- dener upon a small scale, and while it has many points in its favor is not without some serious ob- jections. The net profits per unit of measure are usually larger than in the wholesale market. A per- sonal relationship is established between producer and consumer, making it possible for the transac- tion to be more remunerative to the grower and more satisfactory to the consumer. If high-class materials are furnished competition is almost elim- inated. Upon the other hand, direct marketing re- quires considerable ability along the lines of sales- 82 manship and takes considerable of the grower’s time away from the producing end of his business, which oftentimes suffers as a consequence. If the latter condition prevails, quality declines, which immedi- ately brings about serious difficulty in holding old customers and securing new. In selling and build- ing up a satisfactory direct trade a few points are worth remembering. First of all, a neat and at- tractive horse and wagon should be provided, or in these later days possibly an auto truck. All veg- etables should be carefully graded and placed in neat, attractive packages. Onions, radishes, beets COLD FRAME ia MUSLIN = and similar vegetables should be neatly bunched and tied in such manner as to prevent their becoming loose. It is to be remembered always that high quality is absolutely necessary and that it must be maintained whatever else befall. The route must be gone over regularly, it matters not what the weather may be, for through rain, snow or sunshine people get hungry just the same, and if the cus- tomer has depended upon a supply of fresh veg- etables that do not arrive until the following day the chances are that a customer has been lost who will be very difficult indeed to regain. MARKETING 83 The direct market requires a great variety of ma- terials. This is in direct opposition to what is com- monly found best in the wholesale market, where only a few well-known varieties of any given prod- uct are ordered. A constant supply throughout the entire year is of prime importance, otherwise the customers gained through a portion of the season will be largely lost by the time another year rolls round. One must so plan as to have something to sell to his customers the entire year through. This is not as difficult as it sounds at first thought, and is absolutely essential to success. Another market, half way between the wholesale and the direct, might be called the semi-direct. This includes hotels and restaurants. These insti- tutions are very particular both as to the quality and the quantity they desire from day to day, but when these demands are satisfactorily met excellent prices can be secured. The knowledge and the ability to intelligently select that particular method or methods of marketing best adapted to a given locality are without doubt the keynote to success. While many advantages are obtained by the com- mercial gardener close to the larger cities, many of the towns and smaller cities are important markets for large quantities of vegetable products. They are not likely to be so discriminating as the larger markets, yet appreciate good quality and are will- ing to pay an advance price to secure the same. Gluts and sudden breaks in prices are not nearly so common in the smaller cities as in larger centers of population. The tendency is for everyone to ship their products to the larger markets and entirely overlook the needs of small places that are forced to secure their products by redistribution from the 84 larger centers at an increased cost as well as a loss in quality. As a matter of fact, few gluts occur in many markets that might not have been prevented by a proper distribution of the products involved. Over-supply usually means uneven distribution. A wide knowledge of marketing conditions and bet- ter information regarding supply and demand upon the part of producers themselves will obviate much of this serious loss in the future. Summer resorts frequently offer splendid opportunities to the mar- ket gardener. Large quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables will be consumed by the transient popu- lation if they can be had of good quality. The class of people visiting these places are usually amply able and willing to pay good prices for high-class products. CHAPTER XI Greenhouses The greenhouse might be described as a large flat shed with the roof and ends covered with glass and heated with steam or hot water pipes. The frame- work is made as light as possible and yet be able to carry the necessary amount of glass, in order that the maximum amount of light may be permitted to enter the house and reach the growing plants. Greenhouses are rapidly increasing in popularity among vegetable gardeners and in many sections the industry of growing vegetables out of season under glass has reached large proportions. As a matter of fact, there is scarcely a city or town of any size throughout the country that is not provided with its greenhouse of greater or lesser size, at least a portion of which is devoted to the growing of vegetables during winter months. The value of the greenhouse in connection with large out-of-door operations can hardly be overestimated. It pro-' vides profitable work for the gardener and his help throughout the winter months when little can be done out of doors. It enables him to keep in touch with his trade throughout practically the entire season, thus giving many advantages from the marketing standpoint. The northern gardener is in this man- ner able to compete with his southern competitor on account of his nearness to market and the higher quality of his products. The direct cost of produc- tion is, of course, considerably higher under glass than in the open. The greenhouse may likewise be 85 86 advantageously used in many cases in starting and preparing plants to be finally removed to the field. The object to be kept in mind in the construction of a greenhouse is first of all the securing of the maximum amount of light. It must be remembered that plants are to be grown during the short days of the year, and when the maximum of cloudy weather is to be expected. The house must be so constructed as to make pos- sible the economic maintenance of a proper degree of heat. Provision must be made for a cheap and adequate water supply. One must provide for ven- tilation without serious loss of heat and without sudden and violent changes of temperature. In order to secure the maximum amount of light in the greenhouse it is necessary to use as light material as possible in its construction. Sash bars of cypress or some other lasting wood are usually employed. These bars or strips are properly rab- beted to receive the glass and are usually from 114 to 2 inches in depth by 1% to 1% inches in thick- ness. When possible, they should be cut the length of the house slope. This can usually be done in the smaller houses, but in some of the larger houses now being constructed one and even two laps are often necessary. Gas pipe is preferable for supports of all kinds, because of its small size and great strength. Less light is eliminated than by the use of many other available materials. The pitch of the roof is a matter of great im- portance and this will vary considerably with the latitude in which the structure is to be located. During the winter months, when the green- house is in most active use, the sun is at the lowest GREEN HOUSES 87 point in the horizon. The best results will be se- cured with the angle of the roof at such a position that the sun’s rays will strike as nearly as possible at right angles. More light and heat pass through the glass and the maximum results are secured. In the vicinity of Columbus an angle of from 34° to 36° in roofs facing the south will be found to give the best results. The amount of slope is also modi- fied by the probable snowfall during the winter months. In those regions where the snowfall is generally heavy, steeper roofs must be constructed in order to avoid breaking glass. The direc- tion of the slope is also a question of great Wd Mid ABOVE SURFACE HOTBED importance, yet one upon which it is impossible to get greenhouse builders and managers to agree. The slope to the south gives the most intense heat and sunlight, but this is generally concentrated at the middle of the day when least needed and poorly distributed during the morning and evening hours. It will generally be found more satisfactory to run the houses of the even span type, especially when built on the ridge and furrow plan, north and south, with the angle of the roof from 40° to 45°. With this construction, the sun’s rays strike more 88 nearly at right angles during the morning and even- ing hours, and the greatest amount of reflection is secured during the middle of the day when there is likely to be an excessive amount of heat. Two methods of heating are in common use—hot water and steam. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages. The first cost of installation is considerably higher in the case of hot water, but the cost of maintenanee is usually less. Hot water pipes retain their heat for a much longer time, but on the other hand heat up much more slowly than the steam pipes. In case of serious trouble with the heater the hot water in the pipes may be able to sustain sufficient heat to protect the plants until repairs are made. Steam pipes cool off almost immediately when the formation of steam ceases and serious damage may result in case of a break- down. The nature of the heating will depend to a con- siderable extent upon whether the pipes are to be placed overhead or under the benches. Hot water pipes must be very much larger than those used for steam and when placed above the growing plants cut off a large amount of light, and on account of - their additional weight render heavier construction necessary. Steam can be satisfactorily carried much longer distances than water, but requires more constant care. The first cost is less, however, and repairs are less troublesome to make. The size of the pipe will, of course, vary with the lengths of the run and the amount of radiation re- quired. The minimum-sized pipes commonly used with hot water are 114 inches in diameter and with steam three-quarter inch. The ratio of size of pipe to radiation and glass surface has all been carefully GREEN HOUSES 8o worked out by engineers and is to be had for the ask- ing from any firm of greenhouse builders. The arrangement of beds and walks is a matter of prime importance and should be planned before the construction of the house is begun. Care should be taken that the least possible amount of waste space occurs and that the widths of beds and walks, together with their location, are such as to facilitate the work of management in the best manner pos- sible. Usually a minimum width for a vegetable house permitting of economical arrangement of beds. and walks is 30 feet. The width may be increased if desired, but should rarely ever be less than this _ distance. Beds may be either raised or solid. The raised beds are simply benches raised from two to three feet above the ground level and carrying from four to six inches of soil, in which the crops are grown. The heating pipes are usually carried underneath the beds. The solid beds are in most common use in the vegetable houses. They may be built either with or without sides, maintaining the natural ground levels or being raised from 12 to 18 inches above it. If the soils are of the proper texture they are simply improved by the additions of manures and commercial fertilizers. When they are not desir- able in any respect the surface layers are removed and the desired composts placed in the beds. Solid. beds are much more easily controlled and generally give much better success, especially in the hands of the novice. It is not uncommon in many of the larger houses to have them so arranged that the manure may be hauled in and spread directly over the beds from the wagons and the soil plowed and prepared just as is done under out-of- go door conditions. Formerly, it was the plan to re- move and renew practically all the soil each year, but at the present time the soils remain indefinitely, being thoroughly disinfected at least once during the season and sometimes oftener. Watering must be provided for. In the small houses satisfactory work may be done with the com- mon hose, but in the larger houses this method becomes practically impossible and a system of over- head pipes is almost universal. CHAPTER XII Hotbeds and Cold Frames All commercial gardeners consider glass indis- pensable in the production of most vegetable crops. The term glass is here intended to include the vari- ous types of hotbeds, cold frames and greenhouses in common use. While it is true that many crops, as sweet corn, peas, beans, cabbage, cauliflower and most of the root crops, are often grown at a profit without the use of glass, it is likewise true that glass is indispensable in connection with the growing of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, melons and many other crops of lesser importance. Hotbeds and cold frames are generally temporary structures used dur- ing the early and late part of the season to prolong the same and to hasten the growth of plants. They are also frequently used to grow crops to full ma- turity during the winter season when it is not pos- sible to produce them in the open. They are in almost universal use for starting young plants to be eventually transplanted to field conditions. They have the added advantage of employing labor in an advantageous manner during the dull season. These structures may be made extremely profit- able in connection with the home gardens, but are not found in as common use here as their merit deserves. By their proper use a fresh supply of vegetables, such as lettuce and radishes, might be secured for home use long before the ground could even be prepared for planting out of doors.. Plants may be started in such a way as to greatly hasten 91 Q2 their time of maturity and greatly increase the kinds and varieties grown. In the fall of the year they may also be used to prolong the season of fresh vegetables up to almost the holiday season. The hotbed, as its name indicates, requires some heat for its proper management. The most com- mon source of heat is fermenting organic matter, usually fresh horse manure. The frame for the bed may be made of wood, concrete,stone or brick. Wood is most commonly used, although the construction of permanent hotbeds with concrete is becoming much more common. The frame may be of any desired length, and usually six feet in width. The frame should face the south and have a slope of about six inches from the back to the front. Cross- bars should be placed at frequent intervals. The construction will usually be more rigid and satisfac- tory if these crossbars are placed three feet apart, which is the common width for the sash. A WELL-MADE HOTBED HOTBEDS AND COLD FRAMES 93 In purchasing or constructing sash the most dur- able woods should be secured, cedar or cypress being preferred. White pine is often used, but does not last as well as the above woods and begins to loosen and rack earlier, causing considerable loss from the breaking of glass. The sash should be kept well painted and when properly stored and handled will last for many years. Both single and double-glazed sash are upon the market and both have their advantages and disad- vantages. Double-glazed sash reduce the labor of managing the frames and permit the plants to re- ceive the light during the entire day. On the other hand, double sash are much heavier to handle, which becomes a serious objection when large numbers of them are used. The cost is from one-third to one- half more for the double glazed. The mois- ture and dirt accumulate between the glass of the double glazed, thus greatly reducing the amount of light entering the frames, which results in poor growth. In general, it may be said that where a few sash only are required double glazed will prob- ably give the best results, but where large numbers are used single glazed will be more satisfactory. When manure is used as a source of heat, an excavation is usually necessary to receive it, and the first essential at this point is good drainage, either natural through a gravelly subsoil or arti- ficial. The pit should be dug in the fall before the ground is frozen and a few inches of leaves or strawy manure placed in the bottom, It should be the same width as the frame and of any desired length, but usually some multiple of three. The depth of the pit will vary with the latitude and the part of the season through which it is expected to 94 run. If hotbeds are to be put in operation in the North much before March Ist, the depth should be from 18 to 24 inches. If to be used after March Ist from 12 to 15 inches will be ample. Tender plants, as the tomato, eggplant, pepper, and so on, require higher temperatures, and, therefore, require deeper Pits. The nature of the manure will also have some- thing to do with the amount required. The manure from grain-fed horses is usually best when it can be secured. From two to three parts of excrement to one part of litter gives the best results. If the material consists almost entirely of the solid excre- ments, fermentation is too violent and of too short duration to be satisfactory. Preparation of the manure should begin about two weeks before the time when the beds will be wanted for use. A cov- ered shed or barnyard is necessary in the proper preparation of the manure for best results. The materials to be used should be made into piles four or five feet wide, about four feet high, and of any length sufficient to furnish an adequate supply. When the manure is placed on the pile it should be spread uniformly over the entire sur- face and well tramped. If quite dry, some water should be added. In a few days the pile will begin to steam and when fermentation is well under way it should be repiled, working the outside of the first one to the center of the second. In two or three days the entire mass begins to get hot again, at which time the pit should be filled. In filling the pit it is quite important that the material be spread uniformly over the entire surface and well compacted, espe- cially along the edges and corners of the frames. The material will settle several inches and allow- HOTBEDS AND COLD FRAMES 95 ance should be made for this fact when filling. After the manure has been placed in the pit to the proper depth it should be covered with four to six inches of good garden soil. The heat runs very high for a few days, after which it begins to drop. Neither seed nor plants should be placed in the bed before the temperature falls to 90° Fahr., or less. The frame is usually banked with manure around the outside in order to afford additional protection. When the hotbeds are to be run during the winter time, or in the more northern portion of the country, it is common practice to dig the pit about a foot wider than the frame in all directions. The portable frames are then placed on the top of the manure and the frame banked around the out- side with the same material. This plan requires considerable manure, but furnishes more heat, which lasts for a longer period. The manure from the spent hotbeds is used for composting and fertilizing purposes where large amounts of nitrogen are not essential or where it may be applied in some other form. Hotbeds are frequently constructed in such a way that they may be heated by a system of flues lead- ing from a furnace burning coal, wood or any other convenient fuel. The flue-heated hotbed has the advantage of giving the operator more perfect con- trol over the heat, and is not troubled with tem- perature falling below the safety point before the plants are sufficiently mature or the season safely advanced. In connection with greenhouses, hot- beds are frequently constructed in such a way that they may be heated by steam or hot water from the general greenhouse heating system. Cold frames may be described as hotbeds without 96 heat. They are used as winter protection for many semi-hardy plants and late in the spring and early in the fall they can be depended upon to give the necessary protection during the cool days and nights of these seasons. They are used by the commercial gardener very largely for the purpose of hardening seedlings and preparing them for transplanting to field conditions. The location of both hotbeds and cold frames should be selected 'with some care. A sunny exposure is always to be preferred, and wind- breaks of some kind should be provided. The natural topography of the land will sometimes be sufficient, but advantage may be taken of a row of trees or buildings with good results. If none are present, a good board fence, or if nothing better can be provided, one made of corn fodder will serve the purpose satisfactorily. In connection with the use of single-glazed sash, it is necessary that mats or coverings of some kind be used as additional protection during severe weather. Mats of various kinds are upon the mar- ket for this purpose, but with a little ingenuity rye straw mats may be made at home with little cost that will fulfill all requirements in this respect. CHAPTER XIII Seeds and Seeding The value of good seed in vegetable gardening can hardly be overestimated. On account of the high price of the land usually employed, and the heavy expenses per acre involved, securing a good stand of plants is of much greater importance than with the ordinary farm crops. The most successful gardeners have always appreciated the value of obtaining the best available seed, but the real im- portance of this practice has not been fully appre- _ciated and understood until recently. The primary essentials of good seed are purity, vitality and genuineness or trueness to name. Vegetable seeds are usually comparatively free from impurities. Few weed seeds are to be found because of the manner in which most vegetable seeds are harvested. Sticks, stones, chaff, broken stems, seeds, etc., are of more common occurrence, but their presence is usually evidence of imperfect or careless cleaning. In general, it may be said that the serious prevalence of impurities in most garden seeds may be taken as direct evidence of dishonesty or extreme carelessness in cleaning. Impure seed carries with it many disadvantages. Poor stands will be secured, because not as much actual seed is sown as supposed. Several dollars per pound will not be considered an exorbitant price to pay for the seeds of many vegetables, but these figures are high for weed seed, dirt and trash. In connection with impurities it is well to remember always that certain kinds are to be looked upon as so much inert 97 98 or valueless matter, while the presence of ob- noxious weed seed is an entirely different matter. Not only has a very high price been paid for this material, but weed pests may be introduced into the garden which may never be completely eradi- cated and cause untold losses. The vitality of the seed has to do with its power to germinate and grow, and it is at this point that the vegetable gardener is most likely to suffer. Many seeds lose their vitality very rapidly, and all seeds lose it sooner or later. The onion and parsnip rarely germinate satisfactorily after the first year, while cucumber, melon and squash may give satisfactory results after eight or ten years. In every case, however, the percentage of vitality decreases from year to year until lost entirely. There are many rea- sons for the total or partial loss of vitality in seed, some of which are not visible to the naked eye. Thorough testing of the seeds for vitality before planting becomes absolutely essential if the best re- sults are to be secured. Seeds are sometimes gathered from im- mature plants or the plants have been injured by insects or diseases during their season’s growth. They may have been stored too wet or they may have been frozen before thoroughly air dried. In the drying process they are sometimes overheated, although this rarely occurs except where artificial heat is used. HAND TRANSPLANTER SEEDS AND SEEDING 99 Another way in which gardeners suffer serious loss is by seeds of high purity and vitality failing to come true to type or name. Few, if any, gar- deners would be able to tell the difference in ap- pearance of the seed of Jersey Wakefield and Charleston Wakefield cabbage, yet these different varieties are distinct and would naturally be selected to meet definite conditions of soil and market. Heavy losses would often be incurred by planting the one instead of the other. At this point the planter is hopelessly at the mercy of the seeds- man, except in so far as he selects and saves his own seed. Purity and vitality may be readily deter- mined with little trouble and expense, but the crop must be grown in most cases before lack of gen- uineness can be discovered. Then, of course, it is too late to remedy the difficulty and serious losses follow. In this connection it should also be re- membered that there are frequently many strains within varieties, themselves peculiarly adapted to certain conditions and making all the difference be- tween splendid profits and probable losses. Care- lessness in handling frequently results in much mix- ing of varieties, which, although each may be good within itself, naturally brings about dissatisfaction and heavy loss. For the above reasons seed testing has become a common practice by all progressive gardeners, large or small. As stated before, impurities are not a serious matter in vegetable seeds, but where a pre- liminary examination shows their presence the amount may be determined by weighing out a good- sized sample of the seed in question. The sample should then be spread out on a smooth white sur- face where the impurities can be easily separated 100 from the good seed. All broken or mechanically injured seeds should be considered as impurities, but shriveled and imperfect seeds should be placed with the pure seed. After separating the impurities it is better to reweigh the pure seed because of the larger quantity and then compute the per cent of impurities present. A vitality test is now in order, and is made by taking a given number of the pure seed, large, small and imperfect, as they come, usually one hundred in number, and placing them under proper conditions for germination. These conditions are secured in various ways and should be of such a character that moisture and temperature are fairly well under the control of the operator. The sand box is generally used for the good-sized seeds, such as peas, beans, cucumbers, squash, etc. This consists of a shallow box of convenient size, say two or three feet square, filled with clean, sharp sand. The surface of the sand may be laid off in parallel blocks by stretching string or wire across the top in both directions, making squares of whatever size may be desired. The various seeds to be tested are counted out and placed in their respective squares and a cloth spread over the top and covered with sand from one-half inch to an inch in depth. The whole is then thor- oughly moistened and the box placed in some loca- tion where a uniform temperature of from 60° to 70° may be maintained. The seeds should be examined the second or third day and all sprouted ones removed and a record made of the same. The test should run for about ten days for most seeds, and they should be ex- amined daily and the sprouted seeds removed. This, of course, is easily done by rolling the cloth SEEDS AND SEEDING IoI back, which leaves the seeds exposed to view. A comparatively simple and inexpensive tester, espe- cially for the smaller seeds, may be made by using two dinner plates and two pieces of cloth, pref- erably flannel. One piece of cloth is moistened and spread over the first plate, the seeds are counted and placed in position on the same. The other cloth is moistened and spread over them and the second plate inverted over all. The inverted plate prevents the drying out of the cloth, and with occa- sional sprinkling sufficient moisture is retained for satisfactory germination. Several samples of small seeds may be germinated at one time by this ap- paratus. In large gardens specially prepared ger- minators and ovens may be found desirable. The principal thing to be remembered, after all, is to keep the seeds moist and comparatively warm, yet in such a condition as to allow a free circulation of air about them. Most beginners keep the seed too moist for best results. The temperature of the ordinary living room (68° to 70° F.) will be satis- factory for most seeds. The difficulties sometimes encountered in secur- ing satisfactory seed has led many people to believe that better results may be secured by saving their seed at home. Except under rare conditions, this assumption is very likely to prove fallacious. This is especially true of the average home gardener as well as the small truck gardener. The seed busi- ness is a highly specialized one and requires years of experience and training to successfully conduct the same. Commercial seeds are usually grown under the best conditions for their growth and de- velopment, which is not generally the case when grown indiscriminately in the gardens of the country. 102 The fundamental principles of breeding and selec- tion necessary to maintain a strain or variety in its original purity, to say nothing of improving the same, are not sufficiently well understood by the average gardener. Again, the land usually devoted to home or truck gardening is usually too valuable to be devoted to seed growing. Upon the other hand, there will be occasional instances where the small grower, and especially the large commercial gardener, will have sufficient training and experience to make the necessary selections and be able to build up particular strains of many varieties espe- cially well adapted to his own local conditions. After all, the chief objection to home seed growing is the fact that the seed crop is not generally looked upon as a money-producing crop, and in the rush of the season’s work is usually neglected, result- ing in seeds of poor vitality and crops of low vigor and unsatisfactory yields. Whether seed be saved at home or bought in the market, it is highly important that it be the best of its kind. Poor seed is dear at any price. The ques- tion of a few cents or even dollars per pound is of little importance as compared with the difference in value of a full crop of high quality and a poor crop of inferior quality. A practice all too common (the tendency toward which constitutes one of the chief objections against home seed saving) is that of sav- ing the seed from the inferior fruits left at the end of the season. The writer has observed commercial cantaloupe growers, time after time, going over the fields after the good melons had been harvested and frost had killed the vines, saving the seed indis- criminately from the partially mature and worth- less fruits left in the field. Little wonder that the LIMA BEANS GROWING ON POLES wa}shs UO1BTIIII 94} Jo Sadid peaysaro ay} 350N UaaNYA AO ASN AHL AM AUATAO ONIHONV1E SEEDS AND SEEDING 103 yield falls off and the quality deteriorates. Every- one knows how common a practice it is to save the largest tomatoes for seed, selecting them after they have been taken from the vines, with no attention whatsoever as to the characteristics of the plant as a whole. A good average-sized tomato from a plant producing a heavy yield of such fruit is far more valuable for seed purposes than a plant producing only one or two large fruits. It should be especially remembered that the characters of the entire plant must be taken into consideration, and that seed should be selected with this in mind. When purchas- ing seed, only the best and most reputable seed firms should be patronized. It is well to avoid the seeds usually found for sale at the hardware store or the corner grocery. With a few exceptions the seeds of the most reliable firms are not offered for sale at these places. Novelties should be bought sparingly, and it is never wise to make any large planting of any new and untried variety. Upon the other hand, it is always a good plan to try out in a small way some of these new things as they are offered to the trade. Once in a while something will be found much better for the particular location than any- thing planted before, and under these conditions the novelty will prove extremely profitable. For persons unfamiliar with the merits of the common varieties of vegetables it will generally be a safe plan for them to make their selection from those varieties having the shortest description in the catalogs. It usually requires a half-page halftone and a half- page description to attract the attention of the aver- age purchaser away from the standard varieties with which he is acquainted and get him sufficiently in- terested in a new novelty to purchase same, while 104 the old and tried sorts with which each one is famil- iar and which have proven successful under a wide range of conditions need little description and are dismissed with a line or two. The habit of chang- ing seed, common among many gardeners, is of doubtful value, and the whole practice is based more upon tradition than upon reason. The poor results secured from seed saved at home have been largely responsible for the supposed merit of the system. Under the methods of seed saving as com- monly followed, varieties and strains rapidly deteriorate and new supplies from reliable seed houses naturally give better results. With proper care in selecting seed, just the opposite should be the case. Certain strains of the various va- rieties may be selected, particularly well adapted to local conditions and improved upon and kept pure as the years go by. The instances, however, where this is done is the exception rather than the rule. Northern grown seeds, in some cases, do have ad- vantages over southern grown in being somewhat hardier and are often found to mature earlier. The use of old seed is generally to be discouraged, except with those known to hold their vitality for a number of years and when properly grown and stored. A common practice of many successful gardeners is to buy a sufficient supply of seed known to be of high quality to last for two seasons. After care- ful testing, the value of the seed is known and can be depended upon to give results under proper con- ditions. Some melon and cucumber growers prefer to use seeds two or three years of age, believing a little less vine growth and greater fruitfulness are secured. This practice is based on good plant physiology, but it is extremely easy to go too far SEEDS AND SEEDING 105 and secure plants so lacking in vigor that satisfac- tory results are not possible. The question of seed laws and seed control is one of vital importance to the farmers and gar- deners of the country. Various laws have been passed from time to time by both state and national governments, but little good has been done, except as public sentiment has demanded higher quality and better service upon the part of the seed trade. Little good can be expected from laws attempting to force people to buy high-grade seed at a cor- respondingly high price when they very much prefer to purchase the lower grades at a correspond- ingly lower price. Some regulations, however, should be in force preventing fraud and deception in connection with this business. It is unbusiness- like and unprofitable for the various state and na- tional governments to spend thousands of dollars annually in creating and stimulating an interest in agricultural and horticultural crops, thus creating a greater demand for seeds of all kinds, if the seeds- men are to be permitted to meet this increased demand with seeds of little intrinsic value, foul with noxious weeds ‘and impurities of all kinds. It is to be said to the credit of the seed trade generally that they are meeting the situation splendidly. Better seed is being furnished, on the average, each year, and more care is being taken in its production and handling. At the present time in this country few, if any, seedsmen undertake to guarantee their seeds. As a matter of fact, the opposite condition prevails. Practically every package of seed, large or small, carries with it the disclaimer of the seedsman as to any responsibility whatsoever so far as results 106 are concerned. When sufficient public sentiment has been aroused in this problem to create a demand for guaranteed seed, seedsmen will be found ready to meet the demand as a simple business proposition. It has always seemed to the writer that this situation might be very success- fully met by some slight modifications of the European seed control plan now so successfully practiced in most countries of Europe. In brief this plan is as follows: Various seed-control sta- tions have been established by the government whose business it is to test and examine samples of seed voluntarily offered for test by the seed trade as well as by farmers and gardeners. Seedsmen are at perfect liberty to offer their seed for sale with- out test if they so desire, but it must be sold upon its merits without guarantee. If submitted to the station the test is made and the seedsmen may then guarantee the per cent purity and vitality for each and every package sold. If for any reason the pur- chaser doubts the truth of the guarantee he may take a sample according to prescribed methods, send it back to the station, where it is again examined for a nominal sum, and if it fails to come up to the seedsman’s guarantee prosecution is at once begun. The value of the whole plan lies in the fact that neither the seedsman nor the farmer is compelled to have the test made, but public sentiment has been developed to such a state that the seedsman who fails to submit samples for test in order that his seed may be guaranteed finds it is impossible to sell the same to the European farmers and gardeners. The person who desires to purchase inferior seed at a low price should have the right to do so, while the person who desires to purchase seed of high S SEEDS AND SEEDING 107 quality and of guaranteed standard and is willing to pay the necessary increased price for the same should likewise have the opportunity. After testing the seed and determining the per- centage of impurities present and the amount of seed that should grow under ideal conditions, the problems of proper planting now present ~S themselves. The IN soil is the medium A ONE-HORSE FERTILIZER DISTRIBUTOR in which the neces- sary conditions for germination are se- cured. The three essential things to be provided are proper amounts of moisture, temperature and free air or oxygen. These can be supplied in the proper degrees only by soils in good mechanical condition, thoroughly well prepared and worked at the proper time. It is especially important that a deep, fine seed bed with a comparatively smooth surface be provided as described: in Chapter III. The smaller the seed the more important is this preparation. It is often said that a laboratory test for vitality is of little value, and that such tests should be made in the soil. A second thought will show anyone why this is absolutely unreliable and impossible. One person will plant in well-prepared soils under proper conditions, while another will plant the same seed in poorly prepared soils, too wet or too dry, or at the wrong time of the season, and secure poor results. This will evidently not be the fault of the seed. The only practical and satisfactory method is to determine what the 108 seeds may be expected to do under as nearly ideal conditions of germination as possible. It is then the business of the grower to provide these condi- tions in the best manner. It is always to be re- membered and expected that actual results in the field will fall somewhat below laboratory tests. Prompt germination of the seed is of prime im- portance. With this in mind, it rarely pays to plant seed before the soil has been warmed to the proper point to give the best germination. As everyone knows, this varies greatly with different kinds of seeds. Lettuce, radishes, cabbage and peas may be sown very early and will germinate readily at comparatively low temperatures, while corn, cu- cumbers, squash, melon, etc., require much higher temperatures for their proper germination. Seeds germinating promptly usually produce stronger and more vigorous plants than those in which the process is delayed for any cause. The ordinary soil dangers of diseases, rot and decay are largely obviated by quick.germination. The destruction of seeds and plants by birds and rodents will be lessened as the time of germination is shortened. The weed problem is likewise less serious when seeds come up quickly, permitting cultivation to start early and weeds to be destroyed while they are yet small. The depth of sowing must of necessity very greatly depend upon the nature and character of the seed and the physical condition of the soil and its moisture content. The manner in which the various parts of the young plantlet develop likewise has an important influence upon: depth of planting. Such seeds as corn, peas and various others, throw- ing up a single shoot from the seed, may be safely SEEDS AND SEEDING 109 planted deeper than those like the bean, melon and squash which pull the entire seed up through the soil in germination. ,Large seeds, generally speak- ing, may be planted comparatively deep, while many of the smaller ones must be scarcely covered at all. Whatever the depth of planting, it is to be remem- bered that the object in view is to cover the seed only deep enough to secure the proper amount of moisture for germination. For the most part the tendency is to plant too deep rather than too shal- low, especially in the early part of the season when moisture is usually present in abundant quantities. The importance of compacting the soil over the seed can hardly be overestimated, and all mechan- ical seeding devices of the present day are pro- vided with various wheels and compressors for this purpose. Where hand. sowing is followed some direct method of compacting the soil about the seed is usually necessary for the best results. In order, to shorten the time during which the seed must remain in the soil and in some cases gain somewhat in the maturity of the crop, the seeds are soaked in clear water before planting. This practice, however, is of doubtful value in a commer- cial way, although something may be said in its favor where the seeds are planted by hand. Soak- ing in most cases softens the seed to such an extent that they are likely to be injured somewhat by the planting machines. For the most part vegetable seeds are sown by means of the modern seed drills. These have been perfected to such a state that they do almost ideal work, dropping the seeds evenly and uniformly, regulating the depth as desired for all kinds and classes of seed and compacting the soil properly IIo after the seed has been dropped. The seed may be planted either in drills or hills as desired. Some seed, however, as sqtash, and a few others, cannot be readily planted by means of the drill, and must be planted by hand. Hand planting is nearly always necessary in ac- curate experimental work of various kinds. The amount of seed necessary to be sown will depend upon the purity of the sample, the vitality, the nature and condition of the soil at planting time, the prevalence of insect and disease enemies, etc. It is a common practice to plant a great deal more seed than is really necessary under favorable conditions in order that good stands may be secured. Thin- ning is necessary, not only to give the leaves an opportunity for full development and the best ex- posure to sunlight and air, but to provide the proper soil area from which the plants can secure their food supply. Thinning should, therefore, be done as soon as possible after the plants are large enough to render the work practical. Early thinning avoids checking the growth of the plants to be left and pre- vents the wasting of available food. Thinning is done in various ways, depending upon the kind of crop. The great variety of hand weeders in common use adapt themselves as readily to thinning the smaller cultivated plants as to the removal of weeds. Onions, radishes and beets are usually thinned by hand or with some one of the very small hand im- plements, while cotton may be thinned by what is commonly known as “chopping out” with the hoe. The practice of starting many plants in specially prepared seed beds and transplanting to field con- ditions largely eliminates the necessity for much thinning. As a matter of fact, this is one of the SEEDS AND SEEDING Til chief advantages claimed for the universal practice of transplanting by gardeners. This process of preparation is accomplished in a variety of ways. Cabbage, tomatoes, lettuce, celery and eggplant are usually sown in flats or directly in the soil of green- house beds or hotbeds, in drills or rows. When of the proper size for transplanting to their permanent location they are carefully lifted and set by hand or by transplanting machines. These seedlings are often transplanted once ONE-HORSE SEEDER WITH FERTILIZER or twice in the see al hotbeds before finally transplanted to the field. This practice has the advantage of developing a compact, much-branched root system that with- stands the final transplanting very well. Plants requiring a long season for their proper development are likewise started in the hotbeds or greenhouses in order that they may be ready to remove to outdoor conditions as well-developed plants by the time the seed could normally be planted directly in the soil. This results in pro- longing the season for growth several weeks. Cucumbers, cantaloupes, watermelons, are often started in advance of the normal planting time by planting the seed in small squares of sod turned grass side down, or in old berry baskets, paper pots or the common earthen pots. In a small way old fruit cans may be used for this purpose after hav- ing the tops and bottoms melted off. When desired 1i2 these plants so grown can be taken to the field with- out disturbing the roots and will immediately start in their new location without check. The principal thing to be remembered in starting plants under glass to be removed finally to out-of- door conditions; is to have them thoroughly well hardened off before transplanting. Under glass the young plants usually make an extremely rapid suc- culent growth, very easily injured by sudden re- moval to field conditions. This, however, may be prevented by slowly exposing them to the open air until by transplanting time they are practically growing under out-of-door conditions. Plants stunted through lack of proper hardening rarely ever recover and give satisfactory results. Various methods are in common use for the removal of plants to the field. Usually the sods, boxes or pots are placed on boards of convenient size and carried to the field, where the pots are removed and the undisturbed root system placed directly in the soil. In transplanting the smaller plants taken directly from the seed beds, a dibble is the most common tool used by the gardeners. This consists of a round or flat piece of iron or steel with a handle conveniently arranged for pushing directly into the soil. The plant roots are dropped into the opening made and the dibble again inserted two or three inches to one side and the soil pressed firmly about the roots by a backward pressure of the instrument. Transplanting may be done much more rapidly and much better by the use of this tool than with the hands alone. In some cases the plants in the seed bed become taller than desired and special measures must be taken to place them in the soil in order to give SEEDS AND SEEDING 113 the best results. It is generally unwise to set the original roots at too great a depth because they will not receive the right amounts of air for their proper development, and growth is likely to be slow and unsatisfactory until new roots develop from the stems nearer the surface. A much better plan is to open up a furrow of about the usual depth for transplanting and lay the plant down in the same, covering the root and a portion of the stem, turning up the desired amount of the tip at the point -vhere the plant is to grow. This places the roots at the proper depth for root development and new roots likewise develop very rapidly along the buried stem. In transplanting all plants that have become rather large, it is important that some of the larger lower leaves be removed. These leaves usually dry out and drop off anyhow, and if removed at the time of transplanting transpiration or loss of moisture from the top will be greatly lessened while the roots are gaining a foothold in the soil. The practice of starting plants under glass to be transplanted to field conditions has come to be so extensive and of such an integral part of commercial vegetable gardening that in the vicinity of the larger veg- etable-growing sections great enterprises have been built up in the growing of plants for transplanting purposes. It often happens in the garden busi- ness that on account of a bad lot of seed, unusual weather conditions or attacks of insects and dis- eases the entire crop of plants started by the gar- dener will be almost a total loss. These firms very satisfactorily meet such conditions and enable the gardener to avoid enormous losses. The business is a comparatively young one, but is rapidly growing and developing in the larger truck-growing centers. CHAPTER XIV Leading Vegetable Crops ASPARAGUS The asparagus plant is found growing wild in various parts of Europe and Asia, and has been under cultivation as a garden vegetable for many hundreds of years. The young succulent shoots make their appearance very early in the spring and are the parts of the plant prized for use. As a cul- tivated crop it is comparatively easily grown over a wide range of soil and climatic conditions. This plant should be found in all home gardens, and is becoming of increasing importance in commercial gardens every year. As a matter of fact, there is scarcely a city or town in the country that has all the asparagus it could use during its season. This is especially true of smaller towns, in many of which a very meager supply will be found at any time. While the asparagus does really well on a great variety of soils, a deep sandy loam is gen- erally conceded to be the best for this plant. While an abundance of moisture should be present, it is necessary to avoid standing water or a water table too close to the surface. In whatever type of soil asparagus is grown a generous supply of humus is essential. As a matter of fact, it is hardly pos- sible to supply too much of this material to soils otherwise well adapted to the crop. Stony and heavy clay soils are to be especially avoided, on account of the difficulty of cultivation and of cutting 14 LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 115 for market. Many crooked and small stalks will always be found upon such soils, which mean serious losses. The preparation of the soil for this crop is of especial importance. While it was formerly cus- tomary to trench to a depth of two or three feet, filling in with well-rotted compost, this method has now become almost obsolete. The shallow nature of the rooting system seems to make this expensive process unnecessary. The entire area, however, should be thoroughly fined and broken to a depth of from 12 to 18 inches by the use of the plow and if necessary the subsoiler. Liberal quantities of stable manure should be thoroughly incorporated with the soil throughout its entire depth. It is usually a good plan to take one or two years in thorough preparation, growing other crops in the meantime in order to incorporate the largest pos- sible quantities of organic matter into the soil. South- ern slopes are preferable to northern slopes because they warm more readily in the spring and earlier crops are secured. Such slopes, however, are more likely to suffer from drouth. One-year-old plants are usually preferred for transplanting. The plants should be set deep enough so that the crown will be from six to eight inches under the leveled surface. The fine branch- ing roots should be well distributed by hand over the bottom of the furrow, before covering. The plants are usually covered only two or three inches deep at first and the furrows filled in slowly by subsequent cultivation as the stalks become larger and stronger. The rows should be from five to eight feet apart and the plants from 18 to 24 inches in the rows. The distance will depend somewhat 116 upon whether green or white asparagus is desired. The white asparagus requires greater distance, es- pecially between the rows, in order that the soil may be thrown over the rows in the springtime for the purpose of blanching the stalks. Cultivation during the first, second and third years should be the same as for corn or potatoes. All weeds should be kept out and a good dust mulch maintained dur- ing the summer to conserve and hold the moisture. Cutting should not begin before the third season and then should not be continued later than the first of June. This is important, because if cutting is started too early the plantation will never furnish the large fleshy stalks so much desired by the better markets. The asparagus plants are of two types—the stam- inate or non-seed bearing and the pistillate or seed SOME ASPARAGUS BUNCHERS bearing. These two types are found growing to- gether and are, of course, necessary for the produc- tion of seed. Various experiments, however, have shown that the production of seed is devitalizing, and results in smaller and fewer stocks than is pro- duced by the staminate or non-seed producing plants. Many successful growers follow various plans of selection by means of which the percentage of the LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 1I7 staminate plants are greatly increased and the yields correspondingly raised. Seed may be readily saved at home if so desired and plants grown for transplanting purposes. If some attention is given to the matter of selecting the seed, securing plants by this method will prove very satisfactory. In cultivation, especially after the first season, it is usually desirable to run over the entire patch with the disk harrow in both directions just as soon as the soil is dry enough in the spring. This has- tens the drying of the surface and permits the soil to warm up rapidly, starting the new shoots into growth more quickly than they would otherwise do. Cultivation with the usual cultivating tools should be followed throughout the entire season or as long as a horse can readily pass between the rows. The problem of keeping up the humus supply in the soil is one of prime importance. Various methods may be successfully followed. A common practice is to cover the entire patch with a heavy covering of well-rotted stable manure just after the cutting season is over. The subsequent cultivation works this material well into the soil with splendid results. Some gardeners follow the plan of plow- ing a deep furrow between the rows just after the cutting season is over, throwing the dirt over the crowns. This trench is filled with well-rotted manure and the whole field leveled down by har- rowing back and forth across the ridges. Heavy layers of strawy manure should not be left on the patch over winter, because it keeps the soil cold and damp and prevents the early growth which is always in greatest demand. Heavy applications of commercial fertilizer should usually be employed in connection with the stable manures, Nitrozen 118 is the most important single element needed by the crop, but best results are generally secured by ap- plying a high-grade fertilizer containing from four to six per cent of nitrogen, six to eight per cent of phosphate, and five to Io per cent potash. From 500 to 800 pounds should be applied annually. A liberal application of nitrate of soda at the end of the cutting season will usually be found beneficial in stimulating a rank, vigorous growth of tops, the beneficial effects of which are seen in the in- creased number and size of shoots the following spring. Few crops can be fertilized so heavily and with as great profit as asparagus. From $200 to $500 is usually considered a good gross income per acre. The yield should be from 2,000 to 3,000 bunches per acre, and the price per bunch usually ranges from 15 to 40 cents per bunch, although as high as $10 a dozen bunches for extra fancy early asparagus is sometimes realized. The relative merits of white and green “grass” are disputed points. Some markets will pay a much better price for the blanched or white stalks, while other markets prefer the green. The green stalks are usually higher in flavor and more brittle in their character, while the white stalks are inclined to be flat and woody. Once well established an asparagus plantation should remain profitable for from 10 to 15 years. Many patches are to be found yet profitable after 25 to 30 years, but as a usual thing the size of the shoots begins to diminish rapidly after the tenth or twelfth year unless unusual condi- tions for growth are provided. In marketing, the shoots are always cut and tied in bundles of convenient size by the use of tape, raffia or rubber bands. The bunches should be tied LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 119g at both top and bottom, and in such a way as to keep them firm and tight until broken for use. The rubber band is especially valuable from this standpoint, because of the fact that it takes up.all shrinkage and always keeps the bunches tight. If green asparagus is being produced for fancy market it is usually a better plan to break rather than cut the stalks, thus insuring absolute freedom from the objectionable woody ends. Asparagus is comparatively free from various insect and disease enemies. The only serious insect enemy is the asparagus beetle. The beetle lives over winter in the adult form in rubbish or any other convenient protection, and in April or early May lays its eggs on the new shoots. The larve soon hatch and together with the adult beetles feed upon the tender stems as they appear above the ground. Various methods may be employed to control this pest. Occasional plants may be left uncut, upon which the beetles will largely deposit their eggs. These trap plants are cut at least once a week and destroyed, while others are allowed to take their place. In this way large numbers of the eggs will be destroyed before hatching. The cutting of blanched asparagus is an effective method of combating asparagus beetles because all shoots are cut off before they appear above ground. This leaves no plants for the beetles to feed upon. After the cutting season they may be readily destroyed by spraying with either arsenate of lead or paris green, preferably the former. The asparagus rust is by far the worst enemy of the asparagus grower. This disease makes its ap- pearance the latter part of July or first of August in the form of reddish-brown streaks and spots over 120 the leaves and stems, which turn blackish in a short time. The entire top begins to wither, and if the infection is at all extensive soon dies back to the ground. While the disease does not injure the cut of the season its development on the plants after the cutting period is over causes premature ripen- ing and greatly lessens the season of growth. The result is that the roots, drained of their stored food by the heavy production of shoots in the earlier part of the season, fail to become refilled with the neces- sary reserve to continue the proper growth the fol- lowing year. Smaller stalks in fewer numbers are produced and in a few years the plantation may be killed outright. All tops should be carefully cut and burned in the field after the season’s growth is over. All rak- ing and forking of the tops should be done immedi- ately after cutting, and drying permitted to take place in the piles in order to prevent the shattering of leaves and the spread of the disease. Frequent spraying with bordeaux mixture after cutting is over will be found helpful in prolonging the grow- ing season and protecting the plants to a consider- able extent from the trouble. In the regions of little rainfall dusting with flowers of sulphur has been found more effective than bordeaux mixture. Dusting, however, is not practical in the rainy districts. A number of varieties are to be found upon the market, but the one generally preferred at the present time is Palmetto. This variety is of south- ern origin and does especially well in the southern asparagus districts. It has proven very satisfactory for northern growers, however, and seems to be more resistant to rust than any of the other sorts. LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS I2I Other varieties frequently planted are Conover’s Colossal, Barr’s Mammoth, Columbian Mammoth White and Argenteuil. BEANS The term bean is applied to no less than eight distinct species of plants, native to widely separated countries of the world. For purposes of conven- ience in this discussion, beans may be divided into two general groups, viz., field and garden beans. The field beans are widely grown in various sec- tions of the country, but are more properly con- sidered as field and farm crops. Garden beans, as commonly grown and understood, naturally fall into two distinct groups, bush and pole beans. Under each of these divisions we have the well-known sub- divisions of kidney and lima beans. Various habits of growth, form of pods, time of maturity, etc., constitute the characteristics upon which the above classifications are based. The type as well as variety of garden beans to be grown in any given locality is determined very largely by the uses to be made of them. Certain varieties are especially well adapted to use in the snap or string form, but if intended for canning entirely different varieties would be selected. The bean is cultivated wherever home or commercial gardening is followed, and is usually planted in such a way as to secure a succession of picking from early in the season until frost destroys the plants in the fall. Beans adapt themselves to a great variety of soils and will per- haps give better results on poor soils than almost any other crop. Nevertheless the bean responds to good soils and good treatment fully as well as any 122 other plant. Well-drained, light, clay loams usually give the best results. Many varieties of the beans, especially of the bush type, do well on light, poor soils, but high fertility is essential to large yields. Where grown to be sold as green or snap beans the brittleness and tenderness depend primarily upon rapid growth, which can only be secured upon soils well supplied with available plant food. Poor soils, therefore, will usually give better results with dry beans than with string beans. The bean is a shal- low-rooted crop which requires for its economic cultivation soils apparently free from all stones and obstructions of any kind. Shallow cultivation must be practiced. No special preparation other than that generally considered good for any crop is necessary. Liberal applications of commercial fertilizers are applied with profit, but inasmuch as the bean is a nitrogen- gathering plant this element need not be present in large quantities. Potash and phosphorus should predominate. Garden beans are planted both in hills and drills, but the latter method is more com- monly followed and usually gives the larger yields. The common bush varieties should be planted in rows from 24 to 36 inches apart and a plant from every four to six inches in the row. The bean is a warm-season plant, and planting should always be delayed until all danger of frost is past and the soil becomes well warmed. The proper depth for planting is from one-half to two inches in depth, depending somewhat upon the nature of the soil. In loose and sandy types, plant- ing may be deeper, while in heavier soils one inch is all that is safe, especially with the larger seeded LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 123 forms. String beans are very largely grown by gardeners as catch or as succession crops. From their nature garden beans must be har- vested entirely by hand, especially when used in the snap form. Their extensive cultivation is practical only in those regions where an abundance of labor is available. After the beans are picked they are usually sorted and packed in the various types of packages found best for certain markets. The bushel and half-bushel hamper are the most popular packages. Pole beans require the same soil and climatic con- ditions as bush beans, the only important dif- ference between the two groups being in their habits of growth. Pole beans should be planted in hills from two to three feet apart in rows from 30 to 40 inches wide. From four to six beans are planted in each hill and afterwards thinned to two or three plants. Lima beans are of two types, pole and dwarf, and are of great commercial importance from the gar- dener’s standpoint, especially throughout the more southern truck gardening sections. The plant re- quires a long season for its maturity and in the northern regions the gardener is usually well satis- fied if from one-half to two-thirds of the pods suc- ceed in maturing. Farther south heavier crops are secured. The bush limas are a little hardier and for this reason are more extensively planted in the North. Their requirements are similar to those described for the bush beans, except that the limas require much stronger soils for their proper growth. Unlike many varieties of the bush beans, however, they rarely give satisfactory results on heavier types of soils. Lima beans require heavier manur- ing and heavier applications of commercial fertiliz- 124 ers than the bush types. Limas are usually planted in rows from three to four feet wide and from 18 to 36 inches apart in the rows. They are supported on either poles or trellis. When poles are used they should be from six to eight feet in height. The common practice of tying four poles together gives better support, but interferes with proper cul- tivation. A trellis may be readily made by driving stakes in the row every 15 or 20 feet, leaving them about four feet above the surface of the soil. A wire may then be placed within a foot of the bottom and another near the top of the stake and strings stretched from wire to wire in a zigzag manner. Lima beans are marketed both dry and green, and in the latter form both in the pods and shelled. Green shelled limas are considered quite a delicacy in many markets and bring correspond- ingly high prices. : The use of the lima bean is limited somewhat by the fact that many people do not realize that it can be used in exactly the same way as the small field beans, and, in many cases, with better results. There are two common enemies of the bean of sufficient importance to deserve mention here. An- thracnose, or what is commonly known as rust, is a disease everywhere found attacking the waxed, podded types especially. Few forms, however, are. entirely free from the trouble. This disease may be controlled to a considerable extent by spraying with bordeaux mixture, but the labor and cost involved prohibit its use under ordinary conditions. Spe- cial precautions should be taken to secure disease- free seed. Something may be accomplished by gathering and burning all of the affected vines in the fall of the year. LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS I25 The bean is comparatively free from serious in- sect pests, with the exception of the bean weevil. This insect is a little beetle about one-eighth of an inch long, which eventually finds its way into the body of the seed. The adult lays its eggs in the field on the pods. Breeding continues after storage and large numbers of the beans will be found to contain the larve or adults of this particular insect. This insect is not a factor when the crop is mar- keted in the green state and its destructiveness is confined entirely to the dried bean crop. It is a much more serious pest in the South than in the North, which accounts for the fact that the growing of dry beans is confined almost entirely to northern latitudes and high altitudes. Fumigating the seed with bi-sulphide of carbon is a most effective remedy. Use at the rate of one-half ounce. per bushel of seed. The seeds should be placed in com- paratively tight boxes or barrels, and the carbon bi-sulphide placed in shallow vessels on the surface and quickly covered with burlap or some other similar material. The exposure should be for at least forty-eight hours. The vapor of this material is very inflammable and the fumigation should be done away from fires or lights of any kind. BEETS The beet is a native of the Mediterranean regions. Several forms have been in cultivation for more than 2,000 years. It is almost universally grown by gardeners the world over. Its ability to develop under cool conditions and the short season nec- essary for its growth make it adaptable to a very wide range of climate. There are four dis- 126 tinct types of beets in cultivation at the present time, all of which have originated from a single parent plant through careful selection with radically different ideas in mind. These types are the com- mon garden or red beet, the swiss chard or leaf beet, the sugar beet and the mangel or mangel- wurzel. The garden or red beet is the form of especial interest to vegetable gardeners, although the swiss chard or leaf beet is beginning to be grown quite extensively as a potherb. Sandy or gravelly loams well enriched and well drained give the best results with this crop. Cold soils and those retentive of moisture are not satis- factory. Inasmuch as quick results are expected from the beet, heavy applica- tions of plant food should be made to the soil both in the form of manure and commercial fertilizers. From 30 to 40 tons of well-rotted stable manure, together with 600 or 800 pounds of fertilizer analyz- ing approximately two per cent nitrogen, six per cent phosphorus, eight per cent potash, should be A BUNCH OF BEETS READY applied. Beets are usually Note their uniformity. grown as a close crop, cul- tivation being done en- tirely by hand. The rows are usually from 12 to 15 inches apart, and after the plants are well started they are thinned to from two to four inches in the row. Some gardeners dispense with LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 127 this thinning: process, removing the larger beets after they become sufficiently developed for use, thus giving the smaller ones an opportunity to de- velop in turn. Beet seeds should be planted from I to 1% inches deep. The seed germinates rather slowly and for this reason small quantities of lettuce or cabbage seed are frequently mixed with it in order to mark the rows and make earlier cultivation pos- sible. The beet is comparatively hardy with refer- ence to frost and the seed may be sown as early as it is possible to prepare the soil. Shallow cultiva- tion should be followed at sufficiently frequent in- tervals to keep the soil perfectly clean and prevent the formation of crusts. The bulk of the crop of garden beets is always sold in a partially matured form in bunches of from four to six beets each. Only the dead or dried leaves are removed. They are then packed in various styles of packages for de- livery to market. The beet is becoming a popular canning vegetable and in many places is extensively grown for this purpose. For both bunching and canning they are preferred when they have reached the size of from 14 to 2 inches in diameter. The beet is forced to a considerable extent in many localities, being especially desirable for cold frame and hotbed grow- ing. “They are sometimes grown in the greenhouse, but the possible returns from the crop hardly justify the use of the space for this purpose. Matured beets in the fall of the year are fre- qtiently stored and handled as potatoes, and in this form are sold to a considerable extent almost the entire year round. The beet is comparatively free from serious in- 128 sects and diseases. Although several pests are known to attack the plant, their numbers are rarely great enough to cause any considerable damage. The flea beetle, leaf spot and potato scab are the only enemies likely to become troublesome, and these so rarely as to need no further comment. CABBAGE Cabbage is one of the most widely cultivated of the plants of the vegetable family. It is a native of Europe, and the original plant has given rise to various distinct forms now in cultivation. Of these the most important are cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kohl-rabi, cauliflower and kale. The cabbage plant is a strong, vigorous grower adapted to a great variety of soils and climates, but thriving best in cool moist regions. For this reason its commercial culture is largely confined to the North. When grown in the South outside of high altitudes its cul- tivation is confined to the late winter or early spring months. By proper storage, cabbage can be readily kept through winter months and is now available all over the country the entire year through. It is used in a greater variety of ways than almost any other vegetable, which largely accounts for its popularity and wide cultivation. Cabbage is grown successfully upon almost every type of soil, but well- manured clay loams come nearest the ideal. For early cabbage, soils of sandy character, containing large quantities of vegetable matter, are selected on account of the earliness with which these soils may be worked and the crop started. Any mellow soil that will not bake readily and containing liberal amounts of humus will grow satisfactory crops of LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 129 cabbage. The cabbage plant is a gross feeder and requires almost unlimited amounts of available plant food. Nitrogen is especially important on account of the heavy vegetative character of the growth. It is generally conceded that stable manures are the most desirable form of fertilizer for the cabbage, but commercial growers usually supplement heavy applications of this material with from 1,000 to 2,000: pounds of high-grade fertilizer per acre, especially on the early crops. A formula of 4-8-10 may gen- erally be considered standard. Fall plowing for the early crop is especially im- portant. The cabbage is a hardy plant not easily injured by frosts, which makes it possible to trans- plant to field conditions extremely early, provided the soil is dry enough to work. Fall plowing per- mits the soil to become dry much earlier than would otherwise be the case. The soil is frequently left ridged or listed in the fall of the year, which still further hastens drying in the springtime, thus ad- vancing the time when the soil may be properly prepared and the crop started. Various methods of growing the plants in prep- aration for the field are employed in different sec- tions of the country. The common method is to sow the seed in the hotbeds or greenhouses in Feb- ruary, hardening them off well, by the last of March or first of April, when they can be transplanted to. the field in most localities, except in extreme north- ern sections. The plan of sowing the seed in the fall of the year and carrying the plants over the winter in cold frames gives earlier crops, but is not now commonly followed on account of the great expense of caring for the frames over such a long period of 130 time. Cabbage is usually planted in rows from 30 to 36 inches wide with the plants from 20 to 30 inches apart in the row. The distance will depend somewhat upon the varieties grown. The close- leafed plants of the Jersey Wakefield require much less room for their proper development than the varieties of the Flat Dutch type. It is a common saying among gardeners that the cabbage crop needs more hoeing than any other. In any case, it seems almost impossible to give the cabbage too much cultivation. Frequent shallow stirrings of the soil conserve the water supply and at the same time render large amounts of plant food available. A quick and rapid growth is necessary for the produc- tion of cabbage of high quality. In small areas the cabbage is sometimes planted as a companion crop with radishes, lettuce or spinach, but this renders it necessary to do all the cultivating by hand and greatly increases the cost of the same. It is gen- erally preferable where sufficient area is available to plant the cabbage by itself in order that horse cultivation may be used. The narrow-tooth, shal- low-cutting cultivating implements are to be pre- ferred. The early crop is usually cut as soon as the heads are large enough to meet market re- quirements, which is likely to be long before it is fully matured. Much of the early cab- bage is cut before the heads are sufficiently solid to hold up well in handling and results in dissatis- faction among the growers, consumers and dealers. A nearly matured head will take up about as much space as it would a few days later when it has be- come hard and solid, but will weigh very much less. Sales are always slow when heads are soft and loose. It may be taken as a general rule that cabbage LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS I3r should never be cut until solid, except in very late fall when danger of freezing threatens. When sent to distant markets cabbages are packed in ven- tilated barrels or in double compartment crates. The early cabbage is sometimes shipped in basket hampers. Early cabbage deteriorates more rapidly than later cabbage on account of its incomplete de- velopment and the season in which it must be handled. In the close markets cabbage is usually handled in bulk in a satisfactory manner. The larger per cent of the late crop is grown primarily for storage purposes and is sold during winter and early spring. Successful storing de- pends largely upon the variety and the method employed. There are various ways of storing cab- bage, but the most CABBAGE STORED IN PIT FOR WINTER common one is in pits. These pits are prepared by digging a trench in some well-drained location from two to three feet in width and about as deep as the heads to be buried. From two to five heads are placed in the bottom of the trench with the stems up. All the leaves, except any showing decay, are left on the plant and wrapped closely about the head. The next layer is placed on top of the first in such a way as to break joints. This makes a pile of conical shape satisfactory for cov- ering. After packing the heads together in the above fashion they are covered with sufficient dirt to prevent severe freezing. As cold weather comes on, more covering is added in the way of straw, corn fodder or other similar material to prevent 132 severe freezing and at the same time make it com- paratively easy to get at the crop at any time one ‘desires to market it. For storage in pits the plants should always be pulled with the roots adhering. Cabbage will stand a considerable amount of freez- ing if not subject to alternate freezing and thawing. Storage houses are employed by the larger growers. These houses must be so constructed as to prevent all condensation of moisture dripping on to the cabbage and a thorough control of ventila- tion and temperature must be provided. Cabbage must be kept cool, the air must be kept moist and hard freezing must be prevented. In many sections the entire crop is hauled direct from the field to kraut factories where it is immedi- ately manufactured. In the regions where such fac- tories are located this insures a ready market close at hand and a large amount of handling is avoided. Yields vary greatly, but where good methods are followed it should not be less than 15 to 18 tons per acre. Yields of 25 tons per acre and even larger over small areas have been reported. Generally speaking, early cabbage proves more profitable than late, and in addition to the value of the crop it is usually off the land in time for another crop to follow. The cabbage has a number of serious pests, some of which frequently cause heavy losses and are difficult to combat. The cabbage worm is the most common and widely distributed pest of this plant. The adult insect is a white butterfly with conspicuous black spots on the fore wings of the female. The adult appears in the early summer and deposits its eggs on the cabbage plant. These eggs soon hatch and develop into the large green LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 133 larve from an inch to 1% inches in length, covered with fine black dots. There are two and three broods of this insect each season in the North. A number of natural enemies have developed, which largely keep this pest under control, but it is often necessary to use insecticides of some kind for its direct destruction. The most satisfactory in- secticide is pyrethrum or hellebore. The active principle of these powders is volatile, and the poisonous properties are lost in a few days’ ex- posure to the air, making them perfectly safe to use. Before the plants have begun to head arsenate of lead will prove an effective and safe poison. The cabbage louse is an insect widely dissemi- nated over the United States, usually becoming more numerous and troublesome during extremely dry seasons. In the North the insects appear in late May or early June. They attack both the upper and lower sides of the leaves, causing them to curl and finally wither and die. The eggs are deposited on the stems and refuse leaves, where they pass the winter. One effective method of control suggests itself, viz., to gather and burn all stalks and leaves as soon as cutting is over. Kerosene emulsion seems to be the most effective direct treatment. The stock solution described elsewhere is diluted one gallon to 15 before application. The cabbage root maggot is found attacking the roots of all cruciferous plants, but is especially troublesome upon cabbage, cauliflower and radish. The adult insect is a small fly resembling the com- mon house fly. It makes its appearance during late April and early May, and deposits its eggs at the surface of the ground near the plant. In from eight to ten days the eggs hatch and the larva or maggot 134 immediately eats its way into the soft covering of the roots and the underground portion of the stem, in a short time completely destroying the plant. The presence of the maggot is usually indicated by a wilting of the affected plants during the heat of the day, with nightly recovery for a time. The plant is eventually killed outright or its growth checked to such an extent that it fails to properly mature. In the southern cabbage-growing sections the harlequin cabbage bug is frequently a serious pest, especially on the late crop. This insect is a suck- ing insect, requiring contact poisons for its control, but unfortunately many of the common contact poisons used in sufficient strength to destroy the insect seriously damage the cabbage. The only effective method of treating this pest is to plant a trap crop, usually mustard, which is planted early enough to develop before the cabbage. Both crops and insects are then destroyed by spraying with rather strong kerosene emulsion. The club root is the most widespread, and perhaps most serious disease affecting the cabbage. The trouble is caused by slime molds attacking the roots causing them to become distorted and greatly en- larged. Eventually they become unable to supply the plant with the necessary moisture and plant food. The plant becomes dwarfed and light green in color. It wilts quickly in warm, sunny weather, but for a time recovers at night. The plants some- times mature their heads, although they are usually small. The most effective remedy is crop rotation. The spores of the disease are extremely resistant and retain their vitality for a number of years. The soils in the seed beds should be thoroughly steri- ‘aja ‘suodded ‘saojewio} 10; odeyoed sejndod Ayan y¥ LINAWdIHS YOd ACVAA SUAIMAVO LANSVa-XIS A HANDY WATERING DEVICE, CHEAP AND EFFECTIVE LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 135 lized in order to avoid infection at this stage. In the rotation all cruciferous crops should be dropped for a number of years. Heavy applications of lime to the soil have given good results in many cases. The infected roots, stems and leaves from diseased fields should be burned to avoid the spread of the trouble. Black rot is a disease only recently becoming destructive in most cabbage-producing areas of this country. This disease is bacterial in its character, and once introduced into a locality spreads with alarming rapidity. It affects all the plants of the cabbage family. The presence of the disease is first noticed by a decided yellowing of the foliage. The leaves then begin to die off, the heavier veins become brown or black, rot follows and the head frequently drops off before it is mature. The presence of the disease in the field may be easily detected by the offensive odor arising from the af- fected plants. The only remedy seems to be a wide rotation of crops which excludes all plants of the cabbage family, and thorough disinfection of seeds and seed beds, thus insuring against infected plants at this point. Planting on unaffected soils is also essential. The varieties of the cabbage are almost endless and many seedsmen recognize various groups or families, each of which has a number of varieties somewhat similar in their general characteristics. Jersey Wakefield is without doubt the most popular of the early varieties. Charleston Wakefield pro- duces heads of larger size and is better protected by outside leaves and matures from three to ten days later. Winningstadt is a popular variety on account of its solid heads and fine quality. It does 136 not ship well, however, and its use is largely con- fined to home gardens. The Express, a widely advertised variety, is probably a superior strain of Jersey Wakefield. Early Summer, Succession and Surehead are all early and mid-season varieties of the flat type. Flat Dutch is a standard late variety grown extensively in many sections. For its best development it requires ideal conditions and a long season. Of the red cabbage the red Drum Head is the standard variety. The Danish Ball Head has be- come exceedingly popular as a winter variety be- cause of its excellent keeping qualities. The heads are comparatively small, but round and firm in character and very solid. The successful culture of this variety is confined almost entirely to north- ern sections of this country. CARROT The carrot is a vegetable of minor importance in this country. Its popularity is rapidly on the in- crease, however, chiefly among the foreign popula- tion. It is principally used in soups and stews, although it is now frequently served as a separate dish. Carrots grow best on sandy loams that do not bake and become hard after rains and yet hold water with reasonable tenacity. They are usually planted in rows from 12 to 18 inches apart and cultivated entirely by means of the wheel hoes. The seed germinates rather slowly and the plant makes a slow growth in its earlier stages of development. For this reason it is a common practice to plant this seed with radish or cabbage seed in order to mark the rows, LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 137 so that cultivation may begin early. It is especially important that weeds do not gain a foothold while the plants are still small. After the young plants have become reasonably well established they should be thinned to a distance of from four to six inches. Frequent shallow cultivation should be continued as long as it is possible to pass between the rows. Carrots require an abundance of available plant food and, like all root crops, liberal quantities of potash. Fresh stable manures should never be used, as it generally results in a growth of top SOME GOOD HAND WEEDERS at the expense of the root. Well-rotted manures may be used to good advantage, together with applica- tions of from 300 to 600 pounds of commercial fer- tilizer analyzing approximately 4-6-8 or 4-8-10. Carrots are extensively sold partially mature, tied in bunches, as already described for the beet. They are also dug in the fall of the year, stored like pota- toes and sold throughout the entire winter months. In one or the other of these forms carrots are now to be found upon the market the entire year round. In harvesting carrots for bunching purposes they must usually be pulled by hand. In harvesting for winter storage the sugar beet puller or the plow 138 may be used to loosen them from the soil, after which they are gathered in piles, topped and then stored in pits or in moist, cool cellars or storage houses to be brought out upon the markets as demanded. The carrot is remarkably free from serious insect and disease pests. In occasional seasons a leaf blight develops which destroys the older leaves, causing them to dry and drop off. This eventually prevents the development of the root of the plant and the crop is practically a failure. Several varieties are planted, among which the Early Short Scarlet, Danver’s Half Long, Ox Heart and Long Orange are the most important. The Long Orange is a late, very long rooted variety fre- quently grown for stock feeding as well as for mar- ket purposes. Its extreme long root makes digging somewhat difficult. The White Belgian is an ex- tremely large sort grown entirely for stock-feeding purposes. CAULIFLOWER Cauliflower is perhaps the most tender and ex- acting member of the cabbage family with reference to soil and climatic conditions. The edible portion consists of the flower stems which have become very much enlarged and thickened by long selection. This plant in many respects may be considered the most delicate and refined member of the vegetable family. Cauliflower requires comparatively cool and moist conditions and for this reason its commercial growth is confined entirely to the spring and autumn months and to those regions where the LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 139 atmosphere is not only cool, but well filled with moisture. The best known regions in the United States for the production of cauliflower are Long Island Sound and a few other coast locations. Many uncertainties accompany its cultivation. It is not so hardy as cabbage, and for this reason cannot be started under field conditions so easily. It is es- pecially subject to injury by dry hot winds, and usually succumbs more readily to the ordinary dis- eases of the cabbage family than any other members of this group. The soil requirements are practically the same as for cabbage, although, if any difference, even greater quantities of available food should be provided in the soil. Not less than 50 loads of well-rotted manure should be applied per acre, supplemented with from 500 to 1,000 pounds of high-grade fer- tilizer especially rich in nitrogen. Cultivation is not unlike that already described for cabbage. The value of cauliflower depends upon the de- velopment of the heads and especially upon their whiteness. When the heads are exposed to the hot sun they frequently develop a greenish or purplish color, always accompanied by a loss of the delicate flavor so much desired. After the heads become well developed it is a common practice to gather up the leaves and tie them in this position over the head. This keeps out the direct sunlight, blanches the head a snowy white and develops the highest possible quality. A little experience is required in order to know the proper stage for harvesting to obtain the delicate flavor so much desired. When the heads have become too old they “break” and lose their white- ness. Cauliflower is cut in exactly the same way as the cabbage. The heads are trimmed by cutting 140 THE HOME GARDEN the leaves from a half inch to an inch beyond the face of the head. The white head is left sur- rounded by a fringe of stubby green, which serves to protect the delicate structure in packing and shipping. Cauliflower is usually shipped in ventilated barrels or crates. The best heads should be wrapped with white or brown soft paper and in such a manner as to protect them from bruising as much as possible. Cauliflower cannot be stored success- fully for any length of time and the supply depends entirely upon successive crops. Cauliflower lends itself to forcing conditions very successfully and is often grown under glass or in hotbeds with considerable profit. It has the dis- advantage of taking up too much space to become a popular plant for this purpose, except where high prices are well assured. While the insects and diseases attacking the cauli- flower are the same as those described under the cabbage, they sometimes seem more destructive to the former plant. The list of varieties available for planting is not a long one. Dwarf Erfurt and Snowball are the leading varieties for spring planting, while Dry Weather and Autumn Giant are usually preferred for the fall crop. CELERY Celery is a native of the moist lands along the Mediterranean Sea and has come to be a garden vegetable widely distributed and used. The variety of uses now found for this plant makes it a standard vegetable in the same sense in which potatoes, cab- LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 141 bage and tomatoes are considered standard. It is largely used in flavoring soups and dressings, and is often cooked and served like asparagus. It is also extensively used in the fresh state and serves as the body of many popular salads. Soil requirements are decidedly exacting, and com- mercial growing is confined very strictly to those regions where these conditions are best met. “The muck or alluvial loam soils are always to be pre- ferred. These are to be found usually in regions of reclaimed swamps. After the necessary clear- ing and draining have been done the soil should be broken and left exposed to winter conditions for at least one or two seasons before a crop is planted. This is necessary in order to bring about the proper aeration of the soil and to partially break down its wildness and coarseness. Heavy applications of lime are often desirable to correct the acid condi- tions of such soil and hasten the decomposing processes. The soil should be thoroughly broken and aerated to a considerable depth. The work of fining and smoothing such soils will be compara- tively easy, as they are extremely loose and mellow, so much so that the horses’ feet frequently must be fitted with broad shoes in order to keep them from miring down. While the soil areas best adapted to the growing of celery are naturally restricted, the question of climatic conditions is also of prime importance. A region of low humidity is usually to be preferred because of the development of fewer disease troubles under these conditions. An abun- dance of moisture must be available in the soil, how- ever, and the water table should come comparatively near the surface. The muck soils usually employed for celery grow- 142 ing contain much larger proportions of nitrogen than any of the other common elements of plant food, but liberal applications of potash and phos- phorus are frequently made with splendid results. Top dressings of nitrate of soda may be made at intervals of two or three weeks in the early part of the season in order to stimulate rapid growth in the plants during their early development. Soft and pithy stalks are frequently attributed to the presence of too much nitrogen in the soil, especially toward the latter part of the growing season. Liberal applications of other elements are usually considered to produce firmer and more brittle stalks. On account of the extreme small size of the celery seed, it must, as a rule, be started in the hotbeds or greenhouse where conditions of moisture and tem- perature can be well controlled. The seed is usually sown in flats or boxes and covered only very lightly, if at all. Not only the soil, but the air surrounding the boxes, should be kept very moist in order that proper germination may take place. The plants grow very slowly at first and should be transplanted once or twice before their final removal to the field. Should the plants become overgrown before time for transplanting they may be sheared back with excel- lent results. Transplanting is done almost entirely by hand. No machine has yet been perfected that will drop the plants sufficiently close together in the row. Planting is done at various distances, depending upon the methods of cultivation and blanching to be employed. The common method is to set the plants at intervals of from six to eight inches apart, in double rows. There should be a distance of from six to eight inches between these, and LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 143 from three to 314 feet between the double rows. The so-called new celery culture consists in setting the plants from six to eight inches apart in both directions in strips across the field from 6 to Io feet wide. Walks or paths are left between the strips. After the growth is well started boards are placed around the outside. The crowd- ing plants soon cause the leaf stalk to grow tall and the shading keeps them white. This method economizes space, but does not produce quite such high quality as where boards or earth are employed for blanching purposes. The common method found in some celery-growing sections is to lay the land off in strips about six feet wide, each alternate strip being planted to celery from six to eight inches apart in both directions. In the intervening strip some early maturing crop, as cucumbers, bunch onions or beets, are planted. These crops come off before the blanching process is started and the soil in these strips becomes available for this purpose. Both the wheel and horse cultivators are used in stirring the soil during the growing season. Wheel hoes are used extensively while the plants are small, even where the single-row method of planting is followed. Where two or more rows are planted close together the wheel hoes are used in the narrow spaces, while the wide spaces are cultivated with horse implements. The value of celery depends directly upon the whiteness and brittleness of the stalk. This condi- tion can be secured only by some method of blanch- ing which eliminates the light and causes the green coloring matter to fade out, leaving the stalks white in color and greatly improved in quality. Blanch- ing is done by the use of boards, paper, tile or earth. 144 The earlier crops are usually blanched by the use of boards. Planks from 10 to 12 inches wide are set up on either side of the rows and held in place by means of stakes and clips. Sufficient clips are used on the top edge to keep the planks from falling in too close to the plants. Paper and tile are rarely used in the larger fields, but may often be very suc- cessfully employed by the smaller gardeners, and especially in the home garden. After the plants have become well grown the stalks are gathered to- gether and tied closely near the top and then wrapped with ~f paper, or a four or five-inch tile is dropped down over the plant after it has been drawn together in the above fashion. Blanching with earth is more popular with the late varieties, and is generally considered to produce celery of greater brit- tleness and tenderness than any of the other methods. This method has the advantage of requiring little out- lay for blanching materials, but does not permit of the soil being so well occupied as other methods. The earth is thrown up to the plants by means of special hilling tools, usually provided with guides for lift- ing the leaves in such a manner that the soil will push them together without being tied. Two or three hill- ings may be necessary to properly blanch a crop, as growth continues after hilling begins and the soil must be piled up higher in order to blanch the new growth. Bs OPE * -——-4FE- OF A CHEAP AND SATISFACTORY CELERY STORAGE LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 145 Celery can be stored and held for a long period of time when proper conditions are provided. A cheap and satisfactory method of storing in the field may be described as follows: A trench from four to six feet wide and about the depth of the plants to be stored is dug of any length that may be required. The plants are now lifted from the rows and closely packed in this trench. A V-shaped roof is made from the blanching boards or from others by nail- ing them, overlapping each other in such a manner as to shed water. This roof is now placed over the pit and a furrow thrown over the lower edge along each side. One should provide for ventila- ton at frequent intervals along the ridge of this covering. As cold weather comes on, the entire roof may be covered with a light layer of soil, over which is placed straw or corn fodder. If such a pit has been located on a well-drained spot and has not been covered too rapidly, celery will keep well and continue some growth under these conditions. Celery for home use may be stored in the house cellar or in the outside storage cellar by boarding up one corner to about the height of the celery plants and packing the plants in tightly with soil. The celery may be moistened if necessary, but especial care should be taken to keep the temperature conditions uniform in order that condensation on the tops may not be induced by sudden changes. Great quanti- ties of celery are packed in the crates in which they are to be marketed and stored in cold storage houses over the country. Celery usually keeps well under these conditions of low temperature, but loses its brittleness to a considerable extent. The returns secured from celery are variable. 146 From $500 to $800 gross receipts is probably a fair average, with from $200 to $400 expenses per acre. Several serious diseases are troublesome with celery. The celery blight is perhaps the most widely distributed and generally most prevalent. When attacked by this disease the leaves turn yel- low, then brown and finally decay. This trouble usually begins its attack in the seed beds and is carried from there to the fields. It yields readily to treatment, but eternal watchfulness is the price of success. The young plants in the seed bed should be sprayed with bordeaux mixture every ten to four- teen days, and the treatment continued after being set in the field, especially when weather conditions are favorable for the development of the trouble. The spraying of the plants in the seed bed may be done with any of the common hand sprayers, but under field conditions the power sprayers must be employed. This trouble is more pronounced in the southern celery sections than in the northern. Serious outbreaks in the North are usually to be expected in extremely dry hot seasons. Heart rot attacks the heart of the plant, usually during the blanching process and frequently causes large losses. Its presence may be noted by the offensive odors set up in the fields. Hot, moist, sultry weather soon after blanching has been started greatly favors the trouble. In the use of boards something may be done to check its development by widening the boards at the top, thus allowing freer circulation of the air about the plants. In no case should blanching be started during warm and rainy weather. No insect enemies of serious importance are found attacking the celery. The zebra caterpillar LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 147 may sometimes be found in sufficient numbers to make handpicking advisable. Varieties have been introduced in large numbers, but only a comparatively small list has ever suc- ceeded in becoming popular in a commercial way. The varieties may be classed as white and green. The white group comprises all of the so-called self- blanching sorts which have come into common use only during comparatively recent years and have done much to revolutionize celery culture. The green sorts are of the larger growth and require more careful work in the matter of blanching. A CELERY HILLER White Plume, Golden Self-Blanching, Giant Pascal, Winter Queen and Boston Market are perhaps the leading varieties under cultivation at the present time. Celeriac is a plant belonging to the celery family, but grown for its roots rather than leaf stems. It is used for flavoring and also for cooking purposes. It is not extensively grown in this country. It re- quires the same soil and cultural conditions as the celery and may be readily stored like all other root crops. 148 SWEET CORN This crop is widely grown in both United States and Canada, and is available for use from early July until fall frosts. Sweet corn as a commercial veg- etable is extensively grown in very few countries of the world, the United States leading them all in this respect. While it is largely used as a vegetable in the green form, its greatest use perhaps is for canning purposes. Sweet corn is adapted to a much wider range of climatic conditions than ordinary field corn, because the crop can often be sufficiently matured for table use in many regions where neither field nor sweet corn would mature for seed purposes. The soil requirements for sweet corn are practically the same as those for field corn and are not particularly exacting. A clay loam is perhaps the most desirable type, but the earlier varieties should always be planted on sandy soils. Late-maturing varieties should be planted on more retentive types. Sweet corn generally does better when planted on sod lands, but excellent crops are frequently grown on soils previously cultivated. Fall plowing of sod lands is usually desirable, especially where earlier planting is to be done. The small, early maturing varieties may be planted much closer together than mid-season or late sorts. Drill planting generally gives better results than hill planting. Thirty inches will usually be a sufficient distance for the earlier varieties, while 36 to 4o inches should be given the larger sorts. One plant to every I0 inches with the smaller varieties, and every I2 or 15 inches with the large varieties, will perhaps be the more satisfactory distances in the row. For home gardens and under some conditions, LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 149 even for commercial purposes, corn may be started in paper pots in greenhouses or hotbeds and trans- planted to field conditions. If the plants have been reasonably well hardened off before removal to the field much earlier crops can be secured in this way either for home or market purposes. The necessary cultivation for corn is generally pretty well under- stood. Frequent shallow stirrings should be the rule throughout the growing season, continuing up until the time of harvesting. Some varieties have a tend- ency to throw out large numbers of suckers, and these should be removed while still small, together with any surplus stalks. Both the quantity and quality of sweet corn will be greatly increased with more liberal fertilizing than is common with field corn. From 10 to 15 tons of manure, supplemented by 500 to 800 pounds of high-grade fertilizer, usually proves a profitable investment. The application of small quantities of nitrate of soda after the plants have become well established frequently results in a gain of several days in earli- ness. It is important that the crop be harvested at exactly the right time in order to secure the maxi- mum quality and highest prices in a commercial way. A point little appreciated is that sweet corn? loses from 40 per cent to 60 per cent of its sugar: content in from six to twelve hours after it is pulled from the stalk. This accounts for the very low quality of corn usually found in hotels and restaur- ants, and as a matter of fact in all corn bought upon the markets in the usual way, except where delivery is direct from the garden. The grains should be well filled, but yet in the milk or dough stage when 150 harvested. If pulled too early the sugar content has not reached its maximum and if pulled much later, while the sugar content is higher, the kernels have become tough and unsatisfactory. Sweet corn is usually packed in ventilated barrels or hampers for shipping to distant markets. The low quality inevitably resulting when handled in this manner, makes it impossible to ship any distance with satisfaction, after local supplies become avail- able. Drying corn is a practice yet commonly followed in connection with many home gardens. This method of curing develops a dark color in the corn which is more or less undesirable, but the sugar content is much higher than that to be found in the canned product. A better understanding of home-canning methods has increased the amount of corn canned at home and to this extent has lessened the amount of dried produce to be found. Home canning gives every opportunity for the production of unusually high quality in the case of corn. As commonly handled through the commercial can- neries the corn has lost much of its sweetness be- fore it reaches the cans. Under home conditions the corn can be placed in the cans within a few hours after gathering, thus retaining all of its original sweetness. The gross returns from an acre of sweet corn will be from $75 to $125. While this return is not par- ticularly large, the cost of cultivation and marketing is correspondingly low, leaving a fair profit where plenty of land is available. Insects and diseases are not particularly destruc- tive to the sweet corn. The principal disease is the. corn smut, which often breaks out on the ears, ren- LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 151 dering them unsalable and causing considerable loss. Rotation of crops and general sanitary meas- ures, consisting of cutting out affected parts and burning them before the spores are shed, comprise the only satisfactory treatment. The ear worm is the only insect of importance. This is a large larva usually entering the ear from the tip and eating its way about under the husk. While only a comparatively small portion of the ear is injured, the unsightly nature of the insect and its injury destroys all desire for the ears so attacked. This insect is more common toward the southern limit of sweet corn culture, but is to be dealt with from the Great Lakes southward and westward to the Pacific Coast. No effective remedies are known. The most important varieties are Adams Early, in reality not a sweet corn, but an extremely hardy sort frequently planted for the first crop. White Cob Cory and Golden Bantam are widely planted early varieties of high quality. Cosmopolitan, Ken- dal’s Giant, Country Gentleman and Stowell’s Ever- green are varieties generally grown as a mid-season or late crop. Columbus Market is a variety grown extensively in the vicinity of Columbus, O., de- serving of wider distribution. It is a mid-season sort with unusually large ears and broad, deep grains of high sugar content. CRESS Cress belongs to the mustard family and is used largely for salads, garnishes and as greens. There are three common forms sometimes found in cul- tivation, but the watercress is of much the greater commercial importance. The demand for this plant is constantly increasing, and it finds its chief use 152 during the winter months. Watercress is at home in springs and running brooks where the water is pure and clean. It will not thrive in muddy streams. In many locations small dams are built at frequent intervals in bends of the streams in order to slow the current and make conditions more favorable for development of this plant. Shallow canals are sometimes constructed in such a manner as to per- mit the water being turned into them and main- tained at the desired levels. When canals are used for this plant it is a common practice to excavate and then fill in over the bottom to the depth of two or three inches with well-rotted compost. The seed is sown and the soil wet down only enough to secure germination. After the young plants are well started the water is turned in to a depth of two or three inches and gradually increased in depth as the plants grow larger. Watercress is sometimes grown as a greenhouse crop directly in the soil. Any good greenhouse soil will answer the purpose provided it is kept some- what wetter than is usual for most other plants. The crop may be easily established along banks of streams by sowing the seed or by sticking cuttings of the stems in the moist soil. Cress is harvested by wading into the water and cutting off the young tender tips of the stems and tying into bundles of convenient size. Under favorable conditions very profitable crops of this plant may be secured, as the cost of production is ex- tremely low. The garden or pepper cress is an annual plant not in general cultivation in this coun- try, but deserving of more consideration. It is especially valuable as an early and late salad plant, | and grows well upon moist soils. LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 153. CUCUMBERS The cucumber is among the oldest of cultivated plants, there being good evidence that it was of some importance several thousand years before Christ and one of the vegetables grown in the water- heated pits of the early Romans. As an outdoor crop, it is of more importance in the South than in the North. The cucumber ranks third in importance of all vegetables grown under glass. The plant requires hot and moist climatic conditions for its best development and thrives most luxuriantly upon sandy types of soils well supplied with or- ganic matter and available plant food. It is ex- tremely tender to frosts and for this reason is of more importance in the South, where it can be handled and started under field conditions with less difficulty than in the North. In cooler climates the cucumber must be grown as a midsummer crop, or if early fruits are to be secured the seed must be planted in greenhouses or hotbeds usually from the first to the tenth of March and be ready for trans- planting to the field from the middle of May to the first of June. The cucumber as a garden crop is cultivated for three distinct purposes, its general cultivation and care being greatly modified in each case. First as. a field or outdoor crop for slicing purposes, second, as a forcing crop under glass for slicing purposes, and, third, as a field crop for pickles. Its cultivation in a commercial way under the first head is con- fined almost entirely to the more southern states. Where climatic conditions permit its growth with only slight protection, such as is afforded by cold frames and muslin-covered frames, it is cultivated almost the entire season through. 154 The preparation of the soil should be especially thorough. Deep plowing should be the rule, and the soil well compacted and fined to its full depth. Heavy applications of stable manures should be made, and it is a common practice in some localities to place a shovelful of well-rotted material in the bottom of each hill. Heavy applications of high- grade commercial fertilizers are used to supplement the stable manures. Some care need be taken to prevent a too rank growth of vine, which is some- times secured by over-applications of nitrate, but this condition is unusual, just the opposite being much more likely to occur. Under field conditions planting is usually done in hills from four to six feet apart in each direction. The rows should be checked in both directions in order to facilitate early cultivation. Planting should be delayed until the soil is thoroughly prepared and warmed. From 12 to 20 seeds should be planted in each hill in order to secure a good stand. After danger of insects have passed the plants in each hill should be thinned down to four or five. Almost constant cultivation with the horse implements should be kept up until the vines seriously interfere. Frequent hoeing about the base of the plants gives excellent results. Few crops respond to the use of the hand hoe better than the cucumber. Harvesting is begun when the fruits are from five to Io inches in length. They should be graded and sorted according to size, the larger and perfect specimens going into the first grade, while those of ir- regular size and shape may make up the second grade. Cucumbers are marketed in trays, boxes, hampers and sometimes in well-ventilated barrels. The cucumber is frequently grown as a companion LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 155 crop with a number of other garden vegetables. It is very common to plant the cucumber with lettuce and radishes. The planting is usually done about ‘the time these crops are being harvested. They are sometimes started with early beets, carrots and various other plants. An excellent practice in the North is to follow the early peas with cucumbers for pickle purposes. The growing of cucumbers under glass has come to be a very large and important industry in many sections of the country. Under the influence of field and forcing conditions, special types have been developed, commonly known as the English and American types. The English type has been developed almost en- tirely under greenhouse conditions where the climate was such as to prevent their growth out of doors successfully. This type has never become popular in the United States and is rarely grown. The larger part of the cucumber crop in this country is grown out of doors, hence the development of what has been known as the field type. This type, however, gives splendid satisfaction under forcing conditions, and in this country is preferred to the English type. Soil conditions under glass are practically the same as that in the field. The chief difference, after all, is that moisture and temperature conditions are under almost perfect control, making it possible to grow these plants out of season and have them ready for market before it would be possible to even start them out of doors. The cucumber is usually grown as a succession crop after lettuce in the greenhouse. The latter crop requires low temperatures while the cucumber requires higher temperatures. After the warm days of late spring 156 and early summer come on, temperatures become too high for lettuce, but ideal for the cucumber. A change of crops should be made about this season of the year, Growing cucumbers for pickles in many sections of the country is an extensive and important industry. ‘On account of the fact that a definite market is known to be available beforehand it is not necessary that the crop be started unusually early. Planting may be delayed until out-of-door conditions are ideal for growth. It is important that the soil be highly fertilized and cultivated in order that a rank vigorous growth may be secured and a crop of high quality be produced. The cucumbers are picked for this purpose when from one-half to five inches in length, graded into various sizes and prepared for market in various ways. The grower usually sells his pickles by the pound or count, hence much higher prices must be secured for the smaller ones if they are to prove profitable. In case of cucumbers for pickling and table use it is highly © important that all fruits be gathered before they become old enough to mature their seed. When this process starts a heavy drain is made upon the plant and new fruits usually cease to set. Several serious pests attack the cucumber, often causing heavy losses. The striped cucumber beetle is the most serious insect, and is commonly found in every locality where this plant is grown. The insect lives over winter in the soil, and attacks the young, tender plants just as they come up through the ground. It sucks the juices from the plant, causing them to shrivel and die in a comparatively short time. After the second or third whorl of leaves make their appearance the plant seems to be too tough to be seriously damaged by this tEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 157 insect. The insect is usually two-brooded. The very small, slender white larvee are frequently found attacking the base of the stems during the summer. The adults again appear in the late autumn. A great variety of remedies has been tried and recom- mended for this insect, but none of them seems en- tirely satisfactory. Perhaps the most dependable methods of treatment at the present time are dust- ing with air-slaked lime and frequent spraying with HILLING CELERY bordeaux mixture and arsenate of lead. These remedies are, in a great measure, repellent rather than destructive. The writer has tried every remedy he has ever seen suggested, but has come to depend entirely upon spraying with bordeaux and arsenate to hold this pest in check. An effective plan adapted to small areas is to make several plantings of seeds at intervals of three or four days. By dusting or spraying, the bugs can be kept off the first planting until the second one appears. The insects will of their own accord leave 158 the older plants for the younger and more tender ones. Another hill should be appearing by the time these are destroyed and possibly still another. By this time the plants in the first hill will have grown too large to be troubled by the insect. The cucumber is troubled by three very destruc- tive diseases—the mildew, blight and in some sec- tions the wilt. Frequent spraying with bordeaux mixture, beginning as soon as the young plants are well through the soil and continued at intervals of ten days to two weeks up until almost harvesting time will usually be found effective in controlling all of these troubles. The power sprayer should be employed upon the larger fields and especial pains should be taken to hit the under as well as the upper sides of the leaves. Considerable added benefit has been frequently observed by not only spraying the whole plant thoroughly, but holding the nozzle close to the hill until perhaps a quart of the spray ma- terial has been directed around the stems well down into the soils. This kills the larve of the cucumber beetle frequently found feeding upon the base of the stem and serves the purpose of thorough disin- fection, doubtless preventing the entrance of dis- eased germs at this point. Many varieties of cucumbers are under cultiva- tion, differing greatly in the size, shape and appear- ance of the fruit and their adaptability to certain particular uses. The most popular variety is the White Spine. This variety and its various strains are grown both in the field and under glass in this country more extensively than all other forms com- bined. Varieties especially valuable for pickling are Chicago, Boston and Fordhook Pickling. The several varieties of gherkin cucumbers are also ex- tensively grown for pickling purposes. LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 159 DANDELION The common dandelion is found so plentiful every- where and is so universally used for greens that it hardly seems necessary to consider the cultivation of this particular plant. Nevertheless, the leaves of the wild plants are much inferior to those of cul- tivated forms which are becoming more and more popular every year. The dandelion is used primarily for greens and also for salads and garnishes. Deep, tich soils are necessary for rapid growth and the production of large succulent leaves. Seeds are usually sown out of doors where the plants are to mature and after well started thinned to from six to ten inches. The rows are usually from 12 to 15 inches wide, the hand and wheel hoes being entirely depended upon for cultivation. It is a common practice to sow seed in the fall of the year. Dandelions are very readily grown in cold frames with only slight protection during the win- ter and will produce very profitable supplies of greens earlier than most other crops grown for this purpose. The leaves are oftentimes blanched by tying them together with string or raffia, by mulching with straw in the fall of the year, or by covering with boards or earth. The first cutting is usually the best. The plant does best under cool condi- tions, and after hot weather comes more of the bitter principle develops in the leaves, making the crop less valuable for greens, salads, etc. Frequent applications of nitrate of soda after the plants have become well established, pro- motes an extremely rapid, succulent growth of high quality. A number of distinct forms have been developed, differing widely in season of 160 maturity and the type and size of leaf. These forms, however, have not become sufficiently well fixed to make consideration of varieties par- ticularly important. No serious disease or insect pests ‘attack the dan- delion. EGGPLANT The eggplant is generally thought to be a native of India. In its wild state it is confined almost entirely to tropical and semi-tropical regions. With the greenhouse available for starting the plants, it is possible to successfully cultivate the eggplant during the warmer parts of the season much farther north than could otherwise be done. The commer- cial growing of the eggplant, however, is confined almost entirely to the southern states, but it is grown for home use and in a small way commercially in many northern gardens. The fruit of the eggplant is usually used in a green state, being sliced and fried in various ways. Its use begins when the fruit is from one-half to two-thirds grown and continues until the seed begins to harden. At this time the flesh becomes tough and loses its flavor. In the South where longer seasons are available, moist, loamy soils, abundantly supplied with plant food, seem to give the best results. In the North sandy soils of southern exposure are selected whenever possible and supplied with an abundance of stable and commercial manures in order to hasten the growth to maturity before frost comes. Deep and thorough preparation of the soil should be the rule. The early plants started in the green- LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 161 house or hotbeds should be so handled as to receive no check in their growth before transplanting to the field. The eggplant requires much higher tempera- ture than its close relative, the tomato, and cannot be safely transferred to field conditions in the North before June first. The distances for planting will vary somewhat with the varieties, but rows three feet wide with the plants two feet apart in the row, or rows four feet with the plants three feet apart in the row are common distances. Cultivation should be continuous throughout the season in order to make available the large amounts of moisture necessary for good growth. Horse cul- tivation must be discontinued as soon as the fruits become large enough to be injured by these tools. Hand cultivation should be kept up considerably longer. The eggplant is very easily handled and usually reaches the market with little loss. Care should be taken, however, to avoid bruising. Wrapping the fruit gives some added protection and can be made the means of profitable advertising. The yields are always heavier in warmer sections and in hot summers. At best the results are un- certain under northern conditions, and the plant is grown only in limited areas. Two common insect enemies attack the eggplant. The flea beetle often becomes very troublesome and the Colorado potato beetle likewise is serious. The latter insect seems to relish the foliage of the eggplant somewhat better than that of the potato. Bordeaux mixture for the flea beetle and arsenate of lead for the potato beetle will readily hold these pests in check. The principal varieties of the eggplants commonly 162 grown are the Black Beauty, Long Purple and Black Pekin. ENDIVE This plant is widely grown for European mar- kets, but is just beginning to be appreciated in this country. It is not generally found in the home gar- dens, but deserves a place there because it supplies a long-felt want in the way of a salad plant for the fall and early winter season. It fills the same place in the fall of the year as lettuce does in the spring and is often called fall lettuce. It is admirably adapted to use as garnishes, greens and salads. It is also frequently used, like parsley, in flavoring vegetables and meats. Its soil require- ments are similar to those of the lettuce plant, grow- ing best on sandy loams well supplied with organic matter and an abundance of available nitrogen. The value of the plant is greatly increased by blanching, which usually requires from 15 to 20 days. This is done in a variety of ways. ‘The leaves may be gath- ered together and tied with raffia or string. The tied plants may be covered with flower pots or tile. Boards are frequently used and in many cases the plants are mulched with straw or leaves where it is desired to hold the plants until after severe weather comes on. It is quite hardy and will stand a considerable amount of freezing. The plants are frequently dug with some soil ad- hering to the roots and closely packed in cellars or pits as already described for the celery. It is highly important that the heart of the plant be kept dry during the blanching process and that it be used as soon as sufficiently blanched, otherwise the leaves are very likely to decay. LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 163 HORSE RADISH Horse radish has long been looked upon as an essential vegetable in every home garden. ‘It is used chiefly as a condiment, but is also widely used in the home in flavoring various pickles and preserves. While its culture was formerly confined almost entirely to the home garden, it has become an important com- mercial product in a number of localities. While it will grow under almost any soil conditions, a well- defined type of root is necessary to meet market requirements, and this can be grown only on certain types of soil, some- what limited in area. A deep, al- luvial soil is always to be preferred. HAND GARDEN RAKES Muck soils grow tops at the expense of roots, while the heavy clay soils produce sprangly roots of little value commercially. The soil should be plowed from 10 to 12 inches deep and thoroughly fined all the way down in preparation for this crop. The plant produces no seed and is propagated in a commercial way from root cuttings. These cuttings consist of the side or lateral roots trimmed from the main root in pre- paring it for market. They generally range in length from four to six inches, the longest pieces produc- ing the largest roots and consequently most valu- able for cuttings. The top or large end of the pieces is cut square, after which they are tied in bundles of uniform size, packed in sand and stored in cool, moist cellars until wanted for planting. The pieces are some- times buried in a well-drained soil out of doors. 164 The cuttings are usually planted perpendicularly in the soil with the top from three to five inches below the surface. Some growers, however, prefer to place the cuttings in an oblique or horizontal position. Furrows should first be made to receive: the cuttings, which should be placed from 12 to 18 inches apart, with the rows from 30 to 36 inches wide. Horse radish is frequently grown as a companion crop, especially with early potatoes. When grown in this way the cuttings are planted with a spade between the rows after the last cultivation. After the potatoes have been dug thorough cultivation should be given throughout the season. The most rapid and satisfactory growth will be secured during the cool weather of early fall. The plant is perfectly hardy and the roots may be left in the ground all winter without injury. Many grow- ers dig and store only a portion of their crop in the fall of the year, and the remainder in the early spring. The roots dug in the fall are usually buried in the ground or stored in pits or cellars until sold. From two to five tons of roots per acre are con- sidered a good yield. The price fluctuates greatly, but in many seasons the above yield would prove extremely profitable. No serious enemies attack the plant. The lead- ing varieties are New Bohemian and Nuremberg. KALE Kale is a vegetable grown extensively in the southern truck garden sections and used entirely in the form of greens during the winter and early spring months. This plant is a non-heading variety LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 165 of the cabbage group. Cultivation of kale commer- cially is confined almost entirely to those regions where soil conditions are found ideal and close to bodies of water. These conditions are better met in the Norfolk and Long Island regions than in most others, and from these sections come practically all of the kale of commerce. The soil and cultural requirements are similar to those required by the cabbage. Heavy fertilizing, both with stable manures and commercial fertilizer, will necessarily give the best results. Frequent applications of nitrate of soda during the growing season prove very benefcial. Planting should be done in drills sufficiently wide to permit of horse cultivation, and the plants should be thinned from eight to 12 inches apart, depending upon varieties grown. Seeding should be done suf- ficiently early in the season to permit the plants to become well grown before winter comes on. Freez- ing improves the quality. It may be cut for market at various intervals or the entire field harvested at one time. It is usually packed for shipment in ven- tilated barrels or hampers. Kale is a profitable crop in those districts adapted to it, but the demand is somewhat limited and the markets are easily overstocked. This plant de- serves a wider trial in the ordinary home gardens, but little can be expected of it during extremely dry and hot seasons, except with irrigation. The common cabbage insects and diseases are fre- quently found attacking the kale, but usually are not so troublesome as upon the cabbage. The Scotch kales are more popular in the kale- growing districts of this country, Dwarf Green being the favorite variety. Other varieties some- 166 what extensively grown are the Dwarf German, Long Standing, Fall Green and Siberian. KOHL-RABI Kohl-rabi is another plant of the cabbage family, not generally grown and little appreciated in American gardens. This plant is often termed the turnip-rooted cabbage, the edible portion being the enlarged stem above the grounds, somewhat re- sembling a turnip in its general shape and char- acter. In quality the kohl-rabi, when used in the proper condition, rivals cauliflower in its delicacy and deserves a much wider popularity than it now enjoys. It is one of the hardier members of the cabbage family and will stand a large amount of freezing without serious injury. It is, therefore, well adapted to both early and late planting. The cultural conditions required by this crop are the same as for cabbage. The plants are usually spaced from eight to 12 inches apart in rows suf- ficiently wide to allow of horse cultivation. The rows may be closer and hand cultivation entirely used if so desired. Quality depends largely upon quick and rapid growth, and the plants should be KOHL-RABI LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 167 harvested when the edible portion is from two to three inches in diameter. The larger, slower-grown specimens are very inferior in flavor and texture. In marketing, the plants are tied in bunches like early beets or sold in bulk, as desired. It is a profit- able crop in the larger markets containing a con- siderable foreign population. It may be success- fully stored in the same manner as already described for root crops. LETTUCE Lettuce is by far the most popular and widely cultivated of the salad plants. It is found growing everywhere in both commercial and home gardens as well as in the hotbeds and greenhouses. It can no longer be said to be a plant of any particular season, because even in the North it is grown as a field crop in the late spring and early fall and as a forcing crop under glass throughout the entire win- ter. Lettuce may be found for sale in almost every market of the country every month in the year. The crop requires cool weather for its best develop- ment, and this fact, together with its short season of growth, is largely responsible for its wide cultiva- tion. It is by far the most extensively cultivated of all crops under glass. ‘ There are three distinct types found in cultivation, viz., the head, loose leaf and the cos. The head lettuce is somewhat cabbage-like in its growth, the plant becoming close and compact and the central portions becoming well blanched, extremely brittle and high in flavor. The head lettuce is almost en- tirely grown for eastern markets and is in much greater demand every year. The loose leaf types 168 are much more commonly grown in the west and north, They are much less subject to diseases and insects and consequently much more easily and surely grown. The cos lettuce is a type having long leaves with comparatively thick and heavy midribs and with a tendency to head loosely in such a way as to cause the inner portions to become well blanched. This variety is not in general cultivation in this country as yet, but its popularity is rapidly increasing, and larger and larger acreages are to be found every season. Lettuce requires a rich, sandy loam for its best development. For the very early crops the sandier types of soils are usually preferred on account of their quickness. When grown in the fall the heavier types of soils, more retentive of moisture, are generally selected. An abundance of de- caying organic matter is always essential and heavy applications of commercial fertilizer are always made by the most successful growers. Liberal use of nitrate of soda after the plants once become well established either indoor or out will give splendid results. The seed may be sown out of doors under field conditions, or under glass, and the young plants transplanted to the field. For the early crops it is the common practice to sow seed under glass from 8 to 10 weeks before the time it is to be trans- planted to the field. The seeding may be done in flats or directly in the beds. When the plants are two to three inches high they are “pricked” off into other locations from two to three inches apart in each direc- tion. This intermediate transplanting produces strong, stocky plants that better withstand the removal to out- LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 169 of-door conditions. Plants are usually set from 6 to Io inches apart in the rows and the rows from 12 to 15 inches apart, depending upon type and variety grown. Hand cultivation with the wheel hoes is depended upon almost entirely. It is a good plan to heavily manure with well- rotted compost in the fall of the year and plow under, leaving the soil roughly ridged over winter. This will permit of quick drying out in the earlier spring, when the soil may be readily prepared for planting much earlier than otherwise would be the case. Lettuce may be transplanted to the open, when the plants have been properly handled, as soon as it is possible to prepare the soil. The plants will stand from 20 to 25 degrees below freezing without serious injury. A location comparatively free from weeds should be selected when possible in order to lessen the expense of cultivation and hand weeding. Abundance of moisture should be supplied, for the value of the crop depends directly upon rapid growth. No crop will give better results with irri- gation than lettuce. Crops should be ready for har- vesting from five to seven weeks after started in the open. It is cut and packed in baskets, hampers and ventilated barrels. The type grown and the market supplied will largely determine the type of package to be used. The lettuce is troubled with two or three serious enemies, the most common and persistent of which is the green aphis. This pest is much more destruc- tive under greenhouse conditions than in the field. It is a sucking insect and can be destroyed most readily by the use of tobacco in some of its various forms. The common treatment in the greenhouse is to burn quantities of tobacco stems or vaporize 170 some of the commercial tobacco extracts through- out the house. A light treatment two or three days in succession at intervals of ten days is usually considered the best method of control. This will be much more effective in destroying the insects present than one strong treatment and be much less likely to injure the plants. The mildew is the most common disease. It may be recognized by the plants affected showing areas of slightly yellowish color, which later become darker and finally die. In the last stages of the disease the tissues of the leaves become covered with a moldlike substance which is the reproductive portion of the mildew. All plants showing signs of the trouble should be removed and destroyed. Watering should be done in such a way as to pre- vent wetting the leaves, and be confined entirely to mornings of bright days. This trouble is much less common under field conditions than it is in the greenhouse. The lettuce rot or drop is specially destructive to frame and greenhouse crops and in many cases attacks the head lettuce out of doors. It develops most rapidly under moist, warm condi- tions, and a few days of rainy, warm weather at the time when the head lettuce is beginning to head may destroy the entire crop in a very short time. The first indication of the trouble is a slight wilting of the plant during the daytime, from which it seems to recover at night. Decay quickly sets in, how- ever, accompanied by offensive odors. Little can be done for this trouble under field conditions ex- cept to cut and destroy the diseased plants as rapidly as they appear. All stable manures should be thor- oughly well rotted before applying to the soil in LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS I7I regions where this trouble is common. Rotation of crops should likewise be practiced. Dusting the plants as well as the soil with flowers of sulphur from time to time will often be found helpful in keeping this trouble in check. Lettuce is usually a profitable crop when well grown under any conditions. When grown as the main crop by itself not less than 30,000 heads should be secured from an acre. Gross returns of $1,000 per acre or more are not uncommon. This crop is usually grown as a companion or succession crop in connection with other vegetables in the northern gardens. It meets these requirements unusually well and for this reason is extremely satisfactory and every year finds its place as a part of the general garden plan. Varieties are numerous, but of the head type Hanson and Big Boston are the most widely planted. Of the loose leaf types the Grand Rapids and Black Seed Simpson are the most popular. Of the cos type the Express, Paris White and Bath are most commonly grown. MUSKMELON The muskmelon is more widely grown in this country than any other. Thousands of acres of this crop are grown in the United States annually, yet its total commercial importance is not so great as that of the cucumber or the watermelon. The extent to which it has become esteemed as a dessert fruit during the last ten or fifteen years has greatly increased its importance and certain restricted areas have come to be known as producing melons of ex- ceptionally high quality. Certain sections of California and the Rocky Ford district in Colorado are known the country over as 172 producing cantaloupes of exceptionally high quality, while southern Indiana and various sections of New Jersey, Maryland and Georgia are likewise famous for the production of this crop. The soil requirements for the muskmelon are of less importance than climatic conditions. This plant is extremely tender to frost and is often seriously in- jured by cool weather. A comparatively long, hot season is required for its best development. The most desirable soils are the looser types of clay loams, heavily enriched with compost. The sandier types of soils are frequently preferred on account of their earliness, and the greater part of the large acre- ages will be found upon sandy soils primarily for this reason. The heavier clays, especially when improved by heavy applications of stable manures, also give splendid results. The soil should be plowed as early as possible and frequently har- rowed until planting time, in order to conserve the moisture and destroy the weeds. The securing of good seed is of thé greatest impor- tance in connection with this crop. The common prac- tice of utilizing the culls as a source of seed after the marketable crop has been gathered accounts for an enormous amount of the inferior seed placed upon the market. The resulting vigor of the plant, its pro- ductiveness and quality, together with disease- resisting characters, depend directly upon the intelli- gence exercised in seed selection. Many growers select and save their own seed. This plan proves satisfactory if done with intelligence and if especial care is taken to consider the plant as a whole in making selections. Only the best fruits should be saved for seed and from plants especially selected for the purpose. LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 173 Planting should not be done until weather and soil conditions are favorable. The seed is planted either in hills or drills. Formerly the hill method was universally followed, but during the last few years the drill method seems to be gaining in popularity. When planted in hills these should be made from five to six feet apart in each direction. When planted in drills the rows should be from five to six feet apart and the plants from 12 to 18 inches apart in the rows. Abundance of seed should be used by either method in order to secure a good stand. Surplus plants should be removed by sub- sequent thinning after dangers from frost and striped beetles are past. Double planting is followed by many growers. in order to make a good stand still more certain. The second planting is made a few days after the first, and sometimes even a third a few days after the second. If frosts or insects should destroy the earlier plantings, the later ones will take their place without serious loss of time. While the bulk of the field crop is grown by direct seeding, many growers start their plants under glass, transplant- ing to the field as soon as weather conditions will permit. This gives earlier crops and in many loca- tions proves a very profitable practice. The seeds. are planted in greenhouse or hotbeds, in small flower pots, berry boxes, paper pots or inverted sods about four weeks before they could be planted out of doors. A well-prepared compost should be used for filling the boxes and pots for this purpose. If sod is to be used, it should be cut from a sandy or loamy soil. Special care should be given to watering and ven- tilation in order that rapid growth may be secured without check and the plants should be thoroughly 174 well hardened before removing to field conditions. When this plan is carefully carried out in every detail, splendid results are secured, but all too often carelessness in handling and hardening results in some check from which the plants never recover, under which conditions direct field planting will prove much more satisfactory. The muskmelon requires large amounts of organic matter in the soil, and for this reason stable manures universally prove the more satisfactory forms of fertilizer. New soils generally give the best re- sults with this crop, but, of course, are rarely avail- able and must be considered as only an incident in their cultivation. A common practice is to remove the soil to a depth of six or eight inches at a point where the hill is to be located, and place a good shovelful of well rotted compost in the bottom of the hill. The manure should be compacted thoroughly and cov- ered with three or four inches of soil in which the seed is planted. Liberal applications of high-grade commercial fertilizer analyzing approximately 4-8-10 should be applied at the rate of from 500 to 1,000 pounds per acre in addition. Many growers follow the plan of distributing this entire amount over the land before the melons are planted. Others distribute a part of it before planting and the re- mainder around the hills after the plants have be- come well established. Earlier growth is especially important in successful cantaloupe culture. This is often greatly increased by applications of nitrate of soda around the plants after the roots have be- come sufficiently developed to take it up readily. Cultivation should begin as soon as the plants are through the soil and in many cases even before. LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 175, Should rains occur soon after the seeds have been planted the crust should be broken by the use of a rake or small hand tool of some kind. This is im- portant in securing the proper germination of seed, but must be done with care after germination has well started, on account of the danger of injuring the developing stem. Horse cultivation must be frequent and shallow throughout the entire season until impossible to get over the land on account of the running vines. Many growers go to the trouble of laying the vines aside in one direction in order to secure an extra cultivation or two. Fre- quent hoeings should be given as long as the vines will permit. When available markets are close at hand, melons should not be harvested until approximately ripe. This will be indicated in most varieties by a cracking or loosening of the stem from the fruit, and the characteristic grayish or yellowish colors. should be well pronounced. Where shipments must be made to distant markets, picking must be done earlier, but it is always at the expense of quality. This is the point on which the local grower is able to successfully compete with the growers of special sections where conditions are generally considered to be much more favorable. Melons are handled in various ways, depending upon requirements of market and distance from the same, When the market is within hauling distance, they may be easier and more readily marketed in bulk from the gardener’s wagons. For more dis- tant markets hampers and bushel baskets are very satisfactory. The bulk of the crop from the special melon-growing sections is packed in crates usually holding forty-five melons of standard grade. Some 176 sections use the climax baskets for the smaller types of melons. The shallow crate holding only one layer (usually 10 to 15 melons) is also used in many places. Yields vary greatly, but from 100 to 300 crates or from $200 to $500 gross income per acre will generally be considered good returns. The melon admirably lends itself to forcing conditions, but while this crop has been grown to a considerable extent in the greenhouses and conservatories of country estates it has not become generally grown under glass for commercial purposes. When peo- ple come to better understanding and appreciate the quality of the fruit grown under forcing con- ditions, the larger markets will afford a splendid demand for this crop. It can be made to take the place of cucumbers under glass after lettuce, in avery satisfactory manner, and if demand could be stimulated sufficiently to justify its growth it would become valuable to the greenhouse manager in helping him to solve one of his most serious prob- lems, namely, diversity of crops. Insects and diseases are frequently serious and in many locations have practically eliminated the profitable culture of the melon. The striped cu- cumber beetle seems to be especially destructive upon the cantaloupe. It may be controlled by the methods described in connection with the cucumber. The mildew and wilt are generally more serious on the melon than the cucumber, frequently causing very heavy losses. The wilt is particularly destructive and remains in the soil from year to year. Rotation of crop is the only effective method of control. This disease not only causes the de- struction of the plants any time after they appear LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 177 above ground until harvesting time, but they frequently succumb after the melons have become well formed, which causes them to ripen prematurely and without flavor and quality. The great prev- alence of this disease, resulting in melons of low quality, has been responsible for a very great de- cline in consumption. Blight likewise is a serious pest. These diseases may be well controlled by frequent sprayings with bordeaux mixture at intervals of 10 days or two weeks from the time the plants are well above ground until it is no longer possible to get through the vines. MUSTARD Mustard is a member of the cabbage family, cul- tivated to some extent in home gardens, but not found to any great extent in the commercial gardens of the country. Its chief use is in the form of greens, and its popularity for this purpose seems to be on the increase. Many people like the “bitey” taste of this plant, and on account of the extreme ease with which it can be grown it should become increasingly popular with the gardener. It is also used to a considerable extent as a salad plant, and in some localities is grown and matured for its seed, which is largely used in making the ground mustard and oil of mustard of commerce. The seed may be sown any time from early spring until late fall. It is a common practice to sow early in the spring for the summer crop, about July or August for the fall crop, and September 1 to October 1 for the early spring crop. Several varieties are now offered on the market. The White London, Southern Giant and Chinese are the principal ones grown. 178 ONION The onion is one of the oldest plants in cultiva- tion, and because of its great adaptation to a wide range of cultural methods and the endless uses to which it may be put, its growth is almost universal and in some localities it is grown in very large areas. The plant belongs to the lily family and contains a number of important subdivisions, each of con- siderable importance commercially, and meeting variable uses. The first class comprises all of those varieties commonly produced directly from seed. This class includes practically all the main crop as grown in the North. A second class reproduces itself from compound bulbs which contain a great number of growing points, each of which de- velops into a like bulb. This is commonly known as the multiplier group. The potato onion belong- ing to this group is largely planted in the fall of the year on account of its extreme hardiness. It re- quires only that it be mulched to pass the winter in perfect safety, even under northern conditions. From this division is secured a large part of the early bunch onions grown in the North. A third class is known as the Egyptian or tree onion. This onion produces a stock corresponding to the blossom stock in common forms, but develops small bulbs on the top instead of flowers and seeds. This group is extremely hardy, withstanding northern winters successfully without protection of any kind. They are usually planted in the fall of the year. They make some growth before cold weather comes and start growing very early in the spring. They fur- nish a large share of the extra early or green onions of the market. Onion sets may be considered as a subdivision of LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 179 the first group, because produced directly from seed. They are simply normal onions that have been ar- rested in their growth and development by methods of planting and cultivation. When replaced in the soil this arrested growth continues and. matures large bulbs. The onion set is also used largely for the production of early bunch onions. Ideal soils for the onion seem to be muck or alluvial lands, found in restricted areas in a great many places over the country. While the onion may be grown in almost any type of soil, except the heaviest clays, the cost of cul- tivation is materially lessened and yields usually increased by plant- ing. in the so-called muck soils, universally considered as typical for this particular crop. Loamy soils, however, frequently produce firmer and heavier bulbs of better quality than those produced in muck soils. The cost of produc- tion, however, in connection with other factors usually throws the value in favor of muck soils. Thorough preparation should al- ways precede the planting of onions. If the muck or swamp , goon BUNCH an soil has grown no former crops it SPRING ONIONS is always the better plan to clear and drain, then plow in the fall and grow one or two crops of corn, potatoes or something of the kind in order that the wildness may be largely worked out and decomposition well started before risking onions. If large quantities of unde- cayed organic material are present the soil will 180 usually be acid. This condition can be corrected by liberal applications of lime. Stable manures are absolutely essential in the production of satis- factory crops from any type of soil except the muck, and even in these soils stable manures are frequently considered the most desirable form of fertilizer. Liberal applications of from 500 to 1,000 pounds per acre of commercial fertilizer analyzing approximately 4-8-10 are frequently made with profitable results. The onion is a gross feeder, the total numfber of plants per acre is enormous, and as a consequence, satisfactory results cannot be ex- pected except there be a large amount of plant food available and an abundance of moisture present to carry it to the plants. Fall plowing should be practiced whenever possible, especially when manures are applied. In the spring the soils should be fined and pulverized by the frequent use of the disk, spring-tooth, smoothing and Meeker harrows, the surface finally being left perfectly smooth by the use of the drag. The seed of the onion retains its vitality for a very short period of time and should never be depended upon for commercial planting after the first season. Every precaution should be taken to secure the best seed possible. A few seedsmen have established a reputation in connection with the onion seed they supply. Every effort should be made to get in touch with such dealers. Poor stands and conse- quently heavy losses are of all too common occur- rence as a result of poor and cheap seed. Seeding is usually done with any of the excellent hand drills now upon the market. The rows are drilled from 12 to 18 inches apart. From three- quarters of an inch to one inch is the proper depth for LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 181 planting. After the plants are well established they are thinned by hand, leaving the plants from one to: two inches apart in the drills. Thinning is extremely tedious and an expensive process, and most of the successful growers eliminate this matter by thor- ough testing of the seed before planting and adjust- ing the amount of the seed sown in order that no thinning may be necessary. From four to six pounds of seed are usually required to plant an acre at the ordinary distances. Cultivation is done almost entirely by means of the wheel hoes. The ideal attachments in muck soils are the scrapers or knives which cut just beneath the surface of the soil. In the heavier soils some of the tooth attach-. ments will probably give better satisfaction. In some cases a small-footed horse or mule may be trained to satisfactorily follow the rows when 18 inches wide. Some hand weeding will always be necessary, and it is highly important that this work be done before the weeds become of any con-- siderable size. Otherwise a large amount of injury will result by loosening and lifting the onion plants as the weeds are removed. The onion crop usually matures from the middle to latter part of August and is ready for harvesting when the tops begin to brown and three-fourths or more have fallen over on the ground. Harvesting is done by attaching a U-shaped knife to the ordinary two- wheeled hand hoe, straddling the row and allowing the knife to run underneath the plants, cutting off the roots and at the same time slightly lifting the bulbs. The onions are then gathered by hand and thrown into windrows containing from four to six rows. They should be left exposed to the sun and 182 air for several days and stirred occasionally with a wooden fork or rake to facilitate drying. White bulb varieties must be gathered immedi- ately in slat crates and placed under cover where they will be protected from sun and rain, but ex- posed to a free circulation of air. After being thoroughly aired the tops are removed by twisting or clipping with the ordinary sheep shears. Twist- ing is usually to be preferred and is not so likely to be the cause of the soft or neck rot finding its way into the bulb. Onions are generally stored in frost- proof houses in slat crates. They are sometimes spread to the depth of three or four inches on trays, or placed in bags. Crates are considered, how- ever, much more satisfactory, because they occupy the space to better advantage and afford a much freer circulation of air. An abundance of ven- tilation must be provided, both at bottom and top of storage, in such a manner that a thorough circula- tion of air is assured. The bottom inlets are frequently carried well toward the center of the building in order that cold air may be carried directly to that part of the storage most likely to need it. The best tempera- ture for storage is usually considered to be from 34°to 36°. Dryness is an important factor to be remembered. In the far northern regions where continuous freezing is the rule throughout the win- ter, the onions are sometimes stored in such a man- ner that they become thoroughly frozen, but are protected from thawing out until spring. Frequent freezing and thawing would, of course, be destruc- tive. Under field conditions in the South a different type of onion is grown, known as the Spanish or Bermuda. This onion is larger in size, milder LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 183 in flavor and requires a longer season for its de- velopment than the ordinary field onions grown in the North. This type is successfully grown in the North, however, by sowing the seed under glass from four to six weeks before it would be possible to sow out of doors. The seed is sown in drills three to four inches apart and quite thickly in the rows. When the plants become five or six inches high they are sheared back to about four inches. This shear- ing is repeated two or three times in order to produce stocky plants and facilitate transplant- ing. When danger = of frost has passed BERMUDA ONIONS AND CRATE COM- and the soil has iit been properly prepared, these plants are lifted, the roots trimmed, and transplanted to the field in rows 12 to I5 inches wide and from three to four inches in the rows. These distances require approximately 170,000 plants per acre. While the cost of growing the plants and transplanting is, of course, considerable, the work of thinning is en- tirely eliminated and a much more uniform set of plants will be secured, resulting in much heavier yields than are common from direct seed sowing. Authentic reports are on record of 1,000 bushels per acre being produced in this way. These onions are harvested in much the same way as already described for the common type, but they 184 are marketed at once, and cannot be stored like the common onion. The growing of onion sets, while adapted to all soils and locations in which the common onions may be grown successfully, is restricted to a very few localities. Most of the onion sets come from certain sections of California, Kentucky and Ohio. The sandy or loamy types of soils are usually pre- ferred. After thorough preparation and fertilizing, as already described for the main crop, the seed is planted at the rate of 40 to 60 pounds per acre, in- stead of from four to six. The seed is spread or scattered over a strip two or three inches wide by the use of a spreader attached to the planter. These plants remain small on account of their extremely crowded condition and begin to “bottom” by mid- summer. They are usually harvested before they become thoroughly mature, for the reason that by so doing the tendency to produce seed stocks the following year is greatly lessened. The U-shaped cutter attached to the wheel hoe is commonly used in harvesting. This knife is run under the plants, cutting off most of the roots. The bulbs are then pulled and thrown into windrows by hand. They are usually allowed to remain in the open until partially cured, after which they are taken to sheds, where the curing is completed and the tops re- moved. They are then placed on trays in layers from four to six inches deep and left until ready for market. The bulbs are usually handled in bags or barrels, the latter being most satisfactory on account of the lessened injury resulting from the necessary handling. The value of the onion sets depends inversely upon their size. If the sets are permitted to grow LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 185 too large they at once throw up seed stocks the following season, instead of developing into a large bulb. A good set should be one-half inch or less in diameter. Pickling is another way in which a large quantity of onions are used. When grown for this purpose special methods of cultivation and harvesting are required. From 25 to 30 pounds of seed are usually planted per acre. Cultivation and harvesting are practically the same as described for the growing of onion sets. The bulbs for pickling purposes must be remarkably uniform in size and from one- half to three-quarters of an inch in diameter. Bulbs less than one-half inch may be screened out and sold for sets, while those larger may be sold for pickling. The use of onion sets in the production of green or bunch onions in the spring and early summer has many advantages over the seed. They can be placed in the soil as early as weather conditions will permit of its proper preparation. They at once start into rapid growth and produce a salable prod- uct within a short time. Quick returns are secured and the land may be prepared for other crops. Farmers’ Bulletin 354, United States Department of Agriculture, gives the following instructions as to storing onions: “In order that onions should keep well when stored they must be well ripened and thoroughly cured. Those that are immature, soft or ‘thick necks’ should never be placed in storage, but sold as soon as gathered for whatever price they will bring. Good storage onions will rattle almost like blocks of wood when poured from one crate to another. In order that the bulbs may remain bright and of 186 attractive appearance they should not be allowed to lie exposed to the weather, but should be hauled and stored in open sheds just as soon as they may be safely placed in one-bushel crates. “After the bulbs have remained in drying sheds or cribs for several weeks they will be ready for screening and removal to the storehouse. In handling onions it is the rule to pass them over a screen each time they are moved, as in this way the loose skins are removed and any soft or decay- ing bulbs may be sorted out. “In screening, the onions are placed on one end of the screen while the men stand alongside and stir the bulbs about with their hands, passing them ‘along to the opposite end, where the bags are filled. “The essentials for the successful storage of onions are plenty of ventilation, small quantities together, a comparatively low temperature, dry- ness and safety from actual freezing. Any building wherein the above conditions may be secured will answer, but houses built especially for the purpose are most satisfactory. “The construction of the storage house should be double throughout, with plenty of felt or paper lining. Both top and bottom ventilation should be provided and the ventilator openings should have doors that may be closed or opened at will. The floors should be constructed of narrow planks with half-inch spaces between the planks for the passage of air. Bottom ventilation is frequently secured by means of drain pipes built into the foundation at the surface of the ground. These pipes are car- ried some distance toward the center of the house and discharge the cool air at a point where it is most needed. LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 187 “The temperature of the storage house should be carried as low as possible without freezing. During extremely cold weather the ventilator open- ings and doors should be kept closed to keep out cold, and after the onions have become thoroughly chilled the house should be kept closed in order to hold the temperature down and prevent the en- trance of moisture during warm or rainy periods. Damp, foggy weather is injurious to onions, especially if it follows a period of cold, as the bulbs will become covered with condensed moisture if the outside air is admitted. A little artificial heat from a stove or radiator may be required during excessively cold weather, but so long as the temperature in the house does not fall below 33° there will be no dan- ger of injury. A temperature of from 34° to 36° will give best results. “The best receptacle for storing onions is the standard size slat crates 20 inches long, 16 inches wide and 14 inches deep, outside measurements. The material for the sides and bottom is about three- eighths of an inch thick and 2% inches wide, four pieces being used to form a side. The corners are reinforced on the inside by means of three-cornered pieces of oak, to which the slats are nailed. These dimensions provide crates that are interchangeable, the width of five being equal to the length of four. These crates will also nest together when empty, with one inside of two turned together. The full crates are stacked in the storehouse with one by three-inch strips between them to allow for the cir- culation of air. “Onions are sometimes stored in slat bins hold- ing 100 to 300 bushels each. Bags are also used to some extent, but neither bags nor bins are as satis- 188 factory as the crates, owing to the difficulty in pro- viding the necessary ventilation and change of air through the onions. Bulbs stored in bags or bins must be more thoroughly cured than those stored in crates.” Potato onions are very largely used in many sec- tions in producing bunch onions for spring use. They are set in the soil in early September and make some growth during the fall of the year. After severe weather comes a mulch of two or three inches of straw should be placed over them. With the first approach of spring they start into growth and produce onions ready for bunching in a very short time. The yields and profits from the onion are, of course, variable, but from the very nature of the crop it permits of intensive cultivation, and under proper soil conditions and good care yields large returns. From 200 to 400 bushels per acre should be secured on the average under good conditions and with good care. Much higher yields are fre- quently secured, but are the exception rather than the rule. The onion is often seriously injured by insects and diseases, as might be expected from the in- tense nature of its cultivation and the lack of proper rotation usually found in common practice. The onion maggot is the most serious insect pest. The eggs are deposited on the plants near the ground soon after growth is well under way. These eggs hatch in a week or ten days, the larve bur- row their way into the bulb, where they feed for two or three weeks and then pass into the pupa form. Another generation soon makes its appear- ance to continue the life cycle. Injured plants turn LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 189 yellow, and die before the bulb matures, or if prac- tically matured before injury occurs the way is paved for rot and decay to enter the bulb and in this way cause serious loss. Rotation of crops is the only effective measure of control. The liberal fertilizing of the soils with potash fertilizers has sometimes been found to be helpful in controlling this pest by stimulating a more rapid and vigorous growth, in some cases enabling the bulbs to suc- cessfully outgrow and overgrow the damage. Car- bolic acid emulsion has been found to be partially effective against the pest. This material is made by dissolving one pound of any kind of soap in one gallon of water and adding one pint of crude car- bolic acid. This mixture is thoroughly stirred into the form of an emulsion. One pint is diluted with 30 quarts of water and poured around the base of the plants. While this treatment has proved ef- fective, it is out of the question over large areas. Onion thrips is a destructive insect pest, espe- cially in the Bermuda onion-growing sections, and is frequently found in the northern growing sections as well. This insect is extremely small and is provided with sucking mouth parts. The insect causes the appearance of minute white spots which rapidly turn brown, and if abundant cause the leaves and the entire plant to die. Spraying with kerosene emulsion is an effective and practical remedy. Bor- deaux mixture also serves as a repellent and is per- haps of considerable value in adding to the control of certain disease troubles. Onion smut is a widespread disease, apparently becoming more and more prevalent and destructive each year. This disease attacks the young plants, causing the formation of dark spots or lines on the 190 bulb. As the onion develops these spots open, exposing the dark powdery spores of the fungus. The tops wither and die, frequently followed by a withering and drying of the bulbs. Good field sani- tation affords the only satisfactory control of this trouble. All the refuse from the field should be carefully gathered and burned after the crop has been harvested. A strict system of rotation should be followed, allowing three or four years to intervene between crops. The transplanting method largely avoids this difficulty if the seedlings are kept clean before transplanting is done. The experiment stations of Connecticut and New York have demonstrated that lime and sulphur in equal parts sown in the drill with the seed largely reduced the trouble. At the Ohio station a formalde- hyde drip, made at the rate of one pound of formalde- hyde to 30 gallons of water, applied to the seed and soil at planting time by means of a drip attachment to the seed drill, and using about 150 gallons of the solution per acre, was likewise effective in control- ling this trouble. The heart rot is a bacterial trouble attacking all types of onions and usually appears in storage. It seems to be largely caused by careless and rough handling in topping and storing. All implements used in this work should be frequently and thor- oughly disinfected. The spread of the trouble in storage may be prevented by fumigation with for- maldehyde gas. Danvers is the yellow variety most largely grown. Southport Yellow Globe is also popular in many sec- tions. Wethersfield is a popular red onion, shipping and handling especially well. Red sorts are in better demand in markets of the middle west than in other LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS IgI sections of the country. Southport Red Globe is also a favorite in many sections where red onions are grown. White Portugal, Southport White Globe and Silver King are the principal white varieties grown under field conditions. White Queen and White Barletta are largely grown for pickling purposes. Both white and yellow sorts of potato onions are planted extensively for the purpose of growing bunch onions. The Egyptian or perennial onion is an extremely hardy variety, valuable for fall plant- ing in the North for the production of bunching onions. The varieties of the Bermuda or Spanish type of onions grown in the southern parts of the United States, principally in California, Louisiana and Texas, are Prize Taker, Gibraltar, Red and White Bermuda. PARSLEY Parsley is of limited importance as a vegetable crop in the United States. It is used almost entirely for garnishing purposes, but it is sometimes used as a salad and also for flavoring soups and meats. The plant is very hardy, especially when mulched, often withstanding winter conditions, even in the North. It requires moist, fertile soil for its best development. The seed germinates slowly, and for this reason it is usually started under greenhouse or hotbed conditions and transplanted to the fields. The plants are permitted to stand from six to eight inches apart in rows from 12 to 15 inches wide. For a fall crop sowing should be done the latter part of May or first of June in the North. For the spring crop seed should be sown in the greenhouse and the young plants ready to be removed to the soil as soon as weather conditions will permit. In 192 growing a small amount for home use this plant may be made to serve the purpose of an ornamen- tal plant and at the same time produce an abun- dant supply of the curled and attractive leaves for garnishing and flavoring purposes. A few plants grown in six or eight-inch pots filled with good soil will be ample to meet the above requirement. The varieties of parsley commonly grown are the Extra Curled Dwarf, and the Moss Curled. The more curled and finely cut the leaves, the more valu- able the parsley is usually considered to be. PARSNIP The parsnip is an important root crop extensively cultivated in the home gardens of the North and grown to a limited extent by most market gardeners. It is not cultivated in an important way by the large truck gardeners of the country. The parsnip is par- ticularly well adapted to northern conditions. A long growing season is secured by the plant’s ex- treme hardiness with reference to frosts, the latter being essential to the development of the highest quality. Its uses are comparatively few, thus re- stricting the demand for the crop. Deep, fertile, sandy loams are usually considered to grow the finest roots. On account of the long roots the parsnip requires deep soil. Heavy clay soils have a tendency to produce crooked and forked roots of little commercial value. The seed germinates slowly and the young plants make a weak growth until they be- come well established. For these reasons special care should be taken in the preparation of the soil and the early cultivation. A deep seed bed should be insured by deep plowing and thorough disking. The surface preparation should be completed with LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 193 the use of the spring-tooth and smoothing harrows, followed by the Meeker harrow or plank drag. The seed should be planted about one inch deep in rows from 15 to 30 inches wide, depending upon the method of cultivation to be followed. The young plants should stand from three to four inches apart in the rows. Planting should be done as early in the season as the proper preparation of the soil can take place. Thorough cultivation should be given throughout the growing period in order that moisture may be conserved and weeds destroyed. The young roots are frequently harvested in Sep- tember and October, but they lack the high flavor so characteristic of this vegetable later in the season. The quality of the parsnip is generally considered to be greatly improved by freezing. The main crop is usually dug in the fall of the year after some freezing has occurred and stored in pits or cellars or buried out of doors in the soil, as already described for root crops. A part of the crop is frequently left in the soil and dug the following spring after the frost comes out of the ground. The chief thing to be remembered in storage is to pre- vent shriveling and to keep the temperature low enough to avoid any growth. No serious insect or disease pest is found attack- ing this plant. The Guernsey and Hollow Crown are the two varieties planted most extensively. PEA The pea is one of the oldest of cultivated plants and is of European or Asiatic origin. A large num- ber of species are to be found, but the common gar- den pea is by far the most important. It is used 194 in a great variety of ways and its food value ranks very high. It likewise plays an important part in the necessary crop rotation schemes of the gardener on account of the fact that it belongs to the legumi- nous group of plants, now known to have the power of fixing the free nitrogen of the air in a form avail- able for plant growth and thereby of great value to all cultivators of the soil. The pea is classified in various ways, but perhaps the most important grouping is that depending upon the nature of the seed. From this standpoint the pea is divided into three groups or types. First, including all those varieties with smooth, hard seed; second, those with green and wrinkled seeds; and, third, those with thick fleshy pods and small seeds. The latter are cooked and used in the same way as string beans. The first group includes most of the extra early varieties. They excel in hardiness and are very resist- ant to frosts. This group comprises a number of the most important commercial varieties. The second or wrinkled group is less hardy, more likely to be injured by frosts and is not well adapted to field conditions. Its cultivation is confined al- most entirely to home and market gardens. The third group, or sweet peas, is grown only in a limited way and is adapted only to garden culture. Peas are also classified as dwarf, half dwarf and tall, depending upon their habits of growth. They are likewise classified into early, medium and late varieties, depending upon their time of maturity. This classification is carried through the other groups. Peas are especially well adapted to the cool days of spring. This fact, together with the compara- tively short season required to mature them to a LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 195 proper state for use, accounts for their successful cultivation over a wide range of latitude. The soils best adapted to the cultivation of the pea are the well-drained clay loams. These soils are retentive of moisture and are cool in their character. When grown as an early crop, especially in the South, the more sandy loams are usually preferred on account of the earlier preparation possible and the quicker results secured. While the soils for peas should be rich in vegetable matter, excessive quantities of nitrogen are not desirable because likely to produce excessive vine growth at the expense of pods. Heavy manuring the same year the crop is to be grown is not generally considered advisable. Land highly manured the preceding year usually furnishes the best condition for peas. Commercial fertilizers are usually depended upon as the common source of plant food. Although the pea belongs to the Leguminosz family, the early crops are started long before nitrification is active; hence light applications of nitrate of soda in these cases may be very profitable. Planting for the earliest crop is usually done in March or as soon as the ground can be pre- pared ; therefore it is well to plow the soil in the fall of the year. No harm will be done the plants if the soil is frozen two or three inches deep after planting. Shallow planting should be the rule with the earliest crops, while the later crops, especially on sandy soils, should be planted three or four inches deep. The distance between the rows will depend upon the nature of the growth of the varieties planted. Dwarf varieties should be planted in rows from 24 to 30 inches apart. Those of medium growth from 30 to 36 inches apart, while the tall-growing va- rieties should be given not less than four feet. 196 Double-row planting is very commonly followed with all types. This consists in planting two rows six or eight inches apart with the above-mentioned spaces between the double rows. An abundance of seed should be used to secure a good stand, espe- cially in the earlier plantings when the conditions for germination are not as good as they are later. Supporting the vines in various ways is a common practice in the smaller areas, with the medium and tall-growing varieties. Dwarfs, and in many cases, the medium-growing varieties, are given no support. The use of brush cut from three to four feet in height and forced in the soil along the row is a very common method. Under market garden conditions some form of trellis is more often employed. Poultry netting about three or four feet in height stretched between the double rows with proper support makes a very convenient and effective trellis. Some satisfactory support may be easily provided with posts, wire and string by anyone of ordinary ingenuity. On ac- count of the necessity of support for the tall-grow- ing varieties, dwarf and medium-growing sorts are more popular with the commercial gardeners. The growing of peas as a field crop for canning purposes is a large industry in many localities. They are usually sown with the ordinary seed drill and given no cultivation after planting. They are har- vested with the mowing machine, raked in the or- dinary fashion and immediately hauled to the can- ning factory. Here they are passed through the pea hullers which shell the peas and separate them from the pods and vines. The peas are then passed over a screen which grades them into various sizes for canning purposes. The smaller peas are usually considered to be of highest quality. LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 197 Soil requirements are the same for the crop grown for this purpose as when grown for ordinary mar- keting purposes. On account of the fact that no cultivation is given after planting, especial care should be taken in the thorough preparation of the soil beforehand. The harvesting of peas for mar- ket purposes must always be done by hand because of the necessity of selecting the pods most suitable from time to time. Harvesting, therefore, becomes the most expensive operation in growing the pea for market. Peas are shipped with considerable difficulty. They heat quickly even when placed in such small quantities as a bushel. The deep, narrow baskets or hampers commonly known as the Delaware peach basket are perhaps the best packages for this pur- pose on account of the ventilation afforded. Peas lose their sweetness and quality very rapidly after being gathered. This accounts for the flat and insipid taste of this vegetable, as it is usually shipped from the South, and as it is found in the ordinary canning pack. The best quality can be expected only when secured directly from the grower and served within a few hours after gathering. Plung- ing the pods in cold water immediately before ship- ping prevents wilting and helps to retain the orig- inal sweetness and flavor of the pea to a considerable extent. The danger of heating, except in well-ven- tilated packages, is increased somewhat by such a practice. Two insects are sometimes found seriously at- tacking this crop. The pea aphis is probably the most widespread and most destructive. It attacks the tender terminal growths of the vines, soon de- stroying their vitality. This insect usually begins 198 to breed and becomes serious with warm weather. Very early or very late plantings may be the means of escaping serious attacks. Kerosene emulsion or tobacco solutions are considered effective treatments. The pea weevil sometimes produces heavy loss to the dried and stored seeds. This trouble may be largely avoided by treating the seed with carbon bi-sulphide at the rate of one or two ounces to 100 pounds of seed in bins or houses constructed prac- tically airtight. The amount of this material to be used will vary somewhat, according to the tightness of the receptacles in which the peas are to be fumigated. The varieties of peas are numerous and selections can be made to meet all the requirements of climate and soil as well as the most exacting taste. Of the extra early smooth varieties the Alaska, with several distinct strains, as Extra Early and First of All, are widely planted. Of the early wrinkled peas the Gradus, Thomas Laxton, American Wonder and Nott’s Excelsior are the most popular. Of the medium and late peas (all belonging to the wrinkled group) the Stratagem, Telephone, Telegraph, Cham- pion of England and Pride of the Market are very common varieties. Giant Sugar, Dwarf Gray Sugar and Melting Sugar are the chief edible podded va- rieties. In general it may be said that the extra early varieties belong to the smooth type and pos- sess greater hardiness than the other types and are somewhat more prolific seeders. They are not quite so high in quality as the wrinkled types. The Sugar group has a longer fruiting period, the pod remains in an edible condition for a long period of time and the sugar content is high. LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 199 PEPPER The pepper is grown in a limited way in almost every garden, but is of minor importance commer- cially except in a few sections in the southern veg- etable-growing districts. Small areas, however, will be found devoted to this plant in most market gardens of the North. The varietal characteristics of the pepper vary greatly, not only in the size and shape of the fruit, but also in its quality. Some are small, slender and exceedingly pungent, while others are large and thick, having little or none of the pungency commonly attributed to the fruit of this plant. Colors vary from bright reds to yellow. The pepper was formerly used almost entirely for seasoning purposes, but the introduc- tion of the sweet or mango forms has greatly extended their use. They are now found frequently employed for pickling and stuffing purposes and in some cases for salads. For best results the pepper requires typical, rich garden loams with southern exposures. The plant is most at home under tropical and sub-tropical conditions and requires a long sea- son for its proper development. In order to mature under northern conditions the plants must be started under glass and be transplanted after all danger of frost has passed. The plants are usually set from I5 to 18 inches apart in rows 30 to 36 inches wide. Cultivation of the crop should consist in frequent stirring to conserve moisture and control the weeds. Harvesting is begun as soon as the fruits are full grown, but before the color develops. The sweet or mango types are usually packed in the small split baskets and shipped in crates commonly holding from six to eight baskets. The hot varieties are frequently harvested by cutting or pulling the en- 200 tire plant with its fruit attached and hanging up to dry. The peppers are also dried and handled in bulk. At the present time the more pungent sorts find a wide use in the manufacture of stock foods and to some extent in medicines. No serious insect and disease pests are present. The common hot varieties are the Tabasco, Red Cayenne, Red Chili, Creole and Hot Bell. Of the mild-fruited varieties the most widely cultivated are Bull Nose, Chinese Giant, Ruby King and Neapoli- tan. The latter is especially adapted to extreme northern sections on account of the short season re- quired for its development. POTATO The potato is by far the most important of the vegetable crops from an economic standpoint. It is a native of America, but has been widely dis- tributed over the entire world, where it has readily adapted itself to varied conditions of climate and soil until it has become the second most important food plant in the world from the standpoint of human consumption, being preceded only by rice. Even wheat is less extensively consumed as a food than the potato. Aside from its importance as a food, large quantities of this crop are devoted to the manufacture of starch and alcohol as well as to the feeding of stock. Numerous varieties have been developed, some of which have become per- manently fitted to special climatic and soil condi- tions. Repeated efforts have been made to intro- duce popular varieties of European countries into America, but with universal failure. The popular varieties of the United States have likewise proved \ LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 201 themselves poorly adapted to European conditions. Some varieties seem to do especially well in the more retentive soils and cooler seasons of the North, while others are of little value except in saridy soils and the shorter, hotter seasons of the southern states. While with this great diversity of char- acter it is possible to grow potatoes under almost any climatic conditions arising in the temperate zones, certain regions will always be found pecu- liarly well adapted to the production of this crop. The potato is one of the leading truck crops of the southern trucking sections, and at the same time one of the principal crops of the northern districts. Both late and early varieties are extensively grown in all potato-producing districts, but early varieties predominate in the South, while the late predom- inate in the North. The two groups are founded ‘upon varietal differences rather than upon methods of cultivation. In a general way it may be stated that the late potato growing sections, at least upon a large com- mercial basis, may be said to be confined entirely to the glaciated districts of the United States. Ex- ceptions are to be found to this statement, how- ever. Potatoes are grown upon a great variety of soil types, and the claim is frequently made that soil influences quality to a greater extent than yield, which is modified more by climatic conditions, cultivation and the fertilizers applied. Inasmuch as the question of quality has always been secondary to the consideration of yield in this country, greater emphasis has been placed upon climatic conditions, which accounts very largely for the extensive development of potato growing in certain restricted districts. Sandy loams containing a x 202 a good admixture of clay and an abundance of or- ganic matter are considered best suited to the cul- tivation of this plant. Quality is sometimes im- proved by growing upon more retentive soils, and with some varieties possibly upon more sandy soils, but in either case the extra quality is usually secured at the expense of quantity. The prepara- tion of the soil is generally empha- sized to a greater extent than is the case with most other crops grown under field condi- tions. Deep plow- ing is the rule and the soil should be thoroughly fined to the entire plow depth. Clover sods are desirable on account of the large amount of organic matter furnished and its con- sequent effect upon the looseness and friable condi- tion of the soil. While the potato thrives upon soil containing an abundance of organic matter, stable manures should be applied with considerable cau- tion on account of the fact that it is likely to greatly increase the presence of scab, one of the most seri- ous diseases of the tubers. Heavy applications of manure are preferably made to a preceding crop or applied in a well-rotted condition to the clover sods in the fall of the year. For the above reasons com- mercial fertilizers are largely depended upon. The potato is generally considered to be especially bene- fited by heavy applications of potash, but in many locations much better results have been secured from the application of phosphorus. Measured by the A SPROUTING POTATO LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 203 quantity of these various elements removed from the soil, potatoes may be looked upon as a potash crop. However, potash may be present in many soils in sufficient amounts for proper growth, while phosphorus is wanting. Under these con- ditions phosphorus will, of course, give the better results. Experiments carried on at the Ohio Experiment Station, as well as others, have demonstrated the value of phosphates in the pro- duction of the potato. From 500 to 1,000 pounds of commercial fertilizer, analyzing approximately 2-8- 10 or in some localities 2-10-8, will generally prove a profitable investment. When the larger amounts are to be applied it is a good plan to apply one-half before planting with the drill, and the other half in the rows at planting time. The smaller amounts are usually distributed entirely in the rows. It is generally considered best to fertilize a few days in advance of the planting. During dry seasons the crop may be damaged to a considerable extent by the presence of too much fertilizer near the developing roots. The selection of seed should be given more care- ful consideration than is generally done. The source of seed is especially important from the standpoint of probable infection from serious disease pests as well as length of season required for development. Northern grown seed is desired by southern truck growers, chiefly for the reason that such seed has atendency to mature in a_ shorter time, thus increasing earliness. While many meth- ods of seed selection are used by successful growers, it may be safely stated that medium or average-sized tubers, selected from high-producing hills, uni- versally give the best results. ‘The matter of select- ing the seed with reference to productiveness is 204 equally as important as with corn. The Ohio sta- tion succeeded in doubling the yield of potatoes in three years’ time by selecting seed from those hills of greatest production. The tubers should be cut in pieces containing sufficient starch or plant food to give a strong, vigorous growth in the new plant. Experience seems to indicate that two eyes to the piece from average-sized tubers meet these require- ments in the best manner. The frequent practice of saving the smallest potatoes for seed purposes deserves especial condemnation. While the small potatoes may be used occasionally without serious deterioration, their continued use from year to year will inevitably result in loss of size and yield. The question of the amount of seed used per acre depends very largely upon the manner in which it is planted and the distances between the rows and hills. When the potatoes are of average size, cut two eyes to the piece, planted at the usual distance of 30 inches between the rows and I0 to 15 inches between the pieces, it will require from 10 to 12 bushels per acre. With the earlier crops, especially under conditions where rot is to be feared, whole potatoes are safer to plant, and in some cases experi- ments have indicated better yields where whole potatoes have been used for seed. The universal presence of scab makes it necessary to treat the seed before planting in all potato sec- tions of this country, and the treatment has be- come a regular practice among all growers who pre- tend to be up to date, both North and South. The more common method of treatment, especially for small quantities of seed, is to soak the uncut seed for a period of two hours in a solution of formalin, LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 205 one pint to 30 gallons of water. A more effective method of treating potatoes held for seed in large quantities and in practically air-tight storage houses is by fumigation with formaldehyde gas. In gen- erating the gas 23 ounces of potassium permanga- nate and three pints of formaldehyde should be allowed for each 1,000 cubic feet of space. The potassium permanganate is placed in shallow pans at various points, in the storage and the required quantity of formaldehyde poured in. The building should be quickly vacated after these materials are placed together and kept tightly closed for twenty-four hours, when it may be opened, thor- oughly ventilated and the potatoes taken out as desired. Potatoes are exten- sively planted both by hand and by machinery. Hand planting is uni- versal in small areas, where the expense of the machine planters would not be justified. = eo In the large areas the POTATO PLANT SHOWING TUBERS : AND ROOTS machine planters are to be preferred, not only because the planting will be done more economically, but will generally be done better. It is especially important that the pieces be cut uniform in size and the required number of eyes in each piece secured. When the potatoes have been dropped by hand for the very early crop, it is a good practice to cover with the plow quite 206 deeply, leaving a decided ridge along the row. This gives ample protection during the cool and frosty weather. After the weather becomes warmer and the tubers start into growth, these ridges may be harrowed down with the ordinary smoothing har- tow by passing back and forth across them at right angles. Such a practice loosens and aerates the soil and at the same time destroys great num- bers of germinating weeds. Many growers successfully follow just the op- posite plan of covering at planting time. Only sufficient dirt to cover the potatoes one or two inches deep will be pulled into the furrows. Then after the potatoes appear above ground the stocky growth of the top is covered up entirely with two or three inches more soil. While this does not pro- vide the protection from cold and frost the former plan does, it has a tendency to increase the branch- ing of the stems and thereby increase the yields. The depth to which potatoes should be planted depends upon the season, the soils, and the plan of cultivation to be followed. Early potatoes should be planted deeper than those planted later in the season. Shallow planting should be practiced on more retentive and heavier types of soils. Hill or ridge culture does not require as deep planting for the best results as level culture. Three inches should be considered the minimum depth, while six inches is perhaps the maximum. A good average for good potato soils where level cultivation is fol- lowed is from four to five inches. Notwithstanding the fact that practically every experiment with the various types of cultivation has been in favor of level cultivation, many growers still persist in following the plan of hilling or ridging their crop. While the LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 207 tubers are kept more perfectly, and with less damage from sun scald, the dangers of drouth much more than overbalance these advantages. Cultivation is usually done with any of the modern two-horse cultivators or the five-tooth single-horse cultivators. In either case the shovels or teeth used should be of the narrowest type in order that the surface of the soil may be left as level as possible after cultivation. Early cultivations should be comparatively deep in order to thoroughly loosen the soils before serious danger to the roots is likely to occur. Later culti- vation should always be shallow, generally not more than two or three inches in depth in order to kill weeds and to lessen evaporation. When grown upon a small scale, harvesting is al- ways done by hand. The potato fork or potato hook are the implements most commonly employed for turning the tubers out of the soil. Hooks and forks with round rather than flat tines are to be pre- ferred, as they damage the potatoes much less. Between the hand tools and the large harvesting machines comes first of all the common turning plow. This is a poor implement for digging the crop on account of the fact that a large number of the tubers will be cut or bruised and a considerable quantity be left in the soil. This method of digging is extremely common in truck-growing sections of the North and may be found frequently practiced in the smaller areas southward. The next tool available for use is a special plow made to run under the rows, the tops and soil being separated more or less successfully by a series of iron rods running backward from the moldboard in a fan-shaped fashion. The modern potato digger is in universal use over 208 the large commercial areas. It consists of a broad steel point which runs under the hills, lifting the tubers and tops and carrying them upward and back- ward over a screen of steel bars. The earth is per- mitted to fall through these bars while the potatoes are carried to the rear of the machine and dropped on the ground. The method of gathering the po- tatoes from the field is largely a local practice, de- pending to a considerable extent upon whether the potatoes are to be marketed direct from the field or stored and also upon the methods of digging em- AN INEXPENSIVE POTATO DIGGER ployed. A common practice in many localities is to gather in crates in which they are taken either to storage or to the car for shipping. The half-bushel split baskets are frequently used for gathering, being emptied directly into the gunny sack in which they are to be shipped. The truck garden crop of the South is nearly always shipped in ventilated barrels, the top being covered with burlap tightly stretched under the top hoop. Sacks are sometimes employed and the crop sometimes shipped in bulk. The latter methods are more common with the late crops handled in the mature state. Sorting and grading are always practiced to a LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 209 greater or lesser extent, but unfortunately, from a successful market standpoint, in all too many cases: this work is either poorly done or sadly neglected. Potatoes are graded in various ways into more or less loosely defined grades. The small grower usually grades his crop in the field, as it is picked from the ground. Extensive growers use mechan- ical devices of various types made and sold by the manufacturers of potato machinery every- where. When the crop is to be stored it is a com- mon practice to gather in crates and haul to the storage, where it is run over the grader. When the crop is being sold directly from the field, the graders are usually mounted in such a way that they may be hauled along to receive the tubers from the pickers. The late potatoes are marketed in a very different way from those in common practice with the early crop. If the crop has been allowed to properly mature and has been kept free from the late blight by frequent sprayings, it usually can be stored without difficulty, where ordinary care in handling has been practiced. The relative advantage of selling direct from the field or storing for later markets and possibly higher prices, depends upon a number of factors often either overlooked or at least not given the consideration their importance justifies. The expense of handling is at least doubled over that necessary in direct selling. The added cost of storage equipment is an important consideration to be kept in mind, and the possible, even probable, losses from shrinkage, freezing and rot are larger than most people think. Forty cents a bushel at digging time will probably return as much profit as 75 cents a bushel April 1st. Many condi- 210 tions, however, arise which make it profitable to store. In general, however, it may be said that if the price ranges anywhere from 40 cents to 50 cents at harvest time, taken year in and year out, the bet- ter plan would be to sell direct rather than to store. The winter crop is shipped and handled in bulk, bar- tels or bags. Some sections ship almost entirely in bags, while others are partial to the barrels. Satisfactory storage for the potato may be pro- vided in pits or barn cellars, root cellars and in frost- proof storage houses, especially constructed for the purpose. The quality of the potato is frequently very greatly lessened by the maintenance of too low a temperature while in storage. A temperature of from 35 to 45°, maximum and minimum, with an average of as near 40 as possible, will usually be found to give the best results. Sufficient moisture should be present to prevent withering, but much excess beyond that point encourages rot and decay. Several insects and diseases are found attack- ing the potato. The most common and widespread insect pest is the Colorado potato beetle. This in- sect is a native of the Rocky Mountain regions and has spread backward over the eastern part of the United States since about 1850. It is now largely held in control by natural enemies, but becomes sufficiently numerous in some seasons to require spraying for its control. Paris green at the rate of one pound to 50 gallons of water, or arsenate of lead paste (one and one-half pound powdered) at the rate of three pounds to 50 gallons of water, prove effective remedies for this insect. The flea beetle frequently becomes seriously troublesome, attacking the leaves in large numbers LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 211 and eating numerous tiny holes in the foliage. This insect has been found to be effectively con- trolled in those regions where bordeaux mixture is regularly used for the late blight. Bordeaux mix- ture does not kill the insect, but acts in the nature of a repellent. The so-called late blight is by far the most serious disease. It attacks the leaves and stems, quickly spread- ing to the tubers, which are checked in growth, and rot usually results. Spraying with bordeaux mixture has been found to effectively control this disease. The first application should be made when the young plants are four to five inches high. This treat- ment should be repeated at intervals of Io days to two weeks until the crop is practically mature. Lime and sulphur has likewise proven an effective remedy used at the rate of one gallon of the commer- cial form to 40 gallons of water. The potato scab, already briefly described in con- nection with the seed and its treatment, appears as rough, irregular brownish black spots upon the sur- face of the tuber. The fungus causing this trouble lives from year to year in the soil primarily upon decaying organic matter, but under certain condi- tions this disease is able to transfer itself to the de- veloping tubers of the potato, and is also found to a considerable extent upon the beet. The disease is communicated to the new potato, both from the old seed and directly from the soil, but apparently to a much greater extent directly from the seed. Treat- ment from the seed, as described on pages 204 and 205, prevents the troubles spreading from the same, but does not, of course, prevent all scab, as some of the tubers are likely to be attacked directly from the soil. Such a large percentage of scab is prevented 212 by seed treatment, that the practice has become uni- versal with all growers who pretend to be progres- sive. During the last few years a new disease of the po- tato has made its appearance and has already be- come seriously troublesome in many sections. This is a Fusarium disease, becoming apparent when the potatoes are perhaps a foot high or thereabouts. A dull, unhealthy appearance of the foliage results, fol- lowed by a rolling or curling of the margins of the leaves. The disease progresses rapidly, causing the tops to fall and ripen prematurely. The trouble extends downward through the stems and fre- A MODERN POTATO DIGGER quently into the tubers. A thin slice across the stem end of the tuber often reveals the presence of this trouble by the brown stain and streaks easily visible. Special care should be taken in selecting the seed to see that it is free from this infection. The disease comes to us from European countries, probably by the way of Canada where it has caused enormous losses. Collecting and burning the tops after digging will diminish the disease, and make rotation (the principal remedy) more effective. LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 213 The list of varieties of the potato perhaps changes more rapidly than with any other widely cultivated plant. The varieties popular with our grand- fathers are scarcely recognized, except as a matter of history, by the present generation. The profitable cultivation of a variety of potatoes rarely extends over a period of more than fifty years. This is largely accounted for by the propagation of the po- tato from the abnormally developed parts, under which conditions deterioration invariably takes place after a considerable length of time. Varying seasons, soils and uses make a wide range of variety selection possible. Under southern con- ditions, especially for trucking purposes, Bliss Triumph, Bovee, Irish Cobbler, Early Ohio and Early Rose are largely cultivated, Bliss Triumph - being by far the most popular of the list. Under northern conditions the Early Ohio, Irish Cobbler, Early Rose and Beauty of Hebron are extensively grown as early sorts, while the Green Mountain, Rural New Yorker, Carman and Sir Walter Raleigh are the leading winter varieties. RADISH The radish is one of the most popular and impor- tant of the spring and early summer vegetable crops. It is very easily grown and reaches an edible size in from three to six weeks after sowing. Although one of the minor garden crops, it is grown in large quantities by the gardeners directly supply- ing city markets, and in certain sections of the South is grown extensively as a truck crop for northern markets. It is also being more exten- sively used as a forcing crop in greenhouses and hotbeds. Frame and greenhouse forcing has be- 214 come so extensive that in many localities varieties have been developed particularly adapted to these conditions. Under out-of-door conditions the rad- ish is seldom given entire use of the ground, but is usually grown as a companion crop with others requiring a longer season for their development. All sorts of combinations will suggest themselves to wide-awake gardeners. The radish is pre-eminently a cool weather plant and requires an extremely short season for its maturity. These factors make it possible to grow this crop under a very wide range of climatic conditions. The best soils for the radish should be extremely fertile and friable. Sandy loams are to be preferred. Heavy soils, either indoors or out, produce rough and ill-shaped roots with many fibrous laterals. The plant is very hardy and can be sown out of doors as soon as the soil can be properly prepared. The radish is universally grown from seed, being one of the garden vegetables rarely transplanted. The ordinary seed drills are used and the rows are spaced from 8 to I2 inches wide and the seed dropped at the rate of from 30 to 50 seeds per foot. They should be planted from three-quarters of an inch to an inch in depth. The cultivation of the radish is an important matter. The thorough preparation of the soil and the quickness with which the crop matures give weeds little opportunity for development. The wheel hoes and hand weeders are both used when nec- essary to keep the soil loose and mellow. Radishes are harvested as soon as they reach edible size, and tied in bunches of from five to ten each, according to size and time of season. For shipping they are LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 215 thoroughly washed and packed in ventilated barrels or half barrels with the roots toward the outside. The radish seems to be somewhat more exacting under greenhouse and frame conditions than in the open. More difficulty will be experienced with the temperature running too high than too low. From 45 to 50° at night and not over 65° during the day should be maintained if possible. Especial atten- tion should be given to ventilation and a sufficient supply of moisture. Radishes grown under glass do not usually find a ready sale before the holiday season. Planting should, therefore, be made from the Ist to the 15th of November. The Globe or button types are preferable for forcing under glass, on account of their quick ma- turity and their small tops, which permit close planting. Insects and diseases are not particularly trouble- some. The most annoying insect is the cabbage root maggot, which, in given localities, attacks the roots, rendering the crop unsalable by the presence of the dark brown spots or streaks through the root. Little can be done to control this pest, except to rotate the crops. The turnip-shaped radishes may be treated with lime water with some degree of suc- cess, but with longer radishes it is impossible to get the material deep enough into the soil without too much trouble and expense. The flea beetle and plant lice sometimes attack the radish. The latter are especially troublesome under greenhouse conditions. Tobacco dust is an effective remedy. Radishes are particularly tender to tobacco smoke, and dusting will be found a safer method of application. 216 Varieties of radishes are numerous and with sufficient differences in their characters to meet all requirements. French Breakfast, Early Scarlet Short Top, Round Red Forcing and Scarlet Frame are the leading varieties of the flat or turnip-shaped group, grown both under glass and out of doors. The Long Scarlet, Cincinnati Market, Icicle, and Chartier are the leading varieties of long radishes grown out of doors as a main crop, but sometimes forced under glass. The Chinese Rose and White Chinese are the leading varieties of the so-called winter radishes. This group is comparatively unknown in the United States, but is finding a place in the gardens sup- plying the large markets. They make a slow growth, have firm, hard flesh and can be stored as readily as turnips. The seed of these varieties is usually sown in late July or early August for the winter crop. They come in direct competition with the turnip and have few points of superiority over this older and better-known vegetable. Its increase in popu- larity in all probability will, therefore, be slow. A GOOD BUNCH OF RADISHES RHUBARB As far as the home garden is concerned, rhubarb may be looked upon as a companion of the horse- radish. A few plants are always found in connec- LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 217 tion with the home garden, on account of the ease with which it may be grown and the high value placed on the succulent, highly acid leaf stalks as a source of pie material. It is also in great demand in the form of sauces and stews in the very early spring after the heavier and more restricted diet of the winter months, It is naturally a northern crop, not particularly well suited to truck farming pur- poses, and not adapted to long-distance shipments. The possibilities of rhubarb as a forcing plant have only been appreciated within the last Io or 12 years, but at the present time most large gardeners devote some time to the growing of this crop out of season. The plant is also forced to a considerable extent under home conditions and can be made to give a continuous supply from early January until the outdoor crop comes on. The value of the crop depends very largely upon its extreme hardiness and earliness. The thick roots store up a large amount of food during the growing season, which causes the plant to respond quickly to the first stimulus of spring. The plant is a gross feeder and does best upon the deep, sandy loams, well supplied with large quantities of decaying organic matter. It responds readily to heavy applications of nitrate made at frequent intervals in the early springtime and an extra application given at the time harvesting ceases. Plants are readily propagated from seed sown in the open. This is generally the most satisfactory method, taking everything into consideration. The varietal characteristics of rhubarb are not well es- tablished and a large percentage of the seedlings do not come true to type. Division of the crown is fre- quently employed for propagating purposes on this 218 account, but does not usually give such strong, vigorous plants as direct propagation from the seed. Under permanent field conditions the crowns should be planted in rows four feet wide and the plants from three to four feet apart in the rows. Thorough tillage throughout the entire season is important in order that the early succulent leaf stalks gathered for market may be as large and tender as possible. Late cultivation is also necessary in order that the largest possible amount of reserve food may be stored in the roots for the coming season’s growth. It is highly important that the production of seed be prevented by the removal of the seed stalks as they appear from time to time. Profitable forcing of the rhubarb may be carried on in the following manner. Preferably two-year-old crowns are lifted from the field in the fall of the year and closely packed on the surface of the soil out of doors, being covered with an inch or two of soil to prevent drying until severely frozen. The crowns may then be brought into the cellar or forcing houses where temperature and moisture may be controlled. Growth starts rapidly, and harvesting may be begun from four to six weeks later. Forc- ing in dark rooms or cellars is a common practice. Under these conditions the leaf blade fails to de- velop, while the stalk makes a larger growth and is of a distinctively better quality. The crowns may be brought in from the open from time to time as desired, in this manner producing a continuous succession throughout the entire late winter and early spring. A temperature of from 40 to 60° is usually considered best for the crowns after forcing begins. Higher temperatures give quicker results, but spindly and unsatisfactory stalks. In any case LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 219 strong, vigorous roots are necessary for profitable returns. Large, well-grown, one-year-old roots are frequently used and give splendid results. The large number of crowns required to properly occupy the space is perhaps the chief objection urged against the one-year-old roots. In harvesting, the stalks are pulled from the crown of the plant rather than cut. The larger part of the leaf blade should be removed at once. This is important, as the loss of water is lessened and the stalks remain tender for a longer period of time. The stalks are usually tied in bundles from three to ro each, depending upon size and the time of year. Insects and diseases are comparatively rare upon this plant. The rhubarb beetle sometimes does some damage by puncturing the stalks while de- positing its eggs. This usually takes place, how- ever, after the pulling season is over. If the crowns are kept too wet and poor ventila- tion provided under forcing conditions, rot of both crowns and stalks may become serious. Linnzus and Victoria are the two popular varie- ties usually grown. The former variety is gen- erally to be preferred on account of the larger per- centage of bright red stems and their greater brittleness. 1 SALSIFY Salsify is a vegetable grown to a very limited ex- tent by a few commercial gardeners and rarely found in the home gardens of the country. It isa hardy plant, easily grown, and lives through the winter without difficulty. It may be used stewed and creamed, and is especially desirable for soups. Its flavor decidedly resembles that of the oyster, hence the name 220 “oyster plant” by which it is commonly known. This crop may be easily dug and stored for winter use, but like the parsnip should be left in the soil until frozen. It deserves a wider popularity than it now enjoys. It is a deep-rooted plant, thriving best on the rich, deeply tilled garden loams, and may in every respect be considered a companion plant for the parsnip. The same types-of soils are required and prop- agation is the same. The seed should be planted at practically the same time, and the roots dug, stored and harvested in the same manner. When prepared for market the long, slender roots are washed and tops cut off, leaving two or three inches of the leaves. They are then tied in bunches of from five to ten plants each, depending upon their size. SPINACH Spinach is by far the most important vegetable commonly used in the form of greens. It is more nutritious than most plants used in this manner, and is especially recommended as a healthful source of iron in the human system. This crop is grown in a variety of ways. It is an important truck crop in certain sections of the South, but the area over which it may be profitably cultivated is limited by its bulky character and relatively high freight rates on the same. It is extensively grown in the North as a hotbed and cold-frame crop and under’ field conditions is sown both in the fall and in the spring. When sown in the fall some light mulching is re- quired to protect it through the winter. A moist, sandy loam of high fertility is required for the best results with spinach. The value of the plant de- LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 221 pends upon rapid, vigorous growth, impossible with- out large quantities of available plant food. Well- rotted stable manures are especially valuable and fertilizers high in nitrogen are also used very profit- ably. The fall sowing should be made from the middle to the last of September. From 25 to 30 pounds of seed are required per acre. Sowing is usually done with the common seed drill in rows from 12 to 15 inches apart. In harvesting, the plants are trimmed of their dead leaves before packing for market. It is a common practice to throw the land for spinach into broad beds, carrying from six to eight rows. A space or back furrow from 18 to 24 inches is left between the beds for drainage and convenience of the workers. The green fly is the worst pest of the spinach. Plants making a slow unsatisfactory growth are almost certain to be attacked by this insect. Great care should be taken to avoid checks in growth, for once infected it is very difficult to eradicate the insects. Kerosene emulsion proves a very effective remedy, but it is much cheaper and easier to pre- vent the difficulty by providing the proper condi- tions for rapid and continuous growth. Rust is a common disease, usually attacking the winter crop and associated with unsatisfactory con- ditions for normal growth, such as late planting and severe winters. Rust is indicated by stunted growth and yellowish spots on stems and leaves. Plants are seldom killed by rust, but the extra trimming required before they can be satisfactorily prepared for market, together with the lessened yield secured, usually make attacked areas unprofitable. Proper preparation of the soil, early planting and good cul- tivation generally avoid the difficulty. 222 Varieties commonly grown are the Norfolk, Vic- toria, Long Season, Prickly Seeded and New Zea- land. The latter is a variety not well known, but is especially well adapted to summer conditions and deserves a place in the home gardens. SQUASH While the squash is commonly found in a limited way in almost every market, its value and merits are fully appreciated by few people. Large areas devoted to the cultivation of this crop are compara- tively rare, while its cultivation in the home gardens is more a matter of accident than design. The cul- tivated types and varieties are extremely variable and can be made to provide a continuous supply of this vegetable from early summer until late win- ter. On account of the ease with which it may be stored, it should be more highly esteemed in con- nection with the home gardens, especially in provid- ing a greater variety of vegetables for consumption during the winter months. Its commercial cultiva- tion is confined almost entirely to small areas in connection with market gardens surrounding the larger cities. Squash, with its variable characteristics, lends itself to a great diversity of soils and a wide range of climatic conditions. The winter squashes thrive best upon the clay loams. The plant is a rank feeder and should be supplied with an abundance of available food, a condition most satisfactorily met .by the liberal use of well-rotted stable manure in the hills. Early plowing should be the rule and the soil fined and compacted all the way down. The hills of the large-vining varieties should be from seven to eight feet apart in each direction. The LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS" 223 rows are usually laid off in checks, at the intersec- tion of which a good-sized excavation is made and from a peck to a half bushel of well-rotted compost placed in the bottom. Three or four inches of earth should be drawn over this material and the seeds planted from one to 114 inches deep in this covering of soil. An abundance of seed should be used in order to secure a good stand and provide for the dangers of insect destruction. From ten to fifteen seeds should be planted in each hill. After the young plants have become thoroughly established and begin to vine they should be thinned to from three to four plants to the hill. Squash is extremely tender to frost and should not be planted in the open until all dangers of this kind are passed and the soil well warmed. The bush varieties differ somewhat from the running types in their habits of growth and require less space for their proper development. Cultivation should be directed toward keeping the soil loose and mellow, especially about the hills, in order to conserve moisture and induce rapid growth. In localities where heavy rainfalls are common the hill should be slightly raised above the surrounding level. The harvesting begins with the bush type of the squash as soon as the fruit is full grown, but before the shell begins to harden. After the shell of this type hardens the fruit is considered as being past its best stage for edible purposes. Just the opposite is true with winter squashes. ‘They are rarely harvested and used before they are thoroughly mature, in which condition the shell becomes ex- tremely hard and resistant. The latter type may be readily stored under proper conditions and kept until early spring. Successful storage is largely 224 a matter of careful handling. The squash should be removed from the vines with the stems attached before severe frosts occur, but should be left in the field as long as possible in order that they may reach their full maturity. Frost proof, dry condi- tions should be provided in the storage, where the temperature may be held at from 40 to 50 degrees. It is especially important that ample ventilation be provided. Commercial storages are usually built with racks sufficiently wide apart to permit only of a single layer on each. Ample space should be left between the rack and the wall for free cir- culation of air. Careful handling should be the rule from the time the fruits are separated from the vines. The ordinary house cellar, kept comparatively dry, provides a very satisfactory storage for family use. The dry conditions usually found in such a cellar, while detrimental to the storage of most vegetables, will be found satisfactory for this one. Summer squashes are usually marketed in hamper baskets when shipped to distant points. They frequently bring good prices, but will not keep for any length of time and must be sold at once. The winter squashes satisfactorily stand long shipments, and are usually packed in ventilated barrels covered with burlap. In addition to the common insects and diseases described as troublesome on the cucumber, the squash is troubled by the squash vine borer. This insect deposits its eggs near the base of the plant and when the larve hatch they eat their way into the stalks, causing them to wilt and die. The most satisfactory treatment is to gather and burn the vines as the crop is harvested. Later attacks are minimized by this treatment. Repellents, such as LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 225 corn cobs soaked in creosote, placed around the hills are sometimes used with partial success. In small areas the vines may be buried in the soil two or three feet away from their base. The vines root readily at the point where they are covered with soil, and inasmuch as the attack usually comes close to the base of the vine another set of roots is already developed to continue the growth. The principal varieties of summer squash are the Early White Bush, Yellow Bush and Summer Crookneck. The most popular varieties of the win- ter squash are the Green Hubbard, Golden Hub- bard, Boston Marrow, White Crookneck and Ford- hook. The pumpkin is a member of the same species as the summer squash. Great confusion arises from the common use of the two terms, pumpkin and squash. In common usage, however, the term pumpkin is applied to the large-growing running varieties of the summer squash, while the term squash is applied to those varieties having a bush- like habit of growth. Pumpkins are considered of less importance than squashes, but the demand for the former is rapidly increasing and their uses are becoming more varied and common. Large quan-: tities of pumpkins are now canned in various sec- tions of the country. It is almost universally grown as a companion crop with corn and under favorable conditions adapts itself to these surroundings with good results. The possible yields of pumpkins when given the entire soil to themselves and prop- erly cared for are almost beyond belief. The pumpkin is generally preferred to the squash for pies, and its common use for this purpose needs no further comment. It is also grown to a con- siderable extent for stock food, but when so used 226 must be looked upon as a field crop rather than a horticultural crop. Rich, moist soils are necessary for the proper growth of this crop. It rarely does well on the poor upland soils that dry out early in the season. They should be harvested with the stems attached, when well colored and before heavy frosts, if they are to be stored for winter use. Stored as already described for winter squashes they can be kept throughout the winter months without difficulty. Various varieties are popular in different local- ities. The Large Cheese is generally preferred for canning and holds well in storage. The selection of varieties, especially for home use, depends very largely upon location and personal tastes. SWEET POTATO The sweet potato finds its most favorable condi- tions of soil and climate south of the area in which the white or Irish potato thrives best. Both as a stock food and a food for human consumption, its value is very much higher than the Irish potato, which makes this plant one of unusual economic importance. The sweet potato is consumed almost to the exclusion of Irish potatoes in the South, while the honors are shared very extensively throughout the northern markets. Large quanti- ties are now being canned and they promise to also become an important source of commercial alcohol. This plant requires high temperatures and an abun- dance of sunshine. Heavy rainfalls are desirable during the growing period, but become decidedly detrimental when the crop is maturing. LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 227 The sweet potato is commercially impossible in the North on account of climatic conditions. It is, nevertheless, grown in a small way in many home gardens. The quality, however, is decidedly in- ferior and the yields low. While the potato is a heavy feeder and revels in rich soils, it demands a sandy type that warms up and dries out rapidly after heavy rains. Drainage must be practically perfect, although retentive subsoils are not consid- ered a disadvantage. In the South sweet potatoes are frequently grown profitably on soils considered too poor to satisfactorily grow cotton and tobacco. To prepare the land for this crop, it should be plowed early, and deeply and thoroughly pul- verized by the use of the disk harrows at inter- vals of a week or ten days until the season of plant- ing arrives. A week or two before planting, the commercial fertilizer to be used should be applied with a grain drill. All the way from 500 to 2,000 pounds per acre are applied by commercial growers, perhaps 1,000 pounds being about the average. Planting on ridges and on the level are both com- mon. Ridging is generally considered necessary where heavy rains prevail during the growing sea- son and washing is likely to occur. Propagation is extremely important with this crop and success depends largely upon the care taken in this work. The crop is usually started from slips or sets grown from tubers first bedded in clean, sterilized sand which has been placed over the manure in the ordinary hotbed. After the slips have grown from the tuber to the height of six or eight inches they root at their base and are readily separated by means of the fingers, work- ing down through the loose sand. The slips should be broken directly from the tuber in order to 228 sectire as many of the roots as possible. Other shoots readily develop after the first ones have been broken off and three or four crops may be secured. The later shoots, however, are weaker and not so satis- factory for planting purposes. This plan is fre- quently modified somewhat in planting large areas. A small area will be planted from plants secured as described above and planted very early in the season. By time to plant the main crop these vines will have made considerable growth and are cut and placed in the soil where the plant is expected to develop from the green stem cuttings. These green cuttings root readily and give excellent results. This plan sometimes avoids some of the serious diseases common to this crop. In level culture the planting distances are usually 30 to 36 inches between the rows and from 18 to 24 inches in the row. When planted on ridges the rows are usually from 30 to 40 inches wide with the plants from 12 to 18 inches apart in the rows. Cultivation should be started as soon as planting is completed. Spiked tooth cultivators are used as often as necessary to maintain a thorough mulch and until vine growth prevents further tillage. Little hand hoeing should be necessary where proper preparation and careful cultivation have been given. Sweet potatoes are usable as soon as they are of sufficient size, but their quality is low. and the yield poor. The high prices secured often justify early digging however. Where the crop is intended for storage, digging should be delayed as long as pos- sible in order that the maximum growth may be secured and the tubers become thoroughly mature. In harvesting the roots are usually plowed out with a special form of plow, carrying two roller LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 229 colters running on either side of the row to cut away the vines. The tubers are usually allowed to lie in the sun for a while before gathering, after which they are hauled to the storage house on springs. It is especially important that every operation in connection with harvesting be carefully done in order that injury to the roots may be reduced as much as possible. The sweet potato is subject to a number of dis- eases under storage conditions, and the losses at this point are enormous every year. The usual method of storage is to place them in large bins in frostproof buildings especially designed for the purpose. As the potatoes are being brought in from the field a temperature of 85 to go degrees should be maintained for ten days or two weeks in order to drive out quickly the surplus water from the tubers. After this period the temperature is gradu- ally lowered to from 50 to 55 degrees, where it is held during the remainder of the storing period. Any sudden changes in temperature resulting in con- densation of moisture on the roots usually prove disastrous. Sweet potatoes are graded in various grades, due to the demands of the market, and to meet local needs for seed purposes. They are commonly marketed in hampers and barrels. No serious insect pests are found attacking the sweet potato, but the black and soft rots are often very destructive. The black rot does most injury to the crop while still in the field, while the soft rot affects tubers only while in storage. Black rot can be controlled by a wide crop rotation and by grow- ing seed from slips unaffected. Disease-free tubers may be most easily secured by the use of vine- cutting plants, grown on clean soils. 230 Soft rot is controlled entirely by carefully sort- ing and handling the tubers throughout the entire process of harvesting and storing and by maintain- ing the proper temperatures, especially in the earlier stages of storage. Treatment of the roots before bedding for propagating purposes with the ordinary formalin solution used for potato scab has proved very effective in a number of experiments. A long list of varieties is found under cultiva- tion, but the leading ones are the Big Stem Jersey Yellow, Jersey Red, Southern Queen and Red Ber- muda. The term yam is often improperly applied to the soft-bodied, moist varieties of the sweet po- tato. This type is not shipped to any great extent, because the tubers do not handlé well and are extremely subject to rot. TOMATO The tomato is a native of America and a member of the nightshade family. It was formerly consid- ered to be poisonous and for this reason its cultiva- tion made slow progress in many sections for a long time. This prejudice proven fallacious, its popularity increased rapidly, until at the present time the tomato may be looked upon as one of the vegetables grown everywhere. It is a plant rarely found missing from the home garden, and is cultivated in large areas as a truck crop in the vicinity of every market. Thou- sands of acres are grown for canning purposes, and it has become one of the three leading vegetables ex- tensively forced under giass during the winter months. The tomato is a tropical plant, requiring _relatively high temperatures and an abundance of sunlight for its best development. In spite of this fact, however, it is successfully grown as an out- LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 231 door crop in the North by starting the plants under glass and having them well advanced by the time they can be safely transplanted to the field. The plants are very tender, and nothing is gained by starting them out of doors until all danger of frost is passed and the soil has become well warmed. The ideal soil for the tomato seems to be deep, well-fertilized and well-drained sandy loams. It A WELL-GROWN TOMATO PLANT READY FOR FINAL TRANSPLANTING does reasonably well, however, upon a wider range of soil types than most plants. The heavier clay soils, properly fertilized and handled, frequently give excellent returns, and the fruit is usually more solid, and for this reason generally considered better for canning. The extreme sandy soils give quicker re- 232 turns, but the yields are usually low. The soil should be plowed as early as possible in the spring and stirred frequently until planting time in order that it may become thoroughly well aerated and warmed. Fertilizers are liberally used upon the land to be planted to tomatoes. It is easy, however, to stimulate an excessive vine growth at the expense of fruit production by over- applications of nitrogenous materials, especially those decomposing slowly and rendering their nitro- gen available late in the season. Heavy applica- tions, of stable manure are desirable, but are pref- erably made to a preceding crop, thus becoming well decomposed and well mixed through the soil before tomatoes are planted. Commercial fertilizer containing 2% of nitrogen in the form of nitrate of soda, 8% to 10% of phosphorus and 6% to 8% of potash will usually be found a very satisfactory formula. This fertilizer should be used at the rate of 500 to 800 pounds per acre. Small applications of nitrate are frequently made to the plants after they have become well established. This stimulates a tank, vigorous growth in the early part of the sea- son. The nitrates, however, are quickly exhausted, bringing about a natural check later in the season, which is conducive to fruitfulness. For the early crop both North and South, except south of the frost belt, the plants are started under glass from four to ten weeks before they are to be trans- planted out of doors. The seedlings should be “pricked” off into small pots, flats or beds as soon as they have be- come of sufficient size to handle conveniently. Es- pecial care should be given to ventilation, watering and temperature in order that the plants will re- ceive no check at this stage. When grown in pots LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 233 the plants should be shifted to pots of larger size when the soil becomes well filled with roots; and when grown in the beds it is usually necessary to give at least one shift to greater distances apart in order that strong, stocky plants may be ready for field planting. Grown in this manner the plants are frequently from Io to 15 inches high, usually carry- ing a number of blooms, and in many cases small tomatoes, by time for transplanting. By care- ful transplanting to field conditions, selecting rainy or cloudy days or confining the transplanting to the late afternoon and evening, these large plants may be started without the loss of fruits and blooms, which will mature very early. Where the plants are kept for a considerable length of time after the seed has been sown in the greenhouse they often become too tall for the best results when transplanted in the ordinary way. The objection to such plants is largely overcome by plowing or digging a furrow three to five inches deep in which the reot and stem are placed and covered until only six or eight inches of the leafy tip remains above the ground. Roots readily develop from the buried stem, thus quickly increasing the feeding surface and hastening growth. The plants for the mid- season or late crop are often started from seed sown out of doors. They are not generally transplanted until taken from the seed bed to the field. Such plants are lacking in vigor, but when transplanting is done under favorable conditions in well-prepared soil, they will usually give good results. The plants grown for the early markets are nearly always trained in some manner. The most popular method of training is to drive a stake for each plant. This stake should be from one to two inches in diameter and about five feet in length. It is driven 234 into the soil near the plant at transplanting time or soon after. All the lateral shoots are kept closely cut off, only one stem being allowed to develop. This is tied to the stake from time to time as growth progresses. Usually four ties are required from the ground to the top of the stake. After the plant has reached the top of the stake the tip is pinched out, thus checking rapid terminal growth. Staking, to- gether with pruning, always gives earlier maturity and cleaner fruit than can be secured in the ordinary way. The yield per acre is also increased by stak- ing, on account of the fact that the plants may be placed closer together. The cost involved, however, is considerable and is usually prohibitive except in connection with the very early crops. The matter of pruning or pinching back the lateral buds as they develop in the axils of the leaves should receive much more atten- tion under field conditions where training is not practiced. In some experiments carried on by the author the yield under ordinary field conditions was considerably more than doubled by three prunings, confining the growth to two and three stems and keeping the laterals from these during the earlier part of the season. Cultivation should begin as soon as the plants are transplanted and be continued as long as it is possible to pass between the vines. Plants are usually set in rows 30 to 36 inches wide and from 18 to 24 inches apart in the rows where the staking method is followed. Under field conditions without training it is a common practice to set the tows 3% to 4 feet wide and the plants from 2% to 3 feet apart in the rows. Where plenty of land is available, check-rowing 314 feet each way is a common practice which greatly lessens the cost of production, LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 235 For markets near at hand the tomatoes should be allowed to become fully ripened on the vines. Fre- quent pickings should be the rule in order that the fruits sold may be uniform in ripeness and quality. When gathered for shipment to distant markets, the fruits should be picked when showing the whitish coloring or only slight indications of reddening. The tomato is handled in all sorts of packages. The bushel basket is largely used for close markets, especially in the North. The 20-pound split baskets and the Climax baskets are frequently used in shipping the forced, and in some cases, the out-of- door crop from the far South. Southern tomatoes, however, are largely shipped in the four and six- basket carriers. The yields of tomatoes vary widely, as might be expected from the fact that on account of its wide distribution it is frequently planted on soils poorly adapted to its culture. As high as from 800 to 1,000 bushels have been secured, but Tracy states that the average yield when grown for canning pur- poses does not exceed 100 bushels per acre. From 200 to 400 bushels should be secured as an average yield under market garden conditions. The forcing of tomatoes has become an extensive industry, but on account of the tropical nature of the plant, it requires structures built in the best possible manner and carefully arranged in order that temperature, moisture and ventilation may be under thorough control. For obvious reasons the tomato must be'‘closely planted and trained to a single stem ,under greenhouse conditions. An abundance of room must bé provided for an up- right growth. Low houses, therefore, are not de- sirable for forcing this crop. ‘236 es Under greenhouse conditions the tomato is sub- ject to a number of diseases, the most serious of which fall under the head of soil diseases. Thorough sterilization of the soil is necessary from year to year. Pollination must usually be done by hand, and large quantities of fertilizer and stable manure judiciously used. Where proper conditions can be given, the tomato proves a very profitable green- house plant. It is usually grown as an early fall and late spring crop, the intervening period being devoted to lettuce. Plants for forcing purposes are frequently grown from leaf and stem cuttings taken in August from strong vigorous plants. Few insect enemies are found troublesome upon the tomato. The tomato worm is the most serious pest out of doors, but is easily held under control by handpicking. It is more destructive in the South than in the North. The white fly frequently becomes a serious pest in the greenhouses. This insect is readily held in check by fumigation with tobacco, as described elsewhere. Mildew is a common disease often very destruc- tive in the forcing house. Slight yellowish discol- orations appear over the surface of the leaf, followed by wrinkling and drying. The older leaves are usually attacked first. The disease spreads quickly from leaf to leaf until the plant is practically de- stroyed. Infected plants should be removed at once when discovered. Frequent spraying with bordeaux mixture, or, if the fruit is maturing, cop- per carbonate solution will prove effective in con- trolling this trouble. The copper carbonate solution is prepared by dissolving one ounce of copper car- donate crystals in three pints of ammonia. This stock LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 237 solution should be diluted one gallon to 25 gallons of water and sprayed on the plants with a fine nozzle. The dry rot or southern blight is sometimes seri- ously troublesome upon stake tomatoes and espe- cially during dry seasons. It attacks the fruit at the blossom end, causing hard, dry discolorations which extend wholly or partially through the fruit. No effective remedy is known for this disease. It is less troublesome during seasons of abundant rainfall. Thorough cultivation by means of which the moisture may be conserved and made available for plant growth, together with irrigation, will be partially successful in lessening the amount of trouble from this cause. The varieties of tomatoes rapidly change, few enjoying a period of popularity longer than ten years. The leading varieties most widely under cultivation at the present time are the Earliana, Chalk’s Jewel, June Pink, Globe, Stone, Matchless, Coreless, Beauty and Ponderosa. The Stone is per- haps the leading variety grown for canning purposes. The Ponderosa is rarely grown in a commercial way, but is a favorite among home gardeners on account of its extreme large size and solid fruit. TURNIP Two types of turnips are extensively cultivated— the Flat Dutch or white type and the yellow or Swiss type. Both types are grown for their roots, and while they enjoy a comparatively wide dis- tribution they are of relatively little commercial importance. They are extensively grown in some sections as a stock food and in a limited way one or the other is to be found in almost every garden. The small returns commonly received from the turnip 238 rarely justify its being grown as a special crop by itself. It is almost universally grown as a catch crop after some earlier and more profitable crop has come off the land. The turnip frequently fol- lows early potatoes, early cabbage, or early beets. It is grown chiefly as a fall crop, but is sometimes sown early to be harvested and sold in the bunch form during early summer and handled in the same way as beets or radishes. The turnip requries a cool, moist climate, and, therefore fits into autumn conditions very well in most localities. It is comparatively hardy so far as frosts are concerned, and will continue to grow until severe freezing weather. Any soil producing good crops of potatoes, cab- bage or beets will produce good turnips. The soil is rarely ever fertilized directly for this plant. Seeding is usually done by broadcasting over the thoroughly fined and well-prepared soils after for- mer crops have been removed. About the first of July is the normal season for sowing the seed in the North. From six to ten weeks are required for maturity under normal conditions. Special care should be taken to avoid overseeding. It is a common prac- tice to mix the seed with ashes, road dust or other similar material in broadcasting. The seeds should be covered by light raking after sowing. When grown as an early spring crop it is common to sow them in drills and cultivate as with beets. The fall crop should be removed from the soil be- fore severe freezing occurs. They may be stored as already described for potatoes and other root crops. The rutabagas or Swiss turnips are similar to the white type in their climatic and soil requirements. They require a longer season, however, and should be sown at least a month or six weeks earlier than LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 239 the Dutch varieties. They are more frequently sown in drills and given some cultivation in order to keep down the weeds during the longer season required for growth. They are much richer in food value than the white turnips and are becoming more popular and in greater demand in many markets. The club root and cabbage root maggot, common diseases of the cabbage, are frequently very destruc- tive to the turnip. Rotation of crops is the only practical method of control. Turnips should never be planted after other cruciferous crops. WATERMELON In many respects the watermelon is the most im- portant plant of the cucumber family cultivated in America. It is an important commercial crop in practically all the southern states and may be grown successfully in a limited way in every state of the Union. Georgia and Texas lead all others in the production of this crop. The use of the water- melon is confined almost entirely to human con- sumption, and has no by-products. The water- melon thrives best in the long seasons of the South, where the days and nights are hot and where frost seldom interferes with its development from the time the young plants are through the ground until the fruit is harvested. The watermelon is more sen- sitive to cold than any other member of the cucum- ber family. A sandy soil is everywhere considered the ideal one, although the well-drained, alluvial river bottom lands are extensively planted. In the preparation of the soil it should be plowed to a medium depth early in the season and frequently stirred until planting time. It is hardly possible 240 to give too much tillage before planting. It is al- ways considered a good practice to plow under a crop of vetch, cow peas, or soy beans in preparation for the melon crop. Such a plan increases the or- ganic matter in the soil as well as the nitrogen con- tent. The watermelon, like all other plants of its family, is a heavy feeder and requires an abundance of available plant food. The hills should be planted from eight to twelve feet apart each way in check rows. A hole should be made at the point where the hill is to be located and a shovelful or two of well-rotted compost placed in the bottom. A complete fertilizer should also be used, analyzing approximately 3-8-10 or 3-6-8. This should be mixed with the soil at the rate of about one-half pound to the hill or applied with a drill over the entire surface before planting. Care should be taken that this fertilizer is thoroughly stirred and incorporated with the soil, otherwise serious injury may be done to germinating plants. An abundance of seed should be planted in order that there may be a sufficient number of plants to withstand the attacks of the cucumber beetle. From 15 to 20 seeds per hill will not be too many. Seeds should be placed about 1% inches deep. It is a common practice to plant one-half the seed at one time and the rest a week or ten days later. When the plants begin to form three or four leaves, they should be thinned to three or four plants to the hill, and if not showing a rapid growth at this time should be treated with a light dressing of nitrate of soda. Constant cultivation with the horse cul- tivators and the hoe should be kept up until the vines begin to run. Some weed growth late in the season is not generally considered detrimental as it shades the fruit somewhat. Sometimes soy beans LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 241 or cowpeas will be scattered over the soil at the last cultivation to serve this purpose. It is very important in marketing that the melons be gathered at the right degree of ripeness. More or less difficulty is experienced by the uninitiated in determining this condition. The thumping method so generally advocated is perhaps the most reliable test after all, yet different varieties respond very ‘differently to this particular test. After some ex- perience in the fields, with occasional cutting, there should be little excuse for green melons finding their way to market. The methods by which the experienced man will surely pick the ripe fruits are difficult to describe, but few mistakes will be made. The well-ripened fruit should give forth a somewhat hollowed and distinctly muffled ring when snapped with the finger. Melons with a springy, leathery feel should be avoided. Watermelons are extremely heavy and bulky and cannot be profitably shipped by express or in broken car lots. Few melons are shipped until ripe in sufficient quantities to permit of car lot shipments. The varieties commonly grown in the principal watermelon-growing districts are Georgia Rattle- snake, Kleckley, Florida Favorite, Kolb’s Gem and Pride of Georgia. INDEX Arsenate of Lead ......eceeee-. 55 ASParagus ...ceseseceeres Asparagus Beetle .......ssee00. 119 Asparagus Rust ......ceeeeeeee 119 Asparagus, Varieties of ... Beans ...... aiate. Sarai aieieiacaie Beans, Bush .......--2005 Beans, Lima .....cssecceseeses 123 Beans, Pole ....eeseecceseceees 123 Beans, Rust of ..... Bean, Weevil Beets Capbage Cabbage, S Cabbage, Insects ... Cabbage, Diseases .. 134 Cabbage, Varieties of .. » 135 Carrots, Cultivation of sevee 136 Carrots, Varieties of ........... 138 Cauliflower, Soil Requirements seed 138 Cauliflower, Varieties ..... 5 tite 40 Celery, Soil Requirements for. . «. 140 Celery, Blanching the.......... 144 Celery, Diseases of ... Celery, Varieties of ... Cellar Storage ...... ae Cold Frames ..............-.. 95 Compost Pile ..... as Corn, Sweet seceee 148 Corn, Harvesting, Marketing weee 149 Corn, Smut ....... sesveerscece 150 Corn, Ear Worm of .......++.. 151 Corn, Varieties of ..... eoeee 151 Cress, Water ........0.0-e00ee 151 Crop Rotation, Importance. of.. 37 Cucumber as a Field Crop...... 153 Cucumber as a Greenhouse Crop 155 Cucumber for Pickling ........ 156 Cucumber Beetle ........ seeeee 156 Cucumber Diseases ............ 158 Cucumber, Varieties of ......... 158 Cultivators, Types of .......... 17 Dandelion ..........0eeeee see 159 Depth of Sowing Seed"! weeeceeee 108 Diseases of Plants ........... . 56 Disinfecting Soils ............. 59 Disk Harrow .....s.ceeeceeeee 14 Double Cropping . Eggplant, Enemies” of .. Eggplant, Varieties of.. Endive Garden, Size of. Germination, Prompt Greenhouse Beds oa “Watke...: PAGE Greenhouses .iscecsceescsscese 85 Green Manure, Plants for....... 28 Green Manures ..........5.4.. 28 Hardening Off Plants .......«.- 112 Harrows and Harrowing ........ 14 Harrow, Spring-Tooth ......... 14 Harrow, Spike-Tooth ........... 14 Hillside Storage Hoe, Wheel ..... Horse Radish ... Insects, Have They Increased ? Insects, Methods of Destroying Irrigation Kale Kale, Varieties of . Kerosene Emulsion Kohl-Rabi_ ......... Lettuce, Cultivation ‘of Lettuce, Diseases of ..... Lettuce, Green Aphis of... Lettuce, Types of .....eeeeee00 167 Lettuce, Varieties of .........00 171 Lime as a Fertilizer ........... 35 Lime and Sulphur ...........6. 58 Location of the Garden ........ 5 Manure, Stable . Manure, Time to Apply ........ 22 Manure, Methods of Application. 27 Manure, Comparison of Different 165, 166 Kinds: is .issisea cnn ens one 122-26 Manure, Comparison of Fresh and Rotted: cee siesiaineiaisia cies sie - 24 Markets, Direct ..... 81 Markets, Wholesale 77 Muskmelon, Soil Requirements for 172 Muskmelon, Methods of Planting and Cultivation ........... 173 Muskmeton, Insects and Diseases OF The cisesccctvcnscecsesece 176 Mustard .....eccecceeeececeee 177 Nitrate of Soda .............. 34 Onion, Cultivation of .......... 179 Onion, Diseases ............. 389 Onion, Harvesting and ‘Storing. « 182 Onion, Insects ........... seeeee 188 Onion, Onion, Paris Green ....... Sieeais oie gees 55 ct ceeeeeerccce 191 PArsnips: