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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT:
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10
ral Science Series
p BY L. H. Bamey
“THE PRINCIPLES OF
Che Rural Scieure Series
EDITED BY L. H. BAILEY
THE Soin. King.
THE SPRAYING OF PLANTS. Lodeman.
MILK AND ITS Propucts. Wing. Enlarged and Revised.
THE FERTILITY OF THE LAND. Roberts.
THE PRINCIPLES OF FRUIT-GROWING. Bailey. 20th Edi-
tion, Revised.
BUSH-FRUITS. Card. Revised.
THE PRINCIPLES OF AGRICULTURE. Bailey. Revised.
IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE. King.
THE FARMSTEAD. Roberts.
RURAL WEALTH AND WELFARE. Fairchild.
THE PRINCIPLES OF VEGETABLE-GARDENING. Bailey. 18th
Edition, Revised.
FARM POULTRY. Watson. Enlarged and Revised.
THE FEEDING OF ANIMALS. Jordan. (Now Rural Tezt-
Book Series. Revised.)
THE FARMER’S BUSINESS HANDBOOK. Roberts.
THE DISEASES OF ANIMALS. Mayo.
THE Horse. Roberts.
How To CHOOSE A Farm. Hunt.
FORAGE Crops. Voorhees.
BACTERIA IN RELATION TO COUNTRY LIFE. Lipman.
HERTILIZERS. Voorhees. Revised.
THE NURSERY-BOOK. Bailey. (Now Nursery-Manual.
Revised.)
PLANT-BREEDING. Bailey and Gilbert. Revised.
THE FORCING-BOOK. Bailey.
THE PRUNING-BOOK. Bailey. (Now Pruning-Manual.
Revised.)
FRUIT-GROWING IN ARID REGIONS. Paddock and Whipple.
RURAL HYGIENE. Ogden.
DRY-FARMING. Widtsoe.
LAW FOR THE AMERICAN FARMER. Green.
FARM BOYS AND GIRLS. McKeever.
THE TRAINING AND BREAKING OF HoRSES. Harper.
SHEEP-FARMING IN NorTH AMERICA. Craig.
COOPERATION IN AGRICULTURE. Powell.
THE FARM Woopuot. Cheyney and Wentling.
HOUSEHOLD INSECTS. Herrick.
CITRUS FRUITS. Coit.
PRINCIPLES OF RURAL CREDITS. Morman.
BEEKEEPING. Phillips.
SUBTROPICAL VEGETABLE-GARDENING. Rolfs.
TURF FOR GOLF CouRSES. Piper and Oakley.
THE PoTato. Gilbert.
STRAWBERRY-GROWING. fletcher.
WESTERN LIVE-STOCK MANAGEMENT. Potter.
PEACH-GROWING. Gould.
THE SUGAR-BEET IN AMERICA. Harris.
PorK PropuctTion. Smith.
COMMERCIAL APPLE INDUSTRY OF NorRTH AMERICA. Folger
and Thomson. E
SwEET Potato. Hand and Cockerham.
LANDSCAPE-GARDENING. Simonds.
DEVELOPMENT OF INSTITUTIONS UNDER IRRIGATION.
Thomas.
THE PRINCIPLES OF
VEGETABLE-GARDENING
BY
L. H. BAILEY
HIGHTHENTH EDITION
Re-made and Re-set
jQem Mork
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1921
Ali vrights reserved
CopyrIGHT, 1901 anp 1921
By L. H. BAILEY
Set up and electrotyped January, 1901
Re-made and re-set June, 1921
Noy -2 1921
2)o.4630464
Printed in the United States of America
| o> ae
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
THE SUBJECT .
Group I. The Herbage Vegetables .
Group II. The Root Vegetables .
Group III. The Fruit Vegetables .
The Laboratory .
The Plan of the Book
CHAPTER II
PERENNIAL CROPS
Asparagus sks
Distances; Planting
Tillage and Care .
The Crop
Seedlings .
Varieties bia eee
The Asparagus Plant .
Rhubarb or Pie-Plant
The Rhubarb Plant .
Artichoke Ra et visas
The Artichoke Plant .
Girasole Sikh eee
The Girasole Plant .
Sea-kale Pei gE
The Sea-kale Plant .
Dock and Sorrel .
Udo © See
(Vv)
v1 Contents
CHAPTER III
PAGES
SPINACH AND OTHER GREENS . ... « . + © 2 Snopes
Spinach 9.0.0 6. ee Ae a Sa er
The Spinach Plant. 2 2... 2... 20°.) 2 2) Geil
Other Greens ... 3.4.05. oe oe ee ee
Orach os Sh 3 ee eee 59
Chard or Leaf-Beet ..-..5 2. 2) ne
Mustard 20.0. 260. 0) a
Purslane . 0.0) se 23 se 8 ee
Dandelion <9... 3. c's... ee
CHAPTER IV
CoLE CROPS Pere rere PL
Cabbage oy eles le chaos ans 66-79
Propagation; Tillage <9...) . 2 ene
Harvesting ;. Storing =. . 5.42 92) cag5
Varieties; Seed-growing . . .% . =) es) eens
Kale or Borecole; Collards’: . . 3)... 4323232) ae oe
Brussels -Sprouts:. 20. 20) 3 a eee
Cauliflower: Broecoli .2 2s... 25.3 ee
Koblrabi ig ae ee es ei has ee err re
Pe-t8ai 0. oe a ee err a
The Cole Plants and Their Kin’. |. 2 2 223 eeeoto os
CHAPTER V
SALAD IOROPS 60208005 as a ee
Lettuce 2.02 200 Se eo a ee
The Lettuce Plant .).. . 2.) 2 3:22 eee
Contents
Endive and Chicory
Chicory Wabiewine wakes SSOrk OR eaii
The Endive and Chicory Plants
Cress
Garden Cress
Water-Cress
Corn-salad
Parsley
Salad Chervil
Celery
Field Management .
Blanching
Marketing; storing .
Varieties ;
The Celery Plant
CHAPTER VI
BULB OR ONION CROPS
Onion
Early Green Onions .
Main-crop Dry Onions .
The Seeding
Field Practices
Storing
The Kinds .
Other Alliaceous Crops
Leek
Garlic Seah ee Renae
Ciboule or Welsh Onion .
Shallot :
Chive or Chives .
The Onion Plants
vil
PAGES
. 109-116
5 hie
5, he
PealnliGed Dt
. 116-118
, OL
| SLR
23104
241g
. 126-139
MO =132
| PES
. 136-138
138
. 138-189
. 140-160
pepe
. 144-146
1 146-147
. 148-149
. 149-152
. 152-153
. 158-154
. 154-160
. 154-155
155
156
156
156
. 156-160
Vill Contents
CHAPTER Vil
Root Crops
Beet
The Beet Plant
Radish ‘
The Radish Plant .
Turnip and Rutabaga
Rutabaga
Horse-radish : F
The Horse-radish Plant
Carrot we ;
The Carrot Plant
Parsnip :
The Parsnip Plant .
Celeriac
Turnip-rooted or Tuberous Chervil .
Skirret
Salsify g
The Salsify Plant
Scorzonera or Black Salsify .
Scolymus or Spanish Salsify .
CHAPTER VIII
THE PoTATO CROPS .
Potato
Land and Tillage
Seeding :
Harvesting apa Stone
Varieties
The Potato Plant
PAGES
. 161-200
. 164-170
. 169-170
- LIOATT
. 175-177
. 177-181
. 179-181
. 181-185
. 184-185
. 185-190
. 189-190
. 190-193
. 192-198
. 193-194
. 194-195
. 195-196
. 196-198
. 197-198
198
. 198-200
. 201-227
. 202-216
. 208-209
. . 209-210
. 210-214
. 214-215
. 215-216
Contents
Sweet Potato
Propagation :
Harvesting and Storing
Varieties
The Sweet Potato leat
CHAPTER IX
PEAS AND BEANS .
IPB) 5 eae ee
The Pea Plant .
Beans
Broad Bean ,
The Common Carden Bean :
Multiflora Bean :
Sieva and Lima Beans .
The Bean Plants
CHAPTER X
SOLANACEOUS FRUITS .
Tomato ‘
Starting the Plants
Training and Pruning
Harvesting and Marketing .
Kinds A
The Tomato Plant é
HKggplant
The Eggplants .
Pepper or Capsicum
The Pepper Plants .
Husk Tomato
1x
PAGES
. 216-227
. 243-246
. 246-247
. 247-250
. 290-253
_ 254-279
. 255-267
. 258-260
. 260-262
. 262-268
. 263-264
_ 264-267
| BER
, SOO
. TRB
+ DBO
, De
x Contents
CHAP TMi aot
THE CUCURBITS :
Cucumber and Gherkin
Melon
Watermelon
Pumpkin and Squash
The Cucurbitous Plants
CHAPTER XII
SWEET CorN. OKRA. MARTYNIA .
Sweet Corn ee io ee
The Sweet Maize Plant
Okra or Gumbo
The Okra Plant .
Martynia
GHAPTER Xai
CULINARY HERBS .
CHAPTER XIV
GLASS . RAGE cee ame LEM ean ee
1. Quantity of Glass Required .
2. The Making of Frames .
Location and Exposure
Building the Frame
3. Coldframes and Forcing-hills
Foreing-hills
PAGES
. 280-315
. 284-291
. 291-296
. 296-301
. 301-305
. 305-315
. 316-330
. 316-323 ©
. 322-323
. 323-327
327
. 327-330
. 331-334
. 335-364
. 386-338
. 888-842
. 339-340
. 340-342
. 342-346
. 043-346
Contents
4, Hotbeds
Handling the Horse Manure
Making the Manure Bed
Pipe-heated Hotbeds
Flue-heated Beds .
Substitutes for Glass
Hotbed Covers acc nghyte
Sowing Seeds in the Hotbed .
5. The Management of Frames .
Wintering Autumn-Sown Plants
CHAPRTHR XY.
THE LANP AND ITS TREATMENT .
1. The Amelioration of the Land
Drainage
RING N CEs a
Addition of Humus .
Rotation
2. The Direct Fertilizing of the Land
8. The Irrigation of the Land
CHAPTER XVI
VEGETABLE-GARDENING TOOLS AND IMPLEMENTS .
The Implements and Their Work
CHAPTER XVII
SEEDS AND SEEDAGE
1. The Testing of Seeds .
Testing for Impurities
Testing for Viability
Percentages and Longevity
XI
PAGES
046
. 346-348
. 348-350
. 390-351
. 351-3538
. 393-354
. 354-356
. 396-358
. 008-364
. 063-364
. 365-887
. 388-396
. 392-396
. 397-413
. 397-402
. d98—399
. 399-401
. 401-402
X11
Contents
2. The Growing of Seeds
The Breeding of Seeds
Seed-growing
3. The Sowing of Seeds .
OTHER MANAGEMENT OF THE VEGETABLE-GARDEN .
1. Double-cropping or Inter-cropping .
i)
sade
Particulars in Seed-sowing .
The Seed-Bed
Sterilizing the Soil .
CHAPTER XVIII
Sueccession-cropping
Companion-cropping .
Transplanting
Weeds
Inseets and Fungi
Insectides
Fungicides Be i
Cutworms and Army-worms .
Wireworms
White grubs
Grasshoppers
Red-spider
Blister-beetles
Flea-beetles .
Greenhouse Aatiessibe
Root-knot Nematode or HKel-worm
Millipedes
Slugs
PAGES
. 402-407
- 403-405
. 405-407
. 407-413
. 408-411
. 411-413
413
. 414-488
. 414418
. 414416
. 417-418
. 418-423
. 423-425
. 425-438
429
. 429-430
. 480-432
. 4382-433
433
435
434
434
435
. 435-4386
436
. 4386-4387
. 4387-438
: Contents
CHAPTER XIX
MARKETING, STORING, DRYING .
1. Grading and Packing .
2. Storing
Pits, or Field Storage
Various Patterns of Storage Sectines
The Burying of Vegetables
3. Drying
CHAPTER XX
THE HOME GARDEN .
TR WISTSSS 957 GSAS i Rei ot
e °
X11
PAGES
. 439-465
. 441-447
. 447-458
. 451-454
» 454-457
. 457-458
. 458-465
. 466-475
- 477-490
THE PRINCIPLES OF
VEGETABLE-GARDENING
CHAPTER I
THE. SUBJECT
All plants are vegetables ; yet by custom we designate the
oleraceous or esculent herbs in a class by themselves, call-
ing them “ vegetables ” in a restricted sense. The growing
of these plants is known as vegetable-gardening, an awk-
ward and ambiguous term, although now well restricted by
usage. Sturtevant propounded the term olericulture*
(ol’ericulture, from Latin olus, kitchen herbs), but it is
little used. Its etymology is good, but the word is rather
formidable, and it naturally implies only the culture of
vegetables, whereas the subject gathers to itself much fact
and interest not closely connected with the manual prac-
tices. ‘This term should properly cover the subjects
*h. Lewis Sturtevant, Proc. Western N. Y. Hort. Soc., 1886, 25:
“As we indulge in special studies we often find a necessity for additional
words to our language which shall express more definitely our subject than
those in common use. -. . . I suggest in addition pomiculture, or fruit-
culture, and olericulture, or vegetable-culture.”
(1)
2 The Subject
associated with the olerarvwm, which is the olery or vege-
table-garden. Effort has been taken to make a new term
from plainer sources, as Day’s vegeculture,* but this is
linguistically imperfect, although custom may eventually
sanction it, or something like it, and in that event
the justification will lhe in considering it a contradiction of
“ vegetable-culture ”; vegeticulture would be better.
Historically, the garden vegetables are specially those of
edible herbage and root, eaten with meats or other foods
rather than as desserts. They are cooked as pot-herbs, or
eaten raw as salads. Cabbages and all their kind, spinach,
lettuce, beet-root, onion tribes, are of this class. But now
we add many fruits, and some of them are strictly desserts,
as the melons, which may be treated in European books
on fruit-culture, as strawberries may be treated in books
on vegetable-gardening. But the vegetables, in current
usage, are products of herbaceous plants and usually of
annuals, whereas the fruits (if we conveniently forget the
strawberry and do not define too closely with the banana
and a few others) are products of woody plants. But
although the definition may be difficult, my reader knows
what a vegetable is; or if he does not know, he may more
or less inform himself as he turns these pages.
The term vegetable-gardening, then, comprises a wide
range of products limited by usage. Associated with the
subject is also a large series of commercial questions in
manufacture, transportation, refrigeration, marketing.
This book deals primarily with the gardening phase of the
subject, as its title indicates, for “ horticulture ends at the
*Harry A. Day, F.R.H.S. Vegeculture: How to grow vegetables, salads,
and herbs in town and country. London, 1917.
Inventory 3
factory door,” as it is written in the Annals of Horti-
culture for 1891; wherefore we may compile an inventory
at the outset of vegetable-garden plants. The list is not
nearly complete for the countries of the world, but it con-
tains sufficient species for purposes of illustration, and it
includes all those grown to any extent in the United States
and Canada. The first obligation of the horticulturist is
to know his plants and be able to grow them.
If the reader is curious to compare this inventory with
a catalogue of species of fruits (as in Principles of Fruit-
Growing, 20th and subsequent editions) he will note the
marked dissimilarities in the representations of the fam-
hes of plants. The great Rose family, so abundant in
pomologica] material, is practically unrepresented, whereas
the Pea family, barely represented in the fruits, is fertile
in important species. The Rue family (Rutacee, yielding
the citrus fruits) is unrepresented, as also Myrtacee, Vita-
cee, Palmacex, and the nut-yielding families as Juglan-
dace and Fagacez. On the other hand, certain families
come prominently into this list that are absent from the
other, as Cruciferee, Chenopodiacee, Umbelliferee, Labiate,
Composite. The fruits and the vegetables represent unlike
parts of the plant kingdom, showing that there is a real
divergence between pomiculture and olericulture.
Group I. Tur HERBAGE VEGETABLES
in which the leaves and growing parts are eaten.
Agaricacee, Mushroom Family. -
Mushroom, Agaricus campestris.
Graminex, Grass Family.
Bamboo, Phyllostachys pubescens, and others.
Co-ba, hydropyrum, Zizania latifolia.
+ The Subject
Liliacee, Lily Family.
Asparagus, Asparagus officinalis.
Chive, chives, Allium Schanoprasum.
Tridacee, Iris Family.
Saffron, Crocus sativus.
Moracee, Mulberry Family.
Hop (young shoots), Humulus Lupulus.
Polygonacee, Buckwheat Family.
Rhubarb, pie-plant, Rhewnm Rhaponticum.
Spinach dock, herb patience, Rumex Patientia.
Spinach dock (of Chinese), Rumer dentatus.
Sorrel, Rumex Acetosa.
French sorrel, Rumex scutatus.
Chenopodiacez, Goosefoot Family.
Spinach, Spinacia oleracea.
Orach, Atriplex hortensis.
Mercury, Good King Henry, Chenopodium Bonus-Henricus.
Blite, Chenopodium capitatum.
Lamb’s quarters, goosefoot, pigweed, Chenopodium album
(taken in the fields, scarcely cultivated).
Beet, beet-root, Beta vulgaris (see also Group I1).
Chard, Beta vulgaris var. Cicla.
Quinoa, ‘Chenopodium Quinoa (see also Group III).
Amaranthacee, Amaranth Family.
Amaranth, Amaranthus gangeticus, and A. Blitum (A. ole-
raceus). Other species are collected for greens.
Phytolaceacee, Pokeweed Family.
Scoke, Phytolacca americana, P. esculenta.
Aizoacee, Carpetweed Family.
New Zealand spinach, Tetragonia erpansa.
Tce-plant, Mesembryanthemum crystallinum.
Portulacacese, Purslane Family.
Purslane, Portulaca oleracea.
Winter purslane, Montia perfoliata.
Basellacee, Madeira-vine Family.
Basella, Malabar nightshade, Basella rubra and B. alba.
Madeira-vine, Boussingaultia baselloides.
Inventory 5
Crucifere, Mustard Family.
Cabbage, Brassica oleracea var. capitata.
Cauliflower, broccoli, Brassica oleracea var. botrytis.
Brussels sprouts, Brassica oleracea var. gemmifera.
Kale, Brassica oleracea vars. acephala and ramosda.
Kohlrabi, Brassica caulo-rapa.
Pe-tsai, Brassica pekinensis.
Mustard, Brassica alba, B. nigra, B. juncea, B. japonica,
B. rugosa, and others.
Water-cress, Roripa Nasturtium-aquaticum.
Tropical cress, Roripa indica.
Cress, Lepidium sativum.
Upland cress, Barbarea vulgaris and B. verna.
Sea-kale, Crambe maritima.
Rocket-salad, Hruca sativa.
Turkish or oriental rocket, Bunias orientalis.
Seurvy-grass, Cochlearia officinalis.
Shepherd’s purse, Capsella Bursa-pastoris.
Rosacez, Rose Family.
Burnet, Sanguisorba minor.
Tropxolaces, Tropeolum Family.
Indian cress, Tropewolum minus and T. majus.
Tiliacee, Linden Family.
Jew’s mallow, edible jute, Corchorus olitorius.
Malvacese, Mallow Family.
Roselle, Hibiscus Sabdariffa.
Araliacese, Ginseng Family.
Udo, Aralia cordata.
Umbellifere, Parsley Family.
Celery, Apium graveolens.
Parsley, Petroselinum hortense.
Lovage, Levisticum officinale.
Myrrh, sweet cicely, Myrrhis odorata.
Chervil, Anthriscus Cerefolium.
Angelica, Archangelica officinalis.
Fennel, Feniculum vulgare and botanical varieties,
6 The Subject
Alexanders, Smyrnium Olustrum.
Samphire, Crithmum maritimum.
Mitsuba (of Japan), Cryptotenia canatensis.
Convolvulacese, Morning-glory Family.
Kan-kun, young-tsai, Ipomea reptans.
Alanga, moonflower (calyces), Calonyction aculeatum.
Labiate, Mint Family.
Sage, Salvia officinalis.
Clary, Salvia Sclarea.
Hyssop, Hyssopus officinalis.
Thyme, Thymus vulgaris and T. Serpyllum.
Lavender, Lavandula vera and L. Spica.
Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis.
Horehound, Marrubium vulgare.
Mint, Mentha citrata, M. rotundifolia.
Peppermint, Mentha piperita.
Spearmint, Mentha spicata.
Pennyroyal, Mentha Pulegium.
Basil, Ocimum Basilicum, O. suave, and O. minimum.
Balm, Melissa officinalis.
Marjoram, Origanum Majorana, O. vulgare, and O. Onites.
Savory, summer, Satureia hortensis,
Savory, winter, Satureia montana.
Catnip, Nepeta Cataria.
Valerianacee, Valerian Family.
Corn-salad, fetticus, Valerianella Locusta.
Italian corn-salad, Valerianella. eriocarpa.
African valerian, Fedia Cornucopie.
Compositze, Composite or Sunflower Family.
Lettuce, Lactuca sativa and botanical varieties.
Chicory, witloof, Cichorium Intybus (see also Group ITI).
Endive, Cichorium Endivia.
Artichoke, Cynara Scolymus.
Cardoon, Cynara Cardunculus.
Pot marigold, Calendula officinalis.
Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum coronarium.
Costmary, Chrysanthemum Balsamita.
Inventory
Wormwood, Artemisia Absinthium and A. pontica.
Mugwort, Artemisia vulgaris.
Southernwood, Artemisia Abrotanum.
Tarragon, Artemisia Dracunculus.
Para cress, Spilanthes oleracea.
Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale.
Tansy, Tanacetum vulgare.
Group II. THe Root VEGETABLES
in which certain underground parts are eaten.
Alismaces, Water-Plantain Family.
Arrow-head, Sagittaria sagittifolia.
Cyperacez, Sedge Family.
Water-chestnut (of the Orient), Hleocharis dulcis.
Chufa, Cyperus esculentus.
Aracee, Arum Family.
Culeas, Egyptian taro, Colocasia antiquorwm.
Taro, Colocasia esculenta.
Yautia, malanga, tanier, Xanthosoma sagittifolium.
Konjac, kKoniakum, mo-yii, Amorphophallus Konjac.
Zingiberacee, Ginger Family.
Ginger, Zingiber officinale.
Cannaces, Canna Family.
Canna, Queensland arrow-root, Canna edulis.
Arrowroot, Maranta arundinacea.
White topinambour, topee-tamboo, Calathea Alluwia.
Liliacee, Lily Family.
Onion, Allium Cepa.
Welsh onion, Allium fistulosum.
Portuguese onion, Allium lusitanicum.
Shallot, Allium ascalonicum.
Garlic, Allium sativum.
Rocambole, Allium Scorodopraswm.
Leek, Alliwm Porrum.
Lily, Liliwm species.
8 The Subject
Dioscoreacer, Yam Family.
Yam (true), Dioscorea Batatas, D. alata, and others.
Air potato, D. bulbifera (tubers mostly aerial).
Chenopodiacex, Goosefoot Family.
Beet, beet-root, mangel, Beta vulgaris (see also Group I).
Olluco, Ullucus tuberosus.
Nympheacee, Water-lily Family.
Water-lily root, Nelumbo nucifera.
Crucifere, Mustard Family.
Radish, Raphanus sativus and botanical varieties.
Turnip, Brassica Rapa.
Rutabaga, Brassica campestris var. napo-brassica.
Tuberous-rooted mustard, Brassica napiformis.
Horse-radish, Armoracia rusticand.
Leguminose, Pulse or Pea Family.
Groundnut, Apios tuberosa.
Goa bean (tuberous roots), Psophocarpus tetragonolobus
(see also Group IIT).
Yam-bean (tuberous roots), Pachyrhizus erosus and P.
tuberosus (see also Group III).
Kudzu, Pueraria hirsuta.
Oxalidacew, Wood-sorrel Family,
Oka, Oxalis crenata.
Euphorbiacerx, Spurge Family.
Cassava, Manihot utilissima.
Tropzolaceex, Tropzxolum Family.
Capucin, Tropeolum tuberosum,
Onagracee Evening Primrose Family.
Evening primrose, @nothera biennis.
Umbellifere, Parsley Family.
Parsnip, Pastinaca sativa.
Carrot, Daucus Carota.
Skirret, Siui Sisarum.
Tuberous chervil, Cherophyllum bulbosum.
Celeriac, Apium graveolens var. rapaceum.
Aracacha, Peruvian parsnip, Arracacie ranthorrhiza.
Inventory 3 9
Convolvulacee, Morning-glory Family.
Sweet potato, yam (erroneously), Jpomea Batatas.
Labiate, Mint Family.
Chorogi, Japanese or Chinese artichoke, Stachys Sieboldii.
Innala, Plectranthus tuberosus.
Solanaceze, Nightshade Family.
Potato, Solanum tuberosum.
Martyniacee, Martynia Family.
Craniolaria, creole scorzonera, Craniolaria annua.
Campanulacez, Bluebell Family.
Rampion, Campanula Rapunculus.
Compositz, Composite or Sunflower Family.
Salsify, oyster plant, vegetable oyster, Tragopogon porri-
folius.
Spanish salsify, Scolymus htspanicus.
Black salsify, Scorzonera hispanica.
French secorzonera, Picridium vulgare.
Girasole (Jerusalem artichoke), Helianthus tuberosus.
Chicory, Cichorium Intybus (see also Group I).
Gobo, Arctium Lappa.
Elecampane, Inula Helenium.
Group Ill. THe Fruir VEGETABLES
in which the fruits or seeds, or both, are eaten.
Graminex, Grass Family.
Maize, sweet corn, Zea Mays var. rugosa.
Chenopodiacez, Goosefoot Family.
Quinoa, Chenopodium Quinoa (see also Group I).
Ranunculacee, Crowfoot Family.
Fennel flower, Nigella sativa.
Crucifere, Mustard Family.
Rat-tailed radish, Raphanus sativus var. caudatus.
Leguminosez, Pulse or Pea Family.
Bean, kidney bean, haricot, Phaseolus vulgaris.
Searlet runner bean, Phaseolus multifiorus.
Sieva bean, civet bean, Phaseolus lunatus.
10 The Subject
Lima bean, Phaseolus lunatus var. macrocarpus.
Tepary bean, Phaseolus acutifolius.
Mung bean, Phaseolus aureus.
Urd bean, Phaseolus Mungo.
Adzuki bean, Phaseolus angularis.
Moth bean, Phaseolus aconitifolius.
Metcalfe bean, Phaseolus Metcalfei.
Rice bean, Phaseolus calcaratus.
Pea, Pisum sativum.
Broad bean, Vicia Faba.
Peanut, goober (underground fruits), Arachis hypogea.
Lentil, Lens esculenta.
Cowpea, Vigna sinensis.
Catjang, Vigna Catjang.
Asparagus bean, Vigna sesquipedalis.
Soybean, Glycine Soja.
Chick-pea, garbanzo, Cicer arietinum.
Hyacinth bean, Dolichos Lablab.
Madras gram, Dolichos bijlorus.
Chickling vetch, gesse, Lathyrus sativus.
Jack-bean, Canavalia ensiformis, and probably others.
Ground-pea (of Africa), Kerstingiella geocarpa (kandela)
and Voandzeia subterannea (vandzon).
Goa bean, asparagus pea (edible pods), Psophocarpus
tetragonolobus (see also Group IT).
Pigeon-pea, Cajanus indicus.
Yam-bean (edible pods), Pachyrhizus erosus and P. twbero-
sus (see also Group II).
Winged pea, Lotus Tetragonolobus.
Velvet bean, Stisolobium species.
Guar, cluster bean, Cyamopsis psoraloides.
Malvacere, Mallow Family.
Okra, gumbo, Hibiscus esculentus.
Trapacee (or Onagracee), Trapa Family.
Water ecaltrop, water chestnut (of Europeans), Trapa
natans.
Singhara nut, Trapa bispinosa.
Inventory 11
Umbellifere, Parsley Family.
Coriander, Coriandrum sativum.
Caraway, Carum Carvi.
Dill, Anethum graveolens.
Cumin, Cuminum Cyminum.
Solanacex, Nightshade Family.
Tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum and L. pimpinellifolium.
Tree tomato, Cyphomandra betacea.
Red pepper, chilli, cayenne pepper, Capsicum annuum and
C. frutescens.
Husk tomato, ground cherry, Physalis pubescens, P. peru-
viana and P. ixocarpa.
Pepino, Solanum muricatum,
Morelle, garden huckleberry, wonderberry, Solanum
nvigrum.
Other solanums yield comestible fruits.
Martyniacee, Martynia Family.
Martynia, unicorn plant, Proboscidea louisiana.
Cucurbitacee, Gourd or Melon Family.
Cucumber, Cucuitis sativus.
Gherkin, Cucumis Anguria.
Mandera cucumber, Cucumis Sacleuxrit.
Melon, dudaim, Cucumis Melo and botanical varieties.
Watermelon, Citrullus vulgaris.
Squash, pumpkin, vegetable marrow, Cucurbita Pepo, C.
maxima, and C. moschata.
Siam or Malabar gourd, Cucurbita ficifolia.
Wax gourd, white melon, ash pumpkin, Benincasa hispida.
Calabash gourd, Lagenaria leucantha.
Cassabanana, melocoton, Sicana odorifera.
Luffa, Luffa cylindrica and L. acutangula.
Chayote, christophine, Sechium edule.
Balsam apple, Womordica Balsamina.
Balsam pear, Momordica Charantia.
Snake gourd, Trichosanthes Anguina.
Pepino de comer, Cyclanthera pedata.
12 The Subject
This inventory contains all the leading vegetable-garden
plants of the world, and a good number of those of minor
importance. It suggests the variety and wealth of the
field in plant materials. It would run into many hun-
dreds more if a complete list were attempted. In 1889,
Sturtevant (Agric. Sci. ii: 174-8) classified 1,070 species
of cultivated food plants, and added that his notes include
4,233 species of edible plants in 1,353 genera and 170 fam-
ilies.* These plants comprise all classes,—grains, fruits,
vegetables and others. Undoubtedly these numbers could
now be much increased.
In the foregoing lists are 247 entries, of which 114 are
leaf vegetables, 59 root vegetables, and 74 fruit vegetables.
It displays a fascimating field for labor and study. Here
are seeds of unimagined forms, oddities in germination,
growths to fix the attention, flowers and fruits represent-
ing the vast range of the vegetable kingdom, products in
which one may take a personal pride. The number of
domesticated forms is sumless, and yet the opportunity for
plant-breeding is without end. Who knows the fruits of
even the common vegetables? Who can describe accu-
rately even one of the plants, as the botanist would de-
scribe it if he had his material properly preserved before
him? Where are the herbaria and the museums in which
the common things, to say nothing of the uncommon ones,
are adequately collected? Plant-growing is so commer-
cialized that we are tempted to give most of our atten-
‘tion to the mechanical and business aspects of the subject,
losing our skill as plantsmen. But whatever the develop-
*See also the recent extensive volume issued by the N. Y. Agric. Ex-
per. Station (Geneva), called “‘Sturtevant’s Notes on Edible Plants.”
The Affection for the Work 13
ment of any one of these industries, we must remember that
the starting-point is the seed, and that the horticulturist
must ever renew his effort to get back to the plant. This
effort is not to be conceived as an impersonal task yielding
results for commerce and science, but as an ardent affection.
This affection runs not only to the growing of the plants
and to the joy of gardening, but also to the appreciation
of the good quality that one gets directly from fresh
vegetables of merit. It is good to know the plants on
which these products grow. As millions of people do not
have gardens, so are they unaware of the low quality of
much of the commercial produce as compared with things
well grown in due season. Most persons, depending on
the market, do not know what a superlative watermelon
is like. Even such apparently indestructible things as
cucumbers have a crispness and delicacy when taken
directly from the vine at proper maturity that are lost to
the store-window supply. Every vegetable naturally loses
something of itself in the process from field to consumer.
When to this is added the depreciation by storage, careless
exposure and rough handling, one cannot expect to receive
the full odor and the characteristic delicacies that belong
to the product in nature. We must also remember the
long distances over which much of the produce must be
transported, and the necessity to pick the produce before
it is really fit, to meet the popular desire to have vegetables
out of season and when we ought not to want them. There
is a time and place for everything, vegetables with the rest.
Modern methods of marketing, storing and handling have
facilitated transactions, and they have also done very much
to safeguard the produce itself and to deliver it to the cus-
14 The Subject
tomer in good condition; but the vegetable well chosen and
well grown and fresh from the garden is nevertheless the
proper standard of excellence. It is a surpassing satisfac-
tion when the householder may go to her own garden
rather than to the store for her lettuce, onions, tomatoes,
beets, peas, cabbage, melons, and other things good to see
and to eat, and to have them in generous supply.
Yet many vegetable-growers are not directly concerned
with the table supply and the general home interest but
with the raising of produce for market. Of this range
there are two types—market-gardening and truck-growing.
The former is the growing of a wide or general range of
vegetables. by intensive methods near the city, so near that
the producer may perhaps drive to the market. The latter
(trucking) is the growing of a few specialties on cheaper
land by more extensive methods at some distance (often
a great distance) from the cities, depending on the long
haul by water or rail; of this kind is the growing of large
areas in spinach, watermelons, cabbage, kale, potatoes.
These distinctions in the business of vegetable-growing
were made in the Eleventh Census (Bull. 41, by J. H.
Hale; Census of 1890). They are now accepted by
American writers.* Yet even in these important com-
mercial practices, now bulking so large in the produce-
yield of the country, the relation with the plant is the
first consideration. |
Having now been introduced to our subject, we may be-
gin at once to grow the plants.
*As, for example, R. L. Watts, Vegetable Gardening, copyrighted 1912;
L. C. Corbett, Garden Farming, 1913; J. W. Lloyd, Productive Vegetable
Growing, 1914; J. G. Boyd, Vegetable Growing, 1917.
THE LABORATORY
Books of practice are now used in colleges and schools as
well as directly by growers. The first requisite in the teaching
of students in the biological sciences is drill in identification
and observation. The student who cannot see what he looks
at and accurately describe it, is not ready for lectures or for
investigation. It is hoped that vegetable-gardening may be
made a means of exact education in natural science, equivalent
in its processes with other phases of botany. The student
‘should know the species in the main groups of oleraceous
plants. To this end, descriptions of many plants are inserted
in the present volume.
The identification and description exercise may well be
extended to other species and also to the differing horticultural
varieties. All this should be a good preparation for the practi-
cal applications, adding to one’s proficiency in vegetable-grow-
ing aS well as opening a world of resources in the objects in
nature. To detect and recognize insects and their eggs, plant
diseases, the effects of treatments and conditions on the welfare
of the plants, requires sharp eyes that are sure of what they see.
The plants themselves, and their many parts, are the pri-
mary resource in laboratory work in any branch of horticul-
ture. The growing plants are naturally to be preferred, but they
cannot always be had in sufficient quantity and variety, and
they soon wilt and lose their significance; a wide range of
fairly permanent subjects should be before the student for
comparison whatever the season of the year, comprising good
herbarium material (not merely leaves), seeds, and accurate
pictures of the produce if actual specimens cannot be had.
The verification should always extend, however, to the living
plants themselves and their products. Whatever the method,
the object is to develop the keen and practiced eye, as well as
accurate appreciation of record and citation.
The study of the plants does not restrict itself to identifica-
tion of the kinds and to their taxonomic treatment, although
(15)
16 The Subject
these are the phases specially significant to the beginning stu-
dent, for he must first know his materials. The physiology
and genetics, using these terms in the broadest sense, are sub-
jects of the highest importance; the time must soon come
when the accumulated knowledge must be assembled and ably
digested.
Be it said at the beginning that the nomenclature of the
botanical varieties or races of garden vegetables lies yet in an
uncertain state. The search of literature for the oldest ten-
able trinomial designations has not been made, as it has been
made for the names of wild plants. The search will be ex-
ceedingly complex, and it will need the services of a trained
taxonomist. What classes of literature should be admitted
as competent in such inquiries is a subject for discussion before
the search itself is undertaken. This field of taxonomy is
undeveloped. In the meantime, the writer presents diagnoses
of the varieties under the best names he knows, hoping to
make a fuller survey of the subject on another occasion.
The varieties under consideration in these technical appen-
dices are mostly the classes or forms presenting such botanical
differences that they are capable of preservation and detection
on the herbarium sheet. The writer has no sympathy with
the practice of giving Latin botanical names to the usual
humerous horticultural varieties.
The technical descriptions in this book are all drawn directly
from the cultivated plants themselves, and in no case are they
copied. This may account for certain discrepancies in compari-
son with standard botanical characterizations. In thiS volume
we are concerned with the cultigen (the species or the plant
of a garden or agricultural ancestry).
It will be noticed that most of the species are credited to
Linneus (Linn. Sp. Pl.). With his Species Plantarum, 1753,
begins the modern naming of plants, with the use of the bino-
mial system. This system comprises the genus and the species,
the generic name standing first and the specific name second:
all onions and their kin are Allium; the species are A. sativum
Practicums mz
(sativus is Latin for “ planted” or “ cultivated’), A. fistulosum,
A, Cepa, and others.
The naming of the species and the botanical forms of plants
follows a system characterized by great precision and regu-
larity. It is well for the student to understand the main ele-
ments and practices in it, for he is not only enabled to under-
stand but he is trained in accuracy and carefulness of record
and reference.
For the most part, English measurements are used in the
descriptions. In the minuter weights and sizes, however,
metric denominations must be employed. The lowest denomi-
nation in avoirdupois weight is one grain, but this denomina-
tion is 50 times too heavy to weigh a mustard seed. The
grain in apothecaries’ or troy weights is still heavier, for there
are only 5,760 grains in 1 1b., whereas in avoirdupois weight
the pound is divided into 7,000 grains. Therefore, the milli-
gram (mg.) is used for the weighing of seeds. A commer-
cially dry seed of black mustard weighs about 1 mg. (say 1144
mg.) ; so does a small-sized dry turnip seed, while a large turnip
seed weighs about 2 mg. There are 1,000 mg. in 1 gram. The
pictures of the seeds in this book are mostly enlarged. The flat
or rectilinear dimensions are indicated by the figure in paren-
thesis: (<4) means that the picture is 4 times broader and
longer than the seed; (X14) that the picture is only one-
quarter as large as the natural object. Seeds and seedlings
are likely to differ between marked garden varieties or races.
THE PLAN OF THE BOOK
The arrangement of the book may now be explained. After
the introductory chapter, defining the subject-field, the dif-
ferent vegetables are taken up in groups. They are discussed
in groups so that related crops may be considered together,
avoiding considerable repetition of advice and contributing to
a clearer understanding of the subject. Thus, all melons,
cucumbers, squashes, are closely related in cultural require-
18 The Subject
ments, as are the onions, leek and garlic, as well as cabbage,
kale, brussels sprouts, cauliflower.
The main principles or considerations are printed in italic
type at the beginning. Then follows in small type the infor-
mation that should be available for ready reference, as dis-
tances at which plants are to stand, quantity of seed or num-
ber of plants to the acre, time of sowing or planting, yields,
together with very brief statements of the most important dis-
eases and insects. The condensed paragraphs on the maladies
and pests are prepared specially for tnis edition of the book,
all on a uniform pattern, by professors in the New York State
College of Agriculture at Cornell University—H. W. Dye for
the diseases, C. R. Crosby and M. D. Leonard for the insects.
Following the preliminary matter is the regular reading
discussion of the crop. ‘Thereafter is the technical descrip-
tion and record of the plant itself, stated in botanical lan-
guage for accuracy. The Latin names of the plants, as well as
of the insects and the organisms that produce the disease con-
ditions, are always given, for in these days the technical names
are a necessary part of our knowledge. These names have
much significance and they stand for exact conceptions. Some-
thing of the history of our knowledge of the plants is sug-
gested in the synonymy and the records. The records in the
text give the names added significance. Students should early
learn to think in terms of these names, for their thinking is
then straighter. These good names are an index of an edu-
cated understanding of the subject.
After the chapters on the oleraceous crops, are parts that
discuss the general practices—tillage, fertilizing, marketing,
storing, home-gardening, and others.
In his own interest the author should state that these proofs
are completed on a sea voyage, without means of reference and
verification ; but he trusts that serious errors will not arise.
CHAPTER II
PERENNIAL CROPS
Asparagus Sea-Kale
Rhubarb Dock and sorrel
Artichoke Udo
Girasole
The management of perennial crops differs from that
of other vegetable-gardening crops wn the fact that they —
are more or less permanent occupants of the ground, and
therefore must be given an area to themselves where they
will not interfere with the customary plowing and tilling ;
in the fact that the chief tillage and care are required early
and late in the season; and also because the fertilzimg 1s
secured (after the initial preparation of the land) chiefly
by surface dressings in spring and autumn. It is advisable,
therefore, for cultural reasons, to place these vegetables
in a group by themselves, although Bene PMR they have
little in common.
The reader must distinguish between perennial crops
and perennial plants. Many perennial plants are treated
as annuals in cultivation, as tomato, red pepper, potato,
scarlet runner bean, horse-radish, dandelion. On the
other hand, some of the perennial crops profit by frequent
renewal, as the artichoke. But while the demarca-
tion is indefinite, the gardener readily understands it.
(19)
20 Perennial Crops
ASPARAGUS
Asparagus 1s grown for the strong soft young shoots
arising wm spring; these shoots may be utilized in their.
natural state (green), or blanched by hilling with earth.
A deep, rich, fertile, moist, cool soil, warm exposure, thor-
ough preparation of the land, heavy manuring, thorough
tillage in late fall and early spring, are general requisites
of asparagus culture. The plants should be allowed to
become well established before a crop 1s cut, and the cut-
ting of the plants should cease in early summer to allow
them opportunity to grow and to store up energy for the
following year. The tops are mown in late fall, and the
land is top-dressed with manure before winter sets in.
Asparagus 1s grown for its young shoots, and the quality
is determined by the succulence of these shoots. A good
plantation should last ten years and more, at least at the
North. Propagated by seeds. Practices in the growing of
asparagus vary widely.
In small gardens, asparagus may be set 18 in. apart, in rows
as close as 38 ft.; at these distances, about 9600 plants are
required to a full acre. In general field culture for green
asparagus, the rows are usually farther apart to allow of
easier tillage and often 2 ft. in the row. Some growers prefer
to plant as wide as 3 by 4 ft., or, 3600 pJants. For the growing
of blanched asparagus, the rows may be as much as §8 ft.
(6 to 8 ft.) and 18 or 20 in. in the row, when about 3600 plants
are required to the acre. Seeds are usually sown thickly in
rows, and the plants thinned to 8 or 4 in.; 4 or 5 lbs. of seeds
are usually sown to the acre. When one year old, the plants
are Set in permanent quarters, and the following year the first
cutting of asparagus may be made. About 2000 (1800 to 3000)
dozen bunches (averaging 8 to 12 stalks) is a fair yield to the
Asparagus al
acre on established plantations. An asparagus bed or field
should yield well for 10 to 20 years.
Rust (Puccinia asparagi).—Reddish or black pustules are
produced on the stems and branches of the plant, killing them
prematurely. Control: No plants should be permitted to
mature during the cutting season and all diseased plants
should be cut and burned in the fall. Spraying with bordeaux
mixture to which some sticker has been added will aid in
control. Certain resistant strains have been developed, espe-
cially by the United States Department of Agriculture. These
should be used in new plantings.
BEETLE (Crioceris asparagi).—A gray larva with black head,
about 33 in. long, feeding on the young shoots in spring and
weakening the plant for the following year. The beetle is
about 14%, in. long with prominent orange and black pattern
on back, passing the winter in piles of rubbish and under
bark; eggs are laid in early spring, on end in a line on young
growths of asparagus; they hatch in 38 to 8 days and the young
larve begin to feed. Control: Keep the crop cut clean and
starve them out; leave a row or two of asparagus plants on
which to poison the larve, using arsenate of lead paste, 1 lb. in
20 gals. water; spray the plantation after cutting season is past;
let poultry run in the asparagus; clean up rubbish in the fall.
T’WELVE-SPOTTED ASPARAGUS BEETLE (Crioceris dwodecimpunc-
tata).—About the size of the common asparagus beetle, red-
dish orange in color with twelve round black spots on the wing
covers. The beetles appear in spring along with the common
asparagus beetle and gnaw holes in the tender shoots. The
oval eggs are attached by the side, singly, to the leaves. The
young grubs enter the berries above; they feed on the Seeds,
migrating from berry to berry until mature. Pupation takes
place in the ground. The insect hibernates as a beetle in dry
sheltered places. Control: As the larve feed inside the berries
they cannot be poisoned, but the adults may be destroyed by
the same measures as recommended for the common asparagus
beetle.
a2 Perenmal Crops
ASPARAGUS MINER (Agromyza simpler).—A small maggot
that burrows under the epidermis of the asparagus stalk near
the ground, sometimes girdling it and causing the stalk to turn
yellowish and die prematurely. The parent insect is a small
metallic black fly about 1/6 in. long. It appears in New
York in May and the female inserts her eggs under the
epidermis near the ground. A second brood of flies appears ©
the latter part of July. The insects hibernate as puparia in
the old stalks at or below the surface. Control: This insect
causes little injury in beds being cut, but is sometimes injuri-
ous in new beds. No satisfactory method of controlling this
pest in commercial plantings is known.
Asparagus is a gross feeder. Land can scarcely be
too rich. If the land is originally hard and coarse it
should be prepared a year or two in advance by the raising
of some thoroughly tilled crop as potatoes and with this
crop as much manure as possible should have been used.
The asparagus plantation should be made for long use.
Therefore it is well to give careful attention to the soil
and to the choice of a place that can be permanently set
aside for the purpose.
In the home garden, asparagus should be in rows at
one side of the plantation, so that it will not interfere
with the plowing of the garden area. It usually looks best
at the farther side of the garden, where its beautiful herb-
age makes a background border in summer and fall. The
old idea was to have asparagus “beds.” The new idea
is to plant asparagus in rows as one would plant rhubarb
or corn, and to till it with horse tools, if possible, rather
than with hoes and finger weeders. For the ordinary fam-
ily, one row alongside the garden, 75 to 100 feet long, may
be expected to furnish a sufficient supply.
Asparagus 23
As a field crop, it is ordinarily grown in the best and
richest soil available. The permanency of the plantation
will depend largely on the original quality of the land,
the preparation of it, good drainage, the method of plant-
ing, and particularly on the subsequent care and fertiliz-
ing of the plantation, and in taking care not to cut or
harvest it over too long a period. It is the aim to secure
large broad crowns. After a dozen years, however, more
or less, the size of shoots usually decreases and a new
plantation will probably give better results in a good mar-
ketable product.
Distances; planting.
Asparagus may be either green or blanched. The dif-
ference hes wholly in the treatment. Naturally the shoots
are green when they appear above the surface. By hilling
over the row with earth, the shoots may be cut through
the earth at the side of the ridge before they break out
and become green. For such work, the earth should be of
a sandy or loamy nature, so that it can be thrown against
the row with a banking plow (or a shovel in small planta-
tions) ; the rows are set as much as 6 feet apart, and often
8 or 10 feet. Green asparagus is better in quality.
The roots of asparagus should be in moist cool earth,
with opportunity to forage as far as they will. The roots
tun horizontally rather than perpendicularly. It is well,
therefore, to place the rows not closer than 4 feet. The
plants (previously grown from seeds) should be set deep.
The custom is to subsoil the land, if it is hard beneath
the surface, plowing in a heavy coating of well-rotted
manure if necessary. The plants are then set in furrows
24 Perenmal Crops
6 to 10 inches deep. The crown is covered with loose earth
or old compost to the depth of 2 or 3 inches. As the plants
grow, the trench is gradually filled. If the trench is filled
wt first, the young plants may not have sufficient strength
to push through the earth. In a commercial plantation, .
this filling may be performed by the subsequent tillage.
Sometimes the furrows are partially filled by running a
hight harrow over the ground. The plants are usually set
in spring, and by the succeeding autumn the furrows
should have been filled. The plants should be one-year-
old seedlings; two- or three-year-old plants give less sat-
isfactory results.
The distance apart varies greatly, depending on the price
and kind of land, the implements to be used in tillage,
whether the rows are to be banked, and the personal pref-
erence of the grower. In garden plantations the rows may
be as close as 3 feet. Usually 4 and 5 feet are allowed
between the rows, and a greater distance if the shoots are
to be blanched.. In the rows, 18 to 24 inches is theeusual
space, although persons desiring the “ hill method” and
very large shoots may plant as far as 3 or 31% feet.
Tillage and care.
Since the crowns of asparagus are so far beneath the
surface, it is possible to till the whole area with shallow-
working tools late in autumn and early spring. It is essen-
tial that this general tillage be given to keep the plan-
tation free of weeds and to maintain the physical texture
of the soil. In the growing season, little tillage can be
given when the crop is being harvested, it is not prac-
Asparagus 20
ticable to till to any extent; and later im the season, when
the tops are allowed to grow, the whole surface is occu-
pied. Some growers disc the plantation just after the last
cutting, if the land is hard and weedy; and the cultivator
may then be used between the rows before the tops inter-
fere. It is well to dress the plantation heavily in the fall
with manure, to which one may add night soil, refuse salt
or animal fertilizer, if these are available. It may be
well, also, to make another dressing of more quickly avail-
able fertilizer early in spring. I¢ is very important that
the plantation be given the best of surface tillage for the
first year or two, to put it in perfect condition. When the
plantation finally comes into full bearing, the asparagus
appropriates so much of the plant-food and moisture that
there is less annoyance from weeds.
In spring the dressing may be cultivated under, or if it
is too coarse for that purpose, the rougher parts may be
forked off. After a thorough spring cultivation, it is well
agam to cover the bed with litter or manure to afford some
nourishment, but particularly to conserve the moisture
and to produce material for covering the tender shoots
in case there is danger of frost. This, however, may be
impossible in a large plantation; in such plantations the
manure may be applied in spring, at the close of the cut-
ting season, or before winter. Chemical fertilizers are now
often used freely in place of some of the manure; but the
humus content of the soil must be maintained.
On land to be prepared for asparagus, 20 to 40 tons of
manure to the acre are recommended by H. C. Thompson
(Farmers’ Bull. 829), if the soil is deficient in humus;
26 Perennial Crops
if manure is not available, a green-manure crop may be
plowed under. In preparation, “for an average asparagus
soil 100 to 150 pounds of nitrate of soda, 500 to 1,000
pounds of 16 per cent acid phosphate, and 150 to 300
pounds of muriate of potash to the acre will give good.
results when applied in connection with manure or legumi-—
nous crops.” After the plantation is established “a com-
mon practice among market gardeners is to apply 20 to
40 tons of manure to the acre broadcast over the bed dur-
ing the autumn or winter.” In addition, Thompson
recommends a good complete fertilizer at the rate of 1,000
to 1,500 pounds to the acre at the close of the cutting
season.
The energy of the crown and roots is supplied from the
foliage that developed in the previous summer. Without a
strong growth of top, one cannot expect a good growth
of roots and a heavy yield the following year. ‘The tops
should be mown late in fall. Some persons allow these
tops to he on the ground as a winter protection. If, How-
ever, the plants produce many berries, there will be so
many seedling plants as to make trouble; in that case, it
is better to burn the tops. It is also well to remove and
burn them in order to allow a thorough tillage in autumn.
The bed should then be given a dressing as already sug-
gested, both to afford winter protection and to supply
' plant-food. |
The value of asparagus lies in its succulence and ten-
derness, and these qualities are usually associated with
large size of shoot. These attributes are secured by very
rich soil and by thorough attention to good tillage, and
destruction of beetles and rust.
Asparagus . 27
The crop.
The plants should grow two full years from planting in
the field before shoots are cut closely, but a small cutting
is often permissible the second year if the plantation is
vigorous. It is also easy to injure the bed by cutting it
too long a period each season. Whilst the crop is being
harvested, however, every stalk should be removed, even
though it is too small and poor for eating: the bed should
be “cut clean.” Only in rare cases
should the bed be cut after the 4th
of July in the Northern States, and
it is usually better to stop before this
time. The third season the cutting is
for a month or less; subsequently it
may run to six or even ten weeks.
Thereafter the tops are allowed to
erow as they will.
It is customary to harvest aspara-
gus by severing the shoots 3 or 4
inches beneath the surface by means
of a long knife (Fig. 1, adapted from
Farmers’ Bull. 829). There are spe-
cial asparagus knives (Fig. 2), but
any long butcher-knife will answer
the purpose. It is important that
this knife be inserted in an
oblique direction so as not to in-
jure the new shoots that are ris-
ing from the crown. A little experience in the use of the
knife will enable one to cut the shoots without injury to
the succeeding growths. At the height of the season it
1. A bunch of asparagus.
28 Perennial Crops
may be necessary to cut every day; later two or three
times a week may be sufficient. Some of the best growers
advise the breaking of the asparagus shoots rather than
cutting them. There is then
no danger of injuring the
crown, and the shoot will :
not break in the tough and
stringy part and therefore
the product is sure to be ten-
der and crisp. ‘This is no
doubt the better method, but
the formal demands of the
market make it difficult to
sell broken asparagus, not-
withstanding its surer qual-
2. Asparagus buncher; also knife
or spud for cutting the plants in ity.
the field. : :
Asparagus is sold in
bunches 4 or 5 inches in diameter, weighing something
over 2 pounds and comprising 12 to 30 stalks. These
bunches are tied with soft cord, raffia or tape, although
some growers now use rubber bands. Usually the market
requires that the butt end of the bunch be cut off
square. An average bunch is 7 to 9 inches long. As-
paragus “bunchers ”’—which are forms for holding the
bunch and cord, and a knife for cutting the butts—can
be had of dealers in gardeners’ supphes (Fig. 2). If
not marketed at once, the bunches may be stood in a
shallow tray of clean water. The shoots should be graded
as to size and quality, and they may be washed before
bunching.
Asparagus 29
Seedlings.
One may purchase asparagus plants of dealers. It is usu-
ally better, however, to grow one’s own plants, particularly
if one has a rich piece of land
and can give it careful atten-
tion. The seed is sown in drills
15 to 18 inches apart (or farther
asunder for horse tillage), and
if is covered about an inch
in depth. Germination is slow.
The seeds may be soaked in warm water a day before
planting. ‘The plants should be thinned to stand 3 or 4
inches in the row. Give
frequent tillage throughout
the season. The following
spring these plants will be
ready for setting in their
permanent places. ‘The
seeds and the seedlings are
seen in Figs. 3 and 4.
Seedlings may be ex-
pected to vary consider-
ably ; it is essential to best
results to use only care-
fully selected seeds. In
the selection, the most
vigorous and productive 4. Young seedlings of asparagus. (About
plants should be marked aera.
and left for seed. Usually only part of the shoots are
allowed to remain to each crown, to insure well-developed
8. Seeds of asparagus (X 5).
30 Perenmal Crops
seed, and often the shoot is topped and only the lower
berries saved. The flowers of asparagus are usually im-
perfect, and one male plant should be left close to every
three or four female plants to make sure of pollination.
When the berries are fully ripe, the seeds are rubbed -
or washed out and kept till spring, when they are
sown as already explained; or, if
very strong plants are required,
seeds may be sown under glass
and handled to the field in pots.
5. Sterile or staminate flowers
of asparagus. (Separate 6. Fertile or pistillate flower of aspara-
flower X 3.) gus (X %).
The pot method readily encourages the discarding of
all unpromising seedlings in the transplanting. Male
plants are considered to be more productive than the
female or seed-bearing plants, but the sexes cannot be
certainly distinguished until blossoms appear. Perhaps
the inferiority of the fertile plants is due to the lessening
Asparagus 31
of vigor by seed-bearing; when practicable it is well to
remove the berries. Eventually the seedling will probably
be carried to blossoming period before placing in the plan-
tation; further experience on this point is necessary. The
sexes are distinguished in Figs. 5 and 6.
Varieties.
Recognized varieties of asparagus are few, and as the
plant is propagated only by seeds (which may not come
true to name) the characteristics of the different named
kinds are not likely to be clearly marked. The Colossal
(Conover’s Colossal, Argenteuil of the French) is a
standard variety. Palmetto is much grown. Bonvalette
Giant (an improved form of Palmetto), Columbian Mam-
moth, Barr Mammoth, Dreer Eclipse, Giant Reading,
Moore Giant, are other good contemporaneous kinds.
Improved strains bred by the United States Department
of Agriculture are now attracting much attention, known
as Washington and Martha Washington.
THE ASPARAGUS PLANT
Asparagus: a genus of the Liliacee or Lily Family, of
about 150 species, native in Europe, Asia and Africa, herba-
ceous or woody, erect or climbing. Aside from the common
edible asparagus, the genus contains the ‘smilax” of florists
(not properly a smilax, however) and the so-called “ asparagus
ferns” of greenhouses. The species are devoid of ordinary
green leaves, these organs being represented by small scales
or spines and the green stems functioning as foliage. Even the
broad leaf-like organs in the florists’ smilax are branches,
arising from the axils of leaf-scales.
A. officinalis, Linn. var. altilis, Linn. Sp. Pl. 313. Garpren
ASPARAGUS. Perennial much-branching diccious herb with
terete clear green glabrous slightly glaucous stems 4 to 10 ft.
32 Perennial Crops
high: root a mass of long fleshy cord-like members spreading
from the sides and bottom of a progressive rootstock: shoots
arising from the crown in early spring, succulent but subse-
quently decreasing in diameter, without ordinary foliage, com-
prising the edible part of the plant; tops dying in autumn:
leaves on young shoots triangular-cuspidate, # to % in. long;
on the branches represented by very small scarious scales, from
the axils of which arise one but usually several short green
terete cladodes or cladophylls (commonly regarded as leaves)
#; to 4% in. long and perhaps one elongated branch, the plumose
cladodes and stems altogether constituting the foliage: flowers
1 to 4 in the axils of the cladodes, on slender jointed pedicels;
male or sterile fis. yellowish green and conspicuous, nearly 14
in. long, bell-shaped, the perianth 6-toothed about one-third its
depth, the stamens 6 and included, pistil present but abortive;
female or fertile fis. (on separate plants) less conspicuous,
one-half or less the length of the sterile fis., the pistil practi-
eally filling the perianth and the 3 stigmas protruding: fr. a
globular hanging red 3-celled berry, ~ to %4 in. diameter,
usually maturing several seeds, the remains of the 6 perianth-
lobes appressed on its base; seeds large (% in. or less diam.),
rounded at the back and more or less angled or flattened
toward the micropyle, black, without prominent surface marks,
weighing 15 to 22 mg., retaining germinating power 5 years
or more.—wNative on coasts and sandy areas, Great Britain,
Mediterranean region, to central Asia. The usual native form
(var. maritimus, Linn.) is a Short-branched plant more or
less prostrate at the base. The var. altilis (Latin: large, fat,
nourishing) has longer branches and the thick stout stem is
erect from the base; known in cultivation and as an escape.
It is a plant of ancient cultivation.
RHUBARD or PIE-PLANT
As a garden vegetable, rhubarb 1s grown for the large
thick acid petioles or leaf-stalks, which are used in spring
for sauces and pies. The plant is perfectly hardy; tt de-
Rhubarb Bs
lights in a deep rich soil. Since tts value depends on the
succulence and size of the leaf-stalks, every care must be
given that will contribute to leaf growth. It 1s an early
spring crop; the land, therefore, should be quick, and the
plants should have made a sturdy growth the previous year
to have energy to start quickly and vigorously. The top
growth is completed by summer. A well-prepared and
well-handled rhubarb plantation should last twenty years
or more. Propagated by divisions of the root and by seed.
It is essentially a northern crop.
Year-old seedlings or divided roots are planted in the field
usually 4 or 5 feet in autumn or spring, preferably in spring,
requiring about 2,200 plants to the full acre. About 1,500 seeds
are contained in an ounce, but 3 or 4 pounds of seed are rec-
ommended for the raising of seedlings as rigorous thinning
selection must be practised. An acre should yield 3,000 dozen
bunches, in full bearing, the bunch usually comprising 3 to 6
stalks, sometimes more if the stalks are small.
RHUBARB CURCULIO (Lirus concavus).—A black snout-beetle,
% in. long, dusted with a yellowish covering which easily
rubs off. The insect breeds in dock, sunflower and thistle,
but the larve are never found in rhubarb. The injury is
caused by the punctures which the beetle makes in the petioles
from which there exude glistening drops of gum. Control:
Hand-picking; destroy all wild food-plants in the vicinity of
rhubarb.
The effort in the growing of rhubarb is to produce
abundantly of large tender leaf-stalks and at the same time
to fill the plant with energy for the crop of the succeed-
ing year. The size of the leaf-stalks depends partly on
the variety, but particularly on the soil and the tillage.
There are only three or four popular varieties, of which
34 Perennial Crops
the best known are Victoria, Linneus, and Mammoth
Red; but the old-fashioned unimproved rhubarb will often
produce a better leaf-stalk when given high cultivation
than the best strain of Victoria when grown under neglect.
The plant should not be allowed to bloom (the flower-_
stalks being cut out as soon as they appear),
unless it is desired to raise seed.
Rhubarb is not particular as to soil, but
it thrives best on land that is mellow and
fertile to a considerable depth. Lands with
a high subsoil or hardpan are to be avoided.
The plantation should last for a number of
years, and it is therefore important that
the original preparation of land should be
of the best. It should be heavily fertilized.
There is little danger of adding too much
stable manure, particularly if the soil is
either very hard or very loose. If the land
is not in good tilth, it is best to grow a
preparatory crop, as potatoes or root-crop,
: and to use liberally of stable manure
7, A punch of Jn that year. If the lamd@asageumeae
co. rally deep, it is’ well to suhsorl amma
before the rhubarb is planted. It should
always be well drained.
The rows should be sufficiently spaced to allow of easy
horse tillage,—not less than 4 or 5 feet for the strong-
growing varieties. In the row the plants may be placed
about 3 to 4 feet apart. Some growers place the rows as
far apart as 6 feet, and the plants 3 feet in the row.
It is a good plan to leave alleys at intervals in a rhubarb
Rhubarb By5)
field to allow the entry of wagons. In a single row in
the home garden, the plants may be set every 2 feet. A
dozen or two good plants should be sufficient for a family.
. Good surface tillage, as for corn or potatoes, is all that
is demanded. In autumn the bed should be given a
heavy dressing of stable manure. This dressing serves the
purposes of enriching the soil, preserving the texture of
the surface, and affording a winter mulch and protection.
Lands heavily mulched do not freeze so deep as those that
are left bare, and the plants are likely to start earlier in
the spring. This surface mulch may be removed early in
the spring and a thorough tillage given the land; or if the
land is in good tilth and free from weeds, it may be forked
from the crowns and allowed to he between the rows until
the crop is harvested. Some growers hill up the rows in
autumn by means of a plow and do not apply a mulch.
The commercial rhubarb season is short. It rarely ex- .
tends over more than two months. The leaves are pulled,
and they separate readily at their insertion if pulled
straight and not twisted or yanked. Only the largest and
best leaves are harvested. The leaf-blades are at once
trimmed off to prevent wilting or softening of the stalk.
Other leaves are allowed to remain unless they are very
numerous, in which case the larger part of them are pulled
to allow the strength to go to the main ones. After the
market season of rhubarb is past, the plants are allowed to
grow as they will, and tillage is continued. A heavy crop
of rhubarb in any year depends to a large extent on the
strong leaf-growth of the year before.
To renew rhubarb plantations, the roots are sometimes
taken up, more or less divided and reset; but it is usually
36 Perenmal Crops
a better practice to trim the roots where they stand with
the plow or the spade, breaking off the strong projecting
parts. The purpose is to reduce the overcrowded mass of
roots and to start new root growth.
Propagation of rhubarb is by division of roots and by
seeds. Ordinarily it is multiplied by means of division.
The root may be cut into as many pieces as there are
strong eyes, and as much as possible of the root is allowed
to remain with each eye. These pieces are planted 3 or
4 inches deep. ‘These pieces of root are usually planted
directly in the field, but they may be grown the first year
in a nursery. The plants usually grow two years before a
cutting is made, and they will not give a full crop until
the third year. Rhubarb is readily grown from seeds, but
this requires a year’s more time and the seedlings are
likely to vary. The seeds may be sown early in spring
in drills 18 inches apart, or
closer if the land is valuable,
and the young plants are thinned
to about 6 to 8 inches in the
row. The plants are set in
permanent positions the year
following ; that is, when they are
one year old. In the Northern
= - | States rhubarb is usually planted
ee ise), Spring: whicthen\saammaee
lings or root-cuttings, but in
milder climates it may be planted in autumn. The seeds
(properly fruits) of rhubarb, and seedlings, are seen in
Figs. 8 and 9.
By covering the plantation heavily in autumn so that
Rhubarb Oo”
the ground does not freeze deep, and removing the cover-
ing early in spring, it is sometimes possible to hasten the
growth and get an earlier first yield. Sometimes barrels
or boxes are put over the crown in autumn and banked
with leaves or manure for the purpose (Fig. 212). The
best results for the early market, however, are obtained by
forcing the roots under glass or in a cellar. Strong fresh
roots are dug in autumn and set close together on the
ground in the forcing-house, the spaces between packed
with earth, and the
roots allowed to
freeze thoroughly be-
fore heat is turned
on. For the spring
crop the roots. may
remain frozen for
some weeks. Market-
able stalks should be
produced in five or
six weeks. Sometimes the roots are forced in the dark
in a cellar, having been taken up in autumn and frozen;
leaf-blades do not develop, and the stalks have a tender
pink semi-blanched appearance, but they are not improved
in quality thereby. Forced roots are usually discarded.
me) afi ee} ais pe is
9. Young rhubarb seedlings (X about ¥).
THe RHUBARB PLANT
Rheum, a genus of the Buckwheat Family, Polygonacesx,
strong perennial herbs of about 25 species, in Asia. Some of
them are more or less planted as ornamentals, prized for their
striking masses of large root-leaves and sometimes for their
towering panicles of numerous flowers.
R. Rhaponticum, Linn. Sp. Pl. 371. Common RHUBARB.
38 Perennial Crops
Stout herb, with large roots (becoming hoilow) variously
branching from a rhizomatous crown: leaves mostly radical
(from the crown at or near the surface of the ground), blade
cordate-ovate, concave, the radical ones 12 to 20 in. long and
of similar width, margins entire but more or less long-sinuate
and usually somewhat undulate, with 3 strong upright and 2
basal ribs issuing from the top of the petiole, glabrous above,
lightly pubescent on the nerves beneath; petioles very stout,
shorter or longer than the blade, furrowed above and chan-
nelled on sides and back, the cross-section concavo-convex,
sheathed at the base, the sheaths eventually breaking away;
stem lvs. of similar description but successively smaller and
the long basal sheath conspicuous and encircling the stem like
a boot-leg: stem 46 ft. tall, hollow, strict but somewhat
branched, glabrous, shining, grooved, the nodes conspicuous: -
flowers numerous in successive panicles, very small (about
2 mm. long), greenish white. on slender jointed pedicels exceed-
ing the length of the perianth, the latter with 6 obtuse lobes;
stamens 9 (S-10), the large anthers equalling or exceeding
the lobes; pistil 1, with large 3-lobed stigma: fruits (“‘ seeds”
of gardeners) cordate-ovate, 14 to 14 in. long, strongly 3-angled
and winged, brown, glabrous, weighing 14 to 26 mg., tightly
inclosing one large 3-sided achene; longevity about 3 years.
—Siberia. The above description is drawn from the rhubarb
of cultivation, which is .commonly referred directly to R.
Rhaponticum. There is doubt as to the species, however.
and the vegetable-garden plant may be a hybrid or mutant
race (perhaps represented by R. hybridum, Murr.), or even
a different species. The species of Rheum are in need of fur-
ther study. The medicinal rhubarb is from roots imported
from Asia, probably from more than one species of Rheum;
perhaps the roots of R. Rhaponticum are still used to some
extent for this purpose. The word ‘‘Rhaponticum” means the
Pontie rha or rhubarb; Pontus was an ancient region in Asia
Minor.
ARTICHOKE
A half-hardy perennial, producing edible heads freely the
second year, requiring protection at the North. The plan-
tation should be renewed every two or three years. The
strength of the plant is to be conserved not only by good
soil and abundant fertilizing, but also by removing extra
stalks and not allowing the heads to seed. Propagated by
seeds and suckers, preferably the latter when one can select
from a good stock.
Plants may stand as far as 8 by 5 feet apart, requiring
nearly 3,000 plants to the acre. Suckers are planted at about
their natural depth, in spring. Seeds are sown in spring, pref-
erably under glass, at least at the North. Each plant should
yield a dozen and more good heads. The product (scales and
receptacle) is eaten raw or cooked, usually the latter with
sauce or drawn butter.
The artichoke, especially in the South, is often attacked by
the artichoke aphis (Wyzcus bragii) and the bean aphis (Aphis
rumicis). These plant-lice may be controlled by thoroughly
spraying the plants several times with “ Black Leaf 40” tobacco
extract, 1 part in 8 parts of water, in which enough soap has
been added to make a suds.
The artichoke is grown for the young unopened burs or
flower-heads (Fig. 10), the scales on the outside of the
head having thick edible bases and the inside receptacle or
“bottom ” of the head, after the flowers are removed, being
soft and palatable. The leaves and young shoots may
also be eaten, when grown and blanched, after the way of
celery, but this use of the plant is little known in
America.
(39)
40 Perenmal Crops
The artichoke is tender and precarious in the Northern
States, although it is grown in favored localities with suc-
cess by persons who understand the handling of it. While
10. Articwones, showing outside of head and a longitudinal
section (X 1/8).
tender, yet too heavy covering of the crown in autumn
may smother the plant and kill it. Gardeners sometimes
box the plant to protect it from winter winds, but do not
fill the box with leaves or
manure. It is frequently banked
with earth. It should be grown
on warm well-drained land and
in a protected place. In the
11. Fruits (seeds) of artichoke Southern States and California
ae the plant thrives and is easy
of cultivation. The California product largely supplies
the Eastern markets.
The artichoke is perennial, but the plantation should be
renewed frequently. Seeds do not come true to name, and
Artichoke 41
when the grower secures a good strain of hardy and pro-
ductive plants he should propagate them by means of the
suckers that spring from the crown; or he may purchase
suckers of reliable dealers.
Seeds give bearing plants the following year, but if
they are started early under glass and planted in “quick”
scil, a small number of heads may be had the first year.
Suckers may give heading plants the first season, but the
main cutting may be expected the second year. Remov-
ing some of the stalks, if many start, will increase the
size of the remaining heads. Figs. 11 and 12 show the
fruits (seeds) and
the seedlings.
Distances for
planting vary with
the grower and the
price of land. In
rich soil they may
be farther apart.
Rows may stand 4 or 5 feet, and the plants 2 to 3 feet
in the row; 3 by 5 feet, or 3 by 4 feet, are good dis-
tances.
aCe 2S
LD
12. Seedlings of artichoke (X about 1%).
THE ARTICHOKE PLANT
Cynara. About a dozen species of large thistle-like per-
ennial herbs, in the Mediterranean basin, of the Composite or
Sunflower Family.
C. Scolymus, Linn. Sp. Pl. 827. Plant stout, more or less
cottony, forming a clump or stool: stems few to several, erect,
2 to 6 ft., grooved, branching or forking, commonly appearing
after the first year: leaves many, mostly radical or basal,
dull green and more or less gray-webby above and densely
_gray-tomentose beneath, divided almost to the winged rachis
42 Perennial Crops
and the divisions cut and lobed with short spines terminating
the long narrow lobes, the radical ones 2 to 38 ft. long and
a foot or more broad, arching at maturity; stem lvs. similar
but suecessively smaller, decurrent: heads large (3 to 4 in.
diam.), terminal, globular, erect, often subtended by bracts,
producing a brush of numerous purple tubular florets; in-
volucre scales imbricated, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, entire,
obtuse or emarginate; receptacle thick and fleshy, bearing
many bristles: fruit (seeds) oblong-ovate, 44 to % in. long,
somewhat flattened, smooth, striate and spotted, weighing about
40 to 70 mg., retaining vitality 5 to 7 years.—Southern Europe —
and northern Africa; tending to run wild in parts of Cali-
fornia. It is a plant of relatively modern cultivation. Some-
times called “globe artichoke” to distinguish it from the
girasole. Very closely related to the cardoon (C. Cardunculus,
Linn.), also of S. Europe and extensively naturalized in
S. America. The cardoon is a taller and stouter plant; a
form with thick. leaf-stalks is cultivated for food after the
manner of celery. Some botanists consider the artichoke and
cardoon to be forms of one species.
GIRASOLE
Hardy plant grown for its underground tubers, which
may be used as a vegetable, as are potatoes, or for stock
feed. Requires no special treatment, and will persist im-
definitely, and spread, tf left to itself. Propagated by
planting the tubers.
AS grown in this country, the girasole is seldom tilled. The
tubers are planted whole, 1 to 2 feet apart, and the plants
allowed to shift for themselves beyond an occasional destruc-
tion of big weeds. Better results are to be expected when
the tubers are planted in rows far enough apart for horse
tillage, and 12 to 16 inches in the row. ‘The plant requires the
entire season in which to make its tubers, and the product is
not dug till the tops begin to die. Tubers left in the ground
Girasole 43
are not injured by frost. Planted in autumn or spring. Under
regular cultivation, crops have been reported at the rate of
9 to 20 tons, and even more, to the acre.
The girasole is one of the tuber-bearing native sun-
flowers, long cultivated by the Indians and often highly
recommended for more general cultivation because of its
heavy yields and its ability to grow on indifferent land and
with little care. It readily responds, however, to good land
and treatment. ‘There are improved strains, and undoubt-
edly it could be readily modified by systematic selection.
The plant tends to become a weed, and farmers often turn
hogs into a field infested with it, as they root for the
tubers. The plant can be eradicated by thorough till-
age, by means of which the tops do not have an oppor-
tunity to grow. If the field is plowed in the fall, many
of the roots will be exposed and they may be picked out.
In fact, this is one of the best means of harvesting the
crop.
The girasole provides a very palatable food. Itis strange
that it has not met with better favor. The weedy charac-
ter of the plant and the fact
that potatoes have been abun-
dant are probably reasons for
its neglect. Its real service,
however, is not in competi- eZ
tion with the potato, but as 18. Girasole, an underground tuber
, (x 4).
another food plant of very
distinct attributes. ‘The tubers, produced underground,
vary greatly in size and shape; Fig. 13 shows a common |
form.
The girasole is commonly known as Jerusalem arti-
44 Perenmal Crops
choke, but as it is not an artichoke and has no relation
to Jerusalem, the name should be dropped. In fact,
? in this case is supposed to be a corruption
of girasole, an Italian name. The French name, topi-
nambour, is too formidable to become popular in English.
“ Jerusalem ’
THE GIRASOLE PLANT
Helianthus, the sunflowers, comprises about 70 species,
as now recognized, natives of the western hemisphere. The
common garden sunflower, H. annuus, yields edible seeds and
its herbage provides more or less fodder. Several species pro-
duce underground tubers, one of which has long been known
as a food-plant. Helianthus is one of the Composite.
H. tuberosus, Linn. Sp. Pl. 905. GrIRASoLE. TOPINAMBOUR.
Perennial, producing tubers on the ends and branches of
underground stems or rootstocks, as well as midway on the
rootstocks: stem erect, 5 to 10 ft. tall, striate, hirsute: lvs.
opposite or the upper ones alternate, petioled, long-ovate to
ovate-oblong, upper ones narrower, acuminate, serrate-dentate,
rough above, more or less thin-pubescent beneath, with a pair
of strong lateral ribs or nerves from the base, narrowed either
abruptly or gradually into a somewhat winged petiole: heads
few or many terminating the branches, 2 or 3 in. across, with
conspicuous light yellow veined pointed rays; involucre of two
or more series of lanceolate pointed ciliate scales, the outer
ones spreading; receptacle with scales subtending the achenes;
ray florets neutral (sexless), the dise florets perfect and yel-
low, pappus of small deciduous scales: fruit (seed) oblong,
pubescent, nearly or quite 4%, in. long, usually only a few
(sometimes none) developed in each head.—Canada and U. 8.
It is doubtful whether Linnzeus meant to designate this plant
in his description of H. tuberosus; his references do not certify
to it, and he writes ‘ habitat in Brasilia,’ although the Brazil
of his day was apparently a broad geographical term and not
necessarily the country now known by that name.
SEA-KALE
A perfectly hardy perennial grown for its excellent
young leaves and shoots, which are blanched as they appear
in spring by banking with earth or covering with inverted
pots or other tight receptacle. The soil should be deep and
rich and rather moist. After cutting, the subsequent treat-
ment 1s for the purpose of putting energy into the plant
for the next year. Propagated by seeds, division, and root-
cuttings.
Planted at least 3 feet apart either way, and preferably
somewhat farther if sufficient land is available. At 3x3 feet,
about 4,800 plants are required for an acre. A good crop
may be expected the second or third year from cuttings or
seeds. The plant should give good results for about 10 years.
There appear to be no important diseases or insects on
sea-kale in this country.
Sea-kale is little known in this country, although it is
deserving of popularity. It is particularly prized in
England, where the
culture has been
highly developed.
After the plants are
well established, the
young shoots are
blanched by covering
the crown to the depth
of a foot or more with
loose fine earth in
early spring. Some-
times the shoots are al-
lowed to gTOW upward 14. Shoots of sea-kale.
46 Perennial Crops
into a dark receptacle, as into a box inverted over the
crown. Sea-kale may be forced after the manner of
rhubarb. Fig. 14 shows the characteristic young growth
at the edible stage.
After the early spring shoots are removed, the plant is .
allowed to grow as it will for the remainder of the season
for, aS In asparagus and rhubarb, the
vigor of the young shoots of any season
depend, to a large extent, on the vigor and
energy of the plant in the preceding year.
The soil should be deep and rich, and
rather moist. An autumn top dressing is
beneficial.
Propagation is simple either by root-
cuttings or seeds. Vigorous roots are cut
into pieces 4 or 5 inches long and planted
directly in the field in spring. If the land
is strong, some of the shoots may be
blanched the following spring, but it is
better to wait till the second spring.
Seeds (which are really 1-seeded fruits
and planted unshelled, Fig. 15) are usu-
Wachee ne ally sown about 1 inch deep, in seed-
trade as seeds)ot beds, the young plants being thinned to
ne ett 5 or-6 Mehest: ebhe seedlings are trans-
planted to permanent quarters the next spring, when one
year old.
THE SeA-KaLteE PLANT
Crambe. About 20 species, mostly native in Europe and
Asia, none in North America, annual and perennial herbs;
Crucifere or Mustard Family.
Sea-Kale 47
C. maritima, Linn. Sp. Pl. 671. Sea-Kare. Fleshy per-
ennial, glabrous, glaucous-blue, with thick cord-like deep roots:
stem erect, to 3 ft. high, much branching above, more or less
grooved, many-striate when dried: leaves? thick, petioled,
variable in shape but mostly oblong-ovate in outline, variously
lobed and notched; lower leaves long-stalked and cabbage-like
and often 2 ft. or more long, with strong midrib and many
prominent side ribs, nearly entire in outline or shallowly wide-
lobed along the sides, the margins coarsely and irregularly
toothed or notched, undulate; stem leaves smaller and usually
more deeply lobed, variously notched, the upper ones short-
petioled: flowers about 14 in. across, white and showy, in
terminal broad corymbed racemes, on long stout upright pedi-
cels that elongate in fruit; sepals oblong, hyaline-margined,
obtuse, about half the length of the 4 obtuse veined petals
which have an oval limb and clawed base; stamens 6, all
anther-bearing, 2 shorter, the longer ones with 1 to 3 notches
or branches at or above the middle; pistil 1, oblong-columnar,
with a large globose stigma, comprising two joints, of which
the lower one is short and barren and the upper one some-
what broadened at the middle and fertile: fruit (the ‘seed ”
of seedsmen) a globular or globular-oblong pod 4 or less to %8
in. diam., borne on an apparent very short stalk above the
receptacle but which is the abortive lower point of the 2-jointed
silique, smooth, the walls thick and spongy; seed single, large
and filling the cavity, suspended on a white stalk that arises
from or near the bottom of the cavity and extends alongside
the seed to the top; pod and contents weigh about 100 mg.
for a fair full-grown specimen; full germinating power prob-
ably is retained for only a year or two.—Sea-coasts and cliffs,
western Hurope; introduced to cultivation prcbably within 200
to 300 years, at least in England. The above description is
drawn from the cultivated plant, which differs considerably
in appearance from the wild plant observed by the writer
on sea-cliffs, the latter being more squat, with lower stature
and lopping simpler branches, the leaves smaller, more crinkly
and less cabbage-like.
48 Perenmal Crops
DOCK anp SORREL
Perennial deep-rooted hardy herbs grown for the radical
leaves appearing in spring, prized for greens. The plants
require no special care, but the better the soi the more
abundant will be the supply of foliage. They may be |
placed at one side of the garden and remain undisturbed
for a few or several years, until they begin to run out.
Propagated by seeds and dwision.
Some of the weedy docks are gathered in spring for
“greens.” The roots of some of them provide old family
remedies. The sorrels are known for their acid leaves.
They are members of the large genus Rumex (Polygonacee,
Buckwheat family). The sorrels are dicecious plants (sexes
separated on different plants), while the docks are larger
and have perfect flowers or the plants may be moneecious.
(sexes separated in different flowers on the same plant). A
few species are cultivated for the edible foliage, but they
are little known in this country, and technical descrip-
tions are not necessary. Some of them are desirable ad-
ditions to the garden because they yield a pleasant food in
very early spring, and, once planted, remain for years.
The spinach dock or herb patience (Rumex Patientia),
native in Kurasia and somewhat run wild in North Amer-
ica, is a very stout herb with a deep taproot and flower
stalk reaching 5 to 6 feet high. Seeds may be sown in
spring in a row where they are to stand, and leaves may be
taken the following spring. The broad crisp leaves appear
early in April, when there is nothing green to be had in
the open garden, and they can be cut continuously for a
month or more.
Dock. Sorrel. Udo 49
The garden sorrel is a developed form of Rumex Acetosa,
native in Europe and scattered in this country. The com-
mon variety is Large Belleville. It has thinner, lighter
green and longer-stalked leaves than the spinach dock, with
spear-like lobes at the base, and the plant is not so tall
and stout. The leaves are very sour, and will probably
not prove to be so generally agreeable as those of the
spinach dock; but they are a week or ten days later, and
afford a succession. It is grown the same as the spinach
dock, but some leaves may be harvested the first year
from seed. ‘The male plants are usually preferred, as they
do not reduce themselves by seed-bearing.
Both the spinach dock and sorrel may be grown about
12 inches apart in the row. Sometimes they are propa-
gated by suckers that arise near the crown. The seed
stalks should be kept down, and only part of the leaves
should be cut at any one time if the energy of the plant
is to be conserved to the utmost.
Other species of Rumex are sometimes cultivated, as the
French sorrel, PR. scutatus, by the French, and the dentate
dock, f. dentatus, by the Chinese.
UDO
The udo is a Japanese plant introduced into this coun-
try nearly twenty years ago, and now considerably known
as an early spring vegetable. The plant is of the Ginseng
or Aralia family (Aralia cordata, Thunb.), a strong
hardy perennial; it sends up strong shoots in spring, and
if these shoots are allowed to grow through a box of light ~
sand, much after the way of growing witloof, they make
a delicate blanched vegetabie, eaten after being boiled, or
50 Perenmai Crops
prepared for salads. An unpleasant flavor is removed by
boiling ten minutes in salt water and then changing the
water; or if wanted for salad by being cut into thin
slices and placed in ice-water for an hour.
Udo is readily propagated by seeds. At three years,
shoots may be taken, and thereafter for a number of
years if the plants are given room and not allowed to
run to seed. Plants should stand about 4 feet from each
other. The tops spread widely, like the wild spikenard
(Aralia racemosa) and reach 5 or 6 feet in height. Udo
is a promising vegetable.
CEEA PT iy Tak
SPINACH AND OTHER GREENS
Spinach Mustard
Orach Purslane
Chard or leaf-beet Dandelion
Potherb crops, or greens, are grown for their leaves:
therefore they must make quick growth in order to be crisp
and tender; the ground must have good surface tulth and
much available plant-food; the application of soluble
nitrogenous substances 1s usually wmportant, particularly
when the growth 1s nearing completion. Most potherb
crops demand a cool season; and nearly all of them are
partial-season crops, and are therefore treated as succes-
sion- or companion-crops.
To the plants discussed in this chapter, several others
might be added. New Zealand spinach is not a spinach,
but a member of the Fig Marigold family (Aizoacez) ;
it is Tetragonia expansa of the botanists. It is annual;
it endures hot weather and therefore may be sub-
stituted for spinach in summer, being sown at intervals.
Kale (see Chapter IV) is really a potherb plant; and it
‘would not be great violence to include cabbage in this
group. Several docks and sorrels are grown as potherbs,
but as these are perennial they are discussed in Chapter
IT. The potherbs are among the oldest of the vegetable-
(51)
52 Spinach and Other Greens
garden plants, and the number used first and last is legion.
The need for green food is common to all peoples. They
are cheap foods to grow, in comparison with seed-foods, as
they usually require only a part of the season in which to
grow. Most of the potherbs are of very simple culture.
SPINACH
Spinach is essentially a spring and autumn crop. It
delights vn cool moist weather. It quickly runs to seed in
summer. It 1s grown mostly in drills. It is usually a
successton-crop. Propagated by seeds, which germinate
quickly. It 1s a true annual, but may be carried over win-
ter by starting it in autumn, as it is very hardy. The crop
requires @ moist soil, well supplied with quickly available
fertility.
Seed is sown about 1 in. deep from late August to Novem-
ber, according to locality, or at the earliest moment in spring,
in rows about 1 ft. (S to 14 in.) apart, and thinned to about 6
in., making a stand of about 87,000 plants to the acre. Some-
times it is sown broadeast on clean land, and not thinned. From
10 to 15 Ibs. of seed are required to sow an acre in drills, and
nearly or quite that much if broadcasted. In a continuous
growing season, the plants should be ready to harvest in 6 to 8
weeks. The yield of a good crop should be 200 to 250 barrels;
the number of ‘‘ heads” can be estimated from the distances
planted.
BLIGHT or MosAic.—Great losses of Spinach are incurred
because of this disease. The symptoms are similar to those
of other hosts affected by mosaic, and may be recognized by
the mottling and malformation of the foliage, the dwarfing,
and finally the premature dying of the plant. Insects are
now known to carry the virus from diseased to healthy plants,
as well as to act as virus-bearers during the part of the year
Spinach 53
when spinach is not grown. Neither the soil nor the seed are
considered as carriers or hibernating places for the contagium.
Control: The only recommendations possible are the elimina-
tion of the aphis. Experimental breeding for blight-resistant
Spinach is being conducted and may later prove effective in
reducing the losses now caused by the disease. (See McClin-
tock, T. A. and L. B. Smith, True nature of spinach blight
and relation of insects to transmission. Jour. Agr. Research
14:1-60. 1918.)
SPINACH APHIS (Myzus persice).—A pale yellowish green
plant-louse that infests the underside of the leaves, often ruin-
ing the crop. It also transmits the mosaic disease or blight
of spinach. Control: Spray with ‘‘ Black Leaf 40” tobacco ex-
tract, 1 pint in 100 gals. water, in which 5 or 6 lbs. soap have
been dissolved, taking care to hit the underside of the leaves.
BEET LEAF-MINER (Pegomyia hyoscyami).—See under beet,
page 164.
Spinach, or spinage, is the standard plant for spring
and fall greens. For home use it may be had in summer
by making successional sowings in rather cool and moist
ground ; but as a commercial crop, it is not grown in warm
weather. Formerly spinach was brought to early maturity
in the North under glass on a rather large.scale, but of
late years it is grown in such quantities about Norfolk
and other parts of the middle country and the South that
it is seldom grown in frames in the North except for home
use. From southern fields 1 comes both as a winter and
an early spring crop. Fig. 16 is a good spinach plant.
The winter and early spring spinach is usually grown
from seeds sown in the field in September, or later than
this in the Central and Southern States. The land should
be rich; also well drained, that the plants may not
“heave ” by frost. It is customary to plow the land into
54 Spinach and Other Greens
low ridges or beds 6 to 9 feet wide, to secure perfect sur-
face drainage. Lengthwise in these beds the spinach is
sown in rows about 12 inches apart, the distance depend-
ing on the means employed for tillage; In some cases,
18 inches is left between the rows, and in other cases
only 8 inches. The distance between the plants, after
thinning, is usually 4 or 5 inches. The plants should
become thoroughly established before winter, having made
16. Spinach at good edible stage (X 1/3).
a spread of leaves of three or four inches at least. The
crop is usually left uncovered in the North, even as far
north as New York State; although if material is at hand,
it may be covered lightly with straw or litter to prevent
heaving and thawing. On the first opening of spring the
spinach resumes growth. In fact, in mild seasons it may
grow throughout most of the winter. It should be ready
for use in April and May, and be off the ground early in
June, even in the Northern States, leaving the land for
Spinach 55
other crops. In the South it is marketed from late
November to March and early April.
Since spinach is prized for its crisp tender leaves, it is
a crop that profits by an application of soluble nitrogenous
fertilizers. It is customary, in some parts of the country,
to sprinkle the ground early in the spring with a weak solu-
tion of nitrate of soda or sulfate of ammonia, using
00 to 75 pounds of the fertilizer to the acre at each of two
or three successive applications. These applications may
be made at intervals of ten days to two weeks. The appli-
17. Fruits of the smooth- . - a
seeded spinach (xX about 18. Prickly-seeded (-fruited) spinach
8). (X 2).
cations are often applied by means of a street sprinkler or
similar arrangement. Other growers apply dry fertilizer,
broadeast, in liberal applications, as much as 1,000 to 1,500
pounds or more to the acre, depending on soil and season.
Sometimes the beds are top-dressed with manure in the
fall, and the leachings from the manure start the plants
quickly in spring. Hen-manure is sometimes used.
For home use, and sometimes for market, plants are
started in spring in a warm position, the seed usually being
sown where the plants are to remain. It is more easy to
secure a good stand by this spring sowing, but the plants
56 Spinach and Other Greens
do not mature so early. Spinach is sometimes started
under glass and transplanted to the open; and it is fre-
quently grown to edible maturity in frames. Sometimes
beds of fall-grown spinach are covered with sash in Feb-
ruary or March to hasten the plants. There is always more —
or less loss of fall-grown plants in the Northern States.
Two general classes of spinach are familiar to garden-
ers, the smooth-seeded and the prickly-seeded. The latter
tends to fall into disfavor because of the trouble of sow-
ing it, owing to the very sharp spines on the fruit (or
“seed ”) ; it has been
preferred for autumn
sowing because very
hardy, but smooth-
seeded kinds are
coming to be popu-
19. Seedlings of spinach (X about 4). lar for this purpose.
The savoy - leaved
spinachs (smooth-seeded) are valued for the large and
wrinkled leaves. Strains or varieties of spinach have been
developed that run tardily to seed; they are known as the
long-standing kinds; they are specially useful for spring
planting. The figures (17 and 18) show the two kinds
of seeds, and Fig. 19 the seedlings. |
In its undeveloped state, both types of spinach bear
relatively narrow halberd-shaped or spear-shaped leaves,
having strong spreading lobes at the base. ‘The modern
purpose in the selection of stock is toward “round-leaved”
types, those in which the leaves are broader and lack the
basal lobes. Even in varieties developed with this pur-
pose, lobed leaves usually appear freely, even on the same
Spinach 57
plant with the prevailing round leaves; but the lobing 3s
mostly less marked and the leaves are broader than in the
older types.
Spinach is mostly dicecious—the sexes separated in
flowers on different plants. After flowering, the staminate
or male plant usually ceases to grow and dies, while the
pistillate or female plant continues to grow to ripen its
crop of seed. This may account for some of the “ poor
plants ” in seeding spinach rows.
THE SPINACH PLANT
Spinacia. A genus of four or less species, annual herbs,
of southwestern Asia, member of the Chenopodiacee or Goose-
foot Family, and therefore closely related to the beet.
S. oleracea, Linn. Sp. Pl. 1027. (S. spinosa, Moench, Meth.
318. 1794.) PRICKLY-SEEDED SpmINAcH. Annual, dicecious;
plant smooth and glabrous throughout, tap-rooted, producing
abundant crown-leaves in the cool season when young, in warm
weather soon sending out an erect simple or branched leafy
stem (and sometimes supplementary stems) 6 in. to 2 ft. tall:
leaves all petioled, various in shape and size, the margins
entire, acute or obtuse at the apex; radical leaves in the
presumably more primitive races narrowly oblong to ovate-
oblong, in the more developed races ovate to round-ovate and
sometimes several inches long, the petiole shorter or longer
than the blade, base of blade obtuse and semi- or unequally
cordate or truncate or with downward-extending or outward-
extending pointed narrow lobes, sometimes with extra lobes
below and above as if the leaf were inclined to be compound;
stem leaves smaller, alternate, oblong to broad-ovate, becoming
lanceolate in the inflorescence, very various in size and lobing
or in absence of lobing, the petioles usually conspicuously long:
flowers apetalous, smaJl and practically uncolored (green), the
staminate mostly forming leafless spikes or panicles of sessile
or stalked glomerules, the pistillate flowers several to many
and sessile in the axils of leaves or of leafy bracts; staminate
58 Spinach and Other Greens
perianth with 4 obtuse hyaline-margined divisions (divided to
base) and 4 exserted stamens opposite them, the pistil rudi-
mentary ; pistillate perianth 2-notched and close-pressed about
the single 5-styled pistil, the styles exserted, the perianth bear-
ing 2 to 4 spines on its exterior: fruit a small brown achene
inclosed within the persisting enlarged closed and indurated
spiny perianth, the entire structure constituting the “seed” of
gardeners, 14 to 4 in. in spread; this seed (fruit) weighs 10
to 20 mg. and has a germinating vitality of about 5 years.
Var. inermis, Peterm. Pfizschluss. 877. 1846. (S. inermis,
Moench. Meth. 318. 1794. S. glabra, Mill. Gard. Dict. Spinacia
No. 2. 1768. S. oleracea var. glabra, Guerke, Richt.-Guerke,
Pl. Eur. ii, 188. 1897.) RoUND-SEEDED SPINACH. Fruits “ smooth,”
i.€., Without spines: plant supposed usually to make closer
tufts of larger root leaves——Whatever may have been the dis-
tinctions in foliage, size and habit between the two races of
spinach in earlier times, in cultivation at present the characters
appear to be largely merged except in the smoothness or spini-
ness of the fruit; and even in these fruit characters the differ-
ence may not be great, for in some strains the spines are very
short, and marked rudiments of spines also may be observed
frequently on round-seeded kinds. In defining the two kinds,
Philipp Miller in 1768 characterized S. oleracea as “spinach
with arrow-pointed leaves and prickly seeds,’ and S. glabra as
“spinach with oblong oval leaves and smooth seeds.” He did
not speak of “round leaves.’ Spinach is a plant of relatively
recent domestication, and it is not greatly modified.
OTHER GREENS
Many kinds of plants aside from spinach are used as
ereens or potherbs. Some of the common weeds are much
prized for this purpose in the rural districts, particularly
the common white pigweed or lamb’s quarter, pusley or
purslane, dandelion and dock. Shepherd’s purse is a
favorite food plant in China, where it is cultivated. The
amaranths supply vast numbers of people in other parts
Orach. Chard 59
of the world with green food. Chicory tops, in the form
of witloof and otherwise, are much eaten. Many plants are
adaptable to such uses; we shall probably learn to prize
them as time goes on.
Orach, a luxuriant annual of the goosefoot (pigweed)
tribe, is grown for the large succulent root-leaves. It is
essentially a cool-season plant, the seed being sown early
in spring and the foliage used before midsummer. The
plant sends up a strong flower-stalk, and thereafter it is
of no use as a potherb; to avoid the flowering habit, seeds
should be planted very early, and successional sowing may
be made. There are green-leaved (white orach) and red-
leaved forms. As young plants they make handsome pot
specimens, particularly the red-leaved kinds.
Orach is Atriplex hortensis, Linn., of Asia, with trian-
gular-ovate long-stalked leaves which have sinuate or
irregularly dentate margins, and usually a halberd-lobed
or truncate-lobed base; upper stem leaves oblong to lanceo-
late. The smooth and glabrous erect graceful flowering
stems rise 3 to 5 feet; the fruits (“seeds”) are large,
flat, winged, disc-like, circular to ovate. Var. rubra, DC.,
is the red-leaved orach.
Chard, or leaf-beet, is one of the best of potherb plants,
particularly for summer, as it withstands heat. It ordi-
narily requires nearly a full season in which to mature,
although it will give a supply of edible foliage from early
summer until autumn. The chard has very broad and
thick leaf-blades and midribs, which are usually white or
tinted rather than green (Fig. 20). Sometimes these
are blanched by tying up the bunch of foliage. Seeds are
60 Spinach and Other Greens
sown early in spring, as are ordinary beet seeds, and the
plants are thinned as used until finally they stand 6 to 12
inches in the row. The rows should stand 18 to 24 inches,
as the plants produce very large
tops. Small plants of the common |
beet, as explained on page 164, are
often used for greens, but they
are inferior to the developed forms
known as chard.
From mature plants the leaves are
taken as wanted, care being exer-
cised not to strip the crown at any
gathering. The plant should con-
tinue to produce throughout the
season, and crowns remaining over
winter often grow in spring, al-
though the second year they run
quickly to seed. Fall-sown plants,
oo. Chara, showing the J Well established, offen) papemane
wide edible petiole and winter in safety. Sometimes they
midrib (X %). ie E
are carried over in coldframes, for
early spring crop; and the plants may be started under
glass: late in winter, and transplanted, for the same pur-
pose.
Chard is a beet, Beta vulgaris var. Cicla, for which see
page 170. The beet leaf-miner sometimes attacks it.
Mustard is much used for greens in home gardens, and
it is also grown to a large extent in parts of the South,
where the climate is too hot for many other potherb crops.
Some of the improved varieties of curled-leaved mustard
M ustard. Purslane 61
are amongst the best of all potherb plants. In many other
countiies the mustards supply immense quantities of food,
being eaten with rice and other basic materials.
The seeds are sown very early in spring, and the tender
bunch of foliage is ready for use in May or June. In fact,
even in the Northern States, on sandy warm land the seeds
may be sown in autumn and the plants will be ready for
use in early spring, although the seeds may not germinate
in the fall. In midsummer the plants run to seed. Care
should be exercised not to let the plants seed themselves
too freely, as they are likely to escape into unoccupied areas
and become weedy.
The kinds of mustard are many, representing several
species of Brassica (Crucifere or Mustard family). Some
of them yield oil from their seeds—used extensively as
food and in the arts. They are so little appreciated as
potherb vegetables in this country, however, that technical
descriptions of them are unnecessary at this point, and the
more so as the botanical status of some of them is yet un-
settled (see pages 96 to 98). In the South, the Southern
Giant Curled mustard (Brassica japonica) is much used,
largely taking the place of both spinach and lettuce. The
Ostrich Plume is of this race. The Broad-Leaf (Brassica
rugosd) is a most robust plant, and gives a 'arge amount of
excellent herbage quickly. The young leaves of white and
black mustard (Brassica alba and B. nigra) are sometimes
employed as potherbs.
Purslane, or “ pusley,” has been much improved by the
arts of the plant-breeder, although the wild purslane is
prized as a potherb. The ordinary pusley of the field is
62 Spinach and Other Greens
a weak-stemmed plant trailing on the ground (Fig. 21),
whereas the Improved, or French purslane, grows more or
less erect, and has very thick and succulent stems and
large leaves (Fig. 22). It is easily grown in any good
quick garden land from seeds sown in early spring where —
the plants are to stand. It matures quickly, and, unlike
many other kinds of potherb plants, it is not injured by
warm weather. However, the crop is usually harvested
; ——)' >
gig Se GZ
N Sy oS COs ~yy, War
SS ie (2 S< = AG
~ > D i y owas © %
Sh Ds
S55
Y Wii
NEE
EAS
21. Common purslane or ‘‘pusley.”’
before midsummer, as greens are not in demand at that
time. Sometimes it is started under glass and trans-
planted. Although the seeds are small, they germinate
strongly. There seems to be little danger of the cultivated
purslane self-sowing and becoming a weed. If kept moist
and vigorous, the plant may be cut more than once. The
plant rises one foot or more and spreads widely or lops
with age.
~The cultivated purslane is Portulaca oleracea, Linn.
var. sativa, DC. It is probably a result of domestication,
Purslane. Dandelion 63
although the point needs further investigation. There are
erect forms of wild purslane, as P. oleracea var. erecta,
Edgew. & Hook. f., in India, but the leaves are narrow.
De Candolle speaks of the var. sativa as if native in India
and South America, and also as cultivated in Europe. The
contrast in habit and stature between the wild purslane and
the cultivated kind affords a marked example of the sup-
posed effects of domestication. The winter purslane is a
different plant of the same family (Montia perfoliata,
Howell), native of western America to Mexico. It is
sometimes grown for autumn and winter use, being sown
in summer, or treated as a winter annual for early spring.
Dandelion.—The dande-
lion is a great favorite
for spring greens, being
cut from meadows and
yards for the purpose. It
seems not to be generally
realized, however, that the
plant has been greatly im-
proved in size and vigor as
a potherb, and that it is
much grown abroad and
also to a considerable ex-
tent as a market crop in
this country. Some of the oy ae -
aii pls . 22. Upright or Improved purslane.
varieties with large leaves
and others with cut or frilled leaves are great improve-
ments on the wild plant, and the foliage is often hand-
some for garnishing as well as useful for food. Some of
64 Spinach and Other Greens
the forms resemble curled endive. Others are “ heading ”
dandelions, the leaves forming a firm tuft or core.
In cultivation the dandelion is treated as annual, al-
though the plant is perennial or biennial. The seed is sown
in early spring and the crop is harvested in autumn, or
plants are allowed to remain in the ground until the fol-
lowing spring. Although dandelion will grow anywhere, it
must have deep rich soil and good tillage if it is to make
large and succulent foliage. Occasionally the seed is sown
in seed-beds or in frames, and the plants are transplanted
to the field; but usually the seeds are sown where the
plants are to stand. The young plants are thinned until
they stand one foot apart in the row. The distance be-
tween the rows will depend entirely on the value of the
land and the means that are employed for tilling. I the
plantation is to be tilled by hand tools, the plants may be
allowed to stand as close as one foot each way; but if
horse tools are used, the rows should be two or more feet
asunder.
Since the demand for greens is usually greatest in early
spring, the plants are generally allowed to stand through
the winter. They are then ready for use as soon as the
early growth starts. The rosette of foliage should be
dense and wide-spreading, covering a space 12 to 20 inches
across. The crop is harvested by cutting off the rosette
of leaves just at the crown. The land is then plowed,
and there is no danger that the plant will become a pest.
The small and inferior plants not fit for sale should
also be cut to prevent them from going to seed and
becoming a nuisance. Sometimes a light crop is harvested
the first year, the leaves being mown off so as not to injure
Dandelion 65
the crown; even in this case, the main crop may be had
the following spring.
The roots of the garden-grown dandelion are some-
times taken up in autumn and removed to the hotbed or
forcing-house, and greens may be had in cold weather.
They may be forcedsin this way in a dark place to pro-
vide blanched leaves. Even in the field the leaves may
be tied up to blanch the inner part of the crown, much
as endive is treated.
The cultivated plant is a developed form, or series of
forms, of the. common dandelion, Taraxacum officinale,
Weber. The dandelion itself is with us a naturalized
weed from Europe.
CHAPTER IY
COLE CROPS
Brussels sprouts Cauliflower and broccoli
Kale, borecole and collards Kohlrabi
Brussels sprouts Pe-tsai
All cole crops are hardy and demand a cool season and
rich soil, and abundance of motsture at the root. Propa-
gated by seeds, which germinate rapidly; except the kales
and kohlrabt, all are seed-bed crops, and even kales are
often started in beds. Each plant requires considerable
space to develop well. Cole crops are grown for the
vegetative above-ground parts rather than for fruits or
roots.
The cole crops constitute a natural group from the fact
that they are closely related. They are all brassicas, and
most of them are races of the.same species. They are
frost-hardy, and thrive particularly well in the cool of the
year, although most of them are grown in summer.
CABBAGE
Cabbage is grown for the dense rosette or “head” of
leaves. Cool soil which is deep and has power to hold
much moisture, continuous growth from start to finish,
frequent and thorough surface tillage, extra care in the
selection of seed, avoiding the root-maggot, club-root, and
(66)
Cole-crop Diseases 67
rot by means of rotation and special treatments, destroying
the cabbage-worm as soon as it appears,—these. are essen-
tials in cabbage growing.
One ounce of cabbage seed contains over 8,000 seeds, but
not more than one-third or one-half of these seeds may be
expected to make good plants. Early varieties are set 18 x 24
inches, or 24x 24 inches (about 12,000 plants to the acre) ;
late varieties 2x3 feet (about 7,000 plants). Four to six
ounces of seed are usually required for an acre. The yield can
-be estimated from the number of plants to the acre, as a
plant produces only one head. The heads of early varieties,
which are set close, weigh from 2 to 4 lbs., of the late varieties
5 to 6 lbs. Due allowances must always be made for uneven
crop, insect depredations, and other losses. For early cab-
bage, 8,000 heads to the acre are considered a good crop. In
field culture, the yields run 10 to 20 tons to the acre, with 15
tons as perhaps a fair average in the hands of good men;
- 25 tons, and even more, are sometimes secured.
CLuBRooT (Plasmodiophora brassice).—The most striking
symptom of clubroot in the field is a flagging of the leaves
of affected plants on sunny days. Such plants regain their
normal appearance overnight, but soon wilt again. The roots
of diseased plants show characteristic malformations or swell-
ings which frequently attain large size. Cauliflower, turnips,
radishes, shepherd’s-purse, wild mustard and other related
plants are affected. Control: A clean seed-bed is essential.
Slaked lime at the rate of about 75 bushels to the acre applied
every few years is advisable if the disease has appeared in a
field, Since an alkaline reaction is unfavorable to the develop-
ment of the organism. This should be applied the fall pre-
vious to planting. Diseased plants should be destroyed by
burning. A long rotation, during which cruciferous weeds
and cultivated crucifers are not permitted to grow, is
important.
BiAcK-rot (Bacterium campestre)—The yellowing of af-
-fected leaves followed by a blackening of the veins is the
68 Cole Crops
first indication of the disease. Affected leaves may later fall
off. Leaf petioles, leaf-scars, and stems of affected plants show
blackened dots, where the sap tubes are discolored. Practi-
eally all cultivated crucifers and many cruciferous weeds are
susceptible. Control: Seed disinfection is necessary. Formalde-
hyde solution made by adding 1:ounce of formaldehyde (40
per cent) to 2 gallons of water, or 2 teaspoonfuls to one pint
of water, may be used. Seed should be immersed for 15 to 20
ininutes in the solution, the formaldehyde washed off in clear
water, and the seed spread out in a thin layer to dry. Mercu-
ric chloride solution (1 to 1000) made by adding 1 ounce of
nercurie chloride to 714 gallons of water, or 1 tablet to 1 pint
of water, is also satisfactory. Seed should be soaked for
15 minutes, the mercuric chloride washed off in clear water
and the Seed spread out in a thin layer to dry. It is desir-
able not to place the seed in direct sunlight and to stir them ;
at intervals during drying. A clean seed-bed, care in the
destruction of diseased material, and crop rotation are neces-
sary.
BLAcK-LEG (Phoma_ lingam)—The disease develops on
leaves, stems and roots but characteristically attacks the stems
and taproot below the surface of the ground. In advanced
stages the dead areas are covered with tiny black fruiting
kodies. Control: Same as for black-rot.
YELLOWS (Fusarium congludinans).— Affected plants are
stunted, the leaves turning a pale yellow. Usually the symp-
toms appear earlier and are more severe on one side of the
plant, so that there is a warping and curling of stems and
leaves. There is a darkening of the vascular bundles of the
stem and the lower leaves of diseased plants drop early. Con-
trol: Seed disinfection (as recommended for black-rot and
black-leg) is important to prevent the introduction of the fun-
gus, and a disease-free seed-bed is essential. Planting must
be into disease-free* soil. The Volga and Houser are con-
sidered resistant. The Wisconsin Hollander is a resistant selec-
tion for the winter crop.
>
Cole-crop Insects 69
GREEN CABBAGE WoRM (Pontia rape).—A velvety green
caterpillar about 1 in. long that eats holes in the leaves and
often burrows into the forming head. Control: The U. S.
Department of Agriculture recommends spraying the plants
with the following formula: water, 50 gals.; soap, 4 Ibs.;
arsenate of lead (paste), 4 lbs., or powder, 2 lbs. In small
quantities: water, 1 gal.; soap, 1 inch cube; arsenate of lead
(paste), 1 oz., or powder, % oz. Since the cabbage head
grows from inside the plant there is no danger from poison-
ing. If the outer leaves are removed before cooking, spraying
is safe to within three weeks of harvest. If spraying is begun
early in the season there will be little damage from late broods
of worms.
The poison may be applied in the form of a dust, using
1 part powdered arsenate of lead in 4 parts air-slaked
lime. In gardens the dust may be shaken on the plants by
means of a cheesecloth bag. Apply thinly while the dew is
on the leaves.
When only a few plants are grown, hand-picking is often
the cheapest and easiest way to destroy the worms. In the
home garden, pyrethrum, hellebore and hot water (130° F.)
are convenient and useful remedies.
CABBAGE LOOPER (Autographa brassice)—A green looping
caterpillar, marked with longitudinal white stripes, about 14
in. long when full-grown. The caterpillars eat out holes in the
leaves and often bore into the forming head. Control: The
eaterpillars are difficult to poison as they dislike foliage coated
with an insecticide, and as they crawl about freely can easily
avoid the poison. The best results have been obtained by
spraying with paris green, 1 lb. in SO gals. of water to which the
resin-lime mixture has been added. Some growers lightly dust
with pure paris green with satisfactory results.
DIAMOND-BACK mMoTH (Plutella maculipennis).—Small pale
green caterpillars, about * in. long when full-grown, that eat
holes in the leaves from beneath. The injured part dies, turns
70 Cole Crops
brown and drops out, leaving the leaf riddled with holes.
Control: Spray with 2 lbs. paris green and 6 lbs. soap in 100
gals. water or with arsenate of lead (paste), 8 Ibs. in 100
gals. of water.
CROSS-STRIPED CABBAGE WORM (Lvergestis rimosalis).— A
bluish gray caterpillar marked with distinct transverse black
stripes, about 14 in. long when full-grown, that eats holes in
the foliage somewhat like the green cabbage worm, and often
attacks the tender central leaves and forming head; restricted
to the Southern States. Control: Same as for the green cab-
bage worm.
CABBAGE WEBWORM (Hellula undalis).—Dull grayish yellow
caterpillars marked above with five conspicuous brownish
purple longitudinal stripes, about % in. long when full-grown;
restricted to the Southern States. They feed on the under-
side of the leaves, bore into the leaf-stems and developing
head, and usually cover their feeding grounds with a silken
web. Control: Where this pest is likely to be troublesome,
keep the plants well sprayed with paris green, 1 Ib. in 50 gals.
water, or with arsenate of lead, 4 lbs. (paste) in 100 gals.
water, to kill the young larve. After the webs are formed,
it is impossible to poison the caterpillars. In severe cases col-
lect and destroy cabbage stumps left in the field after the
harvest.
GARDEN WEBWORM (Lozostege similalis).— A dull green
caterpillar about 1 in. long, marked on the back and on each
side with a pale line, and with numerous small shining black
spots on the back; restricted to the Southern States and to
the Mississippi Valley. The young caterpillars skeletonize the
leaves on the underside, covering them with webs; the older
larve devour the entire leaf. Control: Same as for the
preceding.
PURPLE-BACKED CABBAGE WORM (Evergestis straminalis) .—
A bristly purplish brown to dark greenish caterpillar, *%4 in.
long, marked on each side with a yellowish stripe. that feeds
on the leaves, webbing them together, and sometimes bur-
Cole-crop Insects 71
rows into the stem and crown; restricted as a pest to the mari-
time provinces of Canada. Control: Spray with arsenate of
lead (paste), 2 lbs. in 50 gals. of water.
ZEBRA CATERPILLAR (Wamestra picta).—A brightly colored
caterpillar, 2 in. long when full-grown, black, with two bright
yellow stripes on each side of the body. It often attracts
attention, but rarely causes serious damage. Control: Spray-
ing with an arsenical as for the green cabbage worm.
CABBAGE APHIS (Aphis brassice).—A mealy grayish-green
plant-louse that often occurs in dense masses on the underside
of the leaves and on the tender leaves on the heart of the
plant; most abundant and destructive in seasons of drought.
Control: Thorough spraying with so-called whale-oil or fish-oil
soap, 10 lbs. in 100 gals. water, or with “* Black Leaf 40 ” tobacco
extract, 34 pint in 100 gals. water with 4 or 5 lbs. soap added.
Use long leads of hose equipped with short extension rods and
direct the spray by hand. For effective work, a pressure of
150 to 175 lbs. should be maintained and enough of the spray
applied to wet the lice thoroughly.
TURNIP APHIS (Aphis pseudobrassice) —A plant-louse closely
related to the cabbage aphis and often confused with it. Con-
trol: Same as for the cabbage aphis.
SPINACH APHIS (Myzus persice).—See under Spinach.
CABBAGE ROOT-MAGGOT (Phorbia brassice).—Small whitish
maggots about 14 in. long which taper toward the head. They
first attack the tender rootlets and then burrow in the main
root, causing the plants to wilt and die. In the North they
are most destructive to early cabbage in the field and late
cabbage in the seed-bed. Control: Seed-beds are best pro-
tected from maggot attack by screening them with cheese-
cloth covers. The bed is surrounded by 6 or § in. boards
placed on edge and the cheesecloth is stretched over the top,
being supported by galvanized wires running over short posts.
Early cabbage in the field may be protected by placing tarred
Paper discs around the plants when they are set out. Recent
experiments in Canada indicate that corrosive sublimate, 1 part
02 Cole Crops
in 1,000 parts water, has a repellent effect on the young mag-
gots. Two or three applications are required to keep the
plants free from injury.
HARLEQUIN CABBAGE BUG (Murgantia histrionica) —A stink-
bug % in. long, mottled red, black or yellow-orange, that in
both the adult and immature stages attacks the plants, punc-
turing the leaves and stems, sucking out the juices and appar-
ently poisoning the tissues. Control: Practice clean farming;
destroy all cabbage stumps and other refuse after the crop is
harvested; reduce hibernating shelter to a minimum; leave
a few piles of rubbish in the field in the fall as traps. After
the bugs have collected in these piles they should be burned.
In the spring plant trap crops of kale, mustard or rape that
will come up before the main crop, and when the bugs collect
on these plants, kill them by spraying with clear kerosene.
Cabbage is a major oleraceous crop. It is used in
one form or another in every household. It is both early
and late. It practically covers the year. It is adapted
to a wide range of country. It is useful for stock feed. It
is grown by the home gardener, market-gardener, trucker,
general farmer. A good cabbage head (Fig. 23) is a
comely and handsome object, with flowing lines, excellent
colorings, and attractive modelling.
The cabbage crop produces an enormous gross tonnage.
Aside from the harvested heads, the leaves, stumps, roots
and discards make great bulk and weight. Land must
have good sustaining power to produce this herbage; and
as the major part of the weight is water, the moisture-
content must be unfailing. Make the land rich, prepare
good depth to hold moisture, and keep the cultivator moy-
ing. Use every means to save the soil-moisture. If the
nearly mature heads cease growing and are then started
Cabbage 73
into growth again by means of tillage or rains, they are
likely to crack.
Cabbage thrives on a great variety of soils. “ Good corn
land,” if thoroughly prepared, should yield heavily in cab-
bages. Liberal fertilizing is usually essential to good
results. Intensive growers often apply 1,000 to 2,000
pounds to the acre of chemical fertilizer to the early crop,
23. Cabbage of the oblate type.
with a liberal supply of nitrogen to hasten growth; for the
late crop, with a longer season, less amounts may be sup-
plied, although a heavy yield demands good feeding.
Stable manure is much used for cabbages, sometimes as
much as 40 loads to the acre. Late cabbage often follows
an early crop of something else, as of peas or strawberries ;
early cabbage is often followed by late crops, as of turnips
or fall-set strawberries.
74 Cole Crops
Propagation; tillage.
For the early crop, the plants are raised under glass.
For the main-season or late crop .they may be started in
seed-beds in the open. Seeds for late cabbages are some-
times planted directly in the field where the crop is to
stand, but this is unwise for the young plants cannot re-
ceive proper care and the bugs get them. See that the
young plants are stocky. It is customary to set the plants
in the. ground up to the first true leaves, and gardeners
think that such setting gives better heads, but this opinion
was not verified in three years’ tests at Cornell. It is im-
portant that the young plants make continuous growth,
for if stunted they do not give as good crops. Young cab-
bage plants withstand frost if properly grown. ‘This
“hardening” is accomplished by removing the sash from
the hotbeds every day for a week or more before the plants
are transferred to the field, sometimes for a part of the day
and at other times all night if the weather is not too cool.
For the early crop, the plants are set in the field as soon
as the ground can be made ready. For the late or winter
crop, the plants may be set in midsummer, July in New
York. In small areas, transplanting
is by hand, but in the larger areas it
is performed by machines. Seeds
and seedlings are seen (Figs. 24, 25).
oS For general field crop, the early
24, Seeds of cabbage setting is raised under cheesecloth at
on the North, to protect from insects and
other dangers. The last transplanting in the field in cen-
tral New York for main field crop is seldom later than
July 1. If plants are grown under protection so that the
Cabbage 75
loss is small, four acres may be set from one pound of
seed. Intervals between the rows under general farm con-
ditions are commonly 3 feet and in the row 22 to 24 inches.
The plants need
tilling very often if
they are to grow
rapidly. It is well
to go through them
the first time with a
hand cultivator, as
the plants are so
small that a horse
cultivator will cover
some and damage
others. But when
the plants are well started, the horse and cultivator are
employed. As the plants are but two feet apart for early
crop, and the cultivator needs careful handling, let a
boy lead the horse. Nearly all the work is performed with
the horse, except a very little near the plants. Although
they are very strong and rapid growers, few plants are
more sensitive to neglect than the cabbage, or more favor-
ably affected by extra good care. For very intensive work,
the small early cabbages are sometimes set as close as 15 .
by 24 inches; in this case, hand tools are mostly used.
25. Seedlings of cabbage (x 4%).
Harvesting ; storing.
To harvest, the head is bent over and the stalk severed
at the base of the head by means of a large sharp butcher-
knife. The stumps are usually left standing until the
field is cleaned for winter or for another crop. The trim-
16 Cole Crops
mings are sometimes used for stock food. Soft springy
heads are not mature enough for market, although they are
sometimes shipped to meet an advance price; they do not
keep long in good condition. A good cabbage head should
feel firm and hard when pressed by the fingers; it should
be free of decayed spots, cracks and blemishes.
For market-garden and truck-growing purposes, cab-
bages are usually shipped and sold by barrel or by crate;
but the general
late farm crop,
used for kraut
and for cattle
feed, is handled
by . bia dieaere
wagon, motor-
truck and car.
Cabbages are
extensively stored
for winter use
and sale. The
first requisite to
success is to
store only such kinds as will keep, exercising as much
choice in this respect as in the storing of apples. The
early cabbages are naturally not of this kind. The flat
or drumhead types usually do not keep well. The Danish
Ballhead types are solid and long keepers. A success-
fully stored cabbage should be plump, not shrivelled,
free from disease, full of natural moisture. Cabbages are
stored either in the ground (buried) or in buildings.
They should be free of rot when put in storage, and
26. Cabbages buried in a trench.
Cabbage te
without bruises or injury from rough handling. Keep
water from the middle of the head. The heads should be
kept as cool as possible, without actually hard freezing.
Be sure that they do not dry out.
A method of burying by a successful cabbage-grower is
as follows: Dig a trench about four feet wide and at least
one foot deep. Pull up the cabbage without shaking the
dirt from the roots and retaining all the leaves. Place the
heads in the trench with the roots up, close together, and
wrap the leaves closely around them. Throw a few inches
of straw over them and then cover with earth,—not more
27. Cabbages buried on the surface.
than three or four inches at first. Two dangers must be
guarded against: If too warm they will surely rot; or
if they freeze too hard they will be spoiled when the frost
comes out in the spring. After the weather becomes cold,
freezing somewhat, put on more earth. A foot will do no
harm in a cold climate. The entire lot may be lost by too
hard freezing. If possible, dispose of the entire crop in the
fall, even if obliged to sell at a low rate. *The accompany-
ing pictures (Figs. 26, 27) show methods of burying
cabbages. The former is “cabbage in a trench for home
use,’ from R. W. De Baun, N. J. Extension Bull., Vol.
1, No. 12 (1917), and the latter a “method of storing
78 Cole Crops
cabbage on a small scale at the North,” by L. C. Corbett,
Farmers’ Bull. 433 (1915). Sometimes cabbages are
stored temporarily, for a month or so, by inverting them
when dry on the sward of a pasture or mown meadow and
covering with straw.
For storing cabbages in a large way, special buildings
are constructed. Sometimes the cabbages are piled in bins,
but better results may be expected when the heads are laid
on shelves, one layer deep or perhaps two or three layers.
The outer loose leaves and all the stumps should be re-
moved. The building should not freeze, and the ven-
tilation should be such that the temperature can be kept
two or three degrees above frost. In cold climates, provi-
sion for light heat should be made to carry the house
through severe weather. All water on the cabbages, as
from drip and condensation and leakage, is to be avoided.
Varieties; seed-growing.
Varieties of cabbage are many. The Wakefield types are
prized for the early crop. For autumn and early winter
use, and for kraut, the Drumheads and Flat Dutch type are
popular. For winter storage the Danish Ballhead is exten-
sively grown, from imported seed. Copenhagen, Empire
Karly, All-head, Enkhuizen are popular kinds for general
field culture. The red cabbages are grown chiefly for
pickling. The savoy cabbages, characterized by puckered
or blistered leaves, are prized by amateurs for the deli-
cate flavor; in this country they are grown mostly as an
autumn crop.
Success with cabbage depends largely on the quality of
the seed. It is better to purchase seed from reliable seeds-
a)
ii ei * i el Ji bo re
Cabbage. Kale 79
men and specialists than to attempt to grow it. Stored
cabbages, with stump and roots intact, are planted in fur-
rows in spring, the head being cut deep (usually cross-
wise) to allow the flower-shoots to come through. The
stumps themselves, with head removed, often throw up
flowering tops. The flowers mature rapidly, and seed is
ripe in early summer.
KALE og BORECOLE; COLLARDS
As compared with cabbage, kale requires less exacting
care, 1s hardier, and the seed 1s usually sown where the
plants are to mature. Kale 1s grown for its large leaves.
It is raised mostly as a spring crop, seeds being sown the
previous autumn; or as an autumn crop, seeds being sown
in spring.
Plants usually are thinned to stand a foot or two in the
row if very large plants are desired for the yield of individual
leaves; or if the whole plant is to be gathered at once, the
distances may be as close as 6 to 12 inches. The rows in gar-
dens may be 2 feet apart; in large plantations they may be
somewhat farther to allow of horse tillage. The yield to the
acre in commercial plantations is 200 to 300 barrels, with 250
to 800 barrels perhaps an average fair crop.
Kale is affected by the insects attacking cabbage, particu-
larly by aphis, and often by harlequin cabbage bug.
Kale may be likened to a cabbage plant that produces no
head. In fact, it is a form of the cabbage species that
is very near the original type. Greens from kale are prized
in the market only very late or early in the season when
many other kinds cannot be had in quantity. Small tender
plants are best for eating, but leaves are often taken at
intervals from older plants. This crop is much prized in
England; the cool mild climate is well adapted to it.
80 Cole Crops
In the North, kale is ordinarily sown in the spring, the
seeds being placed where the plants are to stand. The rows
may be far enough apart to allow of horse cultivation, and
the plants may eventually stand, after the thinning
process, from ten to twenty-four inches apart, allowing.
each plant an opportunity to develop to its best. The
plants are not used until late fall or even winter. Often
they are allowed to stand in the field all winter and the
hardiest kinds are not injured by freezing, not even in the
Northern States, if they are well matured, although a hght
mulch on the ground is beneficial. The older leaves and
leaf-stalks are usually improved by being frozen. The
tenderest leaves are picked from the plants at intervals,
or the whole plant may be harvested at once.
For early spring use the seed ordinarily is sown in late
summer or early autumn in the South and Middle South,
and the plants
stand out of doors
ready forluse
very early in
the spring. In
the northernmost
States, however,
these young plants
are likely to
perish unless pro-
tected under
frames; therefore fall-sown kale is relatively little known
in the colder parts of the country. It is grown on a very
extensive scale about Norfolk, Virginia, and elsewhere
28. Scotch kale, showing a plant of large size.
in winter and are
Kale. Brussels Sprouts 81
South, and is shipped to the northern markets from New
Year’s until the opening of spring. In the Norfolk region,
August is a favorite month for sowing.
The so-called Scotch (Fig. 28) and Siberian kales are
chiefly grown in this country. Other forms, much taller
and producing heavy yield of herbage, are grown for cattle
in some countries.
Collards—tIn the Southern States a kale-like plant
known as collards is much grown, particularly in those re-
gions so warm that good cabbages cannot be raised. The
plants are grown as are cabbage plants, the seed being
sown very early in spring, usually in a seed-bed under pro-
tection, in order that the plants may get a good growth
before hot weather sets in; or they may be sown in mid:
summer for the fall growth in places farther north, where
seasons are shorter. The leaves are ready for eating in
the fall, or in very mild climates the plants may be left
till spring. True collards are large plants, and 3x4 feet
is not too great distance for them to stand. Sometimes
young cabbage plants are raised for greens and are known
as collards.
BRUSSELS SPROUTS
The culture demanded by brussels sprouts 1s essentially
that required by kale, except that the plants are always
grown as a fall crop and they are usually started in seed-
beds. The crop requires a longer season than cabbage.
The plant is grown for the small heads along the main
stalk.
~ Plants stand 18 to 30 in. asunder in the row, and the rows
are usually 3 ft. apart; dwarf varieties may stand closer. A
goed plant should yield 1 qt. of sprouts or heads. -In the
82 Cole Crops
Long Island sprouts region, plants are commonly spaced 30 x 36
in.; seed is sown June 1 to 15; 2,000 qts. to the acre is a fair
average yield, but 38,000 qts. or even more are sometimes
obtained.
The diseases and insects are those that prey on the cabbage.
Brussels sprouts is closely allied to kale, but along the ©
straight strong stem little buds or miniature cabbages are
borne, and these are the edible parts (Figs. 29, 30).
A good “sprout,” as one of the buds is called, averages
one to two inches in diameter. When the sprouts are
small and tender, they consti-
tute one of the best and most
SX “am delicately flavored vegetables
a of the cabbage tribe. The
[S35 UF sprouts are gathered as they
GSS a mature, from the bottom of
the plant upward, and are sold
by the quart. The adjacent
leaf is cut off as soon as the
sprout attains considerable
size.
In the North the seeds ordi-
narily are sown rather late that
the plants may not mature too
early, for the sprouts are most
prized in late autumn and
winter. A large part of the
growth is made in the cool
weather of fall. If seeds are sown in June, the plants may
be set in the field after the manner of cabbages in late
July or August. In the Middle States the plants may be
29. Plant of brussels sprouts
before harvesting.
Sprouts. Cauliflower 83
left out of doors in winter as the light freezing does not
injure the sprouts. In the northernmost States, however,
plants are usually dug late in the fall and planted out in
pits, something after the method em-
ployed with celery and leeks.
A good crop of brussels sprouts is
dependent very largely on the strain of
seed, as the plants tend to run down
when careful selection in seed-raising
is not practiced. A strong plant of the
ordinary varieties makes a stalk 2 to 3. 30. a single sprout,
feet high, producing sprouts from near ea
- the base to the large canopy of leaves at the top. There
are dwarf varieties, however, that grow 16 to 18 inches
high that are in favor in short-season climates.
CAULIFLOWER; BROCCOLI
Cauliflower is grown for its white tender heads formed
of the shortened and thickened flower-parts. From cab-
bage, the culture differs chiefly as follows: The plant is
more particular as to climate, requiring a relatively cool
moist season ; it 1s mostly less hardy ; it demands a constant
supply of soil-moisture; care must be exercised that the
heads do not sunburn; it 1s vitally wmportant that the very
best strain of seed is used. It is a crop of special local-
ities.
A good distance for main-crop caulifiower is 2 by 38 ft.,
requiring upwards of 7,000 plants to the acre. The early
smaller kinds may be 16 to 24 inches in the row. An ounce
of seed for the production of 1,000 plants is a standard recom-
mendation. An acre should yield 5,000 good heads.
The diseases and insects are those of cabbage.
84 Cole Crops
Cauliflower is difficult to grow to perfection in the
hotter and dryer parts of the country. Its requirements
are similar to those of the cabbage except that it is injured
by hot suns and dry weather, and it therefore needs a cool
and moist atmosphere. Along the seaboard of the North-
eastern States, near the Great Lakes, and in the Puget
Sound region, cauliflower is grown with success, as it is
also in special locations in many parts of the country.
Wherever irrigation can be practiced, it may also be grown
successfully. In the American climate the effort is usu-
ally made to secure the crop early or late and thereby to
avoid growing it in the heat of midsummer. When thus .
grown, its range of adaptability is much extended. Under
this system, the early crop is usually off in June or July.
This crop is secured by growing the early varieties, as the
Snowball and Paris, and by starting the plants under glass.
The late crop is matured in autumn from seeds sown in
summer in seed-beds. For this crop some of the later and
larger-growing varieties may be used. In the southern-
most parts of the United States cauliflower is grown as a
winter crop from autumn-sown seeds.
Every effort should be made to conserve the moisture by
deep preparation of the land in the first place and by fre-
quent surface tillage thereafter. Low but well-drained
bottom lands are usually chosen in order that the plants
may have a constant supply of moisture. On Long Island,
however, where the cauliflower is very largely grown, this
precaution 1s unnecessary, since the atmosphere is moist
from proximity to the ocean and the water-table is not
deep; in other coast regions the same may be true. In
small areas, mulching is sometimes advised to hold the
Cauliflower 85
moisture. In home gardens, of course, the plants may be
watered. Land for cauliflower should be in a high state of
fertility.
Some of the practices in the growing of cauliflower on
opposite sides of the continent may be compared. In
Rhode Island a large grower plants seeds about the
middle of May, 1 ounce to 300 feet of drill, 144 inch deep,
the plants about 15 to the foot and not thinned; trans-
Vy
31. Head of cauliflower, trimmed for the market. See also Fig. 234.
plants to field by July 1 for largest crop; rows 31% feet
apart, plants in the row 16 inches; applies 1,500 to 3,000
pounds 4-8-4 fertilizer (no manure), all put on with
wheelbarrow side-dresser in strip 12 inches wide on either
side of row; expects 75 per cent good heads when set on
time (by July 1) but far less for later plantings; early
cauliflower, marketed in July and August, expects smaller
percentage perfect heads. In eastern Washington, a
grower sows seed beginning of March in hotbed for early
86 Cole Crops
crop, transplants to coldframes and sets in field late in
April; seed for late crop sown in the open May 10 to 14,
plants set in field June 20 to July 1; rows 30 inches’
apart, plants 18 inches in row.
The head of cauliflower is usually protected from the sun
and whitened by tying the outer leaves over it. Plenty of
room for ventilation should be allowed under the leaf-
canopy, otherwise moisture may collect and the head may
decay. The heads are harvested by cutting off, as are cab-
bages; the leaves are then trimmed to form a border or
cup, as in Fig. 31. The crop is harvested in barrels or
erates. Heads should be wrapped and handled with much
care. They cannot be stored any great length of time. A ~
good head has a regular “curd” or substance, without
breaks, uneven growths, or “ buttons.”
Probably no other vegetable so quickly runs down from
poor seed as the cauliflower. It is therefore exceedingly
important that the choicest strain of seed be secured if the
best results are to be attained. The best cauliflower seed
is expensive, running as high as five to eight dollars an
ounce; but cheap seed gives a smaller percentage of head-
ing plants and the heads are usually irregular and broken.
The cauliflower has a tendency to “button” or to throw
up irregular growths from the head. This is due to poor
seed, dry soil and too great heat, and also to allowing the
plants to become checked and then starting them into
growth by renewed tillage. The cauliflower seed of the
market is grown in the Old World, the best of it coming
from Denmark; but the Puget Sound country is attracting
attention as a region for the growing of cauliflower seed.
Good seeds may be grown under glass.
Broccol. Kohlrabi 87
There is a family of long-season and late-maturing
cauliflowers, relatively little grown in this country, known
under the general name of broccoli. This plant requires
the entire season in which to mature, and in Hurope it is
often allowed to stand over winter and to make its heads in
spring. The heads are usually smaller than those of cauli-
flower.
KOHLRABI
The treatment required by kohlrabi 1s that demanded
by flat turnips. It is usually not transplanted. The plant
is grown for the tuberous stem, which must not be allowed
to become tough; rayd growth is essential.
The plants usually stand, after thinning, 6 to 10 in. apart,
the rows being 18 in. to allow of the use of the wheel hoe
or farther apart if horse tillage is to be employed. An ounce
of seed should yield about 1,500 plants;
if grown as a field crop for stock, 4 to 5
lbs. of seed are usually allowed to the
acre, and the crop may be 500 or 1,000
bushels.
The diseases and insects of cabbage
may attack kohlrabi.
Kohlrabi produces a turnip-like tu-
ber just above the ground. It is grown
mostly as a stock food and is rela-
tively little known in North Amer-
ica outside of Canada. However, it is
a very excellent garden vegetable, of
delicate flavor, if used before the tubers become large and
stringy, when they are yet globular or oblate; as the
32. Kohlrabi (xX 1/3).
88 Cole Crops
plants mature the tuberous part becomes elongated. They
should be used when two to three inches in diameter;
it is essential that they should
have grown quickly and _ con-
and bitter. Successive sowings
may be made at intervals of
two or three weeks to continue
the table supply. Do not hill up
the earth about’ the tuber.
White Vienna is the leading gar-
the same as turnips. The plant
99. Leaf of kohirabl, chow. 20d a leat are showman eee
ing its long petiole and
characteristic blade. and 33.
PE-TSAI
Grown as a potherb for its great tuft of leaves and the
solid heads, and also as salad for the blanched and tender
cores. It requires rich quick sol, abundance of water,
cool season. In warm weather and on poor dry land tt runs
quickly to seed. Germination and growth are rapid. Good
strains of seed are wmportant.
As yet, no standard practices have been developed in North
America for the rearing of this crop. Its culture is to be
likened to that of kale. Plants may stand eventually 10 to 18
in. apart in the row, the plants being thinned for greens.
Worms and aphis are to be expected, as for cabbage.
Under the name of Chinese cabbage and celery cabbage,
this plant is now attracting much attention, although a
full report was made on it, after repeated trials, more
tinuously, otherwise they are hard
den variety. Kohlrabi is cooked ~
Pe-tsaa 89
than twenty-five years ago by the Cornell Experiment Sta-
tion. It has long been more or less known in Kurope, and
in China it is an ancient vegetable of major importance.
To foreigners in China it is known as Shantung cabbage,
from the province where it is extensively grown. ‘To the
34. Pe-tsai as commonly grown for salad and greens (X 1/6).
Chinese it is known as pe-ts’ai, peh-ts’ai, po-ts’ai, the first
word or element meaning “white,” and ts’ai a green-
vegetable or leaf-vegetable.
It is unfortunate that the name “ cabbage ” has become
associated with this plant, for it represents a different
species (if, in fact, not a different genus) from the cab-
90 , Cole Crops
bages, and it has none of the characteristic strong odors of
them, nor is it so heavy for the digestion. It is a sweet
delightful vegetable when properly grown, and as we learn
how to raise and uti-
lize it we may expect
it to come into gen-
eral use. Well-grown
and neatly - blanched
pe-tsai is superior to
35. Pe-tsai as grown in China, the long- lettuce as a_ salad.
Nee Re ae | Undoubtedly we shall
need to give special attention to seed-selection for Amer-
ican conditions.
With us pe-tsai seems to be known mostly as a mass of
loose foliage (Fig. 34), often developing a core of white
tender leaves, not unlike cos lettuce in appearance. The
growers of Shantung produce solid heavy heads (Figs.
35, 36, 37), sometimes weighing 5 to 7 pounds. The seed
is usually sown by them in August, often following millet.
Land is well prepared, and bean-cake or other fertilizer is
applied in the row. Seed is sown in rows; as the plants
attain considerable leaf-
age, they are thinned,
the young plants being
used as a potherb. If
weather is dry, the :
plants are watered. The mie i —
remaining plan fee sore 36. Longitudinal section of Fig. 35.
left to form heads. If the rains of autumn are too
heavy, the water is drained away. ‘Too much wet makes
a soft and yellow plant. By the approach of winter the
as
‘ie oe Oi
Ee PAS ae
: palit Leg tt i ph iedses
eg Bate Ted AY
Pe-tsat. Cole Plants 91
heads are formed. The plants are pulled, the outer
loose leaves removed, and stored in an outside cellar
for winter use and
sale. —
As known in this
country, the crop is
started very early in
spring for use in warmer
weather, or in August or
September for producing
dense heads.
Botanically, pe - tsai
is Brassica pekinensis; see the description of it on
page 96.
37. Pe-tsai as grown in China, the round form.
THE COLE PLANTS AND THEIR KIN
The true coles (i.e., generically kale plants, German kohl)
are the thick-leaved blue-green plants of the kale-cabbage-
cauliflower group, grown for their leaves or above-ground parts.
To this group belongs also the kohlrabi (word the German
form of cole-rape or caulo-rapa), with a thickened stem; and
properly also the rutabaga is a cole plant, although not com-
monly so regarded in this country. The rutabaga (the word
is of Swedish origin), known familiarly in N. America as
“ baga,” is the Swedish turnip or “swede” of the English, and
the kohiriibe (cole-turnip) of the Germans; and it is also
called turnip-rooted cabbage, recognizing thereby the cabbage
appearance of the foliage and flowers. It should be said that
in America the word cabbage is restricted to plants that pro-
duce heads (the word is associated with the Latin caput, a
head) but elsewhere it has a wider application in the cole
crops.
The cole plants are of the genus Brassica; to this genus
belong also the turnips; also the mustards, although certain
92 Cole Crops
of them are separated by some botanists in the genus Sinapis.
Therefore it is best to consider all these plants together, in
this account mentioning only the .kinds of common eultiva-
tion.» These brassicaceous plants are difficult to define botan-
ically, and the wild prototypes of some of them are not
definitely known. Botanists differ in their interpretation of
them. They are plants of immemorial domestication, and haye
been vastly modified.
Brassica. Crucifere. About 40 species (if Sinapis is
included) of annual, biennial and perennial herbs, of Europe
and Asia, some of them now widely spread throughout the
world as weeds. The table mustard of commerce is made
from the seeds of some of the species. The botanical charac-
ters of separation between the species lie to an important
degree in the size, shape and position of the pods, and in the
shape and length of the beak or top end of the pod beyond the
valves or detaching sides. The seeds in these plants are
globular in general form, without conspicuous surface mark-
ings; they are essentially black in the cole plants and turnips,
but may be brown or lighter colored in the mustards; they
weigh 1 to 5 mg. and the vitality is about 4 or 5 years. Of
the cole plants, including rutabagas, the average seeds are
approximately 3 or 4 mg. in weight; of turnips about 2 mg.
A. Plant glaucous-blue or blue-green (varying to red), the foliage usu-
ally thick and more or less fleshy, the mature leaves glabrous; larger
leaves on the flowering stems usually clasping: flowers large (1/3
to 1 in. long), whitish yellow, cream-yellow or ochroleucous, the
petals long-clawed, sepals mostly firmly erect and not spreading.—
COLES.
B. Flowers large (mostly exceeding ™% in.) and very light colored
(sometimes almost white), the inflorescence elongated at anthesis
(4 to 10 in. long).
Leaves large, mostly thick: stem not thickened.
1. B. oleracea.
Leaves relatively small, thinner: stem tuberous.
2. B. cauiorapa.
BB. Flowers smaller (not exceeding % in.), yellower, the part of
the inflorescence in bloom at any time rarely exceeding 2 or
3 in. and usually shorter than this.
3. B. campesiris.
a ee ee ee oe
a ee ee
Botany of Cole Plants 93
AA. Plant green or essentially so, slightly or not glaucous, the foliage
thin and often sparsely setose-hairy on the ribs; stem leaves vari-
ous: flowers small (3 in. or less long), bright yellow or sulfur-
yellow, the petals less prominently clawed, sepals separating or
spreading.
B. Stem leaves clasping or the petiole with a broadly expanded
base.—TURNIP.
4. B. Rapa.
BB. Stem leaves petioled or sessile—MUSTARDS.
C. Pod glabrous (not hairy).
D. The ripe pods long, spreading away from the stem.
E. Leaves more or less lobed or notched, but not
deeply cut.
Radical and lower blades tapering to winged mid-
rib. 5. B. pekinenstis.
Radical and lower stem leaves distinctly peti-
oled. 6. B. rugosa.
EE. Leaves deeply cut. 7. B. japonica.
DD. The ripe pods short, closely appressed to the stem.
B. nigra,
CC. Pod hairy. 9. B. alba.
1. B. oleracea, Linn. Sp. Pl. 667. Glaucous perennial with
woody and often branching stem 2 to 5 ft. tall, native on the
sea-cliffs and shores of western Europe: lvs. thick, large, %4
to 2 ft. long, obovate or oblong in general outline, often with
several small lobes along the petiole, the margins irregularly
lobed or sinuate, often obscurely dentate, and usually more
or less undulate and crisped: flowers large (%4 to 1 in. long)
in an elongated panicle, whitish yellow: pod 8 to 4 in. long,
Y% in. across at maturity, with a conical beak 4 to % in.
long, the valves with a strong central rib—As B. oleracea
itself is not cultivated, and apparently not eaten in the wild
state, a full description is not necessary here. In the wild it
gives little suggestion of the cabbages, brussels sprouts and
caulifilowers, although it is much like some of the kales. Under
domestication this species has produced a multitude of forms,
some of the main races of which may be described.
Var. ramosa, *- Alef. Landw. Fl. 234. 1866. TREE CABBAGE
or TREE KALE. THOUSAND-HEADED KALE. Stem erect, 3 to 6 ft.
or even more, woody at the base, more or less branched above,
the leaves scattered rather than in a terminal clump or rosette.
—Grown mostly in Europe, and chiefly for cattle forage.
94 Cole Crops
Var. acephala. DC. Syst. Nat. ii, 583. 1821. Katz, CoLLarp.
Plant very short to tall, the stem simple or only sparingly
branched: leaves various, aggregated toward the top of the
stem, oblong to oval to roundish in outline and lobed toward
the base, in some forms much crisped and curled, the midrib
and petiole usually thick and stout.
Var. gemmifera, DC. Syst. Nat. ii, 583. 1821. Brussets
Sprouts. Stem erect, 1% to 3 ft. tall, bearing large edible
buds 1 in. or so in diam. in the axils: leaves short and broad,
short-oblong to nearly circular, usually with one or two large
rounded lobes near the base but sometimes unlobed, the
margins of the main leaves not notched or dentate, petiole
not winged.
Var. capitata, Linn. Sp. Pl. 667. Cappacr. Plant low and
squat, with a very short stem, producing one large compact
terminal head 4 to 12 in. in diam.: leaves large, spreading,
oblong-obovate to nearly circular, the main ones mostly unlobed
and the blade tapering into a short margined petiole, margins
undulate and more or less obscurely toothed.—A race or sub-
variety is Var. sabauda, Linn. (Var. bullata, DC.), the Savoy
cabbages, with blistered or bullate leaves (the word sabauda
means Savoyan). Recently there has come into cultivation a
“ green-glazed” cabbage, with bright green shining foliage.
Var. botrytis, Linn. Sp. Pl. 667. Broccott. CAULIFLOWER.
Plant of the stature of Var. capitata; but bearing long-oblong
or elliptic mostly undivided upright or incurving leaves with
margins entire or minutely denticulate, and the flower-clusters
(malformed stems and flowers) rather than the leaves con-
densed into a head.—Sometimes broccoli is separated as Sub-
var. cymosa, Duchesne, and cauliflower as Subvar. caulijiora,
DC. (The word botrytis means “a bunch of grapes”; here it
refers to the forms in the broccoli or caulifiower head.)
2. B. caulorapa, Pasq. Cat. Ort. Bot. Nap: 47% 436i (8:
oleracea var. gongylodes, Linn. Sp. Pl. 667. B. oleracea
var. caulorapa, DC.) KoHurapi. Plant low and erect, 1 to 2
ft. tall over all, the stem thickened just above the ground
Botany of Cole Plants 95
and turnip-like, foliage arising from the tuber: leaves small
and thinnish, the blades 4 to 8 in. long, oval or round-oval
to oblong, the margins prominently toothed or notched, the
base more or less irregularly lobed or shaped, the petiole slen-
der and thin and often bearing a few detached small leaf-
lobes, the base expanded and clasping.—Probably an offshoot
of the composite species B. oleracea, but marked in its stem
and foliage characters; grown for the stem tuber (the ante-
Linnean name gongylodes means “ roundish”).
38. B. campestris, Linn. var. Napobrassica, DC. Syst.
Nat. ii, 589. 1821. (B. oleracea var. Napobrassica, Linn. Sp.
Pl. 667. B. Napobrassica, Mill. Gard. Dict. ed. 8 no. 2. 1768.
B. Napus var. Napobrassica, Reichb, in Moessl. Handb.
Gewachsk. ed. 3, ii, 1220. 1883.) RuTaBpAacga. SweEpDISH TURNIP.
Plant in flower or fruit 2 to 8 ft. high, branched, erect but
sometimes failing with the weight of seed: root a fusiform
or oblong (rarely globular) tuber with a long neck: radical
lvs. long-stalked, 12 to 24 in. long over all, the blade
oblong in outline, strongly pinnate-lobed, the terminal lobe
broad and obtuse, the others successively smaller downward
and semi-opposite or scattered, some of the smaller parts
entirely separate and remote on the petiole, the margins vari-
ously and irregularly dentate or notched, the mature leaves
mostly wholly glabrous but sometimes bearing scattered sete
on the ribs, the small leaves immediately succeeding the seed- ‘
leaves more or less sparsely hairy; upper stem leaves becoming
oblong to lance-oblong, strongly sessile-auriculate, notched, den-
tate, or nearly entire: flowers light yellow, in elongating clus-
ters: pod about 2 in. long exclusive of the conical beak, which
is about % in. long.—Sometimes the white-fleshed and yellow-
fleshed rutabagas are separated, in which case the former may
take the name Subvar. communis, DC. and the latter Subvar.
Rutabaga, DC.; the botanical origin of these races is not
cleared up.
Brassica campestris itself is a weed in and near cultivated
areas, not producing an enlarged root. Rape is often con-
96 Cole Crops
sidered to pe urzj the same species, B campestris yar. Napus,
Babington (B. Napus, Linn.).
4. B. Rapa, Linn. Sp. Pl. 666. (B. campestris var. Rapa,
Hartm. Handb. Skand. Fl. ed. 6, 110. 1854.) Turnip. Plant
green, slightly or not at all glaucous, the foliage usually rough-
ish to the hand: root tuber flattened or globular, sometimes
oblong white- or yellow-fleshed, the top part often purple, the
neck short: root leaves not thick, mostly long-pinnatifid, the
lobes in several irregular uneven pairs and successively smaller
downward, but sometimes tapering gradually from the broad
blade to a narrowly winged petiole and without large lobes;
leaves usually sparsely setose-hairy on the ribs beneath, at
least in the young expanding foliage; upper stem leaves obo-
vate to oblong to lanceolate in outline, the margins of the-
larger ones irregular and notched, often narrowed toward the
base, clasping: flowers small (4 to *% in. long), bright yellow,
the clusters short in anthesis: pods about 1% in. long exclu-
sive of the slender conical beak.—Nativity undetermined.
(Rapum is a Latin word for turnip.)
5. B. pekinensis, Rupr. Fl. Ingr. i, 96. 1860. (Sinapis
pekinensis, Lour. Fl. Cochin, 400. 1790. 8B. Pe-tsai, Bailey,
Bull. 67 Cornell Exp. Sta. 190. 1894.) Pr-rsar. An erect
green soft-foliaged annual of quick growth: radical leaves
many, large, veiny and crinkled, 12 to 20 in. long, oblong or
broadly obovate in outline, the top broad and rounded, taper-
ing below and vanishing to the lower end of the very broad
whitened midrib, the upper Margins wavy, the lower margins
jagged-notched; stem leaves multiform, sometimes broad and
clasping, sometimes merely sessile, sometimes petioled, in shape
various, the margins notched or crinkled or in the upper leaves
entire: flowers light yellow, about % in. long, the cluster
short in anthesis: pod stout, 1 to 2 in. long exclusive of the
short cone-shaped blunt beak.—Probably native in China.
See page 88.
6. B. rugosa, Bailey, Bull. 67 Cornell Exp. Sta. 191. 1894;
Prain, Bull. 4, Dept. Land Rec. and Agr., Bengal, 11. 1898.
Botany of Mustards ah
(Sinapis rugosa, Roxb. Fl. Ind. iii, 122. 1832.) Broap-LEAr
MUSTARD. Plant green, producing abundance of foliage,
annual: radical leaves large and quick-growing, more or less
hairy when young, usually blistered or bullate, 1 ft. or more
long and three-fourths as broad, obovate or oval, angled or
notched, separately cut or lobed below on the narrowing sides,
the petiole broad or stout; lower stem leaves of similar shape,
large (blade 4 to 5 in. long and nearly as broad) notched
and angled, distinctly stalked; upper stem leaves oblong to
lanceolate, nearly or quite entire, usually sessile or tapering
to base, sometimes clasping: flowers about 14 in. long, bright
yellow, the clusters short in anthesis: pod 1 to 2 in. long,
exclusive of the rather slender acute beak.—Probably native
in China; usually cultivated as ‘‘ Chinese mustard.”
7. B. japonica, Sieb. acc. to Miq. Prol. Fl. Jap. 74. 1865-6.
(Sinapis jeponica, Thunb. Fl. Jap. 262. 1784. B. nigra var.
japonica, Schulz, in Pflanzenr. iv, 105, p. 79. 1919.) CURLED
Mustarp. Very like B. rugosa, and perhaps a form of it,
distinguished by the frizzled and cut foliage—An old garden
favorite. Now grown under several forms, as Giant Southern
Curled, Fordhook Fancy, Ostrich Plume, California Pepper-
grass, the last one with finely cut leaves.
SB. nigra, Koch, in Roehl. Deutschl. Fl. ed. 3, iv, 718.
1833. (Sinapis nigra, Linn. Sp. Pl. 668.) Brack MustTArp.
Tall branching annual, 3 to 10 ft. high, with slightly glaucous
glabrous or sparsely hairy stem which is often reddish: leaves
oval to oblong, obtuse or short-acute, notched and variously
lobed, slender-petioled: flowers light yellow, about 14 in. long,
terminating slender racemes: pod short (1% to 1 in. long over
all), 4-sided, stout, with a short conical beak, becoming closely
appressed to the rachis of the raceme: seeds small, brown or
brown-black, weighing about 1 mg.—Europe; now widely spread
as a weed. Employed as a source of table mustard, manu-
factured from the seeds; sometimes mentioned as grown for
the early radical leaves, for greens, but there are better kinds.
9. B. alba, Rabenh. Fl. Lusit. i, 184. 1839. (Sinapis alba,
Linn. Sp. Pl. 668.) Wuirr Mustarp. Erect more or less hairy
98 | Cole Crops
annual, 2-8 ft.: lvs. oblong, all petioled, obovate or oval in
outline, deeply pinnately lobed, the margins bluntly notched:
flowers about % in. long, light yellow, terminating elongating
racemes: pods squarrose (at about right angles with the
rachis), hairy, with a flat beak longer than the body: seeds
few, large, yellowish or light brown, weighing 3 to 4 mg.—
Europe; sometimes run wild. Cult. sometimes for greens, par-
ticularly under the name of White London mustard.
CHAPTER V
SALAD CROPS
Lettuce Parsley
Endive and chicory Chervil
Cress Celery
Corn-salad
As a general statement, vt may be said that salad plants
require cool moist soul, and a quick continuous growth tf
the best results are attained. They are often benefited by
a special application of quickly available fertilhzers during
growth, particularly of mtrogen im those species desired
chiefly for a rapid growth of leaves. Most of them do not
require occupation of the ground the entre year.
The plants included in this chapter are a somewhat mis-
cellaneous company, and it is difficult to state principles
that apply to all of them. They are closely connected with
the potherb crops. Celery and lettuce have little in com-
mon, but the above grouping seems to be as satisfactory as
any. Some of the plants are used both as salads and pot-
herbs, as endive; but they are placed in the group to which
their most common use assigns them. A salad is eaten un-
cooked; a potherb or “greens” is boiled. Horse-radish
is properly a salad plant, or a relish plant.
On the necessity of giving extra care to the rearing of
salad plants, Waugh writes (Bull. 54, Vt. Exp. Sta.) :
- © Doubtless all vegetables ought to be fresh; but with salad
(99)
100 Salad Crops
plants the demand is imperative. A good salad cannot be
made from wilted or stale plants. For this reason the best
salads are practically prohibited to people who do not have
their own gardens. The plants should be freshly picked
within half an hour of meal time. Up to this time they
should have been rapidly and vigorously grown. A rich
spot of ground, plenty of water, clean and thorough cul-
ture with favorable weather, must combine for best results.
Dry, tough, wilted, weed-choked plants are not worth gath-
ering. Yet most of the true salad plants reach edible
maturity so quiekly that any reasonable attention should
secure good returns. Here again it is not time and money ©
that are required for success, but a little thoughtful
promptness of action.”
In these days, when we begin to know something of the
value and office of vitamines, contained in the herbage of
plants, we should have a new appreciation of the impor-
tance of salads and potherbs to the welfare of mankind.
It is the result of long and tried experience that many
races of men have come to place great reliance on green
food.
LETTUCE
Lettuce is a hardy, cool-season, short-season succession-
or companion-crop, requiring mellow moist soil, quickly
available fertilizers and continuous growth from start to
finish. In this country tt 1s grown in the open ground
throughout the season, and it is also extenswely forced
under glass. It 1s very easy of cultivation im rich and well-
prepared land.
Lettuce is commonly grown in rows 8 to 14 in. apart, and
thinned eventually, as the young plants are taken out, to8 to 12
Lettuce 101
in. in the row; grown as a field crop tilled by horse, the
rows may be spaced as far as 18 in. For early use start in
forcing-house, frame or kitchen. Sow in succession till warm
weather. In late summer or September, sowing may be made
for the autumn crop. In the South it may stand out over
winter and resume growth in spring. Calculate on 1,000 plants
for each ounce of seed. Most of the forcing varieties, started
under glass are good for early use, as Tennisball, Boston Mar-
ket, Simpson. For summer use, plant varieties that withstand
heat, as Deacon, Hanson, Summer Cabbage, Cos. A good com-
mercial acre should yield upwards of 30,000 heads.
RHIZOCTONIA, Or BOTTOM-ROT (Rhizoctonia solani). —Plants
in any stage of development may be affected. Rusty slightly
sunken areas on the leaf-stalk where it comes in contact with
the ground and the total rotting of the leaf-blade are indica-
tive of this disease. The entire head may later rot and
remain as a blackened erect stump. Frequently the disease
causes a damping-off of seedlings. Control: Soil sterilization
in the greenhouse will prevent the development of bottom-rot.
Thorough drainage and frequent cultivation to dry out the
surface soil will reduce somewhat the development of the
disease in the field. ‘The more erect types of lettuce are appar-
ently less affected.
DROP, or SCLEROTINIA ROT (Sclerotinia libertiana) —Affected
plants become water-soaked and collapse with a soft rot in
a few hours after showing evidence of this disease. White
felts of mycelium with black fungous bodies imbedded in them
develop on the under surface of the leaf. This is a serious
disease of field and greenhouse lettuce, the seriousness being
increased by the fact that the organism will attack almost any
host. Control: Thorough soil sterilization, when practicable,
will control the disease. Prompt removal of affected plants
and drenching the soil with copper sulfate solution has met
with considerable success. All refuse should be removed and
destroyed.
GRAY MOLD, Or BOTRYTIS ROT (Botrytis cinerea).—Usually but
one leaf or one side of a plant is first attacked. The disease
¢
102 Salad Crops
may spread until the destruction of the entire plant results. A
characteristic gray fungous growth from which the name of
the disease is derived occurs on the rotted tissues. The para-
site is most destructive in greenhouses. Control: Care in ven-
tilating and watering will do much toward preventing the de-
velopment of this rot. The prompt removal of all débris is
desirable.
ANTHRACNOSE (Marssonina panattoniana).—Leaf lesions
appear first as somewhat circular water-soaked spots which
later become brown. In the later stages, the affected tissues
die and drop out, giving the leaf a shot-holed appearance. On
the midrib the brownish spots are sunken and elongated.
Control: Prompt removal of affected plants, together with
rotation of crops in the field, is desirable. Sanitation in the
greenhouse is important. Slightly higher temperature than is
usual, together with careful ventilation, will check the disease.
MiLpew (Bremia lactucw).—Yellow areas are evident on the
upper side of affected leaves and a white mildew is present
on the under surface of such spots. Mildew is primarily a
greenhouse disease, although. it may occur in the field in cool
weather. Control: Care in ventilating and watering will pre-
vent the development of this disease. A slight increase in tem-
perature may tend to check its development.
Tip-BuRN.—A blackening of the leaf margins, frequently
evident only on the inner leaves, is characteristic of tip-burn.
Apparently this disease is not due to a casual organism but
to unfavorable environmental conditions. Control: Careful
watering and ventilating in the greenhouse will aid in pre-
venting this trouble. There is some indication that an excess
of nitrate and excessive applications of fertilizers in midsum-
mer may increase the development of tip-burn.
CABBAGE LOOPER (Autographa brassice) and CELERY LOOPER
(Autographa falcigera).—Both of these common looping cater-
pillars sometimes attack lettuce. As an arsenical cannot be
used, hand-picking is the only available measure.
PLANT-LICE (several species).—lLettuce both in the green-
Lettuce 103
house and in the field is liable to infestation. ‘Tobacco dust is
employed. In the greenhouse fumigate with nicotine.
Cutworms and slugs sometimes attack lettuce. See pages
430, 437.
Lettuce is the standard salad plant. Itis good in itself,
and both market and kitchen practices are well under-
stood. It needs no explanation. The culture is also sim-
ple. It does not occupy the land the entire year. It is a
38. Common head lettuce, seen from above.
succession-crop or companion-crop. It is grown in the
North spring to autumn and the South autumn to spring.
It readily adapts itself to forcing in glasshouses. It grows
well in hotbeds and frames. It may be made to stand
much frost. For all these reasons, it is a year-round
crop.
Lettuce is commonly grown as a seed-bed crop. The
early crop is usually started in the house or in hotbeds and
104 Salad Crops
transplanted to the field; or some of it may mature directly
in the hotbed or frame. In some cases, particularly for
the midseason and later crops, the seed may be sown where
the plants are to stand. In large-area lettuce-farming in
the Northern States, prin-.
cipally on reclaimed muck
land, seed is sown direct-
ly in the field and the
plants (if Big Boston) are
thinned to stand 10 to 14
inches in the row, the rows
14 inches or more apart.
Two or three pounds of
seed are required to the
acre. In good weather
and on well-prepared land,
the crop is ready to har-
vest in six to eight weeks.
Sowings are made every
week or so till the begin-
ning of August.
Lettuce may be fol-
lowed by cabbages, early cauliflower, celery or various
other succession-crops. Sometimes lettuce is transplanted
between the plants of early cabbages or cauliflowers,
since it will mature before the other plants need all the
space. If one’s soil is moist, and particularly if the
exposure is somewhat cool, the ordinary spring lettuce
may be grown with success throughout the summer. Suc-
cessional sowings may be made as often as once in ten
days to three weeks. The earliest spring lettuce taken
39. Cos or Romaine lettuce (X 1/6).—
Lactuca sativa var. longifolia.
Lettuce 105
from the open is usually started in frames or forcing-
houses, or sometimes in boxes in the house. It transplants
easily.
The crop may be grown in autumn from seeds sown
late in August or in September. In such case it is best to
sow in a seed-bed, because the moisture conditions can be
controlled better, and a field is usually too dry at that time
of the year to give quick germination. It is essential that
lettuce make a quick and succulent growth to be at its best.
For the late spring and summer crops the seed is usually
sown rather thickly and the thinnings are used on the
table. The plants that are to attain the largest size should
stand as much as a foot apart.
Lettuce usually does best in soil that is loose and warm,
or one that the garden-
ers call “quick.” Heavy
lands, and particularly
those with much clay,
are ill-adapted to the
crop. To secure a quick
growth, it is sometimes
advisable to apply ni-
trate of soda soon after
the plants are set. The
nitrate is usually sprin-
kled broadcast on the
surface and raked or
cultivated in. An appli-
cation at rate of 200-
300 pounds to the acre may be made with good results.
The surface should be kept well tilled to conserve the
40. Asparagus lettuce (x 1/5).
Lactuca sativa var. angustana.
106 Salad Crops
moisture and to promote all those activities that result in
rapid growth.
Although the lettuce product is usually spoken of as a
“head,” there are many kinds of
leaf-clusters, and some of the
kinds are known technically as
“head Icttuce ” or “ cabbage let-
tuce.” The Boston Head lettuce
is one variety, as Simpson and
Grand Rapids are others. “ Head
lettuce”? is grown the same as
_ other kinds, special care being
41. Seeds (properly fruits) o0p e@Xercised to get good seed.
Can eena Started indoors in April and
transplanted to the open in good warm soil, the crop is
ready in June. Sometimes heads are blanched by tying up
the leaves, but only a few heads should be treated at a
time, for they are very likely to decay, particularly if the
weather is. wet. Lettuce usually does not head well in
warm weather; a par-
tial exception are the
Cos lettuces, which
are very different in
appearance and make
a less solid head.
Usually, however, the
summer product is
peat, lettuce 22 or
“bunching lettuce,” the product of many non-heading
varieties. Figs. 38, 39, 40 are widely different forms of
lettuce; Figs. 41 and 42 show the seeds and seedlings.
42. Seedlings of lettuce (* %).
Lettuce 107
The Cos lettuces, or Romaines, produce rather loose
heads, but the midribs are usually very broad and in the
interior of the head are likely to be somewhat blanched.
Gardeners sometimes tie up the heads at the top to further
the blanching, but the plants must be watched carefully to
avoid rot. Romaine is grown the same as other lettuce,
but it is likely to stand longer in the field before running
to seed. Sown late, it makes very acceptable autumn
salad.
For market, the lettuce plant is cut just above ground,
the outer leaves are removed and the heads or bunches are
shipped in ventilated crates or barrels. The plants sheuld
not be cut for this purpose in the middle of the day, for
they soon wilt.
Seed of lettuce is grown extensively in California.
Yields vary with the variety and the handling; one pound
of marketable seed may be had from 30 to 60 plants.
THE LETTUCE PLANT
Lactuca. Composite. Genus of weedy herbs, perhaps 100
species in many parts of the world, some of them native in
the United States and Canada and others introduced weeds;
annuals, biennials, perennials.
L. sativa, Linn. Sp. Pl. 795. JL. Scariola, Linn. var. sativa,
Clarke, Compos. Ind. 263. 1876. GarpDEN Letruce. Annual
erect smooth herb with milky juice, producing a rosette or
cluster of radical leaves; stem 3-4 ft. high, leafy, branching
above, the many slender branches bearing numerous clasping-
conduplicate cordate mostly acute bracts: radical leaves (used °
in salad) various, 5 to 10 in. long, thin, spreading, roundish
to oblong to obovate to lingulate, obtuse and usually very blunt,
Margins plane or undulate, entire or sinuate-dentate, often
somewhat lobed or erose toward the narrowing base, the petiole
very short or none, the blade with many prominent ribs aris-
108 Salad Crops
ing from the broad midrib; stem leaves similar in shape to
the root leaves of the particular variety, alternate, clasping-
auriculate, mostly finely apiculate-serrate, passing into bracts
toward the inflorescence: flower-heads erect, on short or long
pedicels, about 12- to 16-flowered, opening in morning and clos-
ing about midday, florets all perfect and each with a yellow
5-toothed ray; receptacle naked; involucre cylindrical, becom-
ing conical in fruit, scales lanceolate to ovate, all appressed,
the outer ones successively Shorter; ovary lenticular, bearing
many white pappus bristles at its constricted summit; style-
branches short: achene (“seed” of gardeners) white or black,
lenticular-oblong, broadest toward the top, strongly several-
nerved, bearing a long slender beak on which the pappus is
carried; when the beak drops or is removed in threshing, the
remaining ‘‘ seed” is 4% to 3%; in. long and weighs 1 to 1% mg.,
retaining its vitality about 5 years.—Unknown in a native state
and considered to be a modification of Lactuca Scariola, Linn.,
an Old World weed now also widely spread in this country.
In lettuce fields “rogues”? now and then occur strongly sug-
gestive of L. Scariola. Lettuce has been cultivated so long
that its history is inexact. Var. capitata, Linn. Sp. Pl. 795
(L. capitata, DC., Prodr. vii, pt. i, 138. 1838). Hrap Letruce,
has radical leaves forming a more or less dense ball. Var.
crispa, Linn. Sp. Pl. 795 (ZL. crispa, DC. 1.c.). CURLED LeTtTucE,
has the leaves eut and fringed or erisped.
Var. longifolia, Lam. Dict. iii, 403. 1789. (L. romana, Gar-
sault, Trait. Pl. et Anim. Usage Med. ii. 196, t. 315. 1767.) Cos
LeTTucE. RoMAINE Letrucre. Plant forming an upright col-
umnar or loaf-shaped loose head, the radical leaves obovate to
oblong, rounded or obtuse, 8 to 12 in. long and 4 to 6 in. broad,
the midrib usually very wide; stem leaves long, mostly oblong
or obovate, obtuse.
Var. angustana, Irish, Cyclo. Amer. Hort. 867. 1900; Bailey,
Gent. Herb. 1:49. 1920, with botanical diagnosis. (L. angustana,
Hort.). Asparagus Lettuce. Plant not forming a compact
head: radical and lower stems narrow- or oblong-lanceolate,
long-attenuate, entire or irregularly sinuate-dentate, plane, 8
Endwe. Chicory 109
to 12 in. long and 1% to 8 in. wide; upper Jeaves lanceolate-
attenuate, amplexicaul.—Grown for its thick edible stem;
quickly runs to seed. It is little known in N. America,
ENDIVE anp CHICORY
Endive affords u good supplement to lettuce, since tt 1s
essentially a summer and fall crop and thrwes at a season
when lettuce 1s somewhat difficult to grow to perfection.
The culture 1s not unlike that of lettuce, except that the
plant requires a longer time in which to mature. It 1s
more popular as an autumn and winter crop, seeds being
sown in summer. The plant 1s used both as salad and
greens.
To obtain large heads or tops, plants should stand 12 to 16
in. apart each way, but they are often grown as close as 8 or 10
in. ‘They may be grown in rows 18 to 20 in. apart for easier
tillage, but the plants should not be crowded if they are not
eaten when young
and small. One
ounce of seed
should supply a row
100 to 150 ft. long.
Two months or less
should produce
edible tops.
Diseases and in-
sects appear not to
be troublesome to
endive.
In respect to
soil, tillage, dis-
tance apart and other treatment, the care of endive differs
little from that of lettuce. Seeds may be started under
43. Young plant of endive (X 1/5).
110 Salad Crops
glass and transplanted to the open, although such plants
are thought to run more quickly to seed; good tops may
be had in late spring and early summer. Or seeds may
be sown in June for plants to be used in August and
September. Seeds may be sown in summer for the autumn
and winter crop, and this is the better adaptability of the
plant.
The top may be harvested entire (Fig. 43) or only cer-
tain leaves taken at intervals; by the latter method the
a iy See Rigo
Re, aes i
wee,
44. Endive blanching under paper covers.
plant may be kept going most of the season. It is known
mostly as a salad plant with us; but it is an excellent pot-
herb, the greener or younger plants often being taken for
this purpose. Endive is little known to people of Ameri-
can parentage, although it is much prized by foreigners,
and there is considerable demand for it in the larger cities.
It deserves to be better understood.
The green rank leaves are likely to be bitter and tough.
It is customary to blanch the interior leaves of the crown
Endive fit
or head by gathering all the leaves into a bunch and tying
them near the top. This tying is performed two or three
weeks before the plant is desired for use. In very hot and
wet weather the heads are sometimes
blanched in ten days; but under or- [-
(as dK
tM, i cy) : +2:
* a=
AAA % ‘
) ae CU” s vee
rt Pte ¢
{ otf, | Wey \ 4 A
Ais Wy
dinary conditions it requires nearly
or quite twice that length of time.
Jf heavy rains and cloudy weather
follow the tying, the crowns must
be examined frequently to see that 45. ieee a TCt) of en
they are not decaying. After the
interior leaves are well blanched, they must be used
quickly or decay will set in; they should be dry when tied.
The later plants, taken up in autumn, are sometimes
blanched by being set in cellars or pits or coldframes;
or if the heads are packed securely in well-ventilated bar-
rels, they may blanch in transportation.
On the blanching of endive, 8S. N. Green comments as
follows (Mo. Bull. Ohio Exp. Sta. No. 32), with particular
reference to treat-
ment of the crop
grown under glass
(Biss, 44s Phe
blanching of the
greenhouse grown
crop is the most dif-
ficult part of the
culture of endive
under glass, and as yet no perfectly satisfactory method has
been found. In the field, especially in the cool fall months,
_ blanching is not difficult. Any sort of a covering that will
46. Seedlings of endive (x 1%).
112 Salad Crops
exclude the light seems to answer the purpose. Planks,
mats or straw are commonly used. In other cases, each
individual plant is tied up, the outer leaves being drawn
towards the center and a rubber or string being
used to keep them in place. Loss is apt to occur
if the leaves are too closely compacted, and the
cord should be somewhat below the center of the
plant, allowing the blanching to proceed as with
celery. In the greenhouse, where the soil is
damp, the air moist and the ventilation slow
when blanching by any method, loss by rot is
sure to occur unless much
precaution is taken. Careful
ventilation and temperature
regulation are necessary. In
a general way, the lower the
iP temperature the slower the 48 Seeds (fruits) of
chicory (X 4).
(x %)- blanching process, from 2 to 3
weeks or more being necessary. We have found for our
conditions that a paper-covered frame gives satisfactory re-
sults. This excludes the light, allows fair circulation of air
and there is little loss from rot.” The method may pro-
vide a suggestion for other than glasshouse conditions.
The achnese or “ seeds,” and the young plants coming
from them, are seen in Figs. 45 and 46; it is interesting
to compare them with chicory (in Figs. 48 and 49).
Chicory
Chicory is very closely related to endive, but the leaves
(for salads and greens) are mostly deswred in winter or
spring from roots that have been grown for the purpose
Chicory 113
and taken up on the approach of cold weather. The effort
as to grow strong roots and to have them in prime condi-
tion at the end of the growing season. The culture ts svm-
ple, as for carrots or parsnips.
While the culture of chicory (or succory, an old name)
is easy, the grower must know for what purpose he is to
rear the plant. The purposes may be four: (1) to obtain
the green leaves to be used as potherbs; (2) to produce
barbe-de-capucin (“friar’s beard”) and witloof, which
are the colorless leaves arising from stored roots; (3) to
secure the young green roots themselves, of certain vari-
eties, for cooking and
eating, a use very little
known with us; (4) to
raise roots to dry for
meomakings of a
substitute for coffee.
The last category does Wee
not come within the “Sy
scop e of this book. 49. Chicory seedlings (< 2/3).
Only the first two uses may be considered here.
The roots are grown as are parsnips or carrots, and
harvestings of leaves may be made throughout the growing
season. One may also leave the roots in the ground over
winter and gather the crown of leaves in the spring, or one
may take them to the cellar or greenhouse and secure the
leaves in winter. It is usually preferable to grow a new
lot of plants each year.
For the production of blanched leaves, the strong roots
are usually taken up in autumn. The roots are buried in
a sloping direction in sand in pit or cellar, the crown
114 Salad Crops
projecting an inch or so above the earth. The place should
be kept dark. In a month or less, the small leaves are
produced.
Witloof and barbe (barbe-de-capucin) are different
forms of white forced chicory tops. Witloof (“white
leaf”) is a compacter head than barbe, being raised from
a strain or variety of roots grown for the purpose; the
looser and more leafy tuft or head of barbe may be pro-
duced from ordinary chicory roots. The culture and han-
dling of the two products are essentially the same. Wit-
loof is a delicate slightly bitter salad, much prized in
winter and spring, and imported into this country from
Europe, sometimes under the name “ French endive.” Its
culture is simple, however.
Seed for witloof is sown in spring in rows about 18
inches and the young plants thinned to 6 inches. The
plants should grow continuously throughout the season ;
and at the approach of cold weather the roots are lifted, the
tops cut 2 inches above the crown, and the roots stored in
a cellar, so that they will remain dormant till needed. When
the forcing is begun, the roots are trimmed on the bottom
so that they are 8 or 9 inches long; the roots are set up-
right in sand or soil in boxes or beds, being very close
together; about 8 inches of clean sand are placed over the
crowns; the tops soon begin to push through if a tempera-
ture of 55° to 60° is maintained and sufficient moisture
is provided; in two weeks the cone of leaves should be
ready for the table. A good head or cone is about 6 inches
long (Fig. 47).
THE ENDIVE AND CHICORY PLANTS
Cichorium. Composite. Annual, biennial and perennial
Endwe and Chicory 115
herbs, of probably a half dozen species, in Europe and Africa,
of which two are cultivated.
C. Endivia, Linn. Sp. Pl. 818. Enpive. Annual, perhaps
also biennial, usually with a strong taproot, forming a cluster
or rosette of brittle edible foliage, juice milky; stem 2 to 8
ft. tall, very leafy, loosely long-hairy (particularly on line
beneath the leaves), branching, the branches soft and often
more or less fasciated: leaves oblong, obovate-oblong or ovate-
oblong in outline, narrowed to the base to a short winged
petiole, 8 to 12 in. long and 8 to 5 in. broad, sometimes sparsely
hairy on the midrib beneath, in cultivated forms deeply sinuate
many-lobed and crisped, the lobes sometimes 1 in. broad and
in other forms multifid and almost thread-like; stem leaves
Similar but successively smaller, alternate, passing into lanceo-
late broad-based clasping bracts: flower-heads axillary and
others terminating short or long branches, about 12- to 16-
flowered, florets perfect and purple-rayed; receptacle naked;
involuere short-cylindric, scales in about two rows of which
the inner are lanceolate-subacute and erect and hyaline-mar-
gined and the outer ones leafy and broad, spreading or recurved
and ciliate-margined, the head often subtended by two short-
spreading obtuse ciliate bracts; ovary obconic, bearing at its
top a rim of pappus-seales like a scalloped edging inside which
arises the hairy corolla-tube; style-branches purple, long and
curving backward or coiled: achene (‘‘seed’”’) oblong but
enlarging toward the top, 3 to 4 mm. (about % in.) long,
angled and ribbed, glabrous, carrying the scalloped pappus-
crown which may be broken or wanting in the commercial
seed and which is one-sixth to one-eighth the total length of
the achene and crown, the achene weighing 14% to 2 mg. and
retaining its vitality 8 to 10 years.—Probably Asian but by
Some botanists supposed to be a culture-form of C. pumilum,
Jacq. (C. divaricatum, Schousb.) of the Mediterranean region
and by others of C. Intybus, the chicory.
C. Intybus, Linn. Sp. Pl. 818. CHiIcory. Perennial with
hard long taproot which is much thickened in some of the
cultivated races, taller, stiffer and more virgate than C. En-
116 Salad Crops
divia, the stem and branches much less leafy, stem loosely
hairy below but glabrous or nearly so toward the top, the
hard elongated branches practically leafless: leaves various, the
lower ones mostly oblong-oblanceolate, 6 to 15 in. long and 2
to 3 in. broad, obtuse or very short-acute, narrowed to a
clasping bracts: flower-head sessile in clusters and also ter-
above and beneath, the margins nearly or quite entire to
sinuate-dentate or runcinate or jagged, the upper leaves of
Similar character but smaller and passing into ovate-lanceolate
clasping bracts: flower-head sessile in clusters and also ter-
minal on peduncles, much like those of C. Hndivia but larger
(% to 2 in. across in full bloom), blue and sometimes pink
or white, the involucre scales narrower and the outer ones
much less foliaceous, the achenes more ribbed and with a
shorter pappus-border.—Europe, and now extensively run wild,.
making one of the finest displays of blue in the forenoon
when the blossoms are open; the flowers do not expand a sec-
ond time. Some of the frizzled cultivated forms known as
chicories may belong more closely to C. Endivia.
The Latin name of chicory is intuwbus (or intybus); the
word endivia is probably derived from it. Endive and chicory
are both of relatively recent domestication.
CRESS
Cresses are grown for their piquant leaves, which are
used in salads and garnishings. Two kinds are in com-
mon cultivation, members of the Crucifere or Mustard
Family. They may be considered separately, as they differ
in cultivation. Other plants known as cress need not be
discussed here, as they are little grown for food in North
America.
Garden Oress
The garden cress is a short-season annual, a cool-weather
plant, grown for its root leaves. Usually the leaves are
Common Cress ALaLP¢
not desired in summer. Seeds may be sown as soon as
the ground is fit in spring, for the plant is hardy or
half-hardy; they germinate very
rapidly. A rather cool and rich
soil is to be chosen, for the value
of the foliage will depend, to
a large extent, on the vigor of
its growth. Late in the season
and in warm weather the plant
runs quickly to seed. For au- |
tumn use, the seeds may be
sown late in summer and in -
early fall. It is easily grown
in pots or boxes in the house
mm winter. Cress is sown in
rows a foot apart, and thinned 5. Young BOs BENOOR Gress
as it grows.
Leaves fit for use may be had in six to eight weeks from
the sowing of the seed, under ordinary conditions. If
leaves are removed carefully, the plant continues to bear.
51. Seeds of garden cress aes
(% Oe 52. Seedlings of cress (x 44).
Sowings should be frequent, to provide succession. There
are a number of varieties, some of them with beautifully
curled foliage. The garden cress is less popular in
118 Salad Crops
America than abroad. Figs. 50 to 52 show the garden
Cress.
Garden cress is Lepidium sativum, Linn. Sp. PI. 644. Cruci-
fere. Being a lepidium, it is therefore closely related to the
wild peppergrass of yards and waste places. Plant annual,
making a tuft or rosette of leaves used in salad, soon sending
up a smooth slightly glaucous erect branching stem 1 to 2 ft.
high: radical and lower stem leaves oval or oblong in outline,
long-petioled, twice pinnatifid into narrow lobed divisions, some-
times crisped or curled; upper leaves once pinnate or ternate,
the uppermost often simple, long-linear and entire: flowers
small, white, in terminal racemes: pod a flattened broadly oval
stalked silicle notched at the top, about 6 mm. long, with
one seed hanging from the top in each of the 2 cells: seed
rather large (2 mm. or about 7g in. long), smooth, brown, with
a Sstraightish front and curved back, weighing about 2 mg. and
holding its vitality about 5 years.—Native in Europe, and
sometimes escaped in this country.
The winter and spring cress, of the cruciferous genus Bar-
barea, is rarely grown. Upland eress grown by the writer
many years ago, from American commercial seed, was Bar-
barea; recently he has planted seed under this name, and it
is Lepidium sativum. 'The spring cress of cultivation is prob-
ably mostly Barbarea verna, ASchers. (B. precor, R. Br.). It
is usually biennial, the young plants becoming established from
seeds dropped in summer, and sending up the flower-stalks
early the following spring. In cultivation, it is treated as
an annual or as a winter perennial. The seeds may be sown
late in the season and the young plants are ready for use the
next spring; or seeds may be sown in earliest spring. The
plant is perfectly hardy.
Water-cress
Water-cress is a prostrate perennial, rooting at the
joints, with small roundish leaves, thriving in very moist
places and in running water. - It is readily propagated by
Water-cress 119
seeds, which may be scattered along cool brooks, and by
bits of the stems planted in the earth. In order that it
may reach its best development, the water should be pure,
cool, and clean. When once established in a permanent
place, it will persist indefinitely, taking care of itself.
When a natural brook is not to be had, it may be grown
in a moist shady place in the garden where it may be
watered frequently. Sometimes it is grown in the pit of
an abandoned hotbed, into which water may be run with
a hose. If the ground is kept moist, or even wet, the
plant will thrive and it will not be necessary to have it
covered with water. The plant is best grown, however, by
being colonized along brooksides and about springs. If
the colonies are picked or harvested very closely, the plants
will suffer.
WATER-CRESS SOWBUG (Mancasellus brachyurus).—A _ gray-
ish aquatie species of sowbug more or less shrimp-like in form
that attacks the submerged portions of the plants, cutting the
roots and stems. Control: There is no practicable method of
controlling sowbugs in natural streams and ponds. Seme growers,
however, have been able to overcome the difficulty by growing
the plants in broad shallow beds sloping towards the center,
where a trough ten inches square lined with boards extends
the whole length of the bed. When the sowbugs become
abundant, the water is shut off for twelve to twenty-four
hours, allowing the beds to drain. Water is retained in the
trough, in which the sowbugs soon accumulate in great num-
bers. They may be destroyed by the addition of a liberal
quantity of copper sulfate solution. Less injury will result
if water is drained off soon after the cress has been gathered.
For our purpose we may use for water-cress the botanical
name Roripa Nasturtium-aquaticum, Hayek. (Sisymbrium Nas-
turtium-aquaticum, Linn.). ‘Thereby we come upon the most
120 Salad Crops
complex situation in nomenclature in any of the common gar-
den vegetables. It is well to state the case briefly in outline,
that the student may comprehend the nature of these tangles.
The question is involved with the botany of the plant and also
with the application of current rules of nomenclature. The
primary problem is whether the water-cress should be asso-
ciated with other plants in a more or less composite genus,
or whether it should be separated wholly or largely by itself.
In some respects it is unlike the plants with which it has been
associated, by Linnzeus himself in Sisymbrium and by subse-
quent authors in Nasturtium, Radicula and Roripa. If it is
separated, the question of the generic name to be adopted is
not simple. In the necessary dismemberment of the Linnean
genus Sisymbrium, it would seem that the water-cress should
go into another genus inasmuch as it apparently does not.
typify the genus Sisymbrium as Linneus intended it. The
plant happens to be the first species described by Linnzeus
under Sisymbrium, however, and for this reason certain
authors hold it in that genus as Linneus has it, S. Nastur-
tium-aquaticum. In this disposition, Sisymbrium may be re-
garded as a monotypic genus, the water-cress being the only
species. This arbitrary resolution of the case is not commonly
followed. If another genus is desired for it, recourse may be
had to Cardaminum of Moench, 1794, or to Baeumerta, Gertner,
Meyer & Scherbius, 1800, both names being proposed exclu-
Sively for the water-cress. Radicula of Hill, 1756, Roripa of
Scopoli, 1730, and Nasturtium of Robert Brown, 1812,-are pro-
posed for multiple segregates from Sisymbrium and in them the
water-cress has found lodgement. The plant is commonly
known in the trade as Nasturtium officinale, but this name
cannot hold under any interpretation, as in present practice
the Linnean specific name, Nasturtiwm-aquaticum, must be
used with the generic name. The report of the International
Botanical Congress of Brussels, 1910, reeommends the retention
of Nasturtium for the water-cress, rather than the older
generic names Cardaminum and Baeumerta, on the assump-
tion that the changes would be fewer or at least that the
Water-cress. Corn-salad Wal
situation would be better understood; but under Nasturtium
the proper combination of names apparently has not been
made, any more than it has under Cardaminum; in either case,
therefore, a new name must result if the plant is removed
singly from Sisymbrium. If the plant is to be associated with
others in a genus, the clearest destination seems to be in
Roripa (for reasons not necessary here to explain), and the
plant is so disposed of in this book. The synonymy may be
displayed as follows: Roripa Nasturtium-aquaticum, Hayek,
Sched. Fl. Stir. Exsice., 3:14 lief. (Dec., 1905) 22. Sisymbrium
Nasturtium-aquaticum, Linn. Sp. Pl. 657. Cardaminum Nastur-
tium, Moench, Meth. 262. 1794. Baeumerta Nasturtium,
Gertn. Mey. & Scherb. Fl. Wett. ii, 467. 1800. Nasturtium
Oficinale, R. Br. in Ait. Hort. Kew. ed. 2, iv, 110. 1812. Nas-
turtium aquaticum, Wahl. Svensk. Bot. t. 624. 1823-5. Carda-
mine Nasturtium, O. Kuntze, Rey. Gen. i, 22. 1891. Roripa
Nasturtium, Beck. Fl. N. Gist. ii, 463. 1892. Radicula Nastur-
tium-aquaticum, Britt. & Rendle, Brit. Seed Pl., 3. 1907. Baeu-
merta Nasturtium-aquaticum, Hayek, Fl. Steierm, i, 498. 1909.
Perennial, creeping or floating, smooth, emitting long white
roots at the modes: leaves odd-pinnately compound, of 1 to 4
lateral pairs; terminal lobe oblong to orbiculate, entire, undu-
late or obscurely toothed ; lateral leaflets usually much smaller:
flowers white, in very short terminal racemes that elongate
in fruit, small: fruit a curved linear long-pedicelled pod: seeds
small (about 1 mm. across), brown, oblong-orbicular, tubercu-
late, weighing less than 1 mg., and holding vitality about 5
years.—Europe; widely naturalized in this country in ditches,
rills and pools.
CORN-SALAD
Corn-salad or fetticus is used both as salad or potherb,
chiefly the former, the thick bunch or rosette of root leaves
being employed for the purpose. It is a hardy cool-season
plant, of easy culture except in hot weather.
It may be grown as a mid-spring crop from seed sown
the same season; as a fall crop from seeds sown in late
122 Salad Crops
summer or early autumn; as a very early spring crop from
plants allowed to stand over winter.
For the mid-spring crop, corn-salad should be sown
as soon as the land can be fitted. It quickly runs to seed
in hot and dry weather. Plants should stand about 6 inches
apart in the row. An ounce of seed should yield 2,000
to 3,000 plants. The plant matures in six to eight weeks,
giving a bunch of leaves somewhat like small-leaved
spinach.
For the late or main supply the seeds may be sown, at
the North, in the latter part of August or early part of
September. It will provide edible herbage late in the
season, and in a mild climate or open winter it will survive
and yield acceptable crop in early spring; or it may be
protected over winter by leaves or straw, much as
spinach is handled; it may be grown and carried over in
frames.
Corn-salad is the cultivated form of Valerianella Locusta,
Betcke, Anim. Bot. Valer. 10. 1826. Valerianaceew. It is
commonly known in horticultural literature as V. olitoria,
Poll. Hist. Pl. Palat. i, 30. 1776. (Valeriana Locusta var.
olitoria, Linn. Sp. Pl. 33.) It is a small glabrous annual, native
in Europe, where it grows among the corn (grain), whence
the name, “corn-salad”:; it is run wild to some extent in
North America: plant making a tuft or mat of oblanceolate
or oblong obtuse root leaves 2 to 8 in. long, which are entire
or toothed; stem leaves similar, successively smaller, opposite,
sessile. some of them narrowed to the base: stem 1 ft. or
less high, at length much branched, bearing very small light
blue 5-lobed flowers in dense heads terminal on forking
branches: fruit (‘seed’) nearly orbicular but with a short
2-pointed beak, somewhat flattened sidewise, ~ in. long, light
brown, furrowed up the middle, where 1 lenticular seed is
;
:
:
r
-
‘
4
re,
Corn-salad. Parsley 123
borne, the fruit weighing % to 1 mg.; Vitality about 5
years. Figs. 53 and 54 show the seeds (properly fruits) and
seedlings.
PARSLEY
In this country, parsley is the most popular of the gar-
nishing herbs. The leaves are used also for salads and
for flavoring. The plant is biennial, but the foliage is
gathered the first year, and the
plants are then destroyed unless.
seed is wanted.
The seed is slow to germinate,
and it is best to sow in a
53. Seeds (fruits) of corn- | Seed-bed unless the ground is
ara in excellent tilth and is
moist to the top. Some growers soak the seeds before
sowing, in tepid water. Thin or transplant to 8 to 12
inches apart each way. Make successive sowings. It
usually requires three months from sowing to bring good
foliage for gathering. The strongest established plants
may be covered with sash, and leaves may then be gath-
ered all winter. The plants will stand considerable frost.
It is a good plan to
hft a few roots in late
fall and set them in
pots or boxes in the
house; from these a
winter supply may be
secured. 54. Seedlings of corn salad or fetticus
(X about 2/3).
For market the
leaves are tied in small attractive bunches. The various
forms of curled parsley are most popular, although the
124 Salad Crops
plain-leaved is as good. Parsley fruits and seedlings are
shown in the figures (Figs. 55, 56).
55>. Seeds (fruits) of ere gts
parsley (X 4). 56. Parsley seedlings (X %)..
Parsley is one of the Umbelliferze, Petroselinum hortense,
Hoffm. Gen. Umb. 163. 1814, known also as Apium Petrose-
linum, Linn. Sp. Pl. 264, and Petroselinum sativum, Hoftm.
Gen. Umb. 177. It is native in the Mediterranean region, ~
but is sometimes escaped in this country: glabrous biennial
or short-lived perennial, making many radical leaves which
are prized in cookery and for garnishing: stem 18 to 30 in.
high, much branched: leaves ternately decompound, the ulti-
mate leaflets wedge-ovate, deeply cut and petioled: flowers
small, greenish yellow, in compound umbels: fruit (“seed ’’)
one of the two separated carpels, oblong-convex with one style
curving backward from the top like a little hook (often broken
in commercial seeds), ribbed on each edge, 3-ribbed on the
back, about % in. long and weighing 1 to 2 mg.; vitality 3
years. Var. crispum (P. sativum var. crispum, DC., Prodr. iy,
102. 1830) has leaves cut, curled and crisped. In the Moss-
curled parsley the leaves are very finely divided and somewhat
bunched. Var. radicosum (P. sativum var. radicosum, Alef.
Landw. FI. 153. 1866) is the turnip-rooted parsley, grown for the
thick parsnip-like tapering root.
SALAD CHERVIL
The salad chervil is an annual plant much like parsley,
popular in Europe, but little known in this country. It
is used for garnishing and seasoning, for which the curled-
leafed variety is the most prized (Figs. 57 and 58).
Chervil 125
The plant is of easy culture, giving a cutting of leaves
in six to eight weeks from the seed. It does not thrive
in hot dry summers, and therefore should be grown as a
spring or fall crop, unless the par-
ticular location is cool, as in partial
shade or with a northward exposure.
It is hardy, and where winters are not
severe can be carried over the cold
season by light coldframes or even by
protection of brush. The plant reaches
57. The long fruits
(‘‘seeds’’) of salad
chervil (X 9). 58. The slender seedlings of chervil (X 2/3).
a height of nearly two feet when mature, but the young
foliage is most desired. The plants should stand 8 to 12
inches apart. For turnip-rooted chervil, which is another
plant, see Chapter VII.
Salad chervil is Anthriscus Cerefolium, Hoffm., Gen. Umb.
41. 1814. Umbellifere. It is known in literature also as
Scandiz Cerefolium, Linn. Sp. Pl. 257; Cherophyllum sativum,
Lam. Encyl. i, 684. 1783; Cerefolium Cerefolium, Britton,
Ill. Fl. ed. 2, ii, 629. 1913. It is a fine-leaved soft annual
of quick growth, native in Europe and sometimes run wild
in North America: stem erect, branching, 1 to 2 ft., glabrous:
radical and main stem leaves ternately decompound, the ulti-
mate leaflets small (1%4 to % in. long), ovate to orbicular
and deeply cut: flowers white, minute, in compound umbels:
fruit (“seed” of commerce) representing 1 of the 2 carpels
126 Salad Crops
broken apart, linear, with the very slender often whitish
beak about % in. long (beak sometimes broken off in commer-
cial samples), black, smooth, grooved on inner face, weighing
about 1 to 1344 mg.; vitality 1 to 3 years. (The word Cere-
folium is an old substantive signifying “ pleasant leaf.’’)
CELERY
Cool, very rich and moist land well supplied with vege-
table matter, deep preparation, the best surface tillage and
the most careful attention to all care of the plant, are req-
uisites of good celery culture. It ts always a seed-bed
crop. It may be treated as a succession- or companion-crop,
although it mostly is the sole occupant of the land im any.
season. It is hardy, withstanding light frost if properly
handled. The leaf-stalks, which are the edible parts, are
blanched ; allowance must be made for the blanching oper-
ation by wide spacing between the rows. The crop must
be stored from freezing tf kept in winter.
Celery is planted 6 to 12 inches apart in the row. The rows
vary from 2 to even 6 feet. Sometimes the rows are double,
the two being 6 in. apart. In the self-blanching system, the
plants are set 6 to 8 or 10 inches each way; at 7x8 in., about
112,000 plants are required to the full acre. There is usually
much loss in seeds and young plants, and it is therefore advis-
able to sow the seed very thick. One ounce of seed to 200 feet
of row in the seed-bed is a liberal allowance. Some gardeners
estimate 2,000 good plants from each ounce of seed, but this
allows for an unusual amount of loss. An ounce should give
5,000 to 10,000 good plants, after allowing for several times
that amount in loss. One pound of celery seed should give
enough strong plants to set four to five acres. In single-row
planting 6 in. apart, and the rows 5 ft., as in earth-banking,
more than 17,000 plants stand on a full acre. The yield from
Celery 127
an acre should be 400 to 600 dozen bunches of 3 or more stalks
each, if the distance of planting is 3 ft. by 6 in.
LATE BLIGHT OF CELERY (Septoria petroselini) —Irregular
brownish spots containing small black fruiting bodies are pro-
duced on leaves and leaf-stalks. Frequently the spots unite,
causing the entire leaf to become dry and papery. BACTERIAL
BLIGHT.—Lesions differ from those of late blight in that the
spots are Smaller, more regular in outline, darker brown in
color and have no black fruiting bodies scattered over them.
CERCOSPORA BLIGHT (Cercospora apii).—Characteristic ashen
gray spots develop. Later the entire leaf may become some-
what yellowed and ashen gray and velvety. Control: All of
the above blights are controlled by thorough spraying with
bordeaux mixture 5-5-50. If the disease is present in the
seed-bed one or more applications there is advisable. Field
spraying with two nozzles to the row, the two being placed
some distance apart and at such an angle that the two sprays
overlap at the top of the row and thoroughly cover the sides,
is advisable. Applications should begin about three weeks
after transplanting and should continue at about weekly inter-
vals, depending somewhat on weather conditions, till blanch-
ing time.
StToRAGE Rot (Sclerotinia libertiana).—Frequently plants of
celery in storage become water-soaked in appearance, and on
this softened tissue white felts of mycelium containing hard
black fungous bodies develop. Control: The introduction of
wounded plants or those showing beginning of decay, is to
be avoided. The maintenance of proper storage conditions is
imperative.
CARROT RUST-FLY (Psila rose).—A _ slender straw-colored
maggot, 3 in. long when mature, that eats off and destroys
the fibrous roots of young celery plants. A second brood
appears in late summer and bores in the taproot. No prac-
ticable method of control is known.
BLACK SWALLOW-TAIL BUTTERFLY (Papilio polyxenes).—A
beautiful green caterpillar about 2 in. long, each segment with
128 Salad Crops
a black band near the front margin enclosing six yellow
spots; feeds on the leaves of celery and is most destructive
to young plants. Control: Hand-picking is the most depend-
able remedy.
CELERY LOOPER (Autographa falcigera).—A looping cater-
pillar about 144 in. long, pale translucent green with a dark
median line bordered on each side with three light lines. It
sometimes feeds on the leaves of celery. Control: Hand-pick-
ing is the only available measure, as arsenicals cannot be used
on celery.
TARNISHED PLANT-BUG (Lygus pratensis).—A small incon-
spicuous brownish bug, about % in. long. The adults often
attack celery plants that are blanching, puncture the tender
stalks, producing large brown wilted spots and a blackening
of the tissues at the joints. No satisfactory method of con-
trol is known.
THE NEGRO BUG (Thyreocoris pulicarius).—A short, broad,
shining black strongly convex stink-bug about 7 in. long,
that often attacks celery, puncturing the stalks and stunting
or killing them. The injury to celery is mostly done by
the adults which have bred on various weeds such as beggar-
ticks, tick-seed, ete. Control: Destroy all weeds in the vicinity
of celery on which the bugs may breed. Spraying is not
effective since many of the bugs burrow in the soil where they
cannot be reached.
PARSNIP WEBWORM (Depresaria heracliana).—See under
Parsnip.
SPINACH APHIS (Myzus persic~).—See under Spinach.
Celery is practically a universal table supply in North
America, prized for its crisp aromatic leaf-stalks, as well
as for the decorative character of the finer parts of the
foliage. The seed is sometimes used in cookery for flav-
oring, particularly in the preparation of soups. The whit-
ened leaf-stalks are usually eaten raw, but they are also
cooked in different ways.
Celery 129
Celery is commonly grown on bottom lands because it
then receives a sufficient and constant supply of moisture.
Usually, also, such lands are very fertile. Celery of excel-
lent quality can be grown on uplands; but ordinarily more
care 1s required in securing deep tillage and in conserving
moisture, and more expense is entailed in adding fertilizers.
Successful commercial celery growing on high lands is
usually possible only when much stable manure is added
and when irrigation is practiced; the overhead method of
urigating is well adapted to the crop. Under those con-
ditions, however, the celery grown on high lands may be
fully as good as that raised in reclaimed marshes. Level
black-soil marsh or bottom lands, in which the water-
table does not fall below 2 or 3 feet in summer, are usually
chosen for commercial celery growing. In all celery grow-
ing, every effort must be made to conserve the moisture.
Furrow irrigation may be employed where rainfall is
deficient.
For home use celery can be grown in any well-
tilled and ricn garden soil. Home gardeners are often
specially successful with it in city and village lots. Under
such circumstances, particular attention can be given to
trenching or other deep preparation of the land and to
consistent care from first to last. Well-rotted stable
manure may be used freely.
Field management.
Celery is grown as a short-season crop; that is, it may
not occupy the land the whole growing season. The main
crop is sometimes planted as a succession, early cabbages
or other spring crops having been grown on the land. In
130 Salad Crops
the case of lowland fields, however, the celery crop is com-
monly the only one grown, since the land is usually too
wet in the spring to allow of any early planting. In some
celery-growing regions, two or three crops of celery are
raised on the land at the same time, the later or main
crop being planted between the rows of the early crop.
The main or late crop, which is used for winter consump-
tion, may be planted in the field as late as the middle or
last of July in the Northern States. The early crop may
be set in the field as soon as the weather is settled in
spring, but there is relatively small demand for very early
celery. The young plants should not be subjected to hard
frosts.
Commercial fertilizers are used to supplement liberal
supplies of stable manure. When the manure cannot be
obtained, such fertilizers may be used to supplement the
humus supphed by good rotation or change of land. Com-
pounds rich in nitrogen are usually advised. In fact,
nitrate of soda alone is used, in several applications, as
much as 150 or 200 pounds each time. The rich bottom
lands, however, may not require such supplements.
“Celery luxuriates in a soil rich in vegetable matter,”
writes Voorhees (Fertilizers, rev. ed. 295). “A heavy
application of the basic mixture (page 383)—a ton to the
acre, used at time of setting the plants—may be followed
with advantage by frequent and reasonably heavy top-
dressings of nitrate of soda, 100 pounds to the acre or
more, and well worked into the soil.”
Ordinarily, frequent level tillage is practiced until the
plants are ready for the hilling or other blanching process.
Some growers, however, prefer to mulch the land heavily
Celery 131
enough to retain moisture and keep down weeds. Stable
manure a few inches deep is one of the best covers, but
straw and other materials are also employed. The manure
should be kept from direct contact with the
plants.
Celery is always a transplanted crop. The
seeds are small (Fig. 59) and slow to germi-
nate, and the seedlings are delicate (Fig.
60). It is only in a well-prepared seed-bed
that satisfactory results can be expected.
Celery “seeay? Lhis seed-bed should have perfect surface
a: tilth and retain moisture to the top. Prefer-
ably, it should be protected from hot and dry winds. Some
persons prefer to have the bed partially shaded; but if
the shading is too dense, the plants are likely to be soft
and tender when taken to the field, and they are killed
by sun-scald. It is advisable, whenever possible, to have
the seed-bed in such place that it can be watered every
evening if necessary; but care must be exercised that the
watering is not so heavy
that it packs and puddles
the earth. Sometimes the
bed is covered with boards,
brush or straw, to main-
tain the moisture until
germination has taken
place. This may be ad-
visable, but if the covering
is left on too long, the plants make a very weak and spin-
dling growth and are worthless. If covering is used, it
is well to remove it gradually as the plants germinate.
60. Celery seedlings (X 2/8).
132 Salad Crops
The perfect seed-bed, however, is one that does not need a
cover, but which holds the moisture of itself.
The early crop is commonly started under glass at the
North, transplanted to the open in six weeks to two
months. Plants for late crop are started in seed-bed in
the open.
To secure stocky plants, they should be transplanted
once or twice in the seed-bed, or they may be thinned
until they finally stand at 2 or 3 inches apart. The labor
of transplanting is so great that growers of large areas
prefer to secure stocky plants by the thinning process and
then by shearing off the remaining plants when they be-
come too tall. The plants may be cut back a third their
growth by shears or sickle, or on large beds with a scythe
or mowing-machine. ‘Transplanting is preferable when-
ever it can be managed.
The plants should be 4 or 5 inches high and stocky and
dark green when they are planted in the field. Plants are
usually set 6 to 12 inches in the rows, and the distance
between the rows varies with the price of land and par-
ticularly with the method of blanching.
Only well-bred seed should be sown. The plant tends
to run wild, but the seed from this depreciated stock should
not be employed for the growing of a crop.
Blanching.
Celery should be crisp, tender and well blanched to be
used as salad. The blanching is accomplished by exclud-
ing the light. There are four common methods of blanch-
ing celery in vogue at present: by the use of boards or
paper; banking up with earth; close planting; blanching
Celery 133
in pits or storage. It may be said that green unblanched
eclery may be used for cooking, and in some countries the
plant is not blanched to the extent to which it is known in
North America.
Blanching by means of boards is employed for the early
or summer celery, because protection from frost must be
supplied to the celery that remains in the field after the
first of October, and the boards usually do not afford suf-
ficient protection; and the early self-blanching varieties
are likely to decay or at least not to stand so long if banked
with earth. Boards one foot wide and one inch thick and
about 12 or 14 feet long are used. If the boards are
much longer than this, they are awkward to handle.
These boards are set on edge close against the crown of
the plant, one on either side of the row, and the tops are
tipped together until they are only two or three inches
apart or until they rest against the plants. The boards
are held in this position by cleats nailed across the top,
or by wire hooks. The first “ boarding ” is made when the
celery is only tall enough to show a few of its leaves above
the boards. The plants shoot up for hight, making slender
soft stalks. The foliage fills the space between the boards
and excludes the hght from above. In ten to twenty days
in warm “ growing” wecther, the celery may be blanched
by this method. In any means of blanching in summer
one must see that the plants do not rot at the heart, as
they are likely to do if they are too wet at the core. The
board method of blanching celery is one of the most eco-
nomical and is now extensively used in the large celery
fields. Growers usually find that it pays to obtain a good
quality of lumber and to use it year after year. Some
134 Salad Crops
commercial growers think it best to have the lumber
dressed on both sides. In the boarding system the rows
may be >ut only far enough apart to allow of good horse
tillage, say from 2 to 3 feet.
Paper is sometimes employed rather than boards. Rolls
of building paper are sawn across to make strips one foot
wide. The strip is then unrolled against the row and
held in place by means of stakes. Good paper well taken
care of should last for two or three crops.
A different use of paper is to wrap and tie each plant
in stiff strong manila or similar stock. Of course this is
adapted only to small areas. Large ‘iles are sometimes
set on the plants for the same purpose.
Blanching by earth usually gives a somewhat better
quality of celery; but this method is expensive and it can-
not be employed so well in midsummer, since the plants
are more likely to rot at the heart. Usually two or three
“handlings” or bankings are given. When the plants
have spread so
much as to make a
crown or head 2
foot or eighteen
inches across, the
celery is “handled”
by gathering the
leaves in the hand
and holding them
whilst earth is shoveled against the plant so as to cover it
two-thirds or more of its height. In ten days or two weeks
the “handling ” is repeated. In late years the banking of
celery, particularly in large areas, is performed . by
61. Celery plow.
Celery 135
means of celery plows, implements with very high mold-
boards that throw a great quantity of earth against the
plant (Fig. 61). If celery is to be blanched by the bank-
ing process, the rows are rarely less than 3144 feet apart,
and if the tall-growing varieties are used, the rows are
often put at 5 or even 6 feet. Double rows, 6 inches apart
and the plants about 6 inches in the row, lend themselves
well to earth banking, the space between these pairs of rows
being 4 to 6 feet. In this case, of course, about twice the
number of plants is required as in the single-row planting.
The late or green (not self-blanching) varieties are grown
for earth-banking.
Blanching by means of close planting was formerly
known as the “ new celery culture.” This consists in grow-
ing the plants so close that the light is excluded and the
plants blanch themselves. Plants are usually grown as
close as 6 to 10 inches either way. It will be seen that
this system can be used only when the soil is very rich
and when there is abundant supply of moisture. When-
ever the water-table is close to the surface or when one can
practice irrigation, it may be considered. It is usually
successful in small home gardens where one can use a hose.
The self-blanching varieties are usually grown in the close-
planting method.
Blanching in storage is the usual practice with late
winter celery. If it is thoroughly blanched before putting
in storage, it will not keep well. It is usually advisable,
however, to “ handle ” the crop at least once in the field in
order to induce a straight upright growth and to begin
the blanching process. ‘Thereafter the plants are set in
_ pits or sheds so close together that the blanching proceeds.
136 Salad Crops
Marketing ; storing.
For market, celery is prepared by being thoroughly
washed and usually scrubbed, so that all earth and sand
are removed. ‘The outside leaves are removed and usually
the root is trimmed away, leaving a pointed base to the
whole cluster, although the shape of the trimmed product
differs between places. A few plants (3 to 8) are tied
together to form attractive bunches. These plants are then
shipped in crates or boxes, the style of box and the num-
ber to be packed in each depending largely on the market
in which one sells. For high-class local markets the
- product is sometimes handled in attractive paper-lned
baskets and hampers (Fig. 237). In all careful market-
ing the celery should be closely graded. The plant lends
itself to such assortment.
The celery may be lifted from the field by means of a
spade or shovel. In large plantations the plants are
plowed out or removed by horse or power implements made
for the purpose.
There are two or three methods of storing celery. Stor-
ing in outside cellars or pits is sometimes practiced.
The early winter and midwinter celery, however, is usually
stored in special celery houses, which are permanent sheds
with windows at intervals along the roof, to supply light
enough for the workmen. Wooden chimneys are pro-
vided to afford ventilation. These houses are sometimes
supplied with heat by means of stoves, so that the tem-
perature does not fall much, if any, below the freezing
point. In beds in these houses the celery plants are set
close together and the blanching proceeds during storage.
Any celery house must be kept cool and moist. To avoid
Celery 137
rot, only healthy sound plants should be stored, and the
handling should be so thoughtful that the plants are not
broken or bruised. The plants are often stored and
blanched by removing them to deep spent hotbeds, which
are well covered in
winter.
In the home
earden celery is
sometimes stored
in trenches in
the open, after
the method sug-
gested in Fig. 62
(adapted from R.
W. De Baun, N. J.
Extension Bulle-
me. 4917). A roof
is placed length-
wise the line of
plants, and it may
be covered with .
straw or other BOY Bt atk
material as the RON,
winter closes in.
Care must be taken not to cover the tops foo soon or
too tight, as the plants quickly spoil if kept warm and
close. This method is successful only on well-drained
land.
The old method of celery culture grew the crop in a
trench; in such case the blanching largely took care of
itself and the covering of the row for winter was an opera-
62. Home storing of celery.
138 Salad Crops
tion of little labor. This method is still good for the
skilful home gardener.
Varieties.
The varieties of celery may be ranged in the “ self-
blanching ” and “green” classes. There are no sharp
lines of demarcation between the two. The former are
simply easy-blanching types developed largely by selec-
tion. Most of the celery is now of this kind. It is well
adapted to blanching by means of boards. White Plume
is an old favorite, but Golden Self-Blanching is now more
popular. The green kinds, as Boston Market and Pascal,
are usually slow blanchers, requiring banking or blanch-
ing in storage, and are of the class of good keepers.
Tur CELERY PLANT
Apium. Umbelliferr. About 20 species, as the genus is
usually accepted, of annual, biennial and perennial herbs
widely distributed over the globe.
A. graveolens, Linn., var. dulce, DC. Prodr. iv, 101. 1830.
(A. dulce, Mill. Gard. Dict. No. 5. 1768. A. Celert, Grin.
Fruct. i, t. 22, 1788.) Crtery. Strong-smelling glabrous
biennial (perhaps sometimes perennial): root leaves many
and well developed, the petioles and rachises usually expanded:
stems erect and branching, 2 to 3 ft. tall, many-grooved, with
conspicuous joints: radical leaves pinnate, ovate to oblong in
outline, the long petiole with an expanding base; leafiets
usually two or three pairs and a terminal one, each one
pinnately ternately compound and stalked, the lateral seg-
ments often again divided, the segments and divisions cuneate-
ovate and more or less cut and coarsely toothed: blossoms
very small, white, in small compound umbels among the
leaves; first umbel sessile or nearly so and with subsequent
long-stemmed umbels from the same joint, the involucels mi-
Botany of Celery 139
nute or wanting: flowers a dozen or more in each umbellet,
on short rays or peduncles, the 5 broad petals incurved and
surrounding the 5 anthers; calyx not evident: fruit (‘‘seed ”
of gardeners) one of the two separable carpels, short-oblong
with curved back and straight front, about 1 mm. (7% in.)
long, smooth, brown, bearing three promirent ridges and two
lesser ones on the front edge, weighing 14 to 1 mg.; germinating
longevity 5 to 8 years; sometimes the two carpels cohere in
commercial samples, making a “seed” twice the bulk of the
above weight; the short recurved styles, one to each carpel,
are usually broken off in the commercial seed.—A plant of cul-
tivation, grown from early times but not of ancient domestica-
tion and not greatly modified from the wild plant. The wild
original, A. graveolens, Linn. (Celeri graveolens, Britt.) is
wild in ditches and wet places in Europe and Asia, mostly near
the sea. (The Latin word graveolens means “ strong-smelling,”’
whereas dulce is ‘““sweet” or ‘“ pleasant,” here designating the
edible cultivated plant.)
Var. rapaceum, DC. Prodr. iv, 101. 1880 (A. rapaceum, Mill.
Gard. Dict. No. 5. 1768). Crteriac. A race producing a thick-
ened turnip-like root (rapwm is Latin for “ turnip”), the leaf-
stalks not developed. See page 1938 for cultivation.
CHAPTER VI
BULB OR ONION CROPS
Onion Ciboule or Welsh onion
Leek Shallot
Garlic Chive
All the bulb crops are hardy, require a cool season and
moist rich soil with excellent surface tilth. Usually they
are not seed-bed crops. They require little room and may
be planted close. They are used both as main-season and
secondary crops. They are propagated both by seeds and
bulbs.
These crops are grown chiefly for the underground
bulbs; but the leaves are often used in stews and season-
ings. The onion is the only commercially important plant
in the above group in this country. Garlic, leek and the
others are known chiefly to citizens of foreign birth or to
those who grow products for the large cities. The onion,
however, is a major oleraceous crop, being grown under
large field conditions as well as habitually in the home
garden. These various vegetables are sometimes known
as alliaceous plants, from the Latin alliwm or aliwm, the
garlic; all of them belong to the genus Allium.
- Seeds of these plants are grown by planting over-win-
tered bulbs in spring. The bulbs should be planted two
or three inches deep, a few inches apart in the row. Seed-
(140)
The Onion 141
stalks soon arise, and the seeds are produced in heads on
top. Some of the kinds, as garlic, seldom produce flowers
and seeds.
ONION
Cool rather moist and level land, soil with the best pos-
sible surface condition and containing much quickly avail-
able plant-food, careful attention to the selection of seed,
the most perfect shallow tillage, are some of the essentials
in the growing of a good crop of omons. The commercial
omon supply is grown from seeds, sown where the plants
are to grow, the early table omons from bulbs of different
kinds and to some extent from transplanted seedlings. All
omons withstand considerable frost in their growing state.
In the South, onions are grown as a winter crop.
Being cool-season plants, onions are sown or planted as
early in the spring as the ground can be made ready. In mild
climates, seed is sometimes sown in autumn. Onion seed is
sown 1% in. to 1 in. deep. Sets, tops, and multipliers may be
planted at intervals until steady warm spring weather comes.
One ounce of seed is sown in about 150 feet of drill, and 31%
to 5 or even 6 pounds to the acre. Rows stand 12 to 16 or 18
in. apart, and the plants are thinned as they stand, so that the
mature onions will not crowd. If the onions stand 3x14
inches, nearly 150,000 plants are required to the acre. A good
crop of onions is 300 to 400 or 500 bushels to the acre, but
600 to 800 bushels are secured under the best conditions, and
sometimes as much as 1,000 bushels.
ONIoN sMuT (Urocystis cepule).—Smut can be detected
by the presence on leaves and bulbs of black pustules that
rupture and expose a powdery black mass of spores. Only
onions grown from seed are attacked, and these only in the
very young stage. Affected plants gradually die throughout
the season. Control: Formaldehyde solution made by adding
142 Bulb or Onion Crops
one pint of commercial formaldehyde to sixteen gallons of
water should be applied in the furrow with the seed at the
time of sowing at the rate of two hundred gallons to the
acre. The application may be made in the open furrow just
ahead of the coverers by means of a watering device attached
to the drill. About a five-sixteenth inch flow of liquid from
the tank should accomplish the full application. A properly —
equipped drill should discharge, when stationary, one gallon
of the solution every fifty seconds.
ONION MILDEW (Peronospora schleideniana).—The disease
may be recognized by the furry fungus coating on the outer
surface of affected leaves. As the fungus develops, the plants
yellow and finally die. The disease usually becomes evident
at a few points in a field and rapidly spreads under favorable
conditions of moisture. Partial recovery may occur in a dry
period by the growth of new leaves, but under favorable con-
ditions the disease will develop anew. Control: Burning of
dead tops to prevent the over-wintering of the fungus in them
and crop rotation to reduce infection from spores over-winter-
ing in the field, are desirable. Tillage may aid the plants to
outgrow the fungus. Spraying with bordeaux mixture to
which has been added resin-fish oil soap is sometimes recoin-
mended; applications should begin before the disease has
become established and will perhaps need to be repeated sev-
eral times.
ONION THRIPS (Thrips tabaci).—Minute elongate yellowish
insects, 1/25 inch long when mature, that attack the leaves,
especially under the sheath at the base, causing them to turn
whitish and giving the plants a dirty yellowish appearance.
The tender leaves at the center become thickened, curled and
deformed. Badly injured plants fall over on the ground.
Most injurious in seasons of drought. Control: Spray early
before the leaves turn down with “ Black Leaf 40” tobacco
extract, 1 pint in 100 gals. water in which 5 or 6 Ibs. soap
have been dissolved. Use the material liberally and direct the
spray downward into the base of the leaves. Make three or
four applications at intervals of four or five days.
The Onsorr 143
ONION MAGGO” (Phorbia ceparum).—The parent fly lays her
white elongate oval eggs on the plants near the base or in
cracks and erevices of the soil. The small whitish maggots,
about 1% in. long, work their way down the stem usually
inside the sheath. Young plants are killed; later the mag-
gots burrow into the bulbs, causing decay. Control: Many of
the flies may be poisoned before laying their eggs by using
the following formula:
Scar aArSeMite: 77.) 7 wea | Te Ounee
Cheap molasses a Rc eR Sa a 1 pint
Water 1b OU A AR ea 8 Sei isa 1 gallon
The mixture should be placed in tin cans cut down to a depth
of about 3 in. The tins should be distributed about the field
and kept filled from the time the onions first show above
ground till the injury is past.
The beginner is hkely to be confused by the different
methods of propagating the onion; yet the various prop-
agation-forms of the plant represent only one species.
The case may be presented as follows:
A. Propagated by means of bulbs: mostly for early or
spring onions.
1. From sets, which are small onions of arrested de-
velopment that resume growth on being planted the
following spring. \
2. From top onions, which are bulbels or small bulbs
produced on the flower-stalk in the place of flowers
and seeds.
3. From multipliers, which are bulbs that break up into
two or more distinct bulbs when planted.
B. Propagated directly from seeds: main field crop and
also some of the early table green onions. Crops grown
from seeds are often called “black seed onions,’ but
the name has no significance for all onion seeds are
black; the contrast is with the bulb-propagated group.
144 Bulb or Onion Crops
Karly Green Onions
The small early or spring onions, used green or fresh
and usually sold in bunches, are grown from either bulbs
or seeds, usually from bulbs. These bulbs, as we have
learned, are of three kinds: “top onions,” or bulbels that
are produced on the top of the flower-stalk, in the
place of flowers; “ sets,” which are small onions, arrested
in their growth; “potato onions,’ or “ multipliers,”
which are compound bulbs, each component part
forming a new bulb. The top onions (sometimes
called “tree onions” and “ Kgyptian onions”) and the
multipliers are distinct races or types of onions, but sets
are only the partially grown bulbs of any common onion
which it is desired to propagate in this way. |
To raise sets, seeds are sown very thickly on a rather
light and dry piece of ground. As much as 40 to 70
pounds of seed are sown to the acre. The plants soon crowd,
and by midsummer the tops begin to die for lack of food,
moisture and room. The bulbs should not be more than
one-half or three-fourths inch in diameter. They are cured
and stored as are ordinary onions. The
following spring, when planted, they
resume growth, and in a very short
time give edible onions for the table.
The illustration (Fig. 63) shows a
multipher onion. A cross-section (Fig.
63. A multiplier onion 04) Shows that it has three seeds
OSE 22) or “cores.” As these cores grow, each
gives rise to a separate bulb. If allowed to remain in the
ground, each part develops two or more cores; and.so the
multiplication continues. When planted, the parts or
The Harly Onions 145
cores are separated and planted as if they were sets; or if
they do not readily separate in the hand, the entire onion
is planted and a cluster of young onions is produced.
Multipher onions seldom produce flowers and seeds. If
not harvested for green onions, the small bulb grows into
a large one which again breaks up into small ones. Some-
times the multiplier onions are planted in autumn. These
plants are really perennials, continuing themselves by suc-
cessive division of the bulb, whereas the ordinary seed
onion is usually biennial.
All green or “ bunch ” onions, whether grown from bulbs
or seeds, may be planted very thick. Usually they stand
as close as 2 inches in the row. Often the rows are wide,
so that three or four bulbs may stand abreast, but this in-
creases the difficulties of tillage and weeding; but it may be
said that weeds are usually not troublesome early in the
season, if the land is clean to start with.
The little onions, or “acorns,” from the flower-cluster
of the top onion resume growth in spring, as if they were
sets, and soon give an agreeable table
supply. If left in the ground, the fol-
lowing year they will send up flower-
stalks the same as will ordinary dry
onions; but instead of producing only
mowers and seeds, they will bear a 4, gasses, ofa
greater or lesser number of bulbels ee Cee aie
with the flowers. In old gardens, even ot which there are
in the Northern States, a row of these ‘°° *™ "NS case.
plants is sometimes allowed to grow at will year after
year, supplying enough little bulbs to afford the table
supply of green onions.
146 Bulb or Onion Crops
Karly onions are grown to a considerable extent from
transplanted seedlings. This method is sometimes known
as “ the new onion culture.” The plants are started Janu-
ary, February or March in hotbeds or the forcing-house,
and are transplanted to the open when the season will per-
mit. In mild climates, as California, onion seedlings may
be transplanted in spring from seed-beds sown in autumn.
The large quick-growing southern types of onions, as Gi-
braltar and Prizetaker, may be grown to perfection in the
North by this method, whereas the season may not be long
enough for plants started in the open. Of course these
transplanted onions may be carried through to maturity
for autumn and winter use as are other onions grown from
seeds, and extra quality bulbs may be produced.
Main-Crop Dry Onions
The general commercial onion supply is the crop of ma-
ture ripened bulbs, harvested and cured in autumn and
sold in bulk as are potatoes. This main-season crop is
grown from seeds, sown directly in the field where the
crop is to grow. Karliness is not particularly desired, and
there is less necessity, therefore, of making heavy appli-
cations of fertilizers which are quickly available. All
onion lands need to be well fertilized, however, particu-
larly with the materials rather rich in potash. Onions are
relatively surface feeders; therefore the top of the soil
should be very finely prepared, and the fertilizer should not
be plowed under. Every attention should be given to pre-
venting the soil from baking and to keeping the surface
in uniformly good tilth. Fig. 65 shows the graceful curves
in an onion.
Dry Onions 147
Soils that become dry and hard produce a poor crop of
onions. ‘The best soils are those naturally loose and moist.
Lowland areas are usually
chosen for the growing of
commercial onions. Re-
claimed marshes, from
which the roots and peat
have been removed, are ex-
cellent. It is also of great
advantage to have level
land, as it facilitates the
use of the hand tools and
the finger work so essen-
tial in the growing of a
good crop of onions.
It is customary to pre-
pare onion land the pre-
ceding autumn. This not
only insures earliness but ‘
it also allows the surface
to become weathered and
comminuted so that it is
in perfect condition for the
seeds as soon as the season
opens. All clods and
stones should be removed
by a garden rake, horse
weeder, or other fine-
\ Wt:
~ |
: f
: SS AME LYS AL.
SNO ZA
65. A globe onion (X %).
toothed tool. The land should have been in good culti-
vation for some years previous, if possible, that it may not
contain seeds of weeds; for weeds are difficult to eradicate
148 Bulb or Omon Crops
in an onion bed. Raw and coarse stable manures are rarely
used for onions because they make the land rough and keep
it too open, and they usually bring in seeds of weeds.
Lowlands usually have sufficient humus, but if they have
not, it may be supphed by top-dressings of old and fine
manure. Commercial fertilizers are usually to be advised
in preference to fresh stable manures. It is customary to
apply wood ashes as a surface dressing either in autumn
or spring. This is likely to improve the structure of the
soil and it adds an available supply of potash and phos-
phorie acid. Lands that contain relatively little vegetable
matter and are rather dry in spring may receive an appli-
cation of a soluble nitrogenous fertilizer.
The seeding.
Onion seed germinates rather slowly and the plantlets
are delicate and _ slender-rooted (Figs. 66, 67). The
plants must take hold at once if they are to make a good
growth. The onion-bed con-
dition of tilth is considered by
gardeners to be the measure of
good treatment of land. No
vegetable-garden crop raised
66, COnton sscedsy CN): on a large scale demands such
careful treatment of the surface soil as the onion.
Onion seed should be sown as early in the spring as pos-
sible. This is because the onion delights in a cool season,
and also because the plants should become established before
the dry hot weather of summer. In garden practice, the
seed should be sown thick, for there is likely to be failure
of the seeds to germinate; and if the first sowing does not
Dry Onions 149
give a good stand it is rarely advisable to make a second
sowing because of the lateness of the season. In field cul-
ture, thinning is expensive, and
one must take great care to
secure good and viable seed.
The seed is sown with various
kinds of hand seed-drills, some
of which sow several rows at a
time. The rows stand about 14
inches apart, varying, however,
from 12 to 18 inches. In the
rows the plants are thinned to
2 to 5 inches, depending on the
size of the bulb in the par-
‘ticular variety. For field-crop
onions, about 5 to 6 pounds
of seeds are sown to the acre. The intervals between the
rows are commonly 14 inches.
The character of the crop depends very largely on the
seed stock. The onion quickly runs down or deteriorates
if the stock is not carefully selected and grown. Cheap
onion seed is always to be avoided. Those who make a busi-
ness of growing onions prefer to buy seed from parties
whom they know, even though it costs twice as much as the
ordinary seed of the markets. Poor seed may mean mixed
varieties, lack of uniformity in the crop, the production of
“scallions” or onions that do not make large bulbs.
67. Onion seedlings (« 14).
Field practices.
Tillage is by means of hand wheel-hoes. If the land is
rough, hard and uneven, these hoes cannot be worked ta
150 Bulb or Onion Crops
the best advantage. The land should be so finely pulver-
ized that the lumps and clods do not roll on the young
plants. - Usually the onion patch will need to be weeded by
hand once or twice early in the season, although in land
that is very clean and free of weeds this expense may
not be necessary. The better the preparation of the land
the year before, the less will be the trouble and expense of
growing the onion crop.
On some soils onions tend to run too much to top, par-
ticularly on those newly turned over from sod, or that are
wet, or those that have received too great an application of
rough stable manures. Dry soils and dry seasons tend to
produce small top growth and a relatively large bulb, al-
though the plants may mature so early that the bulbs do
not reach the actual size they attain on moister land. If
the tops are still rank and green late in August, or early
in September, and show little tendency of ripening natur-
ally, it is well to break them down to check the growth. A
common way of doing this is to roll a barrel lengthwise the
rows. The best onion crops, however, are those that ripen
naturally. Late growth is sometimes due to the seed. If
seed is from plants that have been grown for a number of
years in a long-season and moist climate, as in England,
the progeny tend to grow very late.*
The onion is a somewhat difficult crop to handle and to
store unless the autumn season is warm and one has good
facilities for handling the bulbs. The onions are usually
allowed to dry or cure for a day or two before they are
put into storage. If they cannot be handled in the field,
they should be cured under cover, for the bulbs should be
*On this point consult Bailey, Bull. 31, Mich. Agric. Coll. 42 (1887).
Dry Onions 151
dry and free from earth when they are sent to market or
put into winter storage. Curing under cover is more ex-
pensive than curing in the field, but it usually gives
brighter-colored bulbs and is to be advised when one caters
to a special market.
The tops must be removed. It is customary to pull the
onions before the topping is done. Three or four rows of
onions are thrown into one, making a small windrow.
After they have cured for two or three days, the tops are
removed with strong shears, or usually with a shoe-knife.
The tops are cut about one-half inch above the bulb. It
they are cut shorter than this the bulb is likely to rot or
shrivel, and if they are cut much longer it has an untidy
appearance. ‘The top should be cut off clean, leaving no
ragged ends, and care should be taken not to tear the cov-
ering of the bulb itself. Some growers cut the tops from
the bulbs before the crop is harvested. This may be done
if the tops have died naturally. It is usually rather more
expeditious than the other way. The bulbs are pulled by
hand or a potato-
fork; but in large
areas an attachment
is rigged to a culti-
vator to cut under
the onions and lift
them out.
If the crop is un-
even, as will usually
be the case, it is advisable to grade the bulbs if the best
prices are to be secured. All small, inferior, misshapen
bulbs are removed, and also those of unusual color. A good
68. Shed in which onions are stored temporarily.
152 Bulb or Onion Crops
means of grading onion bulbs is to run them over a rack
with slat bottom, or other form of grader, the slats being
at such distance apart as.to allow the large bulbs to pass
over, but to catch all the small ones and to drop them
through the spaces. The large bulbs are worked over the
end of the table into baskets or barrels.
Storing.
Mature onions ordinarily will not stand freezing and
thawing. Therefore, if they are stored for the winter,
they must be put in a frost-proof place. They must be
kept dry. Winter store-houses in the North are often pro-
vided with fire heat. Onions may be frozen with safety,
however, provided they do not thaw out until spring and
the thawing is then gradual. They may be stored in
the loft on the north side of a building, where the sun
does not strike the roof, and covered several feet thick
, with straw or
loose hay. In the
‘ spring the straw
is gradually re-
moved and they
are allowed to
thaw slowly.
When the winter
temperature is
— very uniform,
Storage-house for onions. this method of
keeping onions may be safe; but in regions of marked
fluctuations in winter temperature it is not to be recom-
mended.
Dry Onions 153
Most onion-growers prefer to sell the crop in the fall.
Usually it is put in temporary storage in open sheds, much
as corn is stored in the crib. One of these sheds is shown
in Fig. 68. There are wide spaces
in the outside boarding of the shed,
and the floor is raised a few inches
above the ground and cracks are left
in it. The eaves should project enough
to carry all water clear of the sides.
If the onions are dry and clean when
put into storage and the tops have been
carefully removed, the onions may be
stored several feet deep in narrow
bins or cribs of this kind.
Frost-proof storage-houses are most reliable. They are
provided with good ventilation, and kept near freezing |
temperature. Only mature
well-cured onions should
be stored in them, and
particular attention should
be given to having only
rot-free bulbs. Fig. 69
represents “a good onion
storage-house,” drawn
from M. T. Munn, Bull.
437, of the New York
(Geneva) Experiment Sta-
tion.
70. Seeds of leek (XX 6).
71. Seedlings of leek (* 1%).
The kinds.
Varieties of onions are many. They differ in season,
size of bulb, shape, color, quality, keeping ability. The
154 Bulb or Onion Crops
yellow-skinned varieties are popular for dry onions.
Danvers (Yellow Danvers) is a favorite; as also Globe
Danvers and the very similar Southport Globe, Weathers-
field, and others. The so-called Itahan and Spanish
onions are usually larger and require a longer season than
most of the American
types. The Bermuda
and Texas onions are
mostly of this Euro-
pean famvlyorAs
present the globe type
of onion is most in
demand, whereas
formerly the flat
onions were most pop-
ular. The fashions
may be expected to
change, as in other
crops.
OTHER ALLIACEOUS
CROPS
Leek (Figs. 70, 71,
72) is perhaps the
most important, in
this country, of the
minor alliaceous
plants. It should be better known. Its flavor is usually
milder than that of the onion. The soft bulb, scarcely
thicker than the neck, and the thick leaves are used in
cookery. The plant requires the entire season in the
northern parts of the country. Seeds are sown early in
72. Leek plant (X 1/7).
Leek and Garlic 155
spring as for onions, and the plants thinned or trans-
planted to stand 4 to 6 inches apart, the rows being one
foot or so apart. The plants are transpianted in early
summer if especially good results are desired. Usually
the plants are blanched for a considerable height above
the crown by hilling or growing in trenches. Leeks are
stored after the manner of celery, or they may be left in
the ground if the climate is not very severe. In the South,
73. Garlic, with the outer skin or tunic 74. Welsh onion
removed (X about 1).
the seed is sown in autumn, also sometimes in the North
and the plants carried over in frames.
Garlic (Fig. 73) is grown from “ cloves,” which are the
separable parts of compound bulbs, comparable in some
ways with multiplier onions. These cloves or bulblets are
planted in early spring; the compound bulbs mature in
summer or early autumn, and after cured are commonly
sold in bunches made by braiding the tops together. The
plant rarely bears flowers.
156 Bulb or Onion Crops
Ciboule, or Welsh onion (Fig. 74), is like a common
onion without the expanded bulb. It is grown for its
leaves, which are used in seasoning. It is mild in flavor.
Propagated from
seeds as are onions. —
Shallot is very
hike garlic in man-
ner of growth, but
the cloves are sepa-
rate at maturity,
whereas they are in-
closed in a common
skin in the garlic.
They are mild in
flavor. Cultivation
as for garlic. Much
of the stock known as shallot is only a form of onion
(Fig. 75), either the multipher type or small bunched
onions in the spring.
75. A form of onion, often known as shallot.
Chive or Chives (Cive) is a small perennial growing in
dense tufts and not producing distinct bulbs. The leaves
are used for seasoning. It is perfectly hardy. It is a
neat and interesting plant for a permanent edging along
the garden walk. It is propagated by division of the
clumps, although it sometimes seeds freely. ‘The leaves
are cut off as needed. When the vitality begins to decline,
the plants are taken up, divided, and the parts re-set.
THE ONION PLANTS
Allium. JLiliacee. Probably 300 species, widely distributed
in the northern temperate regions of the globe, biennials and
Botany of the Ontons He
perennials, mostly bulbous. Many species are native to North
America, some of them being known as leeks. The wild
species often produce bulbels in the flower-cluster, as does the
“top onion.” The plants carry the characteristic alliaceous
odor, of which the onion flavor is one of the manifestations.
The black angular seeds of these plants do not long retain
their vitality; 2 to 8 years is the usual longevity. Many of
the edible forms have been domesticated from prehistoric
time, the onions and others being considerably modified through
long cultivation. The plants have brought with them several
of the ancient substantive names: prason, the Greek word for
leek, now preserved to us in such combinations as Schoeno-
prasum (rush- or reed-leek), Scorodoprasum (compounded of
Greek words for garlic and leek, anciently used for a kind
of garlic), Ameloprasum (vine-leek); Porrum, Latin word
for leek, allied to Greek prason; Cepa, the Latin cepa, an
onion.
A. Leaves fistulose (cylindrical and hollow).
B. Plant a tufted perennial, without prominent bulbs, growing in mats.
1. A. Schenoprasum.
BB. Plant mostly biennial or plur-biennial, usually with evident bulb
or bulb-like enlargement.—ONIONS proper.
C. The leaves large, not numerous.
Bulb large and prominent. 2. A. Cepa.
Bulb little thicker than the neck or crown.
3. A. fistulosum.
CC. The leaves small, awl-shaped, numerous. 4. A. ascalonicum.
AA. Leaves plane or flat (not fistulose).
B. Bulb of several parts or cloves. 5. A. sativum.
BB. Bulb simple, not much enlarged. 6. A. Porrum.
1. A. Schoenoprasum, Linn. Sp. Pl. 301. Cuive. Erect
glabrous perennial, 6 in. to 2 ft. high when in bloom, growing
in tough clumps or tufts: stems enlarged somewhat into long
slender bulbous bases; roots many and tough: leaves many
in the clump, grasslike, some of them radical and others
sheathing the stems, terete, hollow, long-pointed, usually equal-
ling or surpassing the scapes: flowers rose-purple, many in
a single terminal head which is subtended by the two thin
158 Bulb or Onion Crops
spathe-bracts; perianth segments lance-acuminate, #4 to ™% in.
long and mostly equalling or exceeding the slender pedicels;
stamens (6) included; pistil single, a long straight style aris-
ing from the summit of the emarginate ovary: fruit (capsule)
splitting into 3 parts, several-seeded, the seeds black, about
4% in. long, oblong and pointed on either end, convex on the
back, keeled on the front, weighing about 1 mg.—Native in
Europe and Asia; the native piant in the U. S. is now sep-
arated as var. sibiricum, Hartm., or as A. sibiricum, Linn.
It is not unlikely that more than one plant is in cultivation
as chives.
2. A. Cepa, Linn. Sp. Pl. 300. Onton. Mostly biennial,
not cespitose (not growing in tufts or sods), glabrous and
glaucous: bulb large, much expanded, globular, oblong, coni-
cal, oblate, or other forms, the outside membranes thin and
tunicate: leaves the first year radical, sheathing over each
other at base and forming a neck, long and pointed, soft,
hollow, swollen in the lower half: stem (produced usually
the second year) simple, straight and erect, 2 to 4 ft. high,
hollow, much enlarged, swollen below the middle, much over-
topping the few or many prominently sheathing leaves, some-
times the stem-leaves disappearing before flowering: flowers
numerous, lilac or whitish in a large terminal globular umbel-
late head subtended by 2 or 8 reflexed spathe-bracts, about
¥, in. long and borne on slender radiating pedicels % to 1 in.
or more long; perianth segments narrowly lanceolate, acute,
the stamens exserted, the filaments of the 3 inner stamens
very broad at the base and lobed or toothed on either side;
ovary globose or depressed-globose, smooth, with a single style:
fruit dehiscing into three parts: seed black, about % in. long,
nearly as broad as long, convex on the back and angled on
the front, usually irregularly shrunken, weighing 3 to 5 mg.
—Western Asia. Var. viviparum, Metz, acc. Alef. Landw. FI.
301. 1866. (Var. bulbellifera, Bailey, Prine. Veg. Gard. Ed. 1,
316. 1901.) Top Onion. Bulb small, undeveloped; bulbels
borne in the flower-cluster with the flowers, and used for pur-
poses of propagation;-sometimes the cluster is proliferous,
Botany of the Omons 159
sending out flower-bearing (and bulbel-bearing) branches.
Var. solaninum, Alef. 1. ¢. 300. (Var. multiplicans, Bailey,
Prine. Veg. Gard. Ed. 1, 316. 1901.) Porato Onion. MULTI-
PLIER ONION. Plant propagating by the natural division of the
parent bulb: flowering stems (not often produced) short and -
slender, the umbel few-flowered.
3. A. fistulosum, Linn. Sp. Pl. 301. WrELSH ONION. SPRING
ONIoN. Crpoute. Differs from A. Cepa in its more clustered
or cespitose habit, more leafy and the leaves usually equaling
or surpassing the stem, the bulbs little exceeding the broad
soft stem-base: stem Short and stout, 12 to 20 in. high, much
swollen throughout its middle part and tapering to the flower-
head: flowers white or hyaline, in a dense terminal head,
stamens long-exserted, alternate filaments broadened ‘at the
base, -perianth % im. long and about equaling or even exceed-
ing the pedicel, segments long-acuminate: seeds onion-like,
about 2 mg. in weight.—Native in Asia.
4. A. ascalonicum, Linn. Amcen. Acad. iv, 454. 1788. SHAL-
Lot. Differs from A. Cepa in its small stature, slender awl-
like leaves, and small ovate-oblong or oblong-conical gray
more or less angular bulbs that break up into several distinct
bulbs that cohere at the base: flowers (seldom produced) white
or violet, in globose heads, the perianth scarcely exceeding
the pedicel, segments spreading, oblong-lanceolate and acute.
—Supposed to be Asian, but not certainly known in an indig-
enous state; by some writers thought to be a form of A. Cepa.
It is doubtful whether the true shallot is in common cultiva-
tion; see page 156. The plant bears the name of Ascalon, east-
ern Mediterranean.
5. A. sativum, Linn. Sp. Pl. 296. Garric. A weak-grow-
ing flat-leaved plant of strong characteristic odor, producing
several distinct hard parts or cloves, each with its integument,
all inclosed in a silky-thin white or pink envelope comprising
the compound mother bulb (the delicate envelopes sometimes
decay and vanish if the mature bulbs are left too long in the
ground, particularly if the season or the place is wet) ; planted
in early spring, these cloves grow rapidly, produce another
160 Bulb or Onion Crops
compound bulb, and the leaves die down in summer, leaving
no trace above ground: flowers seldom produced.—Southern
Europe.
6. A. Porrum, Linn. Sp. Pl. 295. (A. Ampeloprasum, Linn.,
var. Porrum, Gay, Ann. Sci. Nat. 3d Ser. viii, 218. 1847.)
Leek. Stout vigorous glabrous green very slightly glaucous
_ biennial: bulb single, not much broader than the stout neck
and gradually passing into it, with numerous stout roots be-
neath it: leaves equitant, keeled, 2 to 3 ft. long and at the
base 114 to 2 in. wide, very long-pointed: flower-stem slender,
pithy and not fistulose, 2-3 ft., leafy below, the bulb more
evident: flowers borne in a terminal umbellate head, sub-
tended by a single spathe-bract, color pinkish, 4, in. long,
much exceeded by the pedicels ; segments lance-ovate, acute, the
midnerve usually colored; anthers exserted, the filaments of
3 of them very broad and with a slender branch on either
side near the top exceeding the anther; ovary conic, the style
arising within the notched top: fruit dehiscing into 8 parts:
seeds black, about 1/6 in. long, onion-like, weighing 2 to 4 mg.
—Not certainly known wild; considered to be an ameliorated
form of A. Ampeloprasum, of Europe and western Asia.
A related plant is A. Scorodoprasum, WLinn., the rocam-
bole, sometimes cultivated for uses like garlic, native in
Europe; it is a lesser plant than the leek, with smaller umbels
which bear bulbels, the stamens not exserted; the ovoid bulb
bears stalked offsets or bulblets.
CHAPTER VII
ROOT CROPS
Beet Parsnip
Radish Celeriae
Turnip Chervil
Rutabaga Salsify
Horse-radish Scorzonera
Carrot Scolymus
Root crops requre a cool season and deep soil. They are
grown in drills, and usually are not transplanted. They
are used both as mavn-season and secondary crops. All are
hardy. No particular ingenuty or skill is required in
growing them.
The necessity of deep soil is apparent when one consid-
ers that the value of a root depends to a large extent on its
straightness or symmetry. In hard and shallow lands roots
are short and they tend to be branched and irregular.
Fine tilth does much to insure quick growth, and quick
erowth improves the quality. Tile-draining and _ subsoil-
ing greatly improve land to be used for root crops. The
use of clover as a green-manure is also desirable, as it
loosens and ameliorates the soil to a greater depth than
mest other green-manure crops.
Most root crops succeed best in cool soil. They thrive
in the North, or in the cool season in the South. Those
(161)
162 Root Crops
that do not require the entire season in which to complete
their growth usually thrive best in spring and autumn.
Root crops are of two general classes as respects the pur-
poses for which they are grown—fodder crops and oler-
aceous crops. The former are not intended here; neither
are sugar-beets. Most of the vegetable-gardening root
crops are able to secure their food from relatively unavail-
able combinations, and they generally use rather freely of
potash, although they are also heavy nitrogen and phos-
phorus feeders. To start them quickly, a light dressing of
available nitrogen compound is useful, particularly if the
roots are needed for a particular season. These crops, as
a class, are supposed to be more exhaustive of the Eas
food elements than the cereals and legumes.
The earliness of the root crop in market-garden han-
dling is hkely to make all the difference between success
and failure. The earliness is determined largely, accord-—
ing to Voorhees, “by the amount and availability of the
nitrogen and phosphoric acid applied.” Frequent top-
dressings of soluble nitrates are advised. An application
of 1,000 to 1,500 pounds of the basic fertilizer (page
383) “is frequently employed at time of seeding, followed
by a top-dressing of 50 to 100 pounds of nitrate of soda
to the acre once every week or ten days, for at least three
or four weeks after the plants have well started.”
Probably the most laborious part of the growing of root
crops is the harvesting, particularly of the long late kinds.
This labor is much lessened by plowing out the roots.
Even if the roots are too deep for the plow, two or three
furrows may be thrown from either side of the row, and
the pulling is made easier. Usually, hand-pulling is
The Roots 163
unnecessary. As soon as the roots are out, the tops should be
cut off about an inch above the crown, if the crop is to be
stored or sold in bulk. The roots should lie in the sun un-
til the earth is dry enough to shake from them, when they
may be stored in the pit or cellar or sent to market. They
are easy to keep.
The market value of a root depends largely on its looks.
All strong side roots should be cut off, and branchy speci-
mens should be discarded. THarly in the year, such roots
as beet, carrot, radish, and turnip are sold in bunches of
6 to 12; but as the season advances and prices fall, they
are sold in bulk. When sold in bunches, care should be
taken to have all the specimens in the bunch of uniform
size and shape. ‘The leaves are allowed to remain, and the
bunches are tied neatly by a tape or other cord passed
around the leaf-stalks. 'The bunches should be kept well
sprinkled and away from the sun, for wilted leaves give
them a stale and unattractive appearance.
Seeds of these crops are grown from roots carried over
winter. Plant the roots in spring, the crown level with
the surface of the ground, 2 feet or more apart. Flower-
stalks are soon sent up, and seeds are usually produced
freely.
The species of roots may be assembled by their botani-
cal affinities. The beets of all kinds are allied to spinach
and the pigweeds (Chenopodiacee). The radish, turnip,
rutabaga, horse-radish are cruciferous, being members of
the Crucifere or Mustard family and therefore allied to
the cole crops. Others are umbelliferous, belonging to the
Umbelliferze or Parsley family, as carrot, parsnip, celeriac,
tuberous-rooted chervil. Salsify, scorzonera, scolymus are
164 Root Crops
compositous, representing the Sunflower family, Com-
posite.
BEET
A loose deep rich fresh relatively cool soil and a con-
tinuous growth are the prime requisites in the cultivation
of garden beet. It 1s usually a companion- or succession-
crop in the vegetable-garden. The crop 1s hardy and easy
to raise. The round varieties are relatwely surface feeders
and early in growth. The land should be kept well tilled
to conserve moisture and to keep down weeds, particularly
im the early part of the season.
Sow in drills as soon as the ground is ready, and thin to
5 to 8 in. apart; the thinnings may be used as greens. The
drills should be far enough apart to admit of wheel-hoe till-
age,—12 to 18 in. Field beets should be far enough apart for
horse tillage, 20 to 30 in. Five to eight pounds of seed are
required for an acre; 1 ounce sows 75 to 100 feet of drill.
Seed is covered about 1 in. deep. Average crop is 800 to 400
bushels to the acre.
Lrar-spot (Cercospora beticola).—Ashen gray leaf spots,
each surrounded by a reddish purple border, are characteristic
symptoms. Frequently the central tissue drops out and the
leaf presents a shot-holed appearance. As the outer leaves
die off, new ones are formed, thus elongating the crown of
the beet. Control: Sanitary measures in the field together -
with crop rotation are beneficial. A thorough application of
bordeaux mixture at intervals will afford control.
SPINACH LEAF-MINER (Pegomyia hyoscyami).— A whitish
maggot, 1% in. long when full-grown, that mines the leaves
of beet, spinach, orach, and chard. The mine is at first
thread-like but soon enlarges and becomes a blotch. Many
maggots often infest the same leaf. The insect also breeds on
lamb’s quarters (pigweed). Control: Clean culture and the.
The Beet 165
destruction of its wild food plants; with some crops the injury
may be avoided by growing the plants either early in the
spring or late in autumn, when the insect is less abundant.
SUGAR-BEET WEBWORM (Loxostege sticticalis)—A yellowish
white caterpillar marked on the back with three dark stripes,
about, 1 in. in length when full-grown, that devours the leaves
and covers its feeding grounds with a slight silken web. Con-
trol: Spray with 8 lbs. paris green in 100 gals. of water to
which 6 lbs. of whale-oil soap or 38 lbs. of lime are added,
or dust the plants with paris green, 2 to 4 lbs. in 100 lbs.
air-slaked lime.
HAWAIIAN BEET WEBWORM (Hymenia fascialis).—A small
slender pale green caterpillar which skeletonizes the under-
side of the leaves; restricted to the Southern States. Control:
Spray with arsenate of lead (paste), 2 lbs. in 50 gals. of water,
taking care to hit the underside of the leaves.
SPOTTED BEET WEBWORM (/Hymenia perspectalis).—A small
shining green caterpillar marked with rows of small black
dots that at first skeletonizes the leaves but later eats the
whole leaf; restricted to the Southern States. Control: Same
as for the preceding species.
SOUTHERN BEET WEBWORM (Pachyzancla bipunctalis).—A
glossy dark dirty green caterpillar, about 4 in. long when
full-grown that devours the foliage, folding and webbing the
leaves together with silken threads. Control: Same as for the
spotted beet webworm.
Two general types of beets are grown for vegetable-
gardening purposes: the short-season turnip varieties
(Fig. 76) and the main-season long-rooted varieties. Cer-
tain oval half-long types are intermediate in season. The
long-rooted varieties are less popular than formerly, for
the turnip varieties may be grown in autumn for winter
use, and fresh beets are to be had from the South in
winter. Formerly the long blood beet was used for stock-
feeding to some extent, but the mangel-wurzel has lareely
166 hoot Crops
taken its place. The early beets lend themselves well to
the intensive practices of market-gardeners.
The soil for beets, particularly for the early kinds,
should be mellow and quick, on the loamy order. Hard,
poorly-tilled and cloddy lands are not adapted. Fresh
manure is usually
avoided, but well-
rotted manure is used
freely, and chemical
fertilizers are desir-
able.
The plants should
be kept growing con- —
tinuously.) they
seldom completely re-
cover from a marked
check or setback, at
least not in time for
a dated early market.
Good frequent level
tillage is required.
‘ Beet seeds require
_ considerable moisture
h \ to germinate. This is
76. Young turnip-rooted MK because the “ seeds ”
ee are really fruit clusters
with hard shells, each cluster containing two or three small
seeds (Fig. 77). ‘The husks or walls of the fruit are rela-
tively impervious to water. ‘Therefore, if sown late in
the season special care should be taken to have a moist
seed-bed. For the reason that the fruits rather than the
The Beet 167
seeds are sown, beets are likely to come up in little clumps,
and careful thinning is essential if the best results are to
be secured. Specially constructed seed-drills, or special
attachments, are necessary
for the proper sowing of
the rough uneven-sized
seeds of beets. Young
plants of beet are seen in
Mis. 78.
Vegetable-gardeners now i
chiefly know the early 77. Fruit clusters of beet (X 2).
turnip-rooted varieties. These varieties may be grown
either as a spring or fall crop. They mature in two to
three months (60 to 90 days) and roots large enough for
bunching of some of the earliest varieties may be had in
six weeks to two months.
The earl¥ turnip varieties of beet may be sown as soon as
the land can be worked in spring if one wishes to secure
an early crop. ‘They may be followed by a later crop, as
celery, late potatoes, cabbage or cauliflower. In some
cases, they are grown
as a companion-crop in
the rows with a main-
season crop, as cab-
bage. For very early
results, it is well to
sow the early varieties
in hotbeds, or cold-
frames. They may be allowed to mature in the frames, or
in special cases they may be transplanted into beds, al-
though transplanting is rarely done, as it does not pay.
78. Seedlings of garden beet (* about %).
168 Root Crops
For home use, two or three rows fifty feet long, the seeds
being sown at intervals (as every fortnight) extending
over a month or two, should give a sufficient supply for
the spring and early summer.
For autumn use the turnip-rooted beets may be sown in
July and August, or, in some places, even as late as the
first of September. When sown late, however, it is impor-
tant that the land should have been well tilled previous to
sowing, that it may not be too dry. The firmest and best
roots may be stored for winter in pits or in the cellar in
boxes of earth or moss.
The long or blood beets are usually sown in early May in .
the Northern States, and they occupy the ground the
whole season. The half-long kinds are useful in autumn
and winter, and they may be sown later than the long
kinds, following early peas or other crop.
Young beets are much used for greens. They are rarely
grown especially for this purpose, but the seed is sown
thick and the thinnings are sold in bunches or in small
packages. The whole plant, root and top, is thus used as
a potherb. Certain kinds of beets produce thick leaves
rather than roots; these are essentially leaf crops and are
discussed under that head. See Chard, page 59.
Early beets are usually sold in bunches of about six, be-
fore the roots are full grown, but the later crop is sold in
baskets, crates, and barrels. The price depends much on
the earliness and freshness of the product.
Good early and mid-season beets are Egyptian, Bassano,
Eclipse, Bastian, Detroit Dark Red, Crimson Globe, Co-
lumbia, Edmand. A standard winter variety is Long
Blood. There are many other good varieties.
Botany of the Beet 169
THE BEET PLANT
Beta. Chenopodiacee. Perhaps a half dozen species of
herbaceous plants, biennial and perennial, on the coasts of
Europe, Asia and Africa.
B. vulgaris, Linn. Sp. Pl. 222. (B. esculenta, Salisb. Prodr.
152. 1796. B. vulgaris var. esculenta, Guerke, in Richter-
Guerke, Pl. Eur. ii, 127. 1897.) CuLtivatep Beer. Biennial
(rarely annual), glabrous, smooth, the growing parts often
red, yellow or wmetallic-green (particularly midribs and
petioles: taproot thickened into a single downright tuber,
in many sizes, Shapes and colors: stem produced the second
year, one from the top of the tuber and sometimes a few
small supplementary ones, slender and grooved, erect but fall-
ing with the load of fruit, much branched and leafy, the
main stem 2 to 4 ft. tall: leaves in a tuft from the crown, the
blade ovate to oblong-ovate in outline, truncate or semi-cordate
or abruptly tapering at base, obtuse or muticous, the margins
undulate and entire or irregularly sinuate-dentate, the slender
petiole usually exceeding the blade; stem leaves petioled,
smaller, the lower ones of similar shape to the radical leaves,
those in the inflorescence passing into linear spreading bracts:
flowers greenish, very small, sessile, in long paniculate racemes,
the plant producing great numbers on its many slender
branches, usually about 2 or 3 flowers together, with minute
bractlets beneath the perianth, which has 5 inecurving parts,
on the inside of which parts are the 5 stamens; ovary 1,
sunk in a dise or hypanthium, the styles usually 3 and with
blunt or ovate stigmas; the perianth and disc are persistent,
inclosing the single seed in a hard case bearing corky protu-
berances which are the thickened and modified perianth-parts,
the 2 or more flowers in the cluster growing together by their
bases and forming the very irregular fruit-mass known as
the “seed” of commerce; this fruit-mass weighs 5 to 50 mg.,
and on the faces of it one is able to make out the 5 promi-
nences of the different flower-parts; longevity of seed about
5 or 6 years.—Unknown wild; regarded as an ameliorated
170 Root Crops
form of B. vulgaris var. perennis, Linn. (B. maritima, Linn.
B. vulgaris var. maritima, Koch), of the sea-coasts of western
Europe, a very different looking plant, perennial, with long
hard thick-branched root, smaller leaves, and many prostrate
or decumbent stems. The evolution of the beet is a remark-
able example of modification, in which the whole habit and
habitat of the plant have been changed. The sugar-beet (B.
vulgaris var. saccharifera, Alef.) is part of this modification.
The mangel-wurzel, or mangold of English and American writ-
ing, is another form of it. In North America the beet is
thought of in relation to its thick edible root, but another race
is developed in its leaves rather than in its roots. We may
therefore distinguish the leaf-beet and the root-beet; in Eng-
land the latter is known as beet-root; in France the leaf-
beets are known as poiré.
Var. Cicla, Linn. Sp. Pl. 222. Lear-Beet. Root down-
ward, not developed into a fleshy edible part, sometimes
branched: leaves much developed, usually larger and broader
than in the common beet, sometimes 2 ft. long, the midrib
usually broad and often fieshy. Here belong the ornamental-
leaved beets and also the Swiss chard. The word Cicla refers
to Sicily.
RADISH
Quick and continuous growth, carefully selected seed,
rather cool weather for the early bunching kinds, protec-
tion from the root-maggot—these are prime considerations
in the growing of radishes. The radish 1s a partial-season
crop. It is easy to grow on light fertile land.
Radishes are usually sown as early in spring as the ground
is fit, even before the frosts are past. Sow in rows 6 to 12
in. apart, or farther apart if a wheel-hoe is to be used.
Cover % to % in. Thin 1 to 3 in. apart, depending on variety.
For family use, sow at intervals of 7 to 10 days. As the sea-
son advances, choose a cooler site, aS a northern exposure.
The Radish 1A
Usually the sowings are discontinued from the last of June
until late August. One ounce of seed sows 100 feet or more
of drill; 8 to 10 lbs. are required for an acre.
There are no prominent diseases of the radish.
CABBAGE ROOT-MAGGOT (Phorbia brassicw).—See detail under
Cabbage. Radishes may be raised free from maggots by screen-
ing the beds with cheesecloth.
F'LEA-BEETLES.—Screening the beds with cheesecloth will pre-
vent injury.
SPINACH APHIS (Myzus persice).—See under Spinach. The
first pair of leaves sometimes becomes badly infested on the
underside. Spray with ‘“ Black Leaf 40” tobacco extract, 1 pint
in 100 gals. water in which 4 or 5 lbs. soap have been dis-
solved. Do not use with bordeaux mixture on young’ radish
plants as it will stunt them.
In North America the radish is known mostly as a
spring crop, although it is sometimes grown in autumn.
In the Old World, however, it is known also as a summer
crop, but the varieties grown in the hot weather are usually
unlike those raised in the spring and autumn. In the
Orient (particularly Japan) it is a winter and spring veg-
etable, extensively eaten.
There are three general types of radish roots: the or-
dinary small spring or autumn radish, usually light red
or clear white (Fig. 79); the large turnip radishes, useful
for summer cultivation, white, gray or black; the winter
radishes, that make a long hard red, white or black root.
The winter radishes are relatively little grown here,
although deserving to be better known. They are usually
sown late in the season, as are late turnips (July and
August) and the roots may be kept over winter as other
roots are stored. Some of them make roots 12 to 20
inches long and several inches in diameter. The flesh is
172 Root Crops
solid, quite different from the little table radishes eaten
as delicacies; these winter radishes supply numbers of
people in other countries with substantial food.
79. A table radish. Raphanus sativus (X 134).
Radishes are usually treated as a companion-crop when
grown in the open field. They may be sown in drills be-
tween the rows of cabbages, peas or other later-maturing
vegetables. Sometimes they are sown directly in the drill
with the other vegetables. The seeds are quick to germi-
The Radish 173
nate and thereby break the crust and mark the row (Fig.
80) and thus facilitate tillage, and the roots may be har-
vested before the other crops need the space. For family
use, radishes are GS
often grown in beds
by themselves. In
clean friable land
they are sometimes
sown broadcast. They
may be forced in
winter, and grown
for very early spring
use in hotbeds and later in coldframes. Better roots
and a more uniform crop are secured by sowing only
the large seeds (Fig. 81). The small ones may be sifted
out with a hand screen.
If the land is loose and rich, the spring radishes should
come to edible maturity in four to six weeks. The roots
are of better quality when they are relatively small and
erisp. When growth ceases the roots become stringy,
bitter, and often hollow, and the plant runs to seed (as
80. Radish seedlings (X about %).
81. Radish seeds (X 4). 82. Pod of radish (X 1/3).
it does also from too late sowing). Sow at frequent inter-
vals for a succession. Radishes do not come to their
full perfection in hard and dry land. The roots are so
174
Root Crops
small and short that the plants are essentially surface
feeders.
If radishes are to be grown in hot weather, the land
83. Leaf of long-pin-
nate radish. Raph-
anus sativus var.
longipinnatus.
(X %).
The radish
should be as cool as possible and supplied
with abundance of moisture to keep them
growing continuously. It is well to grow
the regular summer radishes, as Stras-
burg, but as there may not be a market
for them, the small spring radishes may
have to be carried into the summer.
For the market,
radishes are washed
andr: jailed) maga
bunches of 4 to 10,
with the tops left
on. They should
be kept moist until
sold. If the tubers
are graded to size,
shape and color 84 Leat-torms of small-
they make very at- 7a, gaa
tractive produce. Ca
is annual and biennial. Roots maturing
late may be kept over winter and planted in the spring,
when they quickly run to seed. Spring and summer rad-
ishes run to seed the same season if left in the ground, but
the best seed is produced from plants that are transplanted
when young.
Little radish seed is grown in North
America, probably largely because of the high price of
labor.
Probably the most popular variety is French Breakfast,
Botany of the Radish 175
and various forms of the same type. Other good kinds
are Olive-shaped, Scarlet Short-top, Wood Early Frame,
White Box. For summer, good varieties are Icicle, Char-
tier, Lady-finger, White Naples, White Vienna, Strasburg,
Stuttgart. For winter, Scarlet Chinese, Celestial, Black
Spanish, White Spanish may be mentioned,
THe RApDISH PLANT
Raphanus. Crucifere. Probably 8 or 10 species, annual,
biennial, perennial, Europe to the East Indies.
R. sativus, Linn. Sp. Pl. 669. Common RapisH. Annual
and biennial: root thickened, white to pink to purple to
nearly black, short and globular to conical to oblong to spindle-
shaped and extending into a long taproot that bears most of
the feeding rootlets: stem stout, erect, 2-3 ft. high, long-
branching in flower, usually falling when laden with fruit,
striate or grooved, more or less glaucous, glabrous or bearing
few scattered straight stiff colorless hairs: lvs. very variable
in size, shape and division, all petiolate, sometimes smooth but
usually with scattered sharp stiff colorless hairs on both
surfaces, strongly veined; radical ones 3-6 in. long and 1-2 in.
broad, obovate or Sshort-oblong in outline, usually lyrate-
divided, the terminal part large and the lateral divisions be-
coming very small along the petiole, the margins irregularly
erenate or crenate-dentate; cauline lvs. large, mostly strongly
lyrate-pinnatifid and long-petioled, terminal lobe very large
and mostly rounded (sometimes acute!) and more or less shal-
lowly lobed, the inferior divisions few or several, the upper
lvs. passing into lanceolate or linear undivided bracts in the
inflorescence: flowers white to red-veined to lilac, slender-
pedicelled, on long branches; petals 4, long-clawed, the oblong
or obovate obtuse blade spreading usually at right angles in
full anthesis; 4 narrow sepals about as long as the claws of
the petals; some or all of the 6 anthers exserted in the throat
of the corolla, as is also the single style with its globular
stigma; fruit an indehiscent spongy pod, 1 to 3 in, long
176 Root Crops
(Fig. 82), with a long beak and 1 to 6 seeds in the thickened
part: seeds brown, variable in size and shape, globular-angular,
large ones about 4% in. long and weighing 8 to 10 mg., the small
ones only about half as heavy; longevity about 5 years.—Prob-
ably Asian, but known only as a cultigen (in cultivation and
frequently escaped). Thought to be a development from R.
Raphanistrum, Linn., the charlock, a weedy plant with slender
taproot, yellow flowers fading to white or violet, and slender
furrowed pods with marked constrictions between the seeds:
this plant is now widely spread, and is an introduced weed in
North America. The radish is variable in the size, season,
shape and color of its tuberous roots (the word radish is con-
nected with the Latin radir, root), and botanical groups are
usually defined in terms of these characters; better botanical
characters, however, reside in the leaves and pods. There are
marked groups in the pinnate division of the leaves, and one
group in which the leaves are undivided.
Var. longipinnatus, Bailey, Gent. Herb. i, 25. 1920. Plant
large and stout: radical leaves elongated and narrow, some-
times 2 ft. long, the leaflets S to 12 or more pairs: root large
and long, usually a winter radish.—Apparently most of the
oriental winter radishes belong here (Fig. 88).
Var. parvipinnatus, Bailey, l.c. Plant slender, with large
root: leaves small, sometimes with very slender divisions and
sometimes merely lobed: pod slender, nodose, with a very long
beak.—India and Japan; apparently not cult. in this country
(Figs. 84, 85).
Var. nonpinnatus, Bailey, l.c. Leaves entire, the radical
ones obovate and on the stem oval or oblong, the margins entire
or obscurely crenate-dentate—China, not recognized in this
country (Fig. 86).
Var. caudatus, Alef. Landw. Fl. 258. 1868. (R. caudatus,
Linn. Mant. i, 95. 1767.) Rat-TAILED RapisH. Pods rather
than root greatly developed, sometimes more than 1 ft. long,
curved and sometimes twisted (Fig. 87).—The young pods are
the edible parts, sometimes pickled and sometimes eaten raw
The Turnips IL 7ee
as are radishes. Only now and then grown in this country, as
a curiosity.
TURNIP anp RUTABAGA
The turnips of all kinds are cool-season crops of quick
germination and rapid growth. They are partial-season
plants, usually following early crops. They grow long
after tomatoes, corn and many other crops are killed by
frost. Seeds are usually sown where the plants are to
stand. The sotl should be loose and fertile.
For garden use, particularly for the early season, turnips
are sown in drills 10 to 18 inches apart. In drills, 1 ounce of
seed may be used for every 200 to 300 feet, or 1 pound to the
acre; broadcast, 2 to 8 pounds to the acre. The plants should
be thinned to stand at first 3 inches apart; and then, as some
of the young roots are removed for eating, until the main crop
allows a foot of space for the development of each full-sized
tuber. The late or fall crop is often sown broadeast, particu-
larly if it is to be used for stock-feeding. Better results are
secured, however, when the plants are grown in rows. For
general field purposes, the rows are placed 18 to 30 inches
apart, to allow of wheel-hoe or even horse-hoe tillage. Seeds
are sown 1% to % inch deep. Yields run from 600 to 1000
bushels to the acre.
The diseases of these plants are black-rot and club-root; in
insects the turnip aphis may be troublesome: see the discus-
sions for Cabbage, page 71. Flea-beetles often infest turnips
and rutabagas: see the account of this insect on page 435.
iewirue or “flat” een
turnips usually have
flattened or very oblate
roots, soft white flesh, 85. Pod of small-pinnate radish (X 4%).
and green rough leaves. They do not require the full
season in which to mature, and are therefore grown as a
178 Root Crops
spring or autumn crop. The herbage is very hardy, with-
standing considerable frost without injury. They are grown
somewhat for stock feed, but not so largely as the ruta-
baga; only the vege-
table-garden use of
them is intended in »
this writing.
8. Leaf of
simple-leaved
Or non-pin-
nate radish
(X 7%).
For early use,
turnips are sown as
soon as the land
can be prepared in
spring. They should give roots large enough for the table
in six to ten weeks. For the fall crop, seeds may be sown
in the Northern States as late as the last week in July,
and in the Central States as late as the middle of August.
The plants will grow until heavy freezing weather, at
which time they may be pulled and stored as are other
roots. The roots will not stand hard freezing.
87. Pods of rat-tailed radish, Var. caudatus
(X 1/8).
The Turnips 1h)
The value of the turnip as an article of food lies very
largely in its tenderness and succulence. If the plant
grows slowly, it is woody, stringy and bitter. ‘To secure a
=, quick growth, the land should be rich
and moist, and im fine tilth.. If the
plants are raised in broadcast seeding,
(ZF \ the land should be in excellent condi-
88 Seeds of turnip tion and free from weeds, as no sub-
Cha sequent tillage is possible.
The turnip is one of the easiest plants to grow, except
that it is often seriously attacked by the root-maggot.
This pest can be kept in check by injecting bisulfide of
carbon into the ground about the plants, but this labor is
usually more than the turnips are worth. It is better,
therefore, to grow turnips on land that has not been in-
fested ; or, if there is no such land on the premises, it is ad-
visable not to grow turnips until the insects are starved out.
Karly turnips are sold in bunches, like early beets, the
tops usually re-
moved. The main
crop is sold by the
bushel or the barrel.
Roots are_ stored
for winter like po-
tatoes.
Standard ~ varie-
ties of turnip are Milan, Snowball, Strapleaf Flat Dutch.
Figs. 88, 89, 90 show the turnip.
Rutabaga
89. Seedlings of turnip (X ¥).
The requirements for the rutabaga are the same as for
turnips, except that the plants require a month to six
180 Root Crops
weeks’ longer time in which to mature. It is not raised as
a spring vegetable.
Rutabaga differs from the turnip in having a denser and
mostly yellow-fleshed root, which is rounded or elongated
and not distinctly flat, the leaves glaucous-blue and not
hairy, the crown long and leafy,
the roots arising from the under | /
side of the tuber as well as from |
Characteristic form of flat :
turnip (xX 44). Rutabaga (X 1/5).
96. Forms of turnip and rutabaga.
the taproot. Compare the roots in Fig. 90. It is a richer
vegetable than the turnip. It is grown either as a spring
or autumn crop. As in the case of the turnip, the product
erown for stock is raised from summer-sown seeds. For
the main crop, the seeds are usually sown as early as the
first of July or the middle part of June in the Northern
States.
The Horse-radish 181
For the botanical account of turnips and rutabagas, see the
discussion of brassicaceous plants in Chapter IV (pages 95, 96).
HORSE-RADISH
Horse-radish is a perennial grown commercially as an
annual, propagated by root-cuttings (sets). It vs perfectly
hardy. Grown usually as a combination-crop and succes-
sion-crop, occupying the land completely late in the season,
when it makes tts principal growth. It requires a very
deep and fertile soil. The grated or shredded root 1s used
as a piquant sauce and relish.
Cuttings of the side roots are employed for propagation
directly in the field, and the plants stand 10 to 18 in., more
or less, in rows far enough apart for good tillage, which is
usually 3 to 4 ft. if the plants are started between other crops.
The commercial yields are 3 to 5 tons to the acre, varying less
or more.
HORSE-RADISH FLEA-BEETLE (Phyllotreta armoracie).—A
black strongly convex flea-beetle about 4% in. long, having
each wing-cover yellowish except a narrow black stripe along
the outer margin and a wider one on the inner margin. The
eggs are laid in clusters on the petioles of the young leaves.
The larve burrow in the petioles. The beetles are more de-
structive early in the season and the larve later. Control:
Spray the plants with bordeaux mixture containing 4 to 6 lbs.
arsenate of lead (paste) in 50 gals. Several applications may
be necessary. Change the location of the beds from time to
time in order to avoid the beetles.
SPINACH APHIS (Myzus persicw).—See under Spinach.
HARLEQUIN CABBAGE BUG (Jurgantia histrionica).—See under
Cabbage.
Sharp distinction is to be made between the home-grown
supply of horse-radish and the commercially-raised product.
It is the same plant; but in the home premises it is usually
182 Root Crops
allowed to persist year after year, often as a weedy plant,
and is dug in spring as wanted. It is customary to plant
the old crowns, and sprawling crooked roots are the re-
,= sult. These roots are good enough for home use,
but they would not sell on the market. For com-
mercial purposes, a clean straight shapely root is
desired (Fig. 91); and to obtain this
root, careful propagation, good land
and thorough tillage are essential. In
some parts of the country the growing of
horse-radish is an important industry.
As a commercial crop, horse-radish is
grown as an annual, being propagated
from cuttings of the small side roots.
These cuttings are made from the trim-
mings when the roots are dressed for
market in autumn. A good cutting
“A should be the size of a lead pencil up
1. to that of one’s little finger (Fig. 92).
A good ‘ A 92.
root of It is usually made 5 to 8 inches long, and _—_Horse-
horse- : : 3 radish
radish the lower end is cut slanting to desig- sets
(Xx 1/6). (X 1/3).
nate the right end up when planting
(Fig. 93). These cuttings or sets are tied in bundles and
stored in the cellar or pit, as are other roots.
Sets may be planted at the first opening of spring, but
since the plant makes the larger part of its growth late in
the season, it is customary to hold them rather late and to
plant them with some other crop. They are often planted
in the rows of early cabbages or beets. When the cabbages
are off, the horse-radish takes the land. The sets are
dropped right end up in furrows or holes, which are made
The Horse-radish 183
with a strong-pointed stick or crowbar or a dibber. They
are usually placed in a somewhat slanting position, al-
though the upright position is probably as good. The top
of the cutting usually stands 3 to 5 inches below the top of
the soil. This deep planting delays the appearing of the
plants and thus prevents interfer-
ence with the combination-crop. The
rows are far enough apart to allow
of horse tillage, and the plants
should stand 10 to 16 or 18 inches
in the row.
The plant will stand much abuse.
If it grows so rapidly as to inter-
fere with the cabbages or other
plants with which it is planted, the
tops may be cut off two or three
times early in the season. After the
other crop is removed, the land is
given good surface tillage.
Sometimes horse-radish is made
the main crop, and other crops are * eta elias Se
grown incidentally. In this case, it
is planted in rows 3 to 4 feet apart on ridges, and spinach,
early beets or lettuce are grown on the sides of the ridges.
The crop will grow until freezing weather.
lt is best to plow out the roots in autumn and to store
or sell them. As horse-radish is likely to become a bad
weed, it is necessary that all the small roots be taken out
of the land. When the crop is harvested, therefore, all
the loose roots are picked from the furrow and destroyed.
If these furrows are left open until spring many more of
184
Root Crops
the roots will be exposed, and they may then be removed.
Subsequent plowing and dragging will often expose still
others.
It is usually impossible to get all the roots out of
the land, but wi the ground is occupied with other crops
94.
Two kinds of hand-
power
graters.
horse-radish
and is kept in good tillage, the
horse-radish should not become a
nuisance.
The roots are washed and
trimmed before they are sent to
market. For special trade, the
roots may be tied in bunches of
6 or 8, but the crop is generally
marketed in barrels or in bulk.
As the roots must be grated (Fig.
94) before they are used, it is
necessary that they be long, sym-
metrical, uniform and as large as
possible in order to fit the grat-
ing machines. Small and branchy
horse-radish can scarcely be sold
at any price. From 3 to 5 tons
(or more) should be raised on an
acre, the latter quantity when the
ground is deep and rich and
when the plants do not suffer fer moisture.
Armoracia.
and Asia.
THe Horse-RADISH PLANT
Crucifere. A few species of herbs in Europe
The horse-radish has an involved synonomy, due
(1) to different interpretations of generic limits, as to whether
it should go in one genu* or another; (2) to the nomenela-
Botany of the Horse-radish 185
ture tangle in which the former genus Nasturtium is involved.
For botanical and nomenclatorial reasons, it is here sepa-
rated in the genus Armoracia. The plant has no immediate
relation to the radish; and the word horse was probably
originally used in this connection in the sense of “ coarse”
or “ large.”
A. rusticana, Geertn. Mey. & Scherb. Fl. Wett. ii, 426. 1800.
(Cochlearia Armoracia, Linn. Sp. Pl. 648. Nasturtium Armo-
racia, Fries, Fl. Sean. €5. 1835. Roripa Armoracia, Hitch.
Spring Fl. Manhattan, Kans. 18. 1894. Radicula Armoracia,
Robinson, Rhodora, x, 32. 1908.) Horse-RApisH. Stout
glabrous perennial with dock-like leaves: root branching, long,
hard and deep: lower leaves of two kinds, mostly oblong or
oblong-ovate and undivided, long-petioled, margins crenate-
dentate, but sometimes lobed or even pectinate both from the
root and on the lower part of the stem; main and upper stem
leaves mostly sessile or tapering to a petiole-like base: stem
erect, 18 to 36 in. high, branched above: flowers white, 1% in.
or more across, in panicled racemes, the petals obovate: pods
(sometimes not forming) ovoid to short-oblong, % in. or more
long, slender-pedicelled, with very short style and large stigma,
2-celled with seeds in 2 marginal rows in each cell: seeds
seldom maturing, never sought for propagating the cutivated
plant, cordate-orbicular.—Southeastern Europe, by some writers
thought to be possibly a form of another species; in this coun-
try it has run wild in moist land and along ditches, where its
abundant white flowers are conspicuous in late spring. (The
word Armoracia is an old substantive in Latin—from the
Greek—designating the horse-radish.)
CARROT
Very clean and mellow land, particularly soil that will
“not “ bake” over the seeds, and close attention to surface
tillage, are requisites for the culture of carrots. Seeds are
slow to germinate and they are sown where the plants are
to grow. The crop is half-hardy. It 1s easy to grow after
186 Root Crops
the plants are well established. It is mostly a succession-
crop.
Carrots are sown in drills from 10 to 18 inches apart, de-
pending largely on the variety and the method to be employed
in tilling. The early crop is thinned to 4 or 5 inches in the
row, and the late large varieties to about 6 or 8 inches. Rows
are 10 to 16 inches apart, or twice this distance for horse till-
age. If it is not desired to plant the late varieties for autumn
use, one may choose the early varieties for that purpose, sowing
the seed late in July or even the first of August. Unless the
soil is in very fine tilth and moist, however, it is difficult to
Secure a stand as late in the season as this. Carrot seed
should always be sown thickly to allow for any failure in
germination. It is sown about 14 or % inch deep. For an acre,
2 to 8 lbs. of seed are required; for 300 feet of drill, 1 oz.,
if the seed is fresh. Good crops run 200 to 400 bu. to the
acre, and ‘in special cases more than this if the very large
kinds are grown.
STORAGE ROT (Sclerotinia libertiana).—Frequently carrots in
storage show a soft rot over which there later appear white
felts of mycelium containing hard black fungous bodies. These
black bodies or sclerotia serve largely to carry the fungus over
winter. Control: Carrots should not be grown on land in-
fested with the organism. The removal of affected plants in
a field is desirable to eradicate the fungus. Thorough drying
of the roots in the field, careful sorting out of decaying car-
rots, and storage under cool dry conditions are important.
CARROT RUST-FLY (Psila rose@).—A slender straw-colored mag-
got, 7 in. long when mature, that burrows in the root of
earrots. Fortunately in this country serious attack is not
likely to continue in the same locality for more than one or
two seasons in succession. No satisfactory control is known.
CARROT BEETLE (Ligyrus gibbosus).—A reddish brown beetle
resembling a June beetle, about 1% in. long, that feeds mostly
underground, gnawing out holes in the roots and underground
stems. Control: Clean farming and a short rotation of crops.
The Carrot 187
Carrots are grown for human food and also for live-
stock. In the former utilization, which is the only part of
the subject under consideration here, there are two lead-
> ing types: those grown for spring or
early summer use, and those grown as
a main crop and used in the winter.
The main-season carrots are not culti-
vated very extensively as a vegetable-
95. Fruits (“seas”) of gardening crop. Young fresh carrots
ae may be shipped from the Southern
States so cheaply that there is relatively little need of
storing the roots for market. The carrot does well as a
hotbed crop.
Light quick fertile land is essential for the growing of
tender sweet carrots. In such lands the germination is
also more certain and uniform. The carrot is a fairly
hardy plant, and the early varieties may be sown as soon
as the land is fit in the
spring. The late varieties
may be sown as late as
the middle of June in the
Northern States. Carrots
mature rather slowly, and
even the early varieties re-
quire 2 to 2144 months to
bring them to edible size,
unless they are aided in their
growth by a covering of sash. On land to be used for late
carrots, it is well to sow some early stuff in spring, as
96. Seedlings of carrot (X %).
radishes, and to keep the ground clean until it is needed
for the carrots. The early weeds will then be killed, and
188
Root Crops
the young carrot plants will have an opportunity to grow.
Special care must be taken to keep down weeds. In their
97. Half-long carrot,
for table use (X 1/3).
early stages, carrot plants are shallow-
rooted and delicate, and the tillage
should be very careful. A late crop may
follow early carrots, and an early crop
may precede the late ones.
The seeds of carrots are small (Fig.
95) and germinate slowly (Fig. 96).
Unless the soil is in good condition and
free of weeds the young plants are likely
to suffer. It is well to sow seeds of ©
radishes, turnips or other quick-germi-
nating things with the carrots to mark
the row and to break the crust.
The carrot is annual and _ biennial.
The early varieties send up flower-stalks
the same year if left in the ground; but
the roots of the late varieties must be
stored in winter, and set out the fol-
lowing spring, when they will quickly
run to seed.
The early short and half-long carrots
are marketed in small bunches, with the
tops on. The main crop is sent to mar-
ket in crates and barrels.
Varieties of carrots are either yellow-fleshed or white-
fleshed. They are also of severat forms. The stump-
rooted or half-long varieties (Fig. 97) are popular for
garden work. These are early or mid-season varieties fit
for using either early in the season or late in summer. The
The Carrot 189
Early Forcing (or similar varieties) is one of the best for
growing in hotbeds or coldframes, or in autumn for home
use. The Half-long Danvers is one of the reliable mid-
season varieties. For late or main-season crop, the Long
Scarlet is excellent; and for stock-feeding the Long Orange
and Long White or Belgian are used. These latter types
are also good for home use, although when they are allowed
to reach their full size they are likely to be somewhat coarse
in texture.
THE CarRRoT PLANT
Daucus. Umbellifere. About GO species in many parts of
the world, including several native in North America, very few
known to cultivation.
D:. Carota, Linn., var. sativa, DC. Prodr. iv, 211. 1830. CutL-
TIVATED Carrot. More or less hairy annual and biennial, with
fern-like foliage: taproot single, much thickened and forming
the carrot of gardens: leaves sparsely bristly-hairy, mostly
long-stalked, the base of the petiole expanded; blade pinnately
decompound, the many ultimate segments nearly linear and
acute: stem erect, 2 -to 8 ft., bristly-hairy, grooved, much
branched, bearing showy compound many-rayed umbels on
the ends of long branches, the involucre bracts leaf-like and
cleft into linear divisions: flowers small and numerous, in
globular umbelliets, the whole umbel more or less globular,
the outer flowers with unequal petals and usually on longer
pedicels or rays; petals 5, obovate and obtuse or emargi-
nate; anthers exserted; style short and stout: fruit (“‘ seed’)
one of the two separable carpels, oblong, about % in. long,
convex on the back and bearing 38 ridges and intermediate
spiny or wavy ribs, flat and 2-ribbed on the front or face,
crowned with the short style-beak (which may be broken
off in commercial seeds), weighing 1 to 2 mg.; longevity 4
or 5 years.—Cultigen; derived from the wild earrot (D.
Carota, which is native in Europe, N. Africa and Asia, and
190 Root Crops
introduced and extensively spread in North America. There
are apparently points of difference between the domesticated
and wild plant aside from the thickened root of the former.
The flower-head of the garden carrot is likely to be globuiar,
as are also the umbellets, rather than flat or saucer-form, as
in the wild plant. The foliage, particularly in virgin plants,
seems to have peculiarities between the two. (The word
Carota is Latin for carrot, and from which the English word
is derived.)
PARSNIP
A cool very deep rich open soil and one that does not
“ bake ” over the seeds and a full-length season are requi-
sites for parsnip-growing. Seeds are sown where the crop -
is to stand. The plant 1s hardy.
The seeds of parsnips germinate slowly, and retain their
vitality only a year or two; therefore they should be sown
thickly. Seeds are usually sown in drills far enough apart to
allow of wheel-hoe or horse tillage, and the young plants are
thinned to stand about 6 to 8 in. in the row. In gardens,
the rows may be 14 to 18 in. apart; in field culture with
horse tillage, 24 to 30 in. The seed is covered % in. to 1 in.
with earth. One ounce of fresh seed is used to 200 to 250
feet of drill; 4 to 6 lbs. are generally sown to the acre. A good
crop is 500 to 600 bushels to the acre, but more than this is
obtained under the best conditions.
There are no menacing diseases of parsnips, and the insects
are mostly those of carrots (which see). The larve of the
black swallow-tail butterfly sometimes attack parsnips; see
under Celery; also carrot rust-fly and beetle.
PARSNIP WEBWORM (Depressaria heracliana) —Small green-
ish yellow caterpillars, that web together and devour the
unfolding blossom-heads of parsnip and celery, greatly de-
creasing the seed crop. The parent moths hibernate under
flakes of bark, and on emerging deposit their eggs on the
The Parsnmp NSU
plant near the flower-heads. Control: Spray or dust the
flower-heads with arsenate of lead after they have opened. So
doing will kill many of the caterpillars.
The parsnip occupies the land the entire season. The
seeds are sown in spring as early as the ground is fit.. As
they germinate slowly, it is well to plant radishes or other
quick-growing seeds with
them to break the ground
and mark the row; of
course these other plants
must be quickly removed,
and this may not be prac-
ticable in a large area.
The crop is sometimes
grown for live-stock.
The plant makes a
long-cylindrical tapering
root (Fig. 98) : therefore
the ground should be
deep. Much of the value
of the parsnip as a mar-
ket crop is destroyed
when the roots are
branchy and _ forking.
Land that is shallow and
lumpy tends to make
such roots. Good pars-
nip roots should be 1
foot long, and straight, clean and comely.
Parsnips are rarely sold before the end of the season.
They are sent to market in crates, boxes and barrels. They
98. Parsnip (xX 1/6).
192 Root Crops
are stored in the same way as beets and turnips—in bins
in the cellar, and in pits.
The roots may be harvested in autumn and stored in the
cellar or in pits, or they may
be left in the ground until
spring. The hard freezing of
winter does not injure them.
In fact, many persons think
that the quality of the roots
99. Fruits (“seeds”) of parsnip | 1S Improved by freezing. This
a notion is probably unfounded,
for if the roots are not allowed to shrivel in winter, their
quality is as apparently good as when allowed to remain in
the ground. If one .
is growing parsnips
for the market, it
is Important that at
least a large part of as
the crop be stored 100. Young plants or seedlings of parsnip (X 34).
for the winter, for the highest prices are usually obtained
before the roots can be dug from the field in spring.
There are few varieties of parsnip. Hollow-crown and
Student (or Guernsey) are best known. Seeds and young
plants are seen in Figs. 99, 100.
THE ParRSNIP PLANT
Pastinaca. Umbellifera. A dozen or so European and
Asian species, biennial and perennial.
P. sativa, Linn. Sp. Pl. 262. Cutrivatep Parsne. “Tall
stout mostly glabrous strong-scented biennial (rarely annual) :
taproot single and enlarged to form the parsnip of gardens:
leaves Jong and rather narrow, odd-pinnately compound, long-
Parsnip and Celervac 193
stalked with petioles expanded at base, leaflets ovate to
oblong, sessile or short-stalked, more or less irregularly lobed,
the margins toothed or cut: stem erect, strongly grooved
and angled, 3 to 4 or 5 ft. high, branched: flowers greenish,
small, in compound umbels that are mostly devoid of invo-
luere and involucels; umbels enlarging in fruit, the rays some-
times 6 in. long; petals obovate, clawed, incurved; stamens
exserted; styles 2, spreading or recurved: fruit (“ seed” of
commerce) one of two closely appressed but separating car-
pels, very thin, flat, oval, about 44 in. long, wing-margined,
strongly ribbed on the outside and less so on the inner face,
—
weighing 2 to 5 mg., holding germinating power only a year
or two.—Europe and Asia; in var. sylvestris, DC., extensively
spread in this country as an introduced weed.
CELERIAC
The celeriac, or turnip-rooted celery, has a short,
thick, tuberous
crown-base, from
which many
roots arise. This
pepe r is. the
edible part, be-
ing used either
as salad or
a cooked vege-
table (Fig. 101).
It has the celery
mayor. The
plant is dwarf;
it requires no
blanching, being
generally grown only for the root. Sometimes the seeds are
sown where the plant is to grow, but as they are as slow to
101. Celeriac, trimmed root and leaf (x 1/3).
194 Loot Crops
germinate as those of celery it is advisable to start in a
seed-bed and transplant. The plants are allowed 6 or 8
inches in the row, and the rows may stand at 12 to 20
inches. The roots may be stored in winter as are other
roots.
For a botanical account of celeriac, see page 139.
TURNIP-ROOTED or TUBEROUS CHERVIL
The chervil is a small-rooted plant, something like
carrot and of similar
utility, but that the
roots are’ gray ior
nearly black and of
different flavor. The
roots, which are 4 or
ee a ras os 5 inches long, mature
page 196. in 4 to 6 months after
germination. The seed does not germi-
nate well if kept dry over winter. It is
therefore sown in August or September,
although it usually does not germinate
until spring; or the seed may be stratified
when ripe and thus kept for spring sow-
ing. Otherwise the culture is like that for
carrot. It matures in early summer, but
improves by remaining in the ground. It
is ttle known in America. Apparently
the seed of salad chervil (page 124) 18 41.) coicisy ox 1/o).
sometimes sold for this plant.
“ARR
nai
NU gyi
in
ae
'
arg
Tuberous or turnip-rooted chervil is Chzrophyllum bulbo-
sum, Linn. Sp. Pl. 258, native in Europe. It is an upright
Chervil and Skirret 195
branching more or less hairy biennial, 2 to 3 ft. tall, with
ternately decompound leaves, the ultimate segments being
linear rather than ovate or fernlike, as in salad chervil
(Anthriscus Cerefolium), producing underground spindle-
shaped tubers 2 to 4 in. long: fruit (‘‘seed”’) nearly linear,
about % in. long and more or less curved, not long-tapering as
in the anthriscus, plane and unmarked on the front, convex
on the back and with 4 dark-colored furrows on the back and
Sides, weighing 2 mg.
SKIRRET
Seeds of skirret (Fig. 102) are sometimes offered by
American seedsmen, but the plant
is little known in this country. It
is raised for the thick but small
prongy clustered roots, which are
used in the same way as salsify and
parsnip. The. plant is perennial
(but commonly treated as annual)
and roots may be left in the ground
over winter, being harvested as
wanted. If seeds are sown in spring,
good roots should be had in autumn.
Sometimes the small roots and side
prongs are used for propagation, the
same as seeds. The plants are
usually spaced 6 to 8 inches in the
row and the rows may be 12 to 15
inches.
Skirret is Stum Stsarum, Linn.,
104. Seeds (properly fruits)
of salsify, the one at the
native in Asia, one of the Umbelli- left with the beak and
pappus remaining (x 1%).
fers or Parsley family. The plant
grows 1 to 3 feet tall, with odd-pinnate leaves and one to
three pairs of lanceolate pointed toothed leaflets; flowers
196 Loot Crops
small, white, in terminal compound involucrate and in-
volucellate umbels; fruits (“seeds”) more or less curved,
the ribs usually 3 on the back and 1 on either edge
(Fig. 102).
SALSIFY
Deep rich cool soil and the full-length seasow are re-
quired for the production of good salsify. It 1s not trans-
planted. Hardy and easily grown.
The large seed is sown about 1 in. deep in drills or rows
12 in. apart for garden culture and sometimes 18 in. for field
culture, and the plants are thinned to stand 3 to 5 in. apart.
An ounce of seed sows about 70 feet of drill; 8 to 10 Ibs.
to the acre. A good yield is 200 to 300 bu. to the acre.
No serious diseases or insects are reported on salsify.
The salsify plant is grown for cooking only, not for
live-stock. It has been comparatively little improved by
domestication. There is a relatively large-rooted form
known as the Mammoth
Sandwich Island, and
another called the Im-
proved French. Even of
the largest varieties, the
roots are small, rarely
more than 2 inches in
diameter at the crown
(Fig. 103). Because of
its flavor of oysters, it is
commonly known as the
oyster plant or vegetable oyster.
The seed (Fig. 104) is sown in drills as soon as the
105. Seedlings of salsify (x 4%).
The Salsify 197
ground is ready in spring and the young plants (Fig. 105)
thinned as they stand. The plant is perfectly hardy and
the roots may be left in the ground over winter, as they are
not injured by frost. If one desires to use the plant in
winter, however, or wishes to find the best markets, a large
part of the roots should be stored in the cellar or in pits.
The seeds germinate readily; they are long and stick-like,
and are rather difficult to sow with the seed-drill.
Sometimes salsify is bunched in autumn, but usually it
is sent to market in crates or other receptacles.
THE SALSIFY PLANT
Tragopogon. Composite. Between 30 and 40 species of
annual, biennial and perennial herbs, in Europe and Asia.
T. porrifolius, Linn. Sp. Pl. 789. Sausmiry. OYSTER PLANT.
VEGETABLE OysTER. Stout erect glabrous biennial, with milky
juice, the slender thickened long taproot constituting the sal-
sify of gardens: leaves many, alternate, grass-like or garlic-
like (porrifolius means “leak-leaved”’’), 34 in. and less wide
near the base, very long and long-pointed, the base broad
and clasping, margins entire: stem 8 to 4 ft. tall, usually
forked: heads solitary and showy, 2 to 8 in. across when
expanded, terminal on long naked branches or peduncles
that are enlarged and fistulose at the summit, the involucre
of many linear acuminate green bracts (in a single series)
that equal or exceed the purple rays, flowers closing at mid-
day: flowers many in the head, all perfect and ligulate, the
rays 5-toothed: fruit 1 to 1% in. long, comprising the ripened
earpel and a slender beak or Stalk of greater length, the
outer fruits in the head having upwardly serrate lines and the
slenderer inner ones nearly or quite destitute of them; on
the beak is borne the tuft of soft plumose pappus: the
“seed” of commerce is the stick-like brown or gray fruit
from which the pappus and more or less of the beak have
been broken, ranging about % to % in. long, angular, grooved
198 Root Crops.
and roughened, tapering above into the beak, the pieces weigh-
ing 10 to 25 mg.; longevity about 2 to 3 years.—Mediter-
ranean region; an introduced weed in North America and
other countries, along roadsides and in waste places, in such
cases hot producing the thickened roots of the cultivated plant.
SCORZONERA or BLACK SALSIFY
The cultivation of this plant is in all ways like that of
salsify, except that it should be given much more room.
It is perennial, however, and the roots continue to enlarge
without becoming inedible if left in the ground for more
than one year.
It has a long black root, yellow flowers, light-colored
seeds, and broader leaves than salsify. It is used in the
same way as salsify. The plant is little known in North
America (Figs. 106, 107).
Black salsify is Scorzonera hispanica, Linn. Sp. Pl. 791,
of the Composite, closely related to Tragopogon. It is per-
ennial, with milky juice, bearing many slightly pubescent
keeled leaves 12 to 18 in. long, the mid-blade 1% in. wide,
lanceolate and tapering gradually into a long sharp point and
below into a long-winged petiole: taproot thickened like that
of salsify: stem erect, 2 ft. or more, the leaves with clasping
bases: heads single, terminal, the involucre bracts in two or
more series and not leafy, the flowers yellow: fruit nearly
white, angular, grooved, the inner ones in the head smooth
and the outer ones slightly serrate, bearing a long beak and
tuft of pappus; the commercial ‘‘ seeds” lack the beak and
pappus, the former disarticulating, the remaining part % to
% in. long and weighing 10 to 15 mg.—Central and southern
Europe.
SCOLYMUS or SPANISH SALSIFY
This plant is cultivated like salsify, and the roots are
used for the same purposes. It makes a root much like
ee a ee a ee” ee Le! ee Ue
SE, Se a Fe eS | ee aoe
Scolymus Sig)
salsify, except that it is lighter colored and considerably
longer. Its flavor is less pronounced, but when carefully
cooked it possesses a very agreeable quality somewhat in-
termediate between that of the salsify and parsnip. It is
adapted to all the methods of cooking employed for those
vegetables. The particular value
of the vegetable, aside from
affording a variety in the kitchen-
garden, is its large size and pro-
ductiveness as compared with the
107. Young plants of scorzonera (xX 1%).
salsify. Almost twice the crop
can be grown on @ given area.
| The seeds are much easier to
OS aaa Re handle and sow than those of the
salsify. It can be dug either in
the fall or spring. Perhaps the greatest disadvantage of
the plant is the very prickly leaves, which may make it
unpleasant to handle. It is worth more attention in Amer-
ican gardens, but it may not survive the winter at the
North and produce seed, although edible roots are made
the first year. The plant is sometimes called golden thistle.
The Spanish salsify belongs in the Composite, being one of
the three species of Scolymus, S. hispanicus, Linn. Sp. Pl.
200 Root Crops
813, native in central Europe. ‘It is a very spiny thistle-like
biennial with milky juice and long pinnatifid shiny hairy
green leaves that have lighter colored ribs and veins: root
single or branched: stems 1 to 2 ft. or more high, spreading,
bearing many stiff spine-tipped clasping and decurrent leaves:
flowers yellow, in sessile axillary heads: fruits (seeds) chaff-
like, wing-margined, variable in size, the larger ones (from
the outside of the head) 4% in. or more long and cireular-
oblong. (Hispanicus: Spanish.)
CHAPTER VIII
THE POTATO CROPS
Potato Sweet potato
The potato crops are major horticultural products re-
quiring not only choice and preparation of land but fore-
thought in the arrangement of rotations and im the assem-
bling of equipment and supples. They are heavy products
and require the use of good machinery and vehicles. The
grower must prepare for the supply of labor, horse or other
power, manures and fertilizers, good seed, insecticides,
fungicides and sprayers, graders and handling conven-
ences, and must look long in advance into the transporta-
tion and market facilities. The outlay for growing heavy
crops on any wmportant scale—which 1s the only profitable
way—is so considerable that the man should be ready and
well prepared at the start. The potatoes are “ money
crops,’ and are likely to consume a large proportion of the
man's time and plan.
The potato crops are two, the common or Irish potato,
and the sweet potato. The former is staple in the North ~
and the latter in the South. The two are so unlike in cul-
tural requirements that it is not expedient to endeavor to
state principles that apply to both: Yet they are usu-
ally associated in the public mind and may be brought
together for comparison if not for agreement. What is
(201)
202 The Potato Crops
(7 y)
known as “ potato” in the South is the batatas or sweet
potato; in the North it is solanum (Irish or round potato).
Potatoes are tuber crops grown underground, and similar
types of tools are required as well as good knowledge of
the heavy handling of land.
POTATO
Deeply pulverized cool soil holding much capillary mois-
ture and rich.in potash, carefully vhosen seed tubers that
are also free from disease, deep and early planting, level
culture, frequent surface tillage to conserve moisture, care-
ful and persistent attention to the many diseases and wn-
sects: these are requisites of the best potato culture. The
potato is propagated by dwisions or cuttings of tubers. It
thrives best in a relatively cool climate: in the South, wt 1s
successful only as an autumn to spring crop, for the mid-
summer season ts too continuously hot. The potato is not
tender to light frosts.
Potatoes are planted in drills or continuous furrows, 3 to
3144 feet apart. Single pieces of tubers are dropped at inter-
vals of 12 to 18 inches. If the pieces are cut to one strong eye
and dropped at above distances, 8 to 10 bushels are required
to plant an acre. Usually the pieces are cut to bear about two
good eyes or buds. Many planters use too little seed. The
“seed” is covered 3 to 5 inches deep, the latter depth only in
light or loose soil. The yield of potatoes averages about 75
bushels to the acre, but with forethought and good tillage and
some fertilizer, the yield should run from 200 to 300 bushels,
and occasional yields much exceed the latter figure. In large
area operations potatoes are planted and harvested by machin-
ery, or by specially made plows. ‘There are various devices for
sorting and grading them.
LATE BLIGHT (Pytophthora infestans).—The appearance or
White Potato 203
water-soaked areas on the leaves and in wet weather the occur-
rence on their under surface of a white mildew are characteris-
tic of late blight. The disease spreads rapidly, the blighted
plants giving off a disagreeable odor. Irregular discolored
lesions, which later become somewhat sunken, appear on the
tubers. It is in these diseased tubers that the fungus lives
over winter. Control: Spray with bordeaux mixture 5-5-50,
beginning when plants are six inches high and repeating
every ten days to two weeks throughout the season. Insecti-
cides may be added directly to the bordeaux. Potatoes in
blighted fields should not be dug until the vines are dead
and dry. :
HARLY BLIGHT (Alternaria solani).—Irregular dark brown
spots that show concentric rings develop on the leaves, and
premature death of the foliage may result. Control: Thor-
ough spraying with bordeaux mixture 5-5-50 will afford con-
trol. Applications should be begun early.
ScaB (Actinomyces chromogenus)—The disease is due to
a parasitic bacterium that attacks the skin of the potato
tuber, causing rough corky areas. The organism not only over-
winters on the tubers but also in the soil and manure. Con-
trol: Uncut tubers should be soaked for 11% hours in a
solution made by adding 4 ounces of powdered corrosive sub-
limate to 30 gallons of water; spread them out where they
will dry quickly. It is important to use wooden containers
for the solution, and tubers should preferably be treated before
sprouts have developed to any great extent.
Ruizocronia (Rhizoctonia solani).—The most easily rec-
ognized symptoms are black scurf on the surface of affected
tubers, reddish brown cankers on young sprouts, dwarfing or
rosetting of vines, and the production of numerous small ill-
shapen potatoes. Control: The treatment of Seed tubers with
corrosive sublimate as recommended for potato scab is advis-
able. Crop rotation is important.
BLACK WART (Synchytrium endobiotica)—Rough warty
outgrowths are produced on the tubers, especially at the eyes,
and may occur on other underground parts of the plant as
204 The Potato Crops
well. The warts are at first brown, but later become black
and show decay. The disease is very destructive. Control:
Report the disease promptly to the State experiment station
and receive recommendation for control.
Mosaic.—Affected leaves are frequently wrinkled and pre-
sent a mottled appearance, light green or yellow areas alter-
nating with the normal green of other parts of the leaf. Con-
trol: Plant seed from mosaie-free fields.
LEAF ROLL.—A rolling of the leaves, beginning with the lower
ones, accompanied by a change in color to a pale green is
characteristic of this disease. The development of the plant is
checked and the yield is greatly reduced. Control: Seed tubers
should be obtained from fields free from disease.
POWDERY SCAB (Spongospora subterranea).—In the early
stages of this disease small blisters are formed on the skin
of the tubers. Later these blisters rupture, exposing a dark
powdery mass and appear as raised pustules surrounded by
the torn skin of the potato. Control: The use of disease-
free tubers, seed treatment and crop rotation are important.
FUSARIUM WILT (Fusarium oxrysporium) —Rolling and wilt-
ing of the leaves, together with yellowing of the foliage
and premature death of the vines, are characteristic. Stems
of affected plants show a blackening of the sap tubes. Con-
trol: The planting of field-selected or certified seed is advis-
able, and crop rotation is important.
BLACKLEG (Bacillus phytophthorus).—This is a _ bacterial
disease carried on the seed tubers. It may cause rot of the
seed tuber and thus occasion an uneven stand. The stems of
affected plants become black at the base. Diseased plants
show lack of vigor and usually die without setting tubers,
although they may become diseased after the tubers are
formed. Control: Affected tubers should never be used for
seed. Seed from disease-free fields should be employed and
seed disinfection is advisable.
COLORADO POTATO BEETLE (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) —The
adult is a convex black- and yellow-striped beetle about % in.
long, which passes the winter in hibernation in the ground.
White Potato 205
The elongate oval orange eggs are deposited in small masses
on the underside of the leaves. The larve, known as “ slugs,”’
are about % inch long, red, with the head, legs and two
rows of spots on each side black. When mature, the larve
enter the ground and pupate. There are usually two broods
annually. Control: Spray with paris green, 1 lb. in 50 gals.
water to which 2 lbs. lime Should be added to prevent burn-
ing of the foliage. Paris green may be applied also in the
form of a dust, 1 lb. in 20 Ibs. air-slaked lime, or use arse-
nate of lead (paste), 3 or 4 Ibs. in 50 gals. water. It is best
to apply the poison in bordeaux mixture except when it is
not necessary to use this fungicide for the control of diseases.
In the home garden the beetles may be hand-picked into a pan
containing a little kerosene. ‘This insect is the familiar “ po-
tato bug.”
THREE-LINED-POTATO BEETLE (Lema trilineata).—A yellow
leaf-beetle, about 14 in. long, marked on the wing-covers with
three black stripes. The eggs are laid in clusters on the
underside of the leaves. The grubs are yellowish, with the
head and legs black and about 1% in. long when full grown.
Control: Spray with arsenicals as for the Colorade potato
beetle.
Potato APHIS (Macrosiphum solanifolii) —Plant-lice, some
of which are green and others pink. They attack potatoes,
causing the leaves to curl and turn brown; in some cases the
death of the plants may result. Control: Spray with 1% pint
“Black Leaf 40” tobacco extract in 50 gals. bordeaux mix-
ture. In case bordeaux mixture is not needed for the control
of diseases, use the “ Black Leaf 40” in water, adding 3 or 4
Ibs. soap. The spraying should be done with great thorough-
hess, using plenty of material, and care should be taken to
hit the underside of the leaves. Begin early, before the plants
become too badly infested.
APPLE LEAF-HOPPER (Hmpoasca mali).—A small pale yel-
lowish green leaf-hopper, 1% in. long, that sometimes attacks
potatoes. The eggs are inserted into the tender parts of the
potato plant and the nymphs feed on the underside of the
206 The Potato Crops
leaves, which turn brown and the edges roll up and die.
Control: Keep the foliage protected by thorough spraying with
bordeaux mixture alone or in combination with arsenate of
lead, taking care to hit both surfaces of the leaves.
POTATO STALK-WEEVIL (Trichobaris trinotata).— A bluish
gray snout beetle, 4 in. long, which lays its eggs on the stalks
of potato. The larva is a grub, yellowish white, legless, 14 in.
long when mature. Its presence is indicated by a wilting and
dying of the leaves. Control: Practice clean farming and
collect and burn the vines after harvesting the crop. Destroy
all solanaceous weeds.
COMMON STALK-BORER (Papaipema nitela)—A caterpillar,
14%, in. long when mature, that bores in the potato stalks in
gardens of small patches; not usually found in large com-
mercial fields except along the edges. Until the last moult -
it is grayish brown with a white dorsal stripe and two white
stripes on each side, the later stripes being broadly inter-
rupted toward the front. The parent moths lay their eggs
in the fall on the stems of such weeds as ragweed, pigweed
and dock. The eggs hatch the following spring and the larve
at first attack weeds, migrating later to potato. Control:
Clean cultivation and the destruction of weeds around the
potato patch.
POTATO TUBER MOTH (Pihthorimea operculella).—A serious
potato pest in Texas and California. The parent insect is a
yellowish brown more or less spotted moth. The eggs are
deposited in the field early in the spring. On hatching the
larva enters the leaf, producing a blotched line and then
bores down the petiole into the stalk, causing the branch
to wilt. Reproduction is continuous throughout the season.
Some of the caterpillars migrate from the stalks to the tubers
and where the soil is loose the moths may lay eggs on the
tubers. At digging time, if the tubers are left exposed in the
field during the afternoon or night, the moths will lay eggs
on them. The larye burrow through the potatoes in all direc-
tions, causing decay. In storage the insects continue to breed
as long as the potatoes are in condition to serve as food.
White Potato 207
Control: Injury to the vines is not serious. The greatest loss
comes from infested tubers. Plant deep and keep the vines
carefully hilled so as not to allow any of the tubers to become
exposed. When harvesting, do not leave any of the potatoes
exposed overnight. When potatoes are found infested in
storage, fumigate with carbon bisulfide at the rate of 2 lbs.
to 100 cu. ft. space, allowing the fumigation to continue for
48 hours. Repeat at intervals of a week in summer or two
weeks in winter. Do not plant potatoes after potatoes; destroy
all solanaceous weeds.
POTATO FLEA-BEETLE (Lpitrix cucumeris)—A small black
flea-beetle, #; in. long, that riddles the leaves with holes.
Control: Keep the plants thoroughly covered with bordeaux
mixture. When an arsenical is added for the control of the
potato beetle many of the fiea-beetles are also killed.
The potato is such an important article of food and
commerce that much study has been given it and’an ex-
tensive literature has developed. To the books and. bulle-
tins the reader is referred if he intends to make anything
like a specialty of the crop. Although potatoes will grow
practically anywhere, within reason, yet real success in the
cultivation of them is a question of good soil and location
and of thoughtful experience. At this time only the
simplest advice may be given; and of course this book has
in mind the vegetable-garden handling of the crop.
The early potato crop, for market-gardening use, is se-
cured by (1) choosing “early ” soil and site; (2) by pre-
paring the land the fall before, either by means of special
plowing or by growing a late-tilled crop; (8) by using
quickly available concentrated fertilizers; (4) by choos-
ing early varieties; (5) by sprouting the potatoes in a
warm place before planting (before the tubers are cut),
allowing the sprouts to become 3 to 6 inches long. It is a
208 The Potato Crops
widespread practice to raise the early crop from northern-
grown seed stock.
Land and tullage.
The land should be loamy rather than heavy, well-
drained, working up deep and mellow. The potato crop is
good to follow sod and to prepare the land for other
crops. Not only is the land well prepared for the crop
and well tilled, but the digging amounts to another tilling
and cleaning of the land.
In most cases a heavy yield of potatoes is largely a ques-
tion of moisture, as well as of fertility. If planted late,
the crop loses the benefit of much of the winter precipita--
tion. Planting on ridges or hills wastes the soil moisture
in most cases. “ Hilling up ” is often necessary, however,
because the land is not deep enough to allow the tubers to
grow well below the surface; and in market-garden
operations the practice may conduce to earliness by expos-
ing the soil more fully to sun heat. The ground should
be such as to allow the tubers to be planted at least
four inches beneath the level. If the potatoes are dropped
in a deep furrow, the earth is plowed over them, and the
surface may be harrowed two to three times before the
plants are up, thus conserving moisture and destroying
weeds.
The land should be fertile, for the tonnage of the
product is heavy. Raw heavy stable manure is usually
avoided, or it may be applied on the sod the preceding au-
tumn and plowed under. Well-rotted or old manure is
often used. The potato responds specially well to commer-
cial fertilizer, and brands rich in potash are preferred.
White Potato 209
The very heavy continuous yields of potatoes are largely a
question of the proper soil.
Five to eight light surface tillings are required during
the season to save the moisture. Even after the vines have
begun to spread and to cover the ground, tillage may be
necessary in a dry year.
Seeding.
The size in which pieces of the seed tuber should be cut
has been the subject of much controversy, but the question
is easy of solution if careful and comparable experiments
are made. Arthur long ago showed (Proc. Soc. Prom.
moose rool, p. 11; Bull 42, Purdue Univ.) that the
unit in such tests should not be the number of eyes to the
piece, but the size of the piece. The piece contains food.
The more food the stronger the initial growth of the plant ;
and the stronger the initial growth, the better the crop,
other things being equal. But if the piece is too large it
contains so many eyes that there will be too many stalks to
appropriate the food and to struggle with each other. The
pieces on the tip or “ seed end ” may contain several eyes,
but those from the other parts of the tuber usually should
contain only one or two eyes. Seed should not be cut any
considerable time in advance of planting unless it is rolled
in plaster to prevent excessive drying.
The character of the crop depends greatly on the breed-
ing. Seed tubers should be taken only from productive
hills showing the qualities of the particular variety.
Choosing good-looking tubers from the bin is not a form of
plant-breeding; the selection should always consider the
pedigree. Breeding for resistance to disease is important.
210 The Potato Crops
The grower who is not a potato-breeder should purchase
seed of quality from persons who give it special attention.
In the Southern States, the common or Irish potato
(also called “round potato” and “white potato”) is a
minor crop in general farm operations. The crop must be
grown either early or late in the season to avoid the long
hot summer. It is then difficult to keep the potatoes from
the spring crop until the next spring, or even until it is
time to plant the second crop in August (in the Gulf
States). ‘Seed ” is commonly secured from the North,
and only a spring crop is grown for the Northern market.
Harvesting and storing.
In small areas, potatoes are dug by hand, a potato hook
or fork being used. In field operations, various horse-
drawn diggers are employed. The implements cut under
the row and lift out the potatoes, or turn them out as
from a furrow. Usually there are rear fingers on the
108. Outside storage of potatoes.
White Potato Palal
implement to sift out the earth and rattle the tubers clean.
In other styles, there is a carrier that takes the potatoes to
the rear of the machine and drops them there. ‘The
potatoes are allowed
to he in the sun for
an hour or more, so
that the earth will
dry and shake off;
then they are taken
2h to ae eellar or to
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FATAL PALE AMPH 2) ACI IAT
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\}
i)
118. re ee
r 0)
_———
EER
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= ee
than the other
Pir nears etna
types. It is dif-
ficult to keep
moisture from
collecting on the
walls of a ce-
ment, stone, or
brick house.
Where such
houses are built
for sweet-potato
storage they
should be lined with lumber, so as to keep the air in the
house from coming in contact with the masonry walls. It
is best to build sweet-potato storage houses on foundations
that allow a circulation of air under them.” Fig. 122 is a
cross-section of a 24 x 60-foot sweet-potato house, and Fig.
123 of a 12x16 house. “ To keep sweet potatoes in good
condition they must be (1) well matured before digging,
(2) carefully handled, (3) well dried or cured after being
put in the house, and (4) kept at a uniform temperature
after they are cured.” The Figs. 122 and 123 illustrate
cross-sections of the structures. The horizontal lines indi-
eate the construction of bins, which are slated on both
ip
123. Section of a small sweet-potato house.
226 The Potato Crops
sides of 2x4 supports, with 1x 4-inch material to pro-
vide air space between the bins; circulation is also provided
by starting the bins 4 inches above the floor.
Varieties.
The purpose for which the crop is grown determines very
largely the variety, and the variety will determine the care
necessary; e.g., the Red Bermuda will grow in almost any
soil and under very adverse conditions of climate and mois-
ture, but the quality cannot be compared to that of the
so-called yams. In the South a soft sugary sweet potato
is desired. In the North a firm dry tuber is wanted.
Spanish, Sugar, Barbadoes, Nancy Hall, Triumph, Dooley,
and Hyman are popular far South. Nansemond and Jer-
sey are prized for the North. The Vineless, a variety with
short tops or vines (“ vineless ” meaning “ not running,”
or “bushy ”), is now a popular kind. As with the Irish
potato, careful attention should be given to breeding.
In the United States, the sweet potato rarely sets seed.
In fact, it does not often bloom, although blossoms may
appear late in the season under favorable conditions. The
production of new varieties depends on tuber-selection and
the appearing*of mutations or sports.
THE SWEET PoTATO PLANT
Ipomeea. Convolvulacee. Twining herbs, shrubs, even trees,
largely of tropical countries, of about 400 species.
I. Batatas, Poir. Encye. vi, 14. 1804. (Convolvulus Batatas,
Linn. Sp. Pl. 154. Batatas edulis, Choisy, Convoly. Or. 53.
1834.) Sweer porato. Tuberous-rooted perennial with long
running tops, juice milky: stems prostrate, slender, extending
many feet, rooting, angled, mostly with sparse thin hairs:
leaves alternate, long-stalked, thinly hairy or glabrous, exceed-
Botany of Sweet Potato a20
ingly variable in shape, usually ovate to round-ovate in out-
line, cordate or truncate at base; blades entire and the margin
merely wavy, or sometimes angled and notched, or deeply
3- to 5-lobed and the basal lobes again lobed: flowers few
or several terminating axillary peduncles of varying length
(much shorter or considerably longer than the petiole), light
violet with a darker center, like the flower of a morning-glory ;
corolla about 2 in. long, obscurely obtusely 5-lobed ; calyx about
% in. long, deeply parted into unequal cuspidate lobes which
are sometimes ciliate; stamens 5, the sagittate anthers and the
slightly 2-lobed capitate stigma usually not half the length of
the corolla; ovary ciliate, sitting in a 5-angled yellow cup or
dise.—Unknown wild, but supposed from historical and geo-
graphical considerations to be native of the western hemi-
sphere; by some botanists thought to be a probable derivative
of I. fastigiata, Sweet, of tropical America. It was early
distributed in the islands of the Pacific and apparently was
in China at least soon after the beginning of the Christian
era; but the Polynesians were great navigators, and they
may have got it from America. It was probably anciently
cultivated on the American continent. (Batatas or batata is
an aboriginal American name for the sweet potato, from which
the word ‘“ potato” is derived.)
ues CHAPTER
PHAS AND BEANS
Peas and beans are usually closely associated in the
public mind, and they are in fact closely related botani-
cally ; yet they have few points in common from the culti-
vator’s point of view, since peas are hardy cool-season.
plants and beans are tender warm-season plants. Both are
leguminous crops, and are therefore capable of using at-
mospheric nitrogen by means of their root nodules and the
bacteria in them. As garden crops, however, they may need
apphcations of nitrogen to secure a quick start, particu-
larly if an early crop is desired. “It is frequently the
wiser economy,” as expressed by Voorhees, “ to apply ni-
trogen, particularly if they are raised upon land which
has not been previously planted with these crops, and thus
may not possess the specific nitrogen-gathering bacteria.”
The peas and beans, of divers kinds, constitute the pulse
crops.
The basic formula recommended on page 383, if applied
to pulse crops at the rate of 500 to 600 pounds to the
acre, will usually furnish sufficient nitrogen, and may, if
necessary, be supplemented by the application of amounts
of superphosphate and potash salts which will add from
20 to 30 pounds of phosphoric acid, and 60 to 75 of potash
(Voorhees, Fertilizers, rev. ed. 297).
(228)
Peas and Beans Contrasted 229
One of the important attributes in distinguishing
species in these plants is the nature of germination.
In the garden pea, the “pea does not come up,” but
remains under ;
ground, while the
bean “comes up”;
that is, the cotyle-
dons or seed-leaves
(resting in the seed)
remain below
ground, im which 124. Young plants of pea; cotyledons hypogeal
= ef
case the germina- (x %).
tion is said to be hypogeal (“beneath the earth”),
or they are liberated and appear above ground, in which
ease the germination is epigeal. Deep planting is safer
with the hypogeal seeds. The common beans are
epigeal, but the broad beans and multifloras, and some
others, are hypogeal. ‘The distinctions between some
of the species of beans (Phaseolus) are very marked in
their method of germination and in the character of the
first leaves following the seed-leaves. ‘The pictures in this
chapter are interesting in this connection. In Fig. 124,
the peas have remained in the ground, as also the bean
in Fig. 140; but in Figs. 1382, 135, 143, the beans have
come out of the ground and cling to the stems.
PHA
Peas are a partial-season crop, requiring cool climate and
a soul not over rich; seed is sown where the plants are to
stand; grow in drills; hardy and may be sown very early.
Peas are usually sown in two rows 6 to 8 in. apart. If
tall varieties are grown, one row of brush or chicken-wire
230 Peas and Beans
(the wire is better) answers for both rows; if the dwarf
kinds are grown, one row will help to support the other.
Between each two pairs of rows a space should be left wide
enough for convenient tillage. The plants should stand 3 to 4
inches in the row. One pint of seed of the small-seeded
varieties will sow 100 to 125 ft. of single drill. In drills, 1 to 2
bushels will sow an acre; broadcast, 2 to 3 bushels. Early
peas are usually planted deep, 3 in. and more. Table peas
may be had in about 70 days from the sowing of first-early
varieties. Green peas in the pod yield about 100 to 150 bu.
to the acre.
BuicHT (Ascochyta pisi and Septoria pisi).—These are two
distinct blights, yet the symptoms and control measures areé
in general the same. Circular gray to dark brown spots occur
on the leaves and sunken spots of a similar nature on the
pods. Sometimes the small black fruiting bodies of the fungus
are evident in the affected areas. Control: Seed from disease-
free plants is necessary since the fungus may be carried in
the seed, and crop rotation should be practiced. Diseased pea
refuse in manure carries the organisms, but after fermenta-
tion in a silo it may be Safely used.
Root-rot (Fusarium sp. and Pythiwm sp.).—A dry rot at
and beneath the surface of the ground is caused by either of
these organisms. Control: Crop rotation, care in the use of
infested manure, and the development of resistant strains
seems to afford the only possible control.
PEA WEEVIL (Bruchus pisorum)—A small brownish beetle,
mottled with gray, white, and dark brown, that deposits its
eggs on pea pods in the field. On hatching, the grub burrows
through the pod and enters a seéd where it reaches maturity
in about 40 days. It then cuts a smooth round hole to the
surface of the pea, leaving only the outer hull intact. In the
South many of the beetles emerge in the fall and hibernate,
but in the North they do not usually emerge till spring. Only
one weevil is found in each pea. There is but one brood
annually. Peas are not reinfested in storage as is the case
with beans. Control: Do not use infested seed for planting
The Pea 231
nor is it a good plan to use seed in which the weevils have
been killed, as such seed produces only weak plants. Seed
peas may be held over to the second year, by which time the
weevils will have emerged and died.
PEA APHIS (Macrosiphum pisi) —A moderate sized pea-green
plant-louse that often attacks peas in great numbers, causing
the plants to take on a sickly yellowish appearance and die.
Infested blossoms are blasted and injured pods are stunted
and rendered worthless. The pea aphis passes the winter on
clover, in the South principally on crimson clover. Control?
Peas grown in rows about twenty inches apart are less likely
to be injured than when sown broadcast. When grown in
rows the lice may be controlled by spraying with * Black
Leaf 40” 11 oz. in 100 gals. water in which 10 lbs. fishoil
soap have been dissolved. Applications should be made at
weekly intervals. Avoid loss by raising the main crop early
in the season for the cannery before the lice become abundant.
PEA MOTH (Laspeyresia nigricana) —A small slightly hairy
yellowish black-headed caterpillar about 144 in. long, that in
the Northern States and Canada sometimes causes great dam-
age by infesting pea pods, where it feeds on the unripe seeds.
In Wisconsin the moths begin laying eggs about the middle
of July, which hatch in a week or ten days. Control: Both
very early and late varieties of peas are less liable to injury.
Adopt a crop rotation in which peas do not follow peas nor are
planted in fields adjourning those interested the previous year.
We may distinguish three uses or purposes for which peas
are grown: as picked peas, the pods being gathered by
hand and the product sold directly in the market; as a
canning crop, whereby they are grown under much less
intensive methods, mown with a mowing-machine, trans-
ported by wagon-load or truck-load, and shelled by run-
ning vines and pods through machinery devised for the
purpose; as a general field crop, often in connection with
oats, for forage.
232 Peas and Beans
Garden or picked peas are of the easiest culture. They
thrive best in spring rather than in summer, but they also
thrive in autumn from late-sown seeds. In summer they
are very liable to mildew and
to injury by heat. Peas and
chions are the first vegetables
to be sown in the open ground.
Even before freezing weather is
past, peas may be planted. It
is customary to plant them 3 to
5 inches deep: the roots are
then deep enough to be in
cool and moist soil. Early
peas are frequently planted more shallow.
A light soil is chosen when earliness is desired; but for
the main crop the clay loams are excellent. A very rich
soil tends to make the plants run to vine and to delay the
crop. Successional sowings should be made at intervals of
six to ten days.
For early use, the dwarf varieties should be chosen.
For the main or late crop the
tall or climbing sorts, which
are more productive, are pre-
ferred. Pinching-in the exces-
sive growths tends to make the
tall varieties somewhat earlier.
Early in August in the North- Lita
ern States dwarf varieties may 7 S@eetiuh =.
be sown for fall use. The first sowings in spring are
usually of the “smooth” peas, as they are less likely to_
rot in the ground than the wrinkled kinds. The very
125. Wrinkled pea (X 2).
The Pea Boe
early dwarf peas are productive in proportion to the
size of plant, but the actual yield is not large. Most
of them are harvested in one or two pickings. The early
pea does not compare with the string bean in productive-
ness, and allowance must be made for this fact in plan-
ning the home gar-
den, if one is fond
of green peas.
As a canning crop
peas are sown broad-
cast or by a grain
drill. Usually the
crop is not tilled, as
it is off the ground
in June or July be-
fore the land gets
‘very weedy. ‘The
crop is _ harvested
with a mowing-ma-
chine, gathered with
a hay-rake, and
hauled to the factory
where the threshing
is done. The straw
is used as sheep feed
and is valuable as manure. In central New York canning
peas are planted May 1 to 15; the crop is off in July; 1%
tons to the acre is an approximate yield (in the pod).
Peas are of two kinds as to character of seed: the seed
wrinkled and the seed smooth (Figs. 125, 126). The
wrinkled are the better in quality. There are dwarf and
127. A legume,—the pod and seeds of pea (X 44).
234 Peas and Beans
tall varieties of both the wrinkled and smooth types. For
very early there are many popular strains, as Alaska,
Gradus, Thomas Laxton, Surprise, Eclipse, First-of-All,
Philadelphia, Daniel O’Rourke, American Wonder, Little
Gem, Blue Peter. For late, Marrowiat, Champion of
England, Telephone, Telegraph, and Stratagem are pop-
ular names. These are intermediate or second-early
varieties. Full pods are seen in Fig. 127.
A race of peas with edible pods, comparable to string
beans, is considerably grown abroad but is little known
here. These are known as edible-podded, or sugar peas,
eaten pods and all, when immature. The Melting Sugar’
pea is of this kind. These are of the same species as the
common pea.
Other plants are known as peas. The cowpea is one
of them, although properly a bean. This plant is not
within the purview of the present volume,
THE PEA PLANT
Pisum. Leguminosae. A half dozen species of annuals and
perennials in the Mediterranean region and western Asia.
P. sativum, Linn. Sp. Pl. 727. GARDEN or CULINARY PEA.
Smooth glaucous annual, with hypogeal germination: stems
weak and slender, hollow, erect only by means of the tendrils,
3 to 6 ft. high: leaves alternate, odd-pinnate, with a pair
of leafy veiny stipules clasping the stem; leaflets 2 to 6 pairs,
of which the first 2 or 3 pairs are regular foliage blades and
the remainder tendrils; expanded leafiets oval, oblong, elliptic
to nearly circular, sessile, the apex rounded, emarginate or
cuspidate, the margins entire, irregularly serrate or toothed;
tendril-leaflets simple (not branched): flowers 1 to 3 ter-
minating a long axillary peduncle, white, sometimes violet,
papilionaceous ; calyx large and green with 5 deep acute lobes;
corolla about twice the length of the calyx; standard erect
Botany of Pea 230
or the sides inflexed or reflexed, orbicular_and emarginate;
wings closely appressed over the upwardly curved keel; sta-
mens monadelphous, 9 and 1, the tube inclosing most of the
smooth green shining ovary; style bent upward, not coiled,
bearded on the inner face below the stigma: fruit a several-
seeded dehiscent pod 2 to 4 in. long, nearly straight on the
back and knife-shaped on the front, beaked at the apex, the
Sides more or less reticulated, the remains of the calyx per-
sistent below its base: seeds 2 to 10, mostly whitish or green-
ish, even or wrinkled, globular or angled, 4 to % in. diam.,
weighing 300 to 400 mg. and more, and retaining vitality
38 to 5 years.—Native in Europe and Asia, and cultivated from
earliest times. Var. humile, Poir. in Lam. Dict. v, 456. 1804.
Ce aumie,. Mill. Dict. No. 2. A768:) DWARF PEA. Low; a
few inches to about 2 ft. tall, the pods small, plant early:
the early garden pea. Var. macrocarpon, Ser. in DC. Prodr.
li, 368. 1825. (Var. saccharatum, Hort., not Ser.) EpDIBLe-
PODDED PEA. Pods lacking the stiff lining, soft and edible, not
dehiscent, often very large (sometimes 5 to 6 in. long and 1 in.
broad), but frequently not larger than in other peas.
Var. arvense, Poir. in Lam. Dict. v, 456. 1804. (P. arvense,
Linn. Sp. Pl. 727.) Firtp pea. Flowers colored, the standard
usually pinkish or light violet and the wings purple, keel often
greenish: peduncles usually shorter, often little exceeding
the stipules: leaves sometimes spotted with gray: pod and
seeds mostly small.—Grown for forage, often with oats and
other grain.
BEANS
Garden beans represent several species, but all the com-
mon kinds in North America are very tender to frost
and require a warm season and sunny exposure; soil
should be open and light, but fertile; seed 1s sown where
the plants are to grow; usually grown wn drills, except
the tall kinds; the common bush beans are partial-season
plants.
236 Peas and Beans
Bush string (snap) beans are sown in drills, the rows
being 18 to 30 in. apart to allow of easy tillage. The plants
should stand 4-8 in. in the row. Plant 1 or 2 in. deep. One
pint will sow from 75 to 125 ft. of drill, depending on the
variety. In drills, 1 bushel to 5 pecks are sown to the acre.
One hundred bushels, more or less, is a fair acre-yield of
string beans, and 200 bushels are frequently reported. The tall
or pole beans are usually grown in hills 3 or 4 ft. apart.
ANTHRACNOSE (Colletotrichum lindemuthianum).—This dis-
ease may be recognized by the presence of black spots on the
stem, leaf-stalk and leaf-veins, and black sunken cankers on
the pods. Affected seeds show discolored areas on their sur-
face. Control: Clean seed obtained from disease-free plants
or pods should be used for planting. The Wells Red Kidney
and the White Imperial are resistant, and breeding work now —
being conducted promises to vield other resistant types. Spray-
ing at intervals with 44-50 bordeaux mixture is sometimes
recommended, but it is of doubtful practicability except in
small garden planting.
BACTERIAL BLIGHT (Bacterium phaseoli).—Water-soaked to
brownish splotches on leaves and pods are characteristic. Af-
fected seeds may show yellowish discolored areas. Field and
garden varieties and lima beans are affected. Control: Seed
from disease-free plants should be chosen. The kidney type
among the field beans has proved to be very susceptible.
Mosatic.—Alternate light- and dark green areas and cupped
swellings on the young leaves especially are indicative of this
disease. No causal organism has been discovered. The disease
is carried over in the seed. Control: Seed from disease-free
fields should be planted. Marrow and Yellow-Eye beans are
nearly free from the disease. The Red Kidney is somewhat
resistant. The Michigan Robust pea-bean is a high-yielding
strain apparently unaffected by mosaic. Other pea-beans and
medium-beans become severely diseased.
Dry Root-Rot (Fusarium sp.).—The fungus affeets the stem
beneath the surface of the ground, causing a dry rot. Control:
Plant on land free from the organism and avoid the use of
The Bean OMT
bean straw or manure on uncontaminated soil. Long rotations
and shallow cultivation are desirable. Experimental breeding
promises to yield commercial strains resistant to the fusarium.
BEAN WEEVIL (Bruchus obtectus)—This is a small light-
brown beetle, having the wing-covers about 4% in. in length,
mottled with light brown, gray and black. The eggs are laid
in the pods in the field and the grubs develop in the seeds
and transform to beetles within cavities just under the integu-
ment. In emerging the beetle cuts out a circular lid in the
seed-coat. Several beetles may develop within a single seed.
The number of generations that may develop annually in the
field depends on the temperature and length of the season.
In the North there is only one brood but in the South there
may be six or more. In storage, breeding may be continuous
if the temperature is sufficiently high and the beans: may be
reduced to a powdery mass. Control: Weevils in the beans
may be killed by fumigating with carbon bisulfide at the
rate of about 1 ounce to each bushel of seed. A container as
near air-tight as possible should be used and the fumigation
continued for twenty-four to thirty-six hours. It is not advis-
able to use weevil-infested beans for seed since the germina-
tion is poor, and weak plants are produced.
BEAN LEAF-BEETLE (Ceratoma trifurcata) —This small beetle,
about 14 in. in iength, is yellowish to reddish and has the
wing-covers marked with six black spots. The beetles feed on
the underside of the leaves and riddle the foliage with holes.
The eggs are laid on the ground at the base of the plants and
the grubs attack the roots. From one to three broods oceur
annually, depending on the length of the season. Control:
Spray the plants with arsenate of lead, 4 pounds of paste or
2 pounds of powder, at the first appearance of the beetles,
taking care to hit both the under surface and the upper sur-
face of the plants. :
BEAN LADYBIRD (Epilachna corrupta)—In the semi-arid
regions of the Southwest this ladybird beetle is a serious
enemy of beans. It is yellowish to brownish orange, about
¥, in. in length, and has the wing-covers marked with 16 small
238 Peas and Beans
black spots arranged in three transverse rows. The beetles
riddle the leaves with holes and attack the pods and blossoms.
Hggs are laid on the underside of the leaves and the larve
skeletonize them. There are one or two generations ennually,
depending on the length of the season. Control: In the home
garden the beetles may be handpicked or the larye brushed
off on the hot ground, where they will perish before regaining
the plant. In larger fields the plants may be protected by
spraying with arsenate of lead, 8 pounds of paste or 4 pounds
of powder to 50 gallons of water, adding 4 pounds of lime to
prevent burning of the foliage. Care should be taken to hit
the underside of the leaves. It is sometimes advisable to plant
the crop either early or late to avoid the insects, when they
are numerous.
BEAN THRIPS (Heliothrips fasciatus).—In the Far West
beans are sometimes seriously injured by a minute thrips. The
insect is only about 1/24 in. in length and is black: The
insects rasp and puncture the tissues, causing the leaves to
turn yellowish or white, dry up and die. Control: Early
planting and thorough cultivation will produce a rapid growth
and help the plants to outgrow the injury. In the garden
the plants may be sprayed with “ Black Leaf 40” tobacco
extract, 1 part in 800 parts of water, to which enough soap
has been added to give a good suds.
BEAN APHIS (Aphis rumicis).—This black plant-louse passes
the winter in the egg stage on evonymus, syringa, snowball
and deutzia, from which it migrates in the summer to many
vegetables and several common weeds. Control: On beans the
lice may be controlled by spraying with ‘“ Black Leaf 40”
tobacco extract, 1 part in 100 parts of water, to which enough
Soap is added to give a good suds.
STRIPED GREEN BEAN CATERPILLAR (Ogdoconta cinereola) .—
Bean vines are sometimes stripped of their foliage and pods
by a pale green looping caterpillar striped with whitish and
yellowish longitudinal lines. When mature, it is almost an
inch in length. Control: The eaterpillars may be poisoned by
spraying with arsenate of lead (paste), 5 pounds in 100 gallons
The Bean 239
of water. On snap beans tobacco dust may be used to drive
the caterpillars from the plants.
GREEN CLOVER WORM (Plathypena scabra).—While the more
usual food plant of this insect is clover, it sometimes becomes
very destructive to beans. The caterpillar when full grown is
nearly an inch in length and striped lengthwise with whitish
lines. Control: The caterpillars may be poisoned by spraying
with arsenate of lead (paste), 2 pounds in 50 gallons of water.
On string beans, where the poison would be obectionable, the
tobacco dust may be used.
SEED-CORN MAGGOT (Phorbia fusciceps).—It sometimes hap-
pens, especially in cold backward seasons, that seed beans
in the ground are attacked by a small whitish maggot that
either entirely destroys them or so injures the bud that when
the plant comes up no leaves are produced. Much of the
injury may be avoided by planting the seed rather shallow.
As the beans are of so many kinds and types, we must
state the main situation at the outset:
1. Broad bean, the
bean of history, a
hardy plant little
raised in this country
and very different
from any of the fol-
lowing.— Vicia Faba.
Hiss el23, 129; 130,
all representing Broad
Windsor.
2. Common bean of
North America, kid-
ney bean of the English, haricot of the French.—Phaseo-
lus vulgaris :
128. Seeds of broad bean.—Broad Windsor (X %4).
a. Snap or string beans, in which the green pod and
240 Peas and Beans
its contents are eaten, developed mostly on bush or non-
climbing plants.
b. Dry field beans, for the general market, the ripe
product of bush *
varieties for the
most part.
e. Shell beans,
in which the nearly
full grown but
unripe beans are
shelled and eaten,
the produce for the
most part of pole
129. Seedlings, or young plants, of broad bean -
(X 44).
or running
varieties.
5... Malar:
flora beans,
grown as snap
or shell beans
but mostly
known in this
country as or-
namentals, par-
ticularly the
Scarlet Run-
ner; mostly
pole beans.—
Phaseotus
multiflorus.
4, Sieva and
130. Broad Windsor bean (X 1/3). lima beans ;
The Bean 241
grown as shell beans or for the ripe dry product; both
bush and pole varieties—Phaseolus lunatus.
5. Tepary, grown as ripe beans in the dry far South-
west, and for land improvement, annual in-
digenous bush beans, with a viney or semi-
twining habit on good land.—Phaseolus
acutifolius var. latifolwus (Figs. 131, 132).
6. Metcalfe bean, an indigenous long-
131. Tepary bean TUNNIng perennial species introduced in
i 1): the far Southwest for forage.—Phaseolus
Metcalfei (P. retusus).
7. Various oriental beans, mostly bush, grown for the
dry seeds, yet little known in this country but likely to at-
tract attention. Among them Adzuki, Urd, Mung, Moth,
Rice beans, all represent different species of Phaseolus.
8. Soybean, grown mostly in this country for forage
and soil improvement.
—(lycine Soja.
9. Cowpea and re-
lated beans, cultivated
chiefly for forage and
green - manuring. —
Vigna species.
10. Velvet beans,
planted far south for
forage. — Stizolobium
species.
In this book, only the first four groups are discussed.
There are other types of cultivated beans, in other species
and genera, but so little grown in this country that they
do not require listing here.
242 Peas and Beans
Broad Bean
The broad bean is a stiff erect plant, as hardy as peas,
grown in EKurope for food, either the green or dry beans
being used. It is not commonly
known in this country, appar-
ently because the summers are
too hot; and the winters in the
North are so severe that it can-
not be planted in autumn and
carried over, as in the milder
parts of Europe. In the southernmost States and on the
Pacifie Coast ~
the crop may
be seeded in
September to
Novem -
ber. The beans
are large.
They make a
rather coarse
but never-
theless very
excellent
dish. They
are sometimes
grown for
stock feed,
and for green-
md -n Ger)
ing. Broad
134. Black Wax (X 14). beans appar-
133. Biack Wax bean (X about 1).
The Bean 243
ently thrive best in regions tempered by the sea. Inocu-
lation of the land is desirable, with soil in which a good
crop has been grown.
The amateur may
start plants under
glass and transplant
to the open; but usu-
ally the seeds are
sown where the
plants are to stand,
at the earliest mo-
ment in spring. If 135. Seedlings of wax bean (X %).
to be used as green or shell beans, care must be taken that
the pods do not become hard.
The rows may be 2 to 3 feet apart; the plants may stand
4 to 6 inches. The varieties mostly known with us are
Broad Windsor, Mazagan, Sword Long-pod. ‘The beans
should be ready for use in late spring and summer.
There are many varieties, differing greatly in size of pod
and in size and shape of seed. These plants as a class are
sometimes known as “horse
beans.”
The Common Garden Bean
The common bean is grown
in two general types: the bush
bean and the pole bean. In
See fete nite. bean North America the bush bean
is by far the more important
since its growing obviates the labor and expense of provid-
ing support on which the plants may climb. Bush beans
r44
Peas and Beans
are grown both as a field crop and a garden crop. Asa
garden crop they are used mostly as “string” beans, the
137. Dutch case-knife (x about 4%).
two groups—the green-
podded, represented by the
flageolets, and the yellow-
podded or wax _ beans
(Figs. 133, 134, 135), the
more popular in this
country.
pods being picked when they
are two-thirds grown, the pod
and beans together being
eaten. There are certain
strains of bush beans particu-
larly adapted to this use.
They are such as have thick
and fleshy pods, with very
little fibrous tissue in the
sutures. The pods of a gocd -
string bean have no “ strings.”
‘he pods break cleanly in
two, and this gives rise to the
common name, “snap” beans.
The snap beans are again of
138. Flowers of multifiora bean.—Scarlet
Runner (X 3).
In order that string beans may be of the best quality,
The Bean 245
they should make a rapid and continuous growth. The
soil should be rich and in excellent tilth. Plant only after
the weather has become thoroughly
settled. A succession may be had all
summer. Although beans are nitro-
gen-gathering plants, it is never-
theless advisable to apply a little
nitrogen at the start on land that is
not well supplied with humus or
in which beans have not been grown within a year or two.
For canning as string beans, the Wax and Refugee are
grown. In central New York the crop is planted about
May 15, and the harvest is August 1 till frost. An acre
yields approximately 5,000 pounds.
String beans are pro-
ductive, and if the
ground is frequently
tilled and the beans /.
picked before they get *
hard, the yield will
continue for a consid-
erable time, in this
respect differing from
peas. They are picked
by hand. All broken,
imperfect and diseased
pods should be dis- 140. Multiflora bean, showing the hypogeal
carded when market- Sea Oe
ing. They are sent to market in baskets and hampers.
Other kinds of garden beans are used as “ shell beans.”
The large soft seeds are gathered just before they begin to
139. Common wax bean (X 1).
246 Peas and Beans
harden, and the pods are not eaten. Some of the best of
these shell beans are pole or running varieties, the Cran-
berry or so-called Horticultural Lima, White Creaseback,
Kentucky Wonder or Old Homestead, Dutch Case-Knife
(Figs. 136, 137, sometimes erroneously referred to the Mul-
- tiflora Group), being amongst
the most popular. Pole beans
require that the plants stand
farther apart in the row, usu-
ally 1 foot or so, and the rows
21% to 3 feet, for intensive culti-
vation. It is usually recom- ~
mended that they be planted in
hills 3 or 4 feet either way, with
a pole to each hill. When
planted in rows, wide wire fenc-
ing may be used for support.
Pole beans require the entire
season in which to make a crop.
MAX
A
WA
NS
WS
AK
AX
\\
AW
\\\
Y
A\\
NY
\
N
\
\\
\\\
\\
Multiflora Bean
The Multifloras are known in
this country mostly by the Scar-
let Runner, with bright scarlet
141. Pods of sieva bean (X 3%). ;
flowers, and the White Dutch
Runner, with white flowers. The pods may be eaten as
snap beans, but usually they are grown to the shell-bean
stage. These varieties are high climbers, making good
screens. They may be planted along fences or lattices as
are other pole beans, or in hills 3 or 4 feet apart. There
are bush varieties, but little known in gardens. 3
The Bean 247
These beans are perennial, and the thick roots live over
winter if they do not freeze, the plants then coming into
bearing early. Sometimes the roots are lifted in autumn
and carried over winter in sand in the cellar. Commonly,
however, the plants are treated in all ways as annuals, as
are other pole
beans.
Growers ordi-
narily do not dis-
tinguish sharply
between the mul-
tifloras and the
common garden
beans. Aside
from the dura-
peom of: the
plants, differ-
ences I germi-
nation, unlike
flower - clusters,
the plants differ
also in flowers, as
seen in Figs. 138
and 139; note 142. Lima bean (X 1/3).
the size, shapes, and also the calyx-bracts and the bracts
at the axils. Figs. 135 and 140 may also be compared.
Sieva and LIima Beans
The limas are beans of high quality. They may be
thrown into the following classes:
1. The sieva or Carolina bean (Phaseolus lunatus), a
948 Peas and Beans
relatively small and slender grower, early and compara-
tively hardy, apparently annual, with thin, short and
mostly broad (ovate-pointed) leaflets, numerous small
papery pods much
7 curved on the back
and provided with
a long upward
point or tip and
with the habit of
splitting open and
twisting when ripe,
discharging the.
seeds beans small and flat, white, brown, or: variously
marked with red (Fig. 141).
2. The true lima bean (P. lunatus var. macrocarpus),
distinguished from the sieva by its tall growth, lateness,
greater susceptibility to cold, perennial in tropical climates,
large thick often ovate-lanceolate leaflets, and fewer thick
fleshy straightish (or. sometimes laterally curved) pods
with a less prominent point and not readily splitting open
at maturity; seeds much larger, white, red, black or
speckled (Figs. 142, 143). Of this true or large lima
two types are in cultivation:
(a) The Flat or Large-Seeded limas, that have large
very flat and more or less lunate and veiny seeds, very
broad pods with a distinct point, and broad ovate leaf-
lets (Fig. 144).
(b) The Potato limas, with smaller and tumid seeds,
shorter and thicker pods with a less prominent point,
and long-ovate leaflets tapering from a more or less an-
cular base into a long apex. There are dwarf forms.
148. Germination of lima bean (X %).
The Bean 249
Lima beans demand a long season and continuous growth,
particularly the tall or true lima varieties. Very often the
flowers are blasted by the hot dry weather of midsummer.
It is well, therefore, to get
the plants established as early
as possible that some of the
fruit may set before the hot-
test weather. It is important
that the earliest and quick-
est soil be chosen and that | } |
pmeliyspavatlable fertilizers 142 Large flat ima bean (early
be applied when the seeds are
planted. Light and sandy lands are usually preferable.
In these, plant-food acts quickly and the plant secures a
good and very early start.
The tall varieties must have strong supports. When
poles are scarce, it is a good plan to set rather strong stakes
10 to 12 feet apart and to run wires or heavy cord from
pole to pole, one strand near the top and one within a foot
or so of the ground, and then to connect these horizontal
strands with perpendicular cords. Sometimes several
plants or hills of lima beans are planted in a semicircle
around one strong stake, and strings are run from the top
of the stake to the ground, making a cone. This is a very
good plan for the home garden, since the vines are well ex-
posed to the sun, but is too laborious for general market
cultivation. In commercial plantations, one bare pole is
ordinarily provided for each hill; and the hills are 3 to 5
feet asunder, sometimes as much as 6 feet. The beans are
planted 2 to 3 inches deep, with the eye downward; 3 to 5
beans are left in a hill. é
250 Peas and Beans
In the Northernmost States, it is usually inadvisable to
attempt to grow the large late pole lima beans unless one’s
soil is particularly quick and the exposure is very warm.
The seasons are usually too short, and the nights are likely
to be too cool. Under such conditions it is best to rely
largely on the sieva kinds, which are not very high climbers
and some of which are nearly or quite “bush” in form
and habit. These sieva beans are very heavy croppers and
mature in the short seasons of the North. Although the
beans are not very large, the quality is good.
Lima beans are more tender than the common garden
beans, and are planted later.
The dwarf lmas are excellent for northern gardens.
Some of them are heavy croppers, and they retain the ex-
cellent quality of the pole varieties. They may be planted
as close as 6 to 10 inches in the row, and the rows may
stand only 2 feet asunder.
THE BEAN PLANTS
Vicia. Leguminose.
yine and sometimes complete their ripening.
The Tomato 263
Tomatoes are now grown on a very large scale for can-
ning factories. They are then a field crop, and are given
no greater care than corn. A rather light warm soil is
chosen. Frame-grown plants are used and they may be set
with a transplanting machine. Thereafter no special treat-
ment is given the crop except to keep the land well tilled.
Plants are usually spaced 4 feet either way. The yield of
the “can-house crop” varies
greatly, from 3 tons to 12 and
even 14 tons to the acre; 5 to 8
tons is a good crop. The legal
weight of a bushel of tomatoes
runs from 45 to 60 lbs. in dif-
ferent States; a yield of 8 tons
is 320 bu. at 50 lbs.
Harvesting is simple with to-
matoes. They are hand-picked.
For a near-by market and home
use, they should be picked fully
ripe, but for more distant ship-
“ment when they begin to color
well, ‘They are marketed in
baskets or crates. If graded and
of excellent quality and in-
tended for the best market, the -
fruits should be wrapped: Early choice fruit is often sold
in small splint baskets, like large berry boxes, about four
or six baskets being contained in a carrier.
Kinds.
Varieties run out or vary, and fashions in tomatoes
change frequently. Because the name of an old variety
153. Detail of leaf of var.
commune (X 1/5).
264 Solanaceous Fruits
is still in the catalogues, it does not follow that the variety
itself, as originally known, can still be identified. The
round regular (“ smooth ”) tomatoes are now almost every-
where grown (Fig. 147), in contrast to the angular
wrinkled kinds of many years ago. Leading names at
present are Stone, Ponderosa, Earliana, Acme. Crimson
154. Large-leaved tomato (X 1/5). 155. Upright tomato (XX 1/6).
Cushion, Beauty, Matchless, Dwarf Champion, Golden
Queen. For preserving, the smaller kinds are grown, as
Pear, Peach, Plum, Cherry tomatoes (Figs. 148, 149).
Attention is now given to the breeding of disease-resistant
varieties.
THE TomMATo PLANT
Lycepersicon. Sofanacew. A dozen or so weak branching
herbs, perennial] and perhaps some of them annual, of South
Botany of Tomato 265
America, of which one or two are grown for food. The
tomato was cultivated or utilized by American aborigines, but
it is doubtful whether domestication was really ancient.
L. esculentum, Mill. Gard. Dict. No. 2. 1768. (Solanum
Lycopersicum, Linn. Sp. Pl. 185. L. esculentum var. vulgare,
Alef. Landw. Fl. 185. 1866.) Tomato. Diffuse hairy-pubes-
cent, grayish-green, the branches spreading but ascending,
herbage strong-scented, perennial or at least plur-annual:
leaves 6 to 18 in. long, odd-pinnate, leaflets stalked, with
smaller nearly or quite entire ones interposed; main leaflets
alternate or subopposite, 5 to 9, conduplicate or tending to
curl or roll inward, ovate or oblong, acute or acuminate, bluntly
toothed or jagged, the base unequal and sometimes with a
supplementary secondary leaflet on one side: flowers nod-
ding, 3 to 7 on forking and Sometimes leaf-bearing peduncles
borne near a leaf-insertion but on the opposite side of the
stem, the yellow corolla 34 in. and more across; calyx (much
enlarging in fruit) green and hairy, cleft nearly to the base
into 5 or 6 lance-linear acute lobes; corolla cleft into 5 or 6
long-pointed narrow lobes about as long as the calyx; stamens
5 or 6, with very short filaments, the long yellow green-pointed
anthers connivent about the style: fruit a succulent red or
yellow angled compressed berry subtended by the lengthened
Spreading calyx-lobes: seeds obovate, flat, densely hairy, 1/6
in. or more long, weighing 1 to 3 mg., and holding vitality
4 or 5 years.—Western South America. The plant here taken
as the type of the variable species is the tomato of a hun-
dred years and more ago which bore depressed (endwise flat-
tened) fruits that were much furrowed or lobed on the sides,
and presumably with the gray-green herbage, erect shoots and
conduplicate leafiets that some of the last varieties of this
old race bore when the writer began to study tomatoes now
nearly forty years ago. The Large Red tomato, which was
the prevailing variety 50 years ago, is shown in Fig. 150.
Miller, in defining the species L. esculentum, described the
fruit as “compressed at both ends, and deeply furrowed over
all the sides.” These lobes probably represent the additional
266 Solanaceous Fruits
carpels as the fruit began to enlarge and modify itself under
the stimulus of cultivation. This angular type is passing out
in the process of selection. The evolution is toward the
round “smooth” (i.e., not lobed or furrowed) tomato, as in
Fig. 147. In the process, the intermediate forms, particularly
common a generation ago, retained the lobing as they began
to enlarge, resulting in the misshapen fruits shown in Fig. 151.
Extra carpels are now thrust into the interior of the fruit,
and the enlargement takes place on all sides, resulting in a
globular tomato. The flower is modified so that the parts are
more numerous and the pistil becomes broadened and many-
celled. Originally the tomato fruit was probably 2-celled.
The common tomatoes of the present day differ from these
old ones in character of growth, leafage, and form of fruit,
and they may be separated as:
Var. commune (Var. vulgare, Bailey, Bull. 19, Mich. Agr.
Coll. 12. 1886, not Alef.). Common Tomato. Plant green
rather than gray-green due mostly to the leaflets being plane
rather than ‘ curled,’ and therefore not presenting the under-
surface, the shoots and branches on mature plants usually not
erect: fruit mostly globular or somewhat oblate, not dis-
tinctly furrowed or lobulate on the sides (Figs. 152, 153).
Var. grandifolium, Bailey, Bull. 19, Mich. Agr. Coll. 12.
LARGE-LEAVED ToMATO. Leaves large and plane, the leaflets
usually not more than 5, margins entire; secondary leaflets
very few or none.—Here belong the marked varieties known
as Potato-leaf, Mikado, Turner Hybrid, and others now appar-
ently lost to cultivation (Fig. 154).
Var. validum, Bailey, Bull. 19, Mich. Agr. Coll. 12. Upricut
Tomato. Plant short, compact, stiff and erect with small
crowded curled leaves.—Probably not grown in this country
except as a curiosity, although it has been a parent in breed-
ing experiments when it was desired to obtain a tomato plant
that might occupy less room and keep itself within bounds
Chigasla5)e
Var. cerasiforme, Alef., Landw. Fl. 185. 1868. (JL. cerasi-
forme, Dunal, Hist. Solan., 118. 1813.) CHERRY ToMATo.
Tomato and Eggplant 267
Leaves thinner and smaller than in L. esculentum, the leaflets
usually less acuminate, the shoots or branches rather more
erect: flowers in longer racemiform clusters: fruit small,
few-celled, globular.—Used for preserves, in the red and yel-
low kinds. Probably nearly or quite the original type of the
tomato. Var. pyriforme, Alef. 1. c. (ZL. pyriforme, Dunal, l. c.,
112). Prar Tomato. Differs in bearing pear-shaped and usu-
ally somewhat larger fruits (Fig. 148).
L. pimpinellifolium, Mill. Gard. Dict. No. 4. 1768. (Solanum
pimpinellifolium, Linn. Amoen. Acad. iv, 268. 1759.) CURRANT
TomATo. Weak and diffuse plant, very finely pubescent, not
hairy, the herbage emitting only a mild odor: leaflets small,
ovate, the margins obscurely toothed or entire, apex acute
or obtuse, not acuminate: flowers in elongating 2-sided
racemes: fruit small, 2-celled, like large red currants (about
4% in. diameter) 10 to 30 or more in the eluster, the acute
sepal-lobes reflexed: seeds small, smooth.—Peru and probably
elsewhere in South America. The botanical identity of the-
cultivated plant needs further consideration.
EGGPLANT
The essentials in eggplant culture are practically the
same as in tomato culture, except that the plant requires a
still longer season, and greater pains must be taken that
the young plants are not checked but have a continuous
rapid growth.
Eggplants are set in rows far enough apart to admit of
horse tillage, usually 3 to 4 ft. for the large varieties. In
the rows the plants are set from 18 in. to 3 or 4 ft. A com-
mon distance is 20 to 24 in., when the rows are spaced at 8 ft.
The distance is determined largely by the variety. An ounce
of eggplant seed should give 2,000 to 3,000 strong plants.
Witt (Verticillium alboatrum).—Affected plants make a
stunted growth, and the lower leaves gradually yellow and
wilt, causing defoliation. Many plants die prematurely. The
wood of all parts of affected plants in the later stages of the
268 Solanaceous Fruits
disease shows a dark discoloration. Control: Care should be
used to avoid introducing the fungus into new fields and crop
rotation is desirable.
PHOMOPSIS LEAF, FRUIT ald STEM DISEASE (Phomopsis vez-
ans).—Irregular gray to brown spots on the leaves, and sunken
spots on the fruit are covered with the tiny black fruiting
bodies of the fungus. Slightly sunken cankers occur on the
stem. Control: Disinfection of the seed with corrosive sub-
limate 1 to 1,000 has been recommended. Seed is soaked in
the solution for ten minutes, rinsed at once in running water
for fifteen minutes and planted immediately. Clean soil in
the seed-bed and rotation of crops is important.
EGGPLANT TORTOISE BEETLE (Cassida pallidula).—A beautiful
green or greenish yellow tortoise beetle about 4% in. long that
feeds on the foliage. The eggs are laid in groups on the
underside of the leaves. The larva is armed with branched
spines and carries a mass of cast skins and excrement over
- its back borne on two long spines. Both larve and adults
eat round holes in the leaves and sometimes attack the young
fruit; restricted to the Southern States. Control: Spraying
with arsenate of lead (paste), 2 or 8 lbs. in 50 gals. water
often gives good results.
EGGPLANT LACE-BUG (Gargaphia solani).—A small lace-bug
about 1/6 in. long, flat, with the prothorax expanded and coy:
ered with a lacework pattern. Both the young and the adults
puncture the leaves and suck out the juices. Control: Spray
with 7 or 8 lbs. whale oil soap in 50 gals. water.
COLORADO POTATO BEETLE (Leptinotarsa decemlineata).—See
under Potato.
EGGPLANT FLEA-BEETLE (Epitrix fuscula).—This small black
flea-beetle shows a preference for eggplant. The injury is
most serious during the first three weeks after transplant-
ing. Control: After the plants are taken from the seed-bed
dip the foliage in a 2-83-50 bordeaux mixture. One week or
ten days after transplanting spray thoroughly with 4-6—50
bordeaux mixture, to which has been added 4 lbs. of arsenate
of lead (paste) to each 50 gallons.
The Hggplant 269
PoTATo APHIS (Macrosiphum solanifolii). —See under Potato.
SPINACH APHIS (Myzcus persice).—See under Spinach.
ReED-SPIDER (Tetranychus telarius).—Minute yellowish, green
or reddish mites often attack the foliage both in the seed-
beds and in the field, giving the leaves a whitish, blistered
appearance. They sometimes kill the plants. Control: Many
of the mites may be destroyed by washing the plants with
a strong stream of water from a hose. Apply tobacco dust
in the evening and drench the plants with water the next
morning, then close the frames and allow them to remain
closed for six or eight hours. Apply the treatment on alter-
nate days until all the mites are killed. When they occur
in the field, spray the fields thoroughly every few days with:
NcoMmime: SUIEAte oon me eter ee eo OZ:
HPSOMEISOAD sy ke Seine eho eel ad nord | ae LSS
VIEMCIeDiaeeae Ne a ee oe Ne ee Oe als.
The eggplant, known also as Guinea squash in the
Southern States, is emphatically a hot-climate crop. It is
grown in the South to a large extent as a commercial crop
and even as far north as New Jersey and Long Island. In
the Northernmost States, it is grown mostly for home use.
It demands a long season, a warm
loose and fairly dry soil. It is not
adapted to clay lands.
The exposure should be warm and
sunny. The land should not be as
moist as that best adapted to early LZ ee
peas, beets and other cool-season 156. seeds of eggplant
things. The ground should be rich ane
also, but whatever fertilizer is added should be quickly
available so that the maturity of the crop may not be
delayed. Take every precaution to forward the crop
in order to secure it before the closing of the season, par-
270 Solanaceous Fruits
ticularly in the Northern States. The ground should be
kept in thorough tillage from first to last.
The plants are started under glass, and they should be
6 or 8 inches high and thrifty and stocky
when placed in the field. In the Northern
States the plants may be even larger than this
when transplanted. It is important, however,
that the plant receives no check from the
: germination of the seed to the setting of the
157. Young egg- fruit. If the plants in the forcing-house or
pint)" hotbed become crowded and stunted, and
the stems begin to harden, the crop will be much lessened. .
For home use, and sometimes for special market conditions,
it is advisable to handle the young plants in two-inch or
three-inch pots. They then suffer no check when taken to
the field.
The fruits are fit for eating from the time they are one-
third grown until they are nearly or quite fully ripe. Even
after the fruits have reached their full size and color, they
may remain on the plant for a time without much de-
158. Flowers of eggplant, front and back (X %).
terioration, although a very ripe fruit is worthless. A
heavier crop may be secured by taking off the fruits before
they reach their full size. It is necessary, however, that
re ee ee ee ae
ee eT Oey
—
The Eggplant Q71
they be well colored in order to find sale in the market,
and usually, also, the fruits of fair or rather large size
sell best. In the Northernmost States the gardener is sat-
isfied 1f he averages two or three good fruits to a plant of
the large varieties.
The fruits are large and heavy, and they should be
handled with care
even though they are
not perishable as are
tomatoes. They may
be cut from the plants
with a knife, the large
calyx being left on the
fruit. They are usu-
ally handled in crates ;
in special cases, indi-
vidual fruits are
wrapped.
The New York Im-
proved, the Black Pe-
kin and Black Beauty
are leading commer-
cial types. Good-sized
marketable iruits Of 459 uegplant of the improved purple type (Black
these varieties are 6 to Eee Saar
9 inches in diameter. Unless started very early and given
a warm place and quick soil, however, these varieties are
not likely to yield much before frost in the most northern
States. In these short-season climates, some of the dwarf
varieties, particularly the Early Dwarf Purple, are to be
advised. The white eggplants are not popular, since the
ae SS ar=
“s~ns™ € c ES
os serene, |
Pan Solanaceous Fruits
color is usually of a yellowish cast. There are varieties
with striped fruits and others with long and coiling fruits,
but these are known mostly as curiosities.
Eggplant has been grown from the earliest times. It is
probably native to India. It is a low spreading bushy more
or less hairy and spiny herb (or subshrub), with large
blue flowers. It is known as aubergine by the French.
Interesting pazts of the plant are shown in Figs. 156
to 159.
THE EGGPLANTS
Solanum. See page 215. The eggplant is a puzzling bo-
tanical subject. Its nativity and its origin are both unknown.
The cultivated forms are in need of thorough botanical study
in both field and herbarium.
S. Melongena, Linn., var. esculentum, Nees. Trans. Linn.
Soe. xvii, 48. 18382. (S. esculentum, Dunal, Hist. Solan. 208.
1813.) CULTIVATED Hcecrtant. piaaaas
spread widely and
should be given abun-
dant room, 2 or 3 feet
apart being none too
much if, in fact, sufficient for best results. The berries
will keep all winter if put away dry in their husks.
164. Husk tomato (X 1/3).
Botany of Husk Tomato 279
The husk tomato is considered to be Physalis pubescens,
Linn. Sp. Pl. 183, native in North America and other parts
of the world. The cultivated plant is mostly a spreading
annual but sometimes grows erect, pubescent, much branch-
ing: leaves ovate and mostly acuminate, more or less pubes-
cent, oblique or semi-cordate at base, margins obtusely den-
tate or angled: flowers single, 34 in. or less long, yellowish
with brown spots inside, the calyx much shorter than the
corolla but enlarging in fruit and inclosing the globular yellow
berry, which is *% in. across. The Cape gooseberry is P. peru-
viana, Linn. Sp. Pl. Ed. 2, 1670. 1763. It is a taller and later
plant, not maturing well in the Northern States; leaves soft-
pubescent, broad, not toothed, cordate at base; husk larger
and somewhat hairy. Other species of Physalis are cultivated.
CHAPTER XI
THE CUCURBITS
Cucumber Pumpkin
Muskmelon Squash
Watermelon
The cucurbits are annuals, grown for their fruits; they :
are tender to frost, and require a warm season and a full
exposure to sun; they are long-season crops and with most
of them a quick start 1s essential in order that they may
mature the crop before frost; they are grown tn hills, as a
main crop, planted in the field or in frames, depending on
the region and the period at which the crop 1s wanted;
they transplant with difficulty when the roots are dis-
turbed, and vf the plants are started in advance of the sea-
son they are grown in pots, boxes or on sods.
The name “ cucurbit ” was employed by the writer many
years ago for the horticultural designation of these plants
of the Cucurbitacee, and the word has become current.
Subsequently, the late Dr. B. D. Halsted proposed the
shorter name “ cucurb,” but it appears not to have come
into use. The cucurbits constitute a very natural group,
both botanically and culturally.
Several other cucurbits aside from those listed at the
head of this chapter are in cultivation in this country for
food. The true gourds, Lagenaria leucantha (Cucurbita
(280)
Cucurbttous Plants 281
Lagenaria, Linn.), are grown mostly as arbor covers, and
for the great hard-shelled fruits from which dippers and
other utensils are fashioned; the young fruits are some-
times eaten in other countries, but probably not here.
The dish-cloth gourds or vegetable sponges, two spe-
cies of Luffa, are in cultivation as curiosities and for the
fibrous interior, which is used, when dried and macerated,
as a sponge. The young fruit may be eaten when cooked
or dried, but it is scarcely known as a kitchen-garden
product in this country. Luffa acutangula, with ridged
fruits, is apparently more commonly cultivated in this
country than L. cylindrica.
Of late years, Benincasa hispida, the wax gourd of the
Orient, has been introduced as the Chinese preserving
melon. It is used for the making of preserves and sweet
pickles. The fruit is the size of a watermelon, hairy, and
usually has a waxy covering. Cultivation is as for musk-
melon. ,
The balsam apple (Momordica Balsamina) and balsam
pear (M. Charantia) are very ornamental climbers with
divided leaves and warty small fruits that split onen and
curl when ripe; they are common on porches and arbors
far South, and the young fruits are edible. Their use in
this country, except among the Chinese, seems to be for
ornament only.
The chayote or christophine (Sechium edule) is grown
in Florida and the tropics for its cucumber-flavored fruit.
It is an odd plant, the fruit bearing only one seed, which
is very large.
_ There are no fundamental differences in the cultivation
of the various cucurbitous crops. They are all very ten-
282 The Cucurbits
der to frost and they usually grow, at least in the North,
till overtaken by frost or disease. They all demand light
and very quick soil. Success hes in gaining an early start
and in not allowing the plants to suffer a check. The one
place at which most people fail in growing these crops is
that the young plants do not secure a quick hold. This is
usually due to the fact that the soil is not thoroughly well
prepared or is not warm and well drained, and there is not
sufficient available fertilizer within reach of the young
plant. In the North, this quick start is exceedingly im-
portant, since the season is so short that every day must
be made to count. In cucumbers, the quick start is not so’
important as in melons and squashes, since the plants come
into bearing earlier. Many fields of squashes in the North
are lost because the plants do not get to work before July
or August, and then the dry weather comes and the bloom-
ing is delayed so long that the young fruits are caught by
frost.
The land should be given the best of surface tillage.
The plants and the fruits are succulent and need much
moisture, and if this moisture is lost in the spring through
lack of proper preparation of the land and neglect of sur-
face tillage, a good crop may be impossible, even though
the subsequent tillage is perfect. The land should also
contain sufficient humus or vegetable matter to hold a
good supply of moisture.
It is ordinarily best to have the plants so vigorous that
several fruits set simultaneously. If one fruit sets two or
three weeks in advance of the others, it is likely to consume
so much of the energy of the vine that the subsequent
fruits remain small. In fact, it may be well to pick
Squashes, Melons and Others 283
off the first fruit if it sets much in advance of the main
crop.
Although the land should be rich, the fertility should be
available early in the season rather than late, else the
growth may be delayed too long. Lands very rich in nitro-
genous materials may cause the plants to grow to vine
at the expense of fruit. If there seems to be a tendency
to go to vine, it is good practice to pinch off the ends of
the leading shoots. Usually, however, this practice is not
necessary unless the season is very short.
All cucurbits are grown in hills. Each hill may
be specially prepared, at least in the Northern States and
on land that is rather hard and coarse. A space one or
two feet across is spaded up loosely, and lhght loose earth
and scrapings from the barnyard are mixed with it. A
handful of fertilizer should be scattered in the soil. If the
land is hard and late, it is well to remove the soil and to
fill the space with fine earth and manure. In the warm
and light melon lands of the South, where the seasons are
longer, this precaution may not be necessary; nor is it
practiced in the usual field culture of the crops.
Squashes, watermelons and cucumbers are usually
planted in the field, although if early results are wanted
and if the region is cold and the season short, it is well
to start them in frames. Muskmelons are usually started
in frames. It is advisable to plant the seeds on in-
verted sods, in small boxes or other receptacles; or in
regular flower-pots, which are best. (See page 357.) It is
imperative that the plants be stocky and firm when taken
to the field, although they must not be stunted. If they
have been grown too warm and are “ soft,” they will be in-
284 The Cucurbits
jured by the sun and winds when transplanted, and will
be later than plants started directly in the field.
The young plants are likely to be ruined by the attacks
of the striped beetle and other enemies. It is important,
therefore, that the seed be sown freely. If one-fourth or
one-fifth of the plants escape their enemies, the grower
may consider himself fortunate. In some cases growers
plant pumpkin or squash seeds in the field very early to
attract the striped beetle where they may be killed, and
the later frame-grown melon or cucumber plants are then
relatively safe.
CUCUMBER anp GHERKIN
Hills of cucumber are usually made about 4x4 or 4x5
feet; sometimes they are 4x6, for the large late varieties,
or even 6 ft. either way in extensive field culture. At 4x4
feet, 2,722 hills are contained on an acre. Four or five plants
are allowed to remain in each hill. About two peunds of seeds
are calculated to plant an acre, or 1 ounce for 70 to 80 hills.
Seed may be planted about %4 in. deep. If the striped bugs
are bad, plant heavily. An average acre should yield 100
bushels for pickling. Under the best conditions, 400 and 500
bushels of pickling cucumbers are raised to the acre.
BACTERIAL WILT (Bacillus tracheiphilus) —Affected plants
droop and wilt within a short time. If a stem is cut across,
sticky ooze will adhere to the finger and can be drawn out
into thin threads. Certain biting insects of cucumbers are
largely responsible for the spread of the bacteria causing this
disease. Control: Spraying with bordeaux mixture and lead
arsenate powder (4-5-50-2) to keep the plants free of the
striped beetles is recommended. Applications’ should begin
soon after the plants are started and should continue at
about weekly intervals until insects are no longer present.
Removal and destruction of affected plants is desirable. Dust-
ing the plants with almost any dust mixture is also effective.
®
The Cucumber 285
Mosaic.—Affected fruits may have raised areas and present
a mottled appearance due to the presence of alternate green
and yellow places. Leaves may exhibit a similar mottling.
Control: The control measures recommended for bacterial
wilt will aid in keeping this disease in check, as the virus
is.apparently distributed by insects.
Downy Minpew (Plasmopora cubensis)—Somewhat angu-
lar yellowish spots appear and under favorable conditions
spread rapidly, resulting in the death and drying of affected
leaves. Control: Spraying with bordeaux mixture, if begun
as soon as runners begin to form and repeated every week or
ten days throughout the season, will afford good control.
ANGULAR LEAF-SPOT (Bacterium lachrymans).—This_ dis-
ease is characterized by the production on the leaves of sharply °
angular spots bordered by the larger veinlets. The spots are
at first water-soaked, later turning brown. Dead parts in old
leaves may break away, causing a somewhat ragged appear-
ance. The disease is evident on the stem as elongated lesions.
Small water-soaked spots, circular and with white centers,
may appear on the fruits. Control: Seed treatment with
corrosive sublimate 1-1,000 for five minutes has been recom-
mended. Spraying with bordeaux mixture as recommended
for other cucumber diseases will hold this leaf-spot in check.
ANTHRACNOSE (Colletotrichum lagenarium).—See Water-
melon, page 296.
STRIPED CUCUMBER BEETLE (Diabrotica vittata).—A small
yellow black-striped beetle, 4 in. long, that attacks cucumber
plants when they first come up, devouring the leaves and eat-
ing holes in the stem. The eggs are laid on the ground.
The larva is a slender white grub, ;3; in. long, that burrows
in the roots, sometimes causirg the plants to wither and die.
Control: In the home garden: the plants may be protected
by cheesecloth or mosquito-netting screens. In the field, spray
the plants as soon as they come up with arsenate of lead
(paste), 4 lbs. in 50 gals. of water. Although the beetles
will not eat much of the poison, it serves to drive them
away. It is better to use arsenate of lead for this purpose
286 The Cucurbits
than bordeaux mixture, as the latter stunts the young plants.
It is always well to plant an excess of seed and to use fish
scrap fertilizer to make the plants grow rapidly. Tobacco
dust or air-slaked lime and land plaster are of value as
deterrents. —
SQUASH BUG (Anasa tristis).—A dirty brownish black bug
52 in. long, with a highly offensive odor. The adults come
out of hibernation and attack the plants as soon as they come
up. They puncture the stems and petioles, sometimes kill-
ing the plants outright. The brownish eggs are deposited
on the underside of the leaves and hatch in one or two weeks.
The young bugs are nearly white and covered with a mealy
substance. They puncture the leaves, causing them to wilt
and turn brown. Control: The adult bugs are very resistant
to contact sprays. Practice clean farming and thus reduce
to a minimum hibernating shelter. After the crop is har-
vested, the vines should be raked up and burned. After the
ground has been seeded, but before the plants are up, many of
the over-wintered adults can be trapped under boards laid on
the ground. Then all adults noticed on the young plants
should be hand-picked, the eggs should be crushed or scraped
off with a knife, and the young nymphs may be killed by
Spraying with “ Black Leaf 40” tobacco extract, 1 part in 400
parts of water in which enough soap has been dissolved to
give a good suds.
SQUASH-VINE BORER (WMelittia satyriniformis).—A white
brown-headed caterpillar, 1 in. long when mature, that bores
in the stems of squash, pumpkin, cucumber, and melon. The
adult is a moth having an expanse of about one inch. The
front wings are nearly black and the hind wings are trans-
parent. The eggs are deposited on the stems of the vine. On
hatching the young borer burrows into the stem and then
eats out a tunnel through the pith, often causing the death
of the vine. Control: Practice a short rotation of crops.
Do not grow susceptible crops year after year in the same
field. Collect and destroy all vines after crop is _ har-
vested. Early squashes are sometimes planted as a trap crop
The Cucumber 287
around the field and between the rows of late varieties. The
moths lay their eggs on the early plants, which should be pulled
up and destroyed as soon as the early squashes are har-
vested. Some growers make a practice of covering the stem
with earth two or three feet from the base in order that
the vine may throw out a new root system which will
sustain the plant in case the main stem is injured at the
base.
PICKLE WoRM (Diaphania nitidalis)—Restricted as a pest
to the Southern States; the yellowish-white caterpillars,
marked with numerous dark spots, are about *4 in. long when
mature. In the last stage the spots are lost. The adult is
a moth with yellowish brown wings marked with large irregu-
lar central spots of semi-transparent yellow. The eggs are
laid on the flower buds and tender opening leaves. At first
the larve feed on the blossoms or buds but later burrow into
the fruit, often causing decay to result. Control: Spraying to
control this pest. has been unsuccessful. Clean farming and
the destruction of the vines after the crop is harvested will
help to decrease the number the following year. Waste fruits
and fallen leaves should also be destroyed. A short rotation
and the planting of a crop at a distance from fields infested
the previous year has not been found of much value as the
moths fiy well from field to field. Much injury may be
avoided by planting early so as to have the crop mature before
the larve become abundant.
MELON APHIS (Aphis gossypii) —A yellowish or greenish
plant-louse that often occurs in great numbers on the under-
side of the leaves. In the winged forms the head and most
of the thorax is black. Control: Fumigation of the young
plants with tobacco or carbon bisulfide may be practised in the
garden. In large fields spraying is more practicable. The
vines should be trained to run in rows. Spray with “Black
Leaf 40” tobacco extract, % pint in 100 gallons of water in
which 5 or 6 pounds of soap have been dissolved. The first
application should be made as soon as the lice appear. A fine
- nozzle with sufficient pressure should be used to give a fine
288 The Cucurbits
mist. Use a short extension-rod and an upturned nozzle
so as to hit the underside of the leaves.
GARDEN SPRINGTAIL (Sminthurus hortensis).—Adult cucum-
ber plants are often badly injured, especially in the South,
by a minute wingless jumping insect about 1/20 in. in length.
It is dark purple, spotted with yellow. Control: Dust the
plants with tobacco dust or air-slaked lime when they first
come up and repeat the application in about a week if the
insects are still present.
The cucumber is a staple garden and truck crop, of easy
culture when the simple conditions are met and the diseases
and pests are avoided or under control. In general prac-
165. Seeds of cucumber
C273). 166. Young cucumber plants (X about 1%).
tice, the seeds are planted directly where the crop is to
mature, but early and choice crops are grown from plants
started in frames or forcing-houses on inverted sods or
turves, in berry boxes that soon decay, in pots or in knock-
down boxes. Cucumber is a prime forcing crop for winter
and spring; for amateur work, the English forcing varie-
ties may be used, but the White Spine type is mostly grown
under glass for market in this country.
Stages in the cucumber plant are shown in Figs. 165,
166, 167. In the last figure, a fruit is shown and also
staminate (or male) flowers, which in the field are more
numerous than the pistillate (or fertile) flowers.
en ee ae
a
Sag Eau ce oe gee eee
/
aD
wy
ee ee ae
7
.
The Cucumber 289
The quality of cucumbers depends on the variety, vigor
of the plant, when picked, and how kept and handled in
transportation. The notion that cucumbers are spoiled
by muskmelons planted near, and vice versa, is erroneous.
Carefully selected seed should be obtained.
Since the fruits of cucumbers are used when young, the
productivity of the plants may be greatly enhanced by
picking the fruits as soon as they are fit. The patch
167. Cucumber of the White Spine type (X about 1/3).
should be gone over every two or three days at least, and
if the area is large, it should be picked over every day.
If one fruit is allowed to ripen it may prevent the setting
of other fruits. If seeds of cucumbers are desired, it is
hest to reserve a few hills specially for that purpose.
290 The Cucurbits
Cucumbers for the main or pickling crop are usually
grown from seeds planted directly in the fields when
frost 1s past; sometimes they are in two or three plantings,
up to even the first or middle of July.
Cucumbers do not require as much heat
| as melons. |
Sometimes cucumbers are grown as
- a companion crop, beans or lettuce
168. Seeds of Cucumis being raised between the hills or rows.
Anguria (X abou); When the cucumbers begin to run
strongly they should have the whole ground.
While land for cucumbers should be fertile, raw manures
should not be used, unless applied in autumn or early
spring and thoroughly incorporated with the soil. Very
heavy applications of nitrogen are thought to send the
plants too much to vine and to delay fruiting.
For very early, some of the small-fruited cucumbers
may be planted, as Early Russian, Harly
Cluster, Cool and Crisp. For midseason
and late, the White Spine, in various
strains, is the standard. Guiant Pera,
Nichol Medium Green and Tailby are
older favorites.
Gherkins are very small immature cu-
cumbers, used for pickles. The name is
also applied to the small prickly fruits of
a . 2 169. Seedling of
Cucumis Anguria, a species known as the Go aabanias
West Indian or burr cucumber. This is Ce:
sometimes cultivated, and its fruits are used for pickles.
It is grown in every way as is the ordinary cucumber.
Seeds and seedling are seen in Figs. 168, 169.
The Cucumber and Melon 291
For table use (slicing), cucumber fruits should be
6 inches or more long, green, fresh and plump. All cucum-
bers, whether for slicing or pickles, are picked before they
begin to turn yellow. For good markets, the cucumbers
should be graded to shape and size. They are marketed
in baskets, crates, and hampers.
MELON
Four by six feet is a customary distance for the hills of
muskmelons, making 1,185 hills to the acre. The quantity of
seed required is about the same as for cucumber. Sometimes
two crops are grown on the same land, a very early and a
main-season crop. The early crop is planted 4x 5 feet, and two
or three weeks later the main crop is planted between. Three
or four good fruits to the plant is a good yield. Seeds are cov-
ered about % in., or somewhat deeper if planted directly in
the field.
The melon is affected by wilt, mildew and mosaic, for which
see the account under Cucumber; and by anthracnose, treated
under Watermelon.
STRIPED CUCUMBER BEETLE (Diabrotica vittata).—See under
Cucumber. The beetles not only attack the young plants but
later in the season destroy the young blossoms. Control: In
small gardens screen the young plants. Fish serap fertilizer
not only forces the growth of the plants but has a tendency
to keep the beetles away. Air-slaked lime, tobacco and sul-
fur have a decidedly deterrent effect. Sow an excess of seed and
thin the plants after the danger from the insects has passed.
GARDEN SPRINGTAIL (Sminthurus hortensis) —See under Cu-
cumber. Apply tobacco dust, fish scrap or air-slaked lime just
as the plants are coming above the ground. Repeat a week
later. Sow an excess of seed, cultivate frequently and apply
quick acting fertilizers to help the plant outgrow the injury.
SOUTHERN CORN ROOT-woRM (Diabrotica duodecimpunc-
tata) —A yellowish green beetle. 4 in. long, with twelve black
spots on the wing-covers. The beetles are often destructive to
cucumbers and melons which they attack in much the same
292 The Cucurbits
way as the striped cucumber beetle. Control: Same as for
the striped cucumber beetle (page 285).
MELON WoRM (Diaphania hyalinata).—The adult is a moth
with pearly white wings, marked with a shining iridescent
brown band along the front and outer margins. The eggs are
laid on the young buds, leaves and stems of the vines. When
full grown the caterpillar is about 1 in. long and mottled green-
ish yellow. When partly grown it is yellowish or greenish
with two white stripes on the back. The first brood of cater-
pillars feeds mostly on the foliage and does not cause much
injury to the fruit. The larve of the later generations feed
at first on the buds or foliage and then attack the fruit, feed-
ing on the surface and burrowing through the rind, causing
decay. Control: Plant summer squashes ahead of the main
crop to serve as a trap. Spray with arsenate of lead (paste),
3 lbs. in 50 gals. water or bordeaux mixture. As soon as the
crop is harvested, vines and waste fruits should be gathered
up and destroyed.
The melon (or muskmelon) is a prevailing inhabitant of
the vegetable-garden and is much grown by market-gar-
deners. It has a shorter season than most forms of water-
melon, and lends itself to a wide
variety of soils and conditions at
the same time that it is rather ex-
acting if the greatest success is to be
attained. The commercial product
is grown mostly in special and lm-
ited localities, and yet a given lo-
cality may not long hold its leader-
ship. he melon is now a popular breakfast food, in its
season taking the place of grapefruit. It forces well, and
for this purpose some of the special English forcing varie-
ties are most useful.
170. Melon seeds (X about 2).
The Melon 293
The melon is displayed in Figs. 170 to 174. In Fig.
172 a young fruit is seen at P. Above at the left is a
pistillate flower with the ovary beneath the corolla; above
right is a staminate
flower, lacking the
"ovary.
A light warm easily-
tilled clean soil is
usually chosen for the
melon. Shallow till-
age should be fre-
quent, that the plant |
may grow strongly and continuously. It is useless to
attempt to grow melons on cold, backward or hard heavy
lands. The melon thrives particularly well in the
irrigated regions; parts of the West and far Southwest
are large producers.
The distance of planting depends somewhat on the
variety and also on the room at the grower’s disposal. If
land is ample, 6 x 6 feet is a good distance, but 4.x 6 feet
is commonly advised. If the soil is not deep and fertile,
“hills” may be made by working well-rotted manure into
the earth where the plants are to stand and perhaps by
adding quickly available commercial fertilizer.
Seeds may be planted in the field as soon as the weather
is finally settled and the soil warm. ‘Twice as many seeds
should be put in as are required to make the stand, to allow
for insect injury and accidents. Two or three strong
plants are finally left in each hill. For early melons, and
also for late-maturing kinds, plants may be started in
frames, on turves or in berry boxés, veneer boxes, or pots.
294 The Cucurbits
In the northern parts, the crop is often grown permanently
in frames, the glass being removed entirely when the
weather is fit and the plants established. Very choice
172. Flowers and foliage of melcn (X 3).
melons may be grown in this way; much hand work is
usually applied, and the fruits are sometimes lifted and a
flat stone or shingle slipped under them; when the melons
reach good size, the frames themselves, as well as the sash,
may be removed. Every pains should be exercised to
secure well-bred seed true to type, in any careful melon-
growing. ;
Melons are picked when signs of ripeness appear. This
period cannot be described, but must be learned by experi-
ence. The bright color begins to tone down to gray, signs
of yellowness are apparent, the stem parts readily from the
vine, and the fruit has attained the full size and develop-
The Melon 295
ment of the particular variety; the appearance of imma-
turity and “ greenness ” has passed.
The fruits are marketed in crates and open-topped
S.
Wig
GENT
TEFL EAR
LIAS.
vs
oe
Z
ap
=
“4 A
iP
178. Netted melon (xX 1/5).
baskets, the melons always as visible as possible through
the openings.
on straw in baskets and
hampers. The melons
should be graded to size,
shape, markings and color.
In this country, the vari-
ous forms of reticulated
melons are popular. It is
customary to divide the
varieties into (1) the green-
The soft-fleshed melons are often packed
174. Cantaloupe, scarcely known in
North America (X %4).
fleshed kind and (2) yellow-fleshed and salmon-fleshed.
Of the former are Netted Gem, Emerald Gem, Rocky
296 The Cucurbits
Ford, Hackensack, Jenny Lind, Montreal. Of the latter
are Hmerald Gem, Osage, Banquet, Burrell, Tip Top.
The Cassaba and Christmas melons are large types grown
specially well in long-season irrigated regions, and
thence shipped to the eastern markets. They are very un-
like the common netted melons, lacking the odor and
characteristic markings and keeping well.
WATERMELON
At 10x10 ft., 435 hills are contained in an acre; this is a
common distance for planting the commercial crop, but smaller
garden varieties may be set Sx8 ft. About 4 or 5 pounds of
seed are used to the acre. Plant about 1 in. deep. A good ecom-
mercial crop is about 12 tons to the acre. The watermelon is
more tender to cold than the muskmelon.
Witt (Fusarium niveum)—Usually one branch after an-
other of an affected plant wilts and dries up until the whole
plant is dead. An examination of the stem shows the woody
portion to be discolored. Control: Crop rotation, the control
of drainage water to prevent overflowing uninfested soil, and
the avoidance of contaminated stable manure on melon fields
are important.
ANTHRACNOSE (Colletotrichum lagenarium)—This disease
occurs also on cucumbers, muskmelons, and other plants of the
cucurbit family. Irregular black dead spots appear on the
affected leaves and die prematurely. Numerous blackened
sunken spots appear on the fruits. Control: Thorough and
timely spraying with bordeaux mixture is a preventive.
STEM-END ROT (Dioplodia sp.).—The first indication of the
disease is a browning and shrivelling of the stem followed by
a softening of the melon at the point of attachment. As the
flesh softens, it becomes water-soaked in appearance. The dis-
ease causes severe loss in shipment. Control: Field sanita-
tion is important in view of the fact that vegetation of
nearly all kinds may harbor the causal organism. Thorough
applications of bordeaux mixture are necessary, since the fun-
The Watermelon 29%
gus developing on vines killed by other diseases will spread
to the melons. The stems should be disinfected at the time
of loading by painting them with a starch paste containing
copper sulfate. To prepare the paste, eight ounces of copper
sulfate are dissolved in three and one-half quarts of hot water
and to this boiling solution are added four ounces of starch
mixed with a pint of cold water.
MELON APHIS (Aphis gossypii) —See under Cucumber.
Spray with ‘“ Black Leaf 40” tobacco extract, %4 pint in 100
gals. water in which 4 or 5 Ibs. soap have been added. Be
careful to hit the underside of the leaves. When the first
hills are infested, fumigate with tobacco papers under frames
covered with oilcloth.
The watermelon is more popular in North America,
probably, than elsewhere in the world. In fact, it is a
feature of American living. The South Atlantic and
Gulf States have occupied first place for size and quality
of melons. * More recently, the mid-continental States are
coming to the front. The watermelon is a leading field
crop in Georgia and elsewhere, great areas being devoted
to it. The plant is little grown in market-gardens, for it
requires too much space and the
returns are not sufficient. It is
primarily @ truck crop or farm
crop, on relatively low-priced
land.
The reader will recognize the
watermelon in Figs. 175 to 179.
The outward distinctions between pistillate and staminate
flowers are shown in Figs. 177 and 178, the presence or
absence of the ovary (young fruit) being conspicuous.
The first requisite in watermelon culture is a location
175. Watermelon seeds (* 134).
298 The Cucurbtts
with sufficient length of season and continuous warmth to
insure maturity of crop. Many varieties of watermelons
are catalogued by seedsmen. Only a few of them are
3 commercial varie-
ee BN ee ties, and the kinds
Av): that are popular in
the South require a
too long season for
the North. Only in
A favored places are
176. Watermelon seedlings (X 2/5). watermelons erown
in the Northernmost: States. They are more uncertain
than muskmelons, because of the short and cool seasons.
A number of varieties, however, ripen without difficulty
in the Northern States and Ontario when a warm soil
and exposure are at hand and where small boys are
absent. The plants may be started under glass, as advised
on page 283. e .
The ideal soil is light sandy loam with only a medium
or small amount of nitrogen. |
Much nitrogen is thought to
diminish the essential saccha-
rine constituent. A point of
special emphasis is that of
thorough drainage. Swampy
or “soggy” land will not pro-
duce favorable results. In the
South the field for melons is 177. Pistinate (fertile) flower of
often plowed in the fall, to eae
expose the soil to the pulverizing action of frost.
Watermelons are planted in hills, which are usually 10
The Watermelon 299
feet each way. The hills are made at the intersec-
tion of check-rows. This “checking ” is usually accom-
plished with shovel- or turn-plow. The hills are made by
mixing several shovelfuls of well-rotted manure with soil
and then covering the whole with several inches of soft
earth, into which the seeds are planted directly. All dan-
ger of frosts should be over before planting. Avoid bak-
ing or crusting
of the earth on
the hills, espe-
clally before
germination of
seeds. Only hand
tools’ should be
used in the cul-
tivation of crop
aiter the vines
have begun to
run, as lifting
or turning the
vines will injure quality and size of fruit.
“Rotation is all-important,’ as written by Starnes
(Bull. 38, Ga. Exp. Sta.). “In no case should melons fol-
low melons the next season, and at least four years should
intervene before the land is again planted in this crop. By
that time insect depredators, attracted by the first melon
crop, will have probably become exterminated and the drain
from the soil of specific plant-food (especially potash)
will also have been, to a certain extent, at least, made
good.”
When is a watermelon ripe? According to Starnes,
178. Staminate (sterile) flowers of watermelon (X 1/3).
ta a el
300 The Cucurbits
“unquestionably the flat, dead sound emitted by a melon
when ‘ thumped ’ is the readiest indication of ripeness, and
the one most universally depended on. If the resonance
is hollow, ringing or musical, it is a certain proof of im-
maturity.
“ Frequently on turning the melon and exposing the un-
der side, the irregular white blotch formed where the
melon has rested on the ground affords an indication of
maturity. When this begins to turn yellowish and becomes
rough, pimply or warty, with the surface sufficiently hard
to resist the finger-nail when scratched, it is usually a fair
sign of ripeness.
“ But there is one more test that is corroborative. After
the melon ‘ looks’ ripe and ‘ thumps’ ripe, if, on a steady
pressure of the upper side or ‘top’ by the palm of the
hand, while the melon lies on the ground, instead of resist-
ing solidly the interior appears to have a tendency to yield
—a ‘givey’ sort of feeling, as it were—accompanied by a
crisp crackling, half heard, half felt, as the flesh parts
longitudinally in sections under the pressure, the melon
may be pulled with absolute confidence. It is certainly
ripe. This test should never be resorted to with melons
intended for shipment, as their carrying quality is neces-
sarily impaired thereby.
“Yet all this, as stated, comes largely by instinct to the
expert, and it is rarely that one finds it necessary to
‘thump,’ much less to ‘ press,’ a melon before deciding as
to its maturity.”
Many of the small early watermelons may be grown
successfully in warm northern gardens. Fruits of superior
quality, and picked when in perfection, may be had freely
ie! eee ee. ——
nN ce) ir Bh
The Watermelon 301
for home consumption; greater attention should be paid to
the plant by the home gardener. Among the melons suit-
able for home gardens, not to mention others equally as
good, are Peerless, Dark and Light Icing, Kleckley, Mc-
Iver, Phinney, Halbert, Hungarian. The shipping water-
melons, mostly requiring longer season, comprise such vari-
eties as Kolb Gem, Rattlesnake, Dixie, Alabama Sweet,
179. The market watermelon (X 1/10).
Tronclad, Tom Watson. The oblong kinds (Fig. 179) may
reach 2 feet in length. Fair-sized shipping watermelons
weigh about 20 or 25 pounds, but they run to 30 pounds
and more. Watermelons are shipped in bulk, by the car-
load.
PUMPKIN anp SQUASH
Seeds are planted 1 in. to 1% in. deep. When grown by
themselves, pumpkins and field squashes are planted in hills
302 The Cucurbits
8 to 10 feet apart. About 3 pounds of seed are required for
an acre with the field or running varieties. Two or three
mature fruits to a vine are a large crop.
The bush squashes are grown as close as 3x4 feet in gar-
dens, but the hills should be 4 or 5 feet apart if possible.
From 4 to 5 pounds of seed are required to the acre.
The pumpkins and squashes are affected by wilt disease and
mosaic, for which see Cucumber.
The striped beetle and squash bug are also treated under
Cucumber.
The pumpkins and squashes are of simple and easy cul-
ture. Warm well-drained lands are chosen. The seeds
7
,
NN AMG
NN
181. Summer crookneck 182. Summer scallop squash
squash (xX %). (X 1/6).
are planted directly in the field, often in “ hills ” specially
prepared by the incorporation of manure or fertilizer or
The Pumpkin Tribes 303
both. Usually they thrive in good well-prepared corn land
without special treatment. They must be got ahead early,
in the Northern States, to yield the full crop before frost.
Sei” Many or several seeds
ZA ===\ . should be planted in the
\ hill, and the plants thinned
to two or three when the
early dangers are passed.
In pumpkins, as_ the
term is understood in this
aa Cl country, the _ standard
variety is the Connecticut Field. It is a long-running
plant. The large orange-colored sleek furrowed fruits are
used for pies and to feed stock; and the small boy prizes
them for “ jack o’ lanterns.” It was formerly much grown
in corn-fields. This plant
is a form of Cucurbita
Pepo. The summer
squashes (Figs. 181, 182)
are taken previous to full
maturity before the shells
harden. They are mar-
keted in baskets and crates.
They are interesting for
the oddities in their :
shapes, as well as for their 184. One of the oe squashes; they are
good comestible qualities. BgUen Gece ae a
Of field or late squashes the leading types are the Hub-
bard, Marblehead, Boston Marrow, Turban (Figs. 183,
184). They are long-runners and sometimes are planted
as much as 12 feet apart. The fruits have soft cylindrical
304 The Cucurbtts
stems. These squashes are kept for winter; they should
have a dry and fairly warm place (temperature above 40°).
When they are grown extensively, special stove-heated
houses are built for
them and they. are
stored on shelves or in
shallow bins. To keep
well, the fruits must
be ripe, free from
bruises and internal
cracks, not frosted, and
have the stem on. These
squashes are Cucurbita maxima. 'They have a firm yellow
flesh, and a richer quality than others. They lend them-
selves well to baking.
A third specific type is Cucurbita moschata, to which be-
long the Cushaws, Winter Crookneck (Fig. 185), Dunkard,
Tennessee Sweet Potato Pumpkin, and others. In the
South the varieties of this species are common, but most
185. Winter crookneck (< 4%).
a - ee
nS naa
186. Seeds of squash (somewhat ert See ;
enlarged). 187. Seedlings of squash (X 2/5).
of them are only indifferently successful in the North.
They are famous pie pumpkins in the Southern States.
The illustrations will aid in distinguishing some of the
classes; and Figs. 186 and 187 show seeds and seedlings of
ete
~~
’
Botany of the Cucurbits 305
C. maxima. The grower should familiarize himself with
the interesting differences in foliage and flowers.
THe CucuRBITOUS PLANTS
For the purposes of this discussion, we may consider only
three genera of the Cucurbitacewe, comprising annual and per-
ennial herbs of warm countries, those of the vegetable-garden
being tender annuals: Cucumis with about 25 species, mostly
African and Asian; Citrullus, 4 species in Africa; Cucurbita,
about 10 species, perhaps American but the origin of the cul-
tivated kinds unknown. All these garden species are moneci-
ous,—the stamens and pistils being in separate flowers on the
same plant; the staminate (male) flowers are more numerous
than the pistillate, and soon perish. All are tendril-bearing,
thereby grasping weeds and other supports and climbing over
bushes and fences when allowed to do so; plants hirsute,
pubescent or prickly-hairy; fruit a pepo (the word “pepo”
is Latin for a pumpkin or related fruit) which is a normally
3-celled and mostly indehiscent more or less fleshy many-
seeded pericarp, with the flower-parts at the apex.
Cucumis. Two species are in common cultivation; and the
burr gherkin, C. Anguria, is sometimes grown for the making
of pickles from its tuberculate fruit and also for ornament.
They are all slender-running plants with simple (unbranched)
tendrils. The cucumber has been cultivated from prehistoric
times, but the melon appears to be of later domestication.
C. sativus, Linn. Sp. Pl. 1012. Cucumper. Trailing or climb-
ing rough-hairy herls with alternate long-petioled triangular-
ovate angled or somewhat 3-lobed irregularly dentate leaves,
the middle lobe usually pointed: flowers axillary, yellow, with
hairy calyx; staminate 1° to several in the axil, 1 to 1% in:
across, very short-pedicelled, the calyx-tube campanulate and
exceeding the 5 subulate spreading lobes, the corolla 3 or 4
times longer than calyx-lobes, the corolla-lobes acute and usu-
ally conduplicate, stamens 3 inserted on the corolla-tube and
the bearded anthers produced into an erect ‘appendage; pis-
306 The Cucurbits
tillate flower mostly solitary, nearly or quite sessile, the long
3-celled ovary much constricted at its summit, the three 2-lobed
stigmas very large, the staminodia usually not evident: fruit
mostly oblong, sometimes nearly globular, prickly or tubercu-
late: seeds small (about 14 in. long and nearly half as wide),
brownish-white, elliptic, flat, and apiculate or sharp-pointed
at apex, smooth, 20 to 35 mg. in weight, keeping 8 to 10 years
or even longer. Var. anglicus, Bailey, Cyclo. Amer. Hort.,
408. 1900. ENGLIsH or ForcING CUCUMBER. Vine very strong
and vigorous: leaves large and broad, short in proportion to
breadth: flowers very large; ovaries and fruits very long and
slender (fruit sometimes 3 ft. long), little furrowed, spine-
less or nearly so, ripening green or nearly so rather than
yellow, the seeds few.
C. Melo, Linn. Sp. Pl. 1011. Merton. Muskmeton. Trail-
ing or climbing soft-pubescent or hairy herbs, with long-petioled
reniform or round-ovate deeply cordate hairy angled but com-
monly not lobed apiculate-dentate leaves: flowers yellow, with
hairy calyx, on short peduncles; staminate 1 or more in the
axil, about 1 in. across, the 5 narrow calyx-lobes about as long
as the tube, the 5 oblong nearly obtuse corolla-lobes 3 times
as long as calyx-lobes, stamens 8 inserted on the corolla-tube
and the anthers produced above into an erect appendage;
pistillate flower single, with inferior 3-celled globular or oblong
ovary, the 8 stigmas surrounded by 8 conspicuous staminodia
(sterile anthers), which, however, are often polliniferous, mak-
ing the flower perfect: fruit various, globular or cylindrical,
more or less furrowed, pubescent but usually becoming glab-
rous: seeds elliptic or oblong, brownish-white, plump, about
% in. long and #; in. broad, not apiculate, smooth, weighing
25 to 35 mg. and holding vitality 5 to 10 years.—Probably cen-
tral Asian. (The word “ Melo” is Latin for a form of melon.)
Var. reticulatus, Naudin, Ann. des Sci. Nat. Bot. Ser. 4, ii, 50.
1859. RETICULATED or NETTED MeELons. Small fruits with the
surface net-ribbed, comprising the nutmeg melons. Var. can-
talupensis, Naudin, 1. c. 47. CANTALOUPE MEtLons. (Fig. 174.)
Fruits with hard rinds, often furrowed, warty, scaly or rough.
Botany of the Cucurbtts 307
Practically unknown in this country, the name cantaloupe
here being improperly applied to melons in general.
Var. inodorus, Naudin, |. ce. 56. WINTER MELON. CASSABA
MELON. Strong long-tendrilled plants with large less hairy
leaves which often are lobed, sometimes round-ovate and deeply
Lees
ip Jl:
Use Cle 07 0
<
\Z yh
SS
LRA
SAAS
188: Teaf anc st-m net- fitwer of Cucurbita Pep (X about %%).
eordate like leaves of Cucurbita maxima: flowers very large,
often 2 in. across: fruit with little of the musky odor asso-
ciated with the musk melon, ripening late and keeping into
winter, often oblong and squash-like in shape and frequently
striped and splashed.
308 The Cucurbils
Var. flexuosus, Naudin, l. c. 63. (C. fleruosus, Linn. Sp. Pl.
Ed. 2, 1487. 1763.) SNAKE or SERPENT MeEton. Plant slen-
der: flowers large: fruit long and thin, 1 to 8 in. thick and
frequently 18 to 36 in. long, often curiously curved and crooked.
189. Leaf and pistillate flower of C. Pepo; the ovary is at P
(X about 2/5).
—Used sometimes for preserves, but grown mostly as a
curiosity. ,
Var. Dudaim, Naudin, 1. ec. €9. (C. Dudaim, Linn. Sp. PI.
1011. C. odoratissimus. Moench, Meth. 654. 1794.) Dupaim
MeEton. Small and‘slender plant with more er less lengthened
leaves: flowers reiatively large: fruit size of an oblate orange,
Botany of the Cucurbits 309
smooth, longitudinally marbled with rich brown, very fra-
grant—Grown for ornament and for the strong scent of the
fruit. (‘‘Dudaim” is a Hebrew name, said to be scriptural.)
Var. Chito, Naudin, 1. ce. 67. (C. Chito, Morr. Ann. Soe.
Gand. v, 341. 1849.) Manco Meton. Slender plant with
melon-like foliage but smaller: fruit size and shape of an
orange or lemon, or some-
times oblong, not fragrant
or variegated, yellow or
greenish yellow, the flesh
white and much like that of
a cucumber, whence the
name ‘Lemon Cucumber.”
—Used in the making of
“mango” preserves and
pickles; known also as
Orange Melon, Melon Apple,
Vine Peach, Vegetable
Orange. (The word “ Chito”
is probably geographical.)
C. Anguria, Linn. Sp. Pl.
1011. West INDIA or BURR
GHERKIN. BURR CUCUMBER.
A very slender rough-hairy
plant with angled stems and
small leaves lobed or cut
into usually 5 rounded lobes
with open sinuses: flowers
about % in. across, yellow,
on slender peduncles: fruit
oval or oblong, pale yellow,
longitudinally furrowed and
marked, prickly, about 2 in. long: seeds elliptic, whitish, about
3; in. long, 6 to 8 mg. in weight.—Florida and Texas to South
America. (The name “ Anguria” is of Greek origin, applied
to some kind of cucurbitous fruit.)
Citrullus. Aside from the watermelon, only the colocynth
190. Staminate flower of Cucurbita
maxima (X about 2/5).
lO The Cucurbits
(C. Colocynthis) is cultivated, as a curiosity for its small
globular very bitter fruit which is also used in medicine.
C. vulgaris, Schrad. in Ecklon & Zeyher, Enum. Pl. Afr.
Austr., 279. 18384. (Cucurtita Citrullus, Linn. Sp. Pl. 1010.)
WATERMELON. Long-running hairy vine with branching ten-
191. Leaf and pistillate flower of C. maxima; ovary at P (x about 2/5).
drils: leaves ovate to ovate-oblong in outline, short- or long-
petioled, the blade pinnately divided into 3 or 4 pairs of lobes,
the lowest one again lobed, and with small lobes and teeth
variously placed, the base of the blade cordate: flowers axil-
lary, light yellow, rather slender-peduncled, with hairy calyx;
Botany of the Cucurbits 311
staminate 114 to 114 in. across, rotate, the shallow calyx-tube
not equalling the 5 subulate spreading calyx-lobes, the broad ~
obovate obtuse green-veiny corolla-lobes about 3 times exceed-
ing the calyx-lobes, the 3 short stamens with very large curling
anthers; pistillate flowers solitary, with 3 short very large
2-lobed stigmas and small not protruding staminodia, the ovary
usually 3-celled: fruit glob-
ular or oblong, mostly glab-
rous, with a hard rind and
sweet red or white flesh, on
‘ the outside green and com-
monly more or less marbled wc
when ripe: seeds white or /y S——
black, elliptie, flat. ridged on Ui
the edge, about % to % in. ee
long and % to % in. wide,
with a characteristic promi-
nence on either side at the
point, weighing 90 to 120
mg., lasting 5 or 6 years.—
Tropical and South Africa.
The “ citron ”’ of housewives,
used for making of a pre-
serve, is a hard-fleshed
watermelon. A special kind \
is grown in China for the 4
Seeds, which are eaten. \
Cucurbita. ‘The three do- \
mesticated species of Cucur- |
bita, comprising. the
squashes, pumpkins and the
small1_ yellow-fiowered
gourds, are _ readily dis-
tinguished in the field when the eye is trained to recognize
the distinction, but may not be easily separated in herbarium
specimens or by description. Following are visual features
of separation:
192. Staminate fiower of Cucurbita moschata
(X about 4).
312
193.
The Cucurbits
. Plant harsh and rough to the feel, due to the presence of
many stiff sharp translucent hairs, the foliage stiff and
more or less rigid, standing erect: leaves with a triangu-
lar or ovate-triangular outline, pointed, mostly distinctly
lobed and the margins irregularly sharp-serrate, the
Leaf and pistillate flower of C. moschata; ovary at P (X about ¥%).
lobes and larger angles apiculate: flowers mostly with
erect or spreading pointed lobes, the corolla-tube prevail-
ingly flaring and narrowing toward the base; calyx-lobes
short and narrow: peduncle strongly angled and expand-
ing next the ovary and fruit: C. Pepo, Linn. Sp. Pl.
AA.
Botany of the Cucurbits 313
1010. FIrELp PUMpkKIN. Here belong the plants commonly
known in North America as pumpkins, used for stock-
feeding and for the making of pumpkin pie. There are
several garden varieties, long-running coarse rough vines,
the fruits ripening in autumn. The vegetable marrow
is of this species. (Figs. 180, 188, 189.)
Var. condensa, Bailey, Cyclo. Amer. Hort. 409. 1900.
BusH PUMPKIN. SUMMER SQUASH. SIMLIN (Cymling).
Not running or tendril-bearing, compact; fruits very
various, ripening in summer and autumn. Here are
included the Scallop or Pattypan squashes, and the
common Summer Crookneck (Figs. 181, 182).
Var. ovifera, Bailey, l. ec (C. ovifera, Linn. Mant. i,
126. 1767.) YELLOW-FLOWERED GouRDS. Plants running,
slender, the leaves small and commonly deeply lobed:
fruits small, hard-shelled and keeping indefinitely, yel-
low or green or variously striped, apple-shaped, pear-
shaped, oblate, sometimes warty. An interesting group
of plants grown for the ornamental inedible fruits.
Plants softer to the feel, the foliage less rigid and not
so upright: leaves round or nearly so, not lobed, the
cordate base with a very deep sinus, margins uniformly
shallow-serrate with soft points to the serratures: flow-
ers with broader lobes which are usually reflexed or
revolute in full bloom, the corolla-tube with parallel sides
or even bulging toward the base; calyx-lobes short and
narrow: peduncle short and nearly cylindrical, not en-
larging next the ovary and fruit, often developing its
largest diameter at the middle: C. maxima, Duchesne
in Lam. Encye. ii, 151. 1786. AuTUMN and WINTER
SquASH. Here belong the Hubbard, Mammoth Chile,
Lowe, Essex Hybrid, Boston Marrow, Marblehead, Tur-
ban and similar varieties. They are autumn-ripening
fruits and keep well in winter. The flesh is firm and
mostly golden yellow or orange-yellow. Some of the
large or mammoth kinds are frequently called pump-
kins; but they lack the light or bright yellow external
314 The Cucurbits
color of the fruits of C. Pepo (Figs. 1&3, 184, 186, 187,
190, 191).
AAA. Plant soft to the feel, the foliage as if limp and Vel-
vety, not strongly upright: leaf-form and margins much
as in AA, but sometimes distinctly lobed as in A, often
with whitish marks or blotches: flowers with wide
crinkly wide-spreading lobes, the tube broad at base
but usually not bulging; calyx-lobes often long and
expanding into a leaf-like structure at the end: peduncle
much as in A, usually expanding more widely at its
juncture with the mature fruit: C. moschata, Duchesne.
Dict. Sci. Nat. xi, 2384. 1818. CusHAW and WINTER
CROOKNECK SQUASHES. Many of the forms of this species
appear to be oriental. The Canada Crookneck belonss -
here, as also the Yokohama, Quaker Pie, Japanese Pie,
Jonathan (Figs. 185, 192, 193).
The three species of Cucurbita described ahove are coarse
long-running plants (except that there are bush varieties of
C. Pepo), with large alternate leaves on hollow petioles and
forking tendrils arising from the side of the stem near the
axils: stem angled, rooting at some of the joints: staminate
flowers long-peduncled and therefore conspicuous; pistillate
(female) flowers short-statked and therefore lower down
among the foliage; stamens 3, with very broad filaments sep-
arate near the base but upwardly joined and with the united
anthers making a single central column in the flower; ovary
inferior, 3-celled, the 3 large stigmas 2-lobed, the bottom of
the pistillate flower provided with a prominent cup-like disc
which leaves its scar on the “‘ blossom end” of the fruit: the
peduncle or stem of the fruit is characteristic of the species,
as described above and shown in the illustrations (Figs. 180-2,
183-4, 185) : seeds various in size between the species as also
between varieties in the same species, elliptic-ovate in outline,
flat, or somewhat plumper in C. maxima and C. moschata,
those of the yellow-flowered gourds (C. Pepo var. ovifera)
about % in. long and % in. broad and weighing 60 to
Botany of the Cucurbits 315
100 mg., those of the Summer Crookneck (C. Pepo var.
condensa) about % in. long and % in. or more broad and
weighing 90 to 100 mg., those of field pumpkin (C, Pepo) %
in. long and ¥\% in. broad and weighing 150 to more than 200
mg., of Mammoth Chile Squash (C. maxima) 1 in. by % in.
and weighing nearly 500 mg.; vitality 5 to 7 years. The seeds
of C. Pepo and C. moschata are much alike in form, dirty
white color, and thin edge with raised border; those of C.
maxima are whiter, round-edged, and without the same kind
of elevated rim.
The nativity of these cucurbitas is not yet determined. Some
authorities think them probably American and others ascribe
them to Central Asia. It is not likely that the species inter-
mix. C. Pepo and C. maxima apparently do not cross, and
there are no known hybrids in cultivation between any of
the species. It would be good to know whether a bee visits
the three species indiscriminately in a single journey. The
botany of the group is still imperfectly comprehended, and
it is unsafe to make positive statements on these subjects;
but for practical purposes it may be said that the species hold
their identity.
CHAPTER XII
SWHET CORN. OKRA. MARTYNIA
The plants herein discussed are all warm-weather crops ;
they are annuals, or grown as such, cultivated for their im-
mature fruits; they should have quick soil; usually they
are not transplanted; other than good tillage, no special”
treatment is required.
Corn, okra and martynia are culturally somewhat re-
lated, but they have little else in common. They are placed
together here because none of them fits well into the other
groups.
SWEET CORN
Rows of corn are made at 8 to 4 ft. apart. In the roy
the hills (of 3 to 5 stalks each) are planted at about 2% to 3
ft., or single kernels may be dropped every ten to twelve inches.
At 2% to 3 ft. apart, the crop may be tilled in both directions.
Cover the seed about 1 in. deep, or Somewhat deeper late in
the season. When the corn is small, the ground may be har-
rowed without destroying the plant. In hills, one peck to
the acre is required for planting; 8,000 to 10,000 ears should
be secured from an acre.
Corn smut (Ustilago cew).—Enlarged galls or swellings
that break open and expose a dark brown to black powdery
mass of spores are formed on any actively growing part.
Control: The practice of removing and destroying all smut
boils while they are young is recommended as a means of
(316)
Sweet Corn | 317
reducing the smut developing in the field. Crop rotation is
beneficial and it is desirable not to apply corn-fodder manure
to a field on which corn is to be grown next season.
CoRN EAR-WoRM (I/eliothis obsoleta).—A caterpillar, 1% to 2
in. long, varying from light green to brown, highly variable in
markings but usually with a longitudinal: pale stripe along
the side, edged above with blackish. The eggs are laid on the
silk and the young caterpillars work their way down under
the husk, where they feed on the green silk and unripe kernels.
The broods coming late in the season are much more abun-
dant and injury to late corn is therefore greater. Control:
Experiments in New Jersey have shown that the injury to
sweet corn may be greatly decreased by dusting the silk with
a mixture of 50% arsenate of lead and 50% finely ground
sulfur. The first application is made soon after the silk
first appears, followed by one or two more applications before
the corn is ready to pick. For regions where the pest is
abundant corn for the cannery should be grown early in the
season to avoid most of the injury.
EUROPEAN CORN BORER (Pyrausta nubilalis).—A yellowish
eray brown-headed caterpillar, about 34 in. long, minutely
brown-spotted and indistinctly striped with reddish or dusky.
The caterpillars bore in all parts of the plants except the
roots. They are found in the stalks, ear, cob and in the tassel.
There are one or two broods depending on the climate—two
in the vicinity of Boston and one in the Mohawk River Valley,
New York. This pest was recently introduced from Europe
and as far as known is now restricted to central New England,
New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania. Control: To pre-
vent the spread of this pest, strict Federal and State quaran-
tines have been established, governing the transportation of
plants likely to contain the larve. No effective control meas-
ures applicable to ordinary farm conditions have been devised.
BROWN FRUIT CHAFER (Huphoria inda).—A thick-set yellow-
ish brown beetle, 4% in. long, marked on the back with small
irregular black dots. The beetles appear in the fall and attack
_ the corn in the milk, often working down under the husk.
318 Sweet Corn. Okra. Martynia
The larve feed on the ground in the vicinity of manure piles.
Hand-picking is the only effective method of control known.
STINK-BUGS (Huschistus variolarius and E. euschistoides ).—
These two dull grayish brown stink-bugs, about % in. long,
often attack corn by puncturing the kernels through the husk
and sucking out the juices. The bugs are most abundant in
waste land grown up to weeds. Clean farming will greatly
reduce their numbers.
As a garden or horticultural crop, sweet corn or sugar
corn is the only kind of maize that need be considered here.
It is grown for the immature ears, which are eaten when
the grains are yet soft. Although practically unknown in
other parts of the world, it is a very important product in .
North America. Its importance has greatly increased in
recent time because it is extensively canned. Sweet corn
is not grown in the Southern
States; or if it is, the seed is
renewed evcry year. It holds
its peculiar attributes in the
short sharp seasons of the
1d ee Northern States and parts of
Creer). Canada. Eating corn from
the cob seems to be an American enterprise. “ Green
corn” is a characteristic and highly desirable food prod-
uct, and nothing seems to connect one closer with the soil
and the open. Figs. 194, 195, 196 illustrate it.
The cultivation of sweet corn is not unlike that of field
corn, with the exception that greater attention is paid to
earliness and to the development of each individual plant.
It is therefore given, if possible, an earlier and warmer
soil, with quickly available fertilizers, and it is usually
grown in hills rather than in continuous drills. The idea
Sweet Corn 319
is to secure as many ears as possible, and therefore each
stalk should be given adequate room. In field corn, on the
contrary, particularly since the advent of the silo, the
fodder may be quite as important as the grain. If the sea-
son. is short and the
soil is hard and back-
ward, it is well to add
a little commercial
fertilizer to each hill
to start the plants off
quickly. Maize does
particularly well fol-
lowing sod 195. Maize coming up (X 2/3).
The excellence of the crop depends to an important de-
gree on the parentage of the seed. Seed-breeding plots
should be maintained, or else extra discrimination should
be exercised in the purchase of seed for planting.
Seed is planted for the early crop as soon as the ground
is thoroughly warm. Since sweet-corn seed is particularly
hable to rot in cold and damp ground, it is well to make
the first planting rather heavy. It is possible to start in
plots and transplant, but in practice it is planted directly
in the field. The early plantings are usually made of the
extra-early varieties, as Minnesota, Cory, Golden Bantam
and others. The main crop is commonly secured from the
later or main-season varieties, of which the Stowell Ever-
green is a standard. Successional plantings may be made
at intervals of one to two weeks, particularly for the home
garden or for a continuous supply for the market-garden.
In market-gardening, the value of the green-corn crop is
often determined hy its earliness. Two or three days in
196. Sweet corn at the edible stage (X about 4%).
Sweet Corn 321
time of ripening may make*a difference between the profit-
able and unprofitable crop, particularly when one is un-
der strong competition with neighboring gardeners. In
such cases the grower secures the early crop by means of
the very earliest varieties, carefully selected seed, and par-
ticularly by having quick and well-prepared land to which
only readily available fertilizers have been added. If the
land is inclined to be hard and rough, it is well to turn it
up loose in the fall.
Tillage of sweet corn should be shallow and frequent
until earing well begins; thereafter the tillage may be
httle or discontinued, but weeds should be kept down by
hand or pulled as they appear.
Although corn is a hot-weather plant and thrives in the
fullest exposure to sunlight, it nevertheless is not able to
withstand drought as well as potatoes and many other
crops. ‘This is because it is relatively a surface feeder.
_ Every effort should be made, therefore, to save the mois-
ture in the soil. The moisture content is held by deep
preparation of the land and by the incorporation of veg-
etable matter. Thereafter it is saved by surface tillage.
In the general market, corn is usually retailed by the
dozen ears. As a field crop: for the canning factories, the
ears are ordinarily sold by the ton, after all small and im-
perfect ears are discarded. The ears of the second setting
will develop better if those of the first setting are picked
as soon as they are fit for use.
It is a frequent practice to pull the ears too soon, to get
the benefit of early market. ‘The kernels should be large
and well formed when the corn is harvested, so that they
make a continuous pavement-like surface on the ear, “ well
Ba2 Sweet Corn. Okra. Martynia
filled out.” The ears are marketed in their husks, the
outer loose leaves being pulled off, in baskets, hampers and
barrels. Sweet corn makes a very attractive product if
well graded, and sent to market in paper-lined hampers or
in cartons (Fig. 235).
For home use, Golden Bantam is now the favorite +S
cause of its delicious sweet quality. At first objections
were raised because of its yellow color but this is mere
prejudice or lack of reason; there is no more reason why
corn should be white than yellow. The demand for mere
whiteness in food products is one of our precious absurdi-
ties. Golden Bantam yields small ears and therefore may
not be wanted on certain markets. It is an 8- and 10-rowed
variety. There is a long list of excellent varieties of sweet
corn, of which Mayflower, Cory, Metropolitan, Perry, Min-
nesota, Crosby, Stabler, Champion, Country Gentleman,
Black Mexican, Stowell Evergreen may be mentioned.
Adams Early is not a true sweet corn, but is grown for
the market because of its earliness and hardiness.
THE SWEET MaIzE PLANT
Zea. Graminee. Two dozen and more specific names haye
been given in the genus Zea, but the prevailing opinion reduces
them all to forms of one polymorphous species, Z. Mays, Linn.
Sp. Pl. 971. Matize. InpiIan Corn. The plant is unknown
wild. Historical and other evidence indicates an American
origin; probably Mexican. By some authors it is thought to
have originated as a hybrid between other genera of grasses.
Z. Mays, Linn., var. rugosa, Bonaf., Mais, 39, fig. 19 pl. xi.
18386. (2%. saccharata, Sturtevant, 3rd. Repl Ne a2 expe Se
156. 1884. Z. Mays var. saccharata, Bailey, Cyclo. Amer.
Hort. 2006. 1902.) Sweet Corn. Plant of relatively low
stature, 4 to 7 or 8 ft., strict, the culm smooth and glabrous,
Corn and Okra 323
commonly with brace-roots from the lower exposed joints;
stem or culm with prominent nodes or joints, above which
extend the long tight often ciliate-edged leaf-sheath: leaves
1 at every joint, long linear-lanceolate, acuminate-pointed,
2 to 3 ft. long and 2 to 3 in. wide, with a short scarious ligule
at top of sheath, the midrib prominent: flowers numerous,
imperfect, the staminate (male) in the “tassel” or panicle
terminating the culm, and the pistillate in “‘ears” or spikes
from 1, 2 or 3 of the lower or mid-stem axils and facing a
grooved internode, the ears covered with modified sheaths or
husks; staminate spikelets 2 at the nodes of the rachises con-
stituting the panicle (one of them pedicelled and one sessile),
each spikelet 2-flowered and with 2 empty ciliate glumes and
2 thin palets and 2 lemmas, the stamens 3 in each flower and
bearing large exserted dangling anthers; pistillate spikelets
sessile, 8 to 24 rows on a long thick axis or cob, comprising
a single pistil covered in the ciliate notched glumes but out-
growing the floral envelopes (which are 2 glumes, 2 palets and
2 lemmas) and leaving them as chaff on the cob, the single
style arising from the apex and very much prolonged, the
many protruding hanging styles constituting the “silk”: fruit
a hard dry angular kernel (“seed”), flattened on the sides,
narrowed below to a point or in other kernels truncate at
base, suleate on one side, at maturity and when dry wrinkled
on top and the outsides, a well-formed pointed kernel measur-
ing at maturity 1% in. either way, weighing 200 to 300 mg.
more or less; vitality 1 to 4 years. Sometimes pistillate flowers
are borne in the tassel, producing kernels; and sometimes
there is a staminate extension of the ear; these are unusual
and abnormal states.
OKRA og GUMBO
Warm climate and soil, and the attention given to the
growing of a good crop of corn or cotton, are the prime re-
quirements for okra. It is usually planted directly in the
field. :
324 Sweet Corn. Okra. Martynia
The large varieties of okra should go in rows 4 to 5 ft.
apart, and the plants may stand 12 to 36 in. in the row; the
dwarf varieties may go as close as 3 ft., and 10 to 15 in. in
the row. -Sometimes the crop is grown in hills, after the way.
of corn, 2, 3 or 4 plants standing together after the thinning.
If land is abundant, the rows for large sorts may be as much
as 5 ft. asunder. Seeds are covered 1 to 1% or 2 in. deep.
THE OKRA CATERPILLAR (Anomis erosa)—A pale pea-green
looking caterpillar, about 114 in. long, inconspicuously marked
with five narrow broken yellowish lines above and with a
broader yellowish white stripe on each side. The young cater-
pillars eat out small holes in the leaves and the older ones
irregular areas in the side, often defoliating the plant. Con-
trol: When the caterpillars first appear, spray with arsenate
of lead (paste), 2 lbs. in 50 gallons water or, to avoid the
danger of using an arsenical, “ Black Leaf 40” tobacco extract,
10 ounces to 100 gallons water, in which 5 or 6 Ibs. soap have
been dissolved, may be used.
CoRN EAR-worM (Heliothis obsoleta).—The corn ear-worm
often attacks the pods. See under Sweet Corn. Control: Plant
a row or two of corn near the okra to serve as trap crop.
It should be cut before the caterpillars reach maturity.
GRAY HAIR-STREAK BUTTERFLY (Uranotes melinus).— The
slug-like caterpillars of this dainty blackish blue-gray butterfly
sometimes injure the buds and leaves. If necessary they may
be controlled by spraying with arsenate of lead.
SPINACH APHIS (Mysus persice).—See under Spinach.
MELON APHIS (Aphis gossypii) —See under Cucumber.
Okra is a hot-weather plant, cultivated as an annual,
the seeds being sown each spring. It is commonly
grown in the Southern States, where its partially matured
pods are in much demand for soups and stews, and salads
are made from the boiled tender pods. These pods must
be cut when still tender and pulpy, before they have de-
Okra 325
veloped strings or woody fiber. Pods are also canned
(often with tomatoes), and dried for subsequent use. They
are ready for picking a day or two
after bloom.
Okra is grown in essentially the
same way as corn. The seeds are
197. Seeds of okra (X 2). | sown where the plants are to stand,
as the young plants do not transplant with ease. In the
Northern States, however, the plants are sometimes started
in pots, boxes or on inverted sods in frames. Okra is a
large-growing plant and the rows should be 3 to 4, or even
5, feet apart for the larger varieties. In the row the plants
should stand 1 to 3
feet. In the North
certain dwarf and
early-maturing varie-
ties are usually grown,
and these may stand
as close as 1 foot, or
even less, in the row.
“As soon as_ the
plants begin to set
iruit,” writes W. R. Beattie in Farmers’ Bulletin No. 282,
“the pods should be gathered each day, preferably in the
evening. The flower opens during the night or early morn-
ing and fades after a few hours. The pollen must be trans-
ferred during the early morning, and the pod thus formed
will usually be ready for gathering during the latter part
of the following day, although the time required to pro-
duce a marketable pod varies according to the age of
the plant and the conditions under which it is grown.
198. Seedlings of okra (< ¥).
326 Sweet Corn. Okra. Martynia
The pods should always be gathered, irrespective of size,
while they are still soft and before the seeds are half
grown.”
Varieties are tall and dwarf; also long-podded and short-
podded. Prominent names among the varieties, which are
often more or less unstable and poorly defined, are Perkins,
Tall Green, Long Green, Creole, and Velvet among the
199. Leaf and pods of okra (X 44).
.
long-pods, Little Gem and Dwarf Green among the short-
pods. The pods should be picked every day, when the plant
comes into good size, not only that the product may be
tender but that the bearing season of the plant may he
extended. The small green pods are marketed in berry
boxes or other small packages. Figs. 197 to 199 show the
okra plant.
~~
Botany of Okra 327
THE OKRA PLANT
Hibiscus. J/alvaceew. Nearly 200 species of herbs and small
trees in many parts of the world.
H. esculentus, Linn. Sp. Pl. 696. Oxra. Gumpso. (Abel-
moschus esculentus, Moench, Meth. 617. 1794.) Stout erect
branching nearly glabrous annual (biennial and perhaps per-
ennial), 2 to 7 ft. tall: stems terete, pithy, more or less fur-
rowed, often colored, glabrous or with few scattered hairs:
leaves alternate, long-petioled, the blade various in shape
from rounded and hollyhock-like to palmately 3- to 5-parted
or compound, the margins coarsely and irregularly dentate,
cordate at the base, with scattered hairs on the veins: flowers
solitary in the upper axils, on stout erect furrowed or angled
peduncles, large, yellow or straw-yellow with a red eye, sub-
tended by very narrow bracteoles about 1 in. long; calyx-lobes
large and broad, acute, about half the length of the bell-shaped
corolla which is 2 to 8 in. long; petals large and showy,
obovate; stamens united in a column in the center of the
flower and surrounding the 5 styles: fruit a long straight or
curved strongly ribbed pubescent or hairy 5-celled pod (4 to 12
in. long), which is expanded at the base and long-pointed
at the apex: seeds gray or brown, skull-shaped or nearly
globular, with fine concentric broken lines, and a whitish
base-point, 3; to 144 in. diameter, about 45 to 60 mg. in weight,
lasting about 5 years.—Supposedly native in Old World tropics,
Africa or Asia or both; probably not anciently cultivated,
although now widespread in warm countries.
MARTYNIA
Martynia is grown for the half-matured seed-pods, which
are used for pickles. The plant requires a warm soil and
exposure. Give much room, for a good plant will spread
over an area of 3 or 4 feet across. It is a low-spreading
plant of very rapid growth, with very large hairy leaves,
odd showy flowers, and long-beaked hairy pods. It de-
Oo
ros)
CO
Sweet Corn. Okra. Martynia
201. Seedling of the
200. Seeds of the garden garden martynia
martynia (X 114). (X %).
202. Leaf of martynia (X 1/5).
= 205. Young edible pod of
203. Flower of martynia 204. Flower, front martynia or unicorn plant
(X %). view (X %). (X % to %).
The Martynia 329
mands no special treatment. Seeds may be started in
frames or planted in the open as soon as warm weather
comes. Its use is not extensive, but the seeds find a place
in the standard catalogues. It often seli-sows, coming up
the following year; in this way it is reported as an intro-
duced or escaped plant in regions far outside its native
range. It is frequently grown for ornament or as a
curiosity. Figs. 200 to 205 show the features of this odd
plant.
The martynia or unicorn plant is one of the few species of
the Martyniacee. As now treated, the family comprises three
genera, and the genus Martynia proper has but a single species,
while the common martynia of the gardens goes into the genus
Proboscidea, characterized by a short corolla-tube and 4 fertile
stamens.
The martynia mostly offered by American seedsmen
amongst vegetable-garden seeds becomes Proboscidea louisiana,
Wooton & Standley, Contr. U. S. Nat. Mus. xix, 602. 1915.
(Martynia lowisiana, Mill. Gard. Dict. Ed. 8. 1768. J. probo-
scidea, Gloxin, Obs. Bot. 14. 1785. P. Jussieui, Steud. Nomen.
Ind. 2, ii, 397. 1841.) It is an odd densely clammy-pubescent
low wide-spreading tender annual herb with thick opposite
divaricate branches: leaves alternate or subopposite, soft and
thick, mostly horizontal or nearly so, long-petioled, round-
ovate to oblong-ovate, obtuse, wavy-margined but not lobed,
strongly palmately ribbed, cordate and often unequal at the
base, the basal auricles turned upwards: flowers large, in
racemes that become central in the forks, square-ended in bud;
calyx unequally 5-lobed, the upper lobes much longer, slit to
ithe base on the lower side, subtended by 2 small pad-like or
lanceolate deciduous bracts; corolla light violet to purple, 1%
in. long, tube 144 in. long and % in. diameter crosswise at the
mouth, hairy outside, limb unequally 5-lobed, oblique with the
rounded middle lobe largest and projected forward and undu-
330 Sweet Corn. Okra. Martyma
late, the side lobes spreading, the two upper lobes upright and
the edges more or less rolled back, the floor of the tube
marked with a broad straight yellow and sometimes striped
band which enlarges and terminates with irregular end toward
the center of the lower lobe, upper part of throat spotted;
anthers 4, included in the roof of the tube, borne on the lower
part of the corolla-tube, in two pairs joined by their 2-celled
anthers, one pair 1% shorter than the other; pistil single,
ovary oblong bearing a long upwardly expanding style, the
stigma 2-lobed, the lobes closing to the touch: fruit hanging,
with a thick body 3 in. long and a curved beak of equal or
greater length, properly 1-celled but appearing 5-celled on
cross-section, the fleshy pericarp finally rotting away and leay-
ing the two bony horned valves with crests on the inner edge
of the main part like the lower jaws of a tusked animal: seeds -
oblong or oblong-ovate, 144 to % in. long, more or less angled
and irregular, black, tuberculate and alveolate, weighing 30 to
50 mg., holding vitality a year or two.—Native from Indiana
to New Mexico, sometimes escaped elsewhere. Many small
insects become entangled in the sticky hairs of the stems,
leaves, flowers and pods.
CHAPTER XIII
CULINARY HERBS
Although there is relatively small desire on the part of
Americans for condimental and flavoring herbs, neverthe-
less every complete home garden should have a small area
set aside for the cultivation of at least a half dozen of the
leading kinds. They add a peculiar variety and charm to
the kitchen-garden, and connect it with old rhymes and
memories.
What are commonly known as “herbs” in the trade
comprise a great variety of plants. Some of them are
grown for medicinal purposes, some for flavoring, some for
the decoration of culinary dishes and others for salads and
minor home uses. What are commonly known as “ the
sweet herbs,” however, are such plants as are used as an in-
cident to cookery. Of these the most popular in America
is sage.
Some of the culinary herbs are prized for foliage, and
others for seeds or fruits. The species to which the name
“ sweet herb ” should be restricted are those that have aro-
matic foliage. Of such are sage (Fig. 206), hyssop, thyme,
mints, tansy, horehound, savory (Fig. 207). Most of these
plants are members of the mint family, or Labiata,
although some of them, as tansy and wormwood, are of
the sunflower family. Those species of which the seeds are
(331)
Doe Culinary Herbs
used are mostly of the parsley family, or Umbellifere. Of
such are caraway, coriander and dill. The larger number
of the seed-crop plants is annual.
The culinary herbs are of two classes as respects the
general methods of cultivation: the annuals, or those that
must be resown every year; and the perennials, or those
that persist for a number of years. Even the perennial
' species, as sage and _ hyssop,
should be resown or replanted
frequently to keep the plants in
vigorous condition, particularly
if the climate is severe and if
the plants are not given a little
‘ winter protection.
It is well to grow all the kitch-
en herbs together on one side of
the garden, whether they are an-
nual or perennial, and to have
a clump of a particular herb
each year in its accustomed
place. The “herb garden,” in
a place devoted to it, should
oftener be part of the garden 7. summer
plan. A strip 3 or 4 feeb widely meme
can be made a collecting-place for the herbs; and the place
will have more than a commercial or culinary interest.
Most of the culinary herbs are of the easiest cultivation.
They thrive in any loose warm and open soil. Although
the growth is usually most profuse in rather heavy and
moist soils, it is thought that the aromatic qualities, for
which they are particularly esteemed, are more pronounced
206. Sage (< %).
Kitchen Herbs BOS
in soils in which the plants do not make exuberant growth.
The land should always be fertile enough, however, to pro-
duce a full development of the plant.
The strongest-growing perennial species may be propa-
gated easily by division of the root. When the clump be-
gins to fail, it is well to dig it up and discard all the older
parts of the roots and to replant the younger and more
vigorous parts. When such species are grown from seed,
they are usually not strong enough to supply a heavy prod-
uct until the second year, although some of them may give
a cutting the first autumn if they are started early and if
the land is good. Ordinarily a space 4 feet square will
contain enough of any herb to supply a family, although
twice that area may be desired for such popular species as
sage, caraway and spearmint.
The plants grown for herbage are usually cut when they
are in full growth and before they have become woody.
The stems are cut off near the ground and are then tied
together in bundles and hung in a dry cool place, as an
attic. ‘The dried herbage is then in condition for use in
winter. Continual cuttings of the young herbage may also
be made during the season for current uses. It is evident
that if the plants are cut severely and continuously they
will be weakened, and that it may be necessary to raise a
fresh stock to take their places.
The species grown for seeds are allowed to ripen before
the product is gathered. The plants are usually cut or
pulled just before the seeds are ready to fall. The plants
are then dried under cover and the seeds are threshed out.
Seeds of the sced-cropping herbs and dried herbage of
the true sweet herbs are usually to be had at drug stores,
4
334 Culinary Herbs
but there is much satisfaction in growing one’s own.
Sometimes there is a fair market for home-grown herbs.
The following lists contain the leading species of sweet
and culinary herbs cultivated in this country, arranged
with reference to duration:
Annual or biennial, or grown as such
anise, caraway (biennial),
sweet basil, clary (biennial),
summer savory, dill (biennial),
coriander, sweet marjoram (biennial
or perennial).
Perennial
sage, rosemary,
lavender, horehound,
peppermint, fennel,
spearmint, lovage,
hyssop, winter savory,
thyme, tansy,
marjoram, wormvwood,
balm, costmary,
catnip, tarragon.
pennyroyal,
CHAP WR XY.
GLASS
To protect and forward plants, various covers are used ;
and these covers, of every kind and description, are usu-
ally spoken of as “ glass,’ even though paper or cloth may
sometimes be employed in place of glass. They comprise
all the range of forcing-hills, coldframes, hotbeds and
glasshouses.
Every vegetable-gardener, however small his area, needs
glass. Thereby is he enabled to secure a crop in advance
of its normal season. He becomes, in a measure, independ-
ent of season or even of climate. The vegetable-gardener
is less subject to loss from vagaries of frost than is the
fruit-grower. He can cover his plants. The plants are
also more amenable to treatment: he can sometimes harden
them off, so that they withstand frost. He can grow them
at such times as to escape the dangerous season: the fruit-
grower’s plants must stand and take it.
The purpose of glass is to forward plants in advance of
their season or beyond it. This result is obtained by pro-
tecting the plants from unpropitious weather or by actu-
ally forcing them. An example of the former object is
the protection in winter of hardy plants started in the
fall. The plants are kept alive in the cold weather by
means of the covering, but they do not grow. There are
(335)
336 Glass
two general types of forcing: the plants may be started
under glass, and then transplanted into the open; they may
be grown to maturity under glass.
1. QUANTITY OF GLASS REQUIRED
How much glass the vegetable-gardener needs depends
(1) on how intensified are his operations, (2) i what sea-
son he wants the major part of his crops, (3) the region,
(4) the kinds of crops. These factors are largely deter-
mined, in their turn, by the man’s location with reference
to market, and the price of labor and land. Very small
areas sometimes have sufficient glass to cover them.
Glasshouses are increasing in number and popularity.
They are driving out hotbeds for the forcing of winter
stuff. But for general vegetable-gardening, the coldframe
and hotbed remain, although their relative importance is
likely to diminish. ‘These humble structures are desirable
because they are cheap, because they allow the person
quickly to change or modify his business (a great advan-
tage on rented land), and because they can be removed
when the spring forcing is accomplished, allowing the land
to be used for other purposes. The growing of winter
vegetables in the North (under glass) is a special busi-
ness, and is not discussed in this book.
Vegetable-gardening glass is usually computed in sashes.
A normal sash is 3 x 6 feet in surface area. Sashes are
combined into frames. A frame is a box covered by four
sash,—that is, an area 6 x 12 feet. For general and mixed
vegetable-gardening, about twenty-five sash are sufficient
for an acre of garden, considering that the plants are to
be transplanted to the field, not matured under the sash.
Capacity of Frames 337
If one is growing particular crops, as tomatoes, fifteen sash
may be sufficient. For the best kind of home gardening,
when it is desired to mature spring lettuce and radishes
under glass as well as to transplant stuff into the open,
thirty-five to fifty sash may be needed to the acre.
In growing plants for transplanting, a sash may be esti-
mated to accommodate 400 to 500 cabbage and cauliflower
- plants, 300 to 400 tomatoes and eggplants, 600 to 800 let-
tuces. When the plants are transplanted in the frames,
only one-third to two-thirds these numbers can be accom-
modated. If the plants are started very late and are not
transplanted, as many as 800 tomato or cabbage plants
can be grown under one sash. In general, one may expect
to gain three weeks to one month on the crop of hardy
things like cabbages, and two to three weeks on tomatoes.
To gain two weeks on the crop, however, it is necessary
to gain three or four weeks on the sowing. In extra-good
hotbeds, greater gain can be secured; but it is not common.
In calculating the amount of glass required, the gardener
must remember that many of his plants may fail after they
are set in the field. There are risks of frost, cold rains,
droughts, worms, accidents. He may lose plants while
they are still in the frames. The grower should start at
least fifty per cent more plants than he expects to raise.
The surplus may pe left in the frames until the trans-
_ planted subjects are thoroughly established and safe.
The following sample estimate, by a gardener, illustrates
the method of casting up one’s outlay for the season’s
glass. It is an estimate for a market-garden of one acre,
for a general line of vegetables. It supposes that half of
the acre is to be set with plants from hotbeds:
338 Glass
One-eighth acre to early cauliflower and cabbage, about
2,000 plants; if transplanted would require two 6x12 frames,
200 to 250 plants being grown under each sash, or about 1,000
plants from each frame.
These frames may be used again for tomato plants for the
Same area, using about 450 plants. This will allow one sash
for every 55 plants. Plants for this area may be grown in
one frame, but would be crowded and not as stocky as if
given more room.
One frame may be in use at the same time for eggplants
and peppers, two sash of each, growing 50 transplanted plants
under each sash.
Two frames will be required for cucumbers, melons and early
squashes.
If one wishes to grow extra-early lettuce, an estimate of
60 to 70 heads may be made to a sash.
It is assumed that celery and late cabbages are to be started
in seed-beds in the open.
If spinach is grown in frames, the sash used for one of
the late crops above may be used through the following winter.
This makes a total of five frames; twenty sash and covers;
manure, calculating at least three or four loads to a frame.
This is a liberal estimate of space, and should allow for all
ordinary loss of plants, and for discarding the weak and
inferior ones. It supposes that most or all the plants are to
be transplanted once or more in the frames. Many gar-
deners have less equipment of glass and do less transplanting.
2. THE MAKING OF FRAMES
In the planning of a coldframe or hotbed, the builder
must have in mind the following objects to be attained:
(1) sufficient and uniform supply of heat; (2) ample pro-
tection from cold; (3) means for ventilation; (4) facili-
ties for obtaining water; (5) plants to be near the glass,
and yet to have head-room for growth of tall kinds; (6)
Placing the Frames 339
ease and convenience of manipulation; (7) cheapness and
durability.
Location and exposure:
Ideally, the place on which frames are set should slope
gently to the south or southeast. The area should be well
protected from the cold and prevailing winds. A wind-
break is necessary. This may be a pronounced rise of
land to the north or west, a building, a wall, or a hedge.
If none of these shelters exists, a temporary one may be
made. A board fence 5 to 8 feet high is the common
resort; if it slants back somewhat, it provides a good sup-
port for mats and sash leaned against it. A screen of
cornstalks, evergreen boughs, or other material may serve
the purpose.
The frames should be near the buildings and easy of
access. They need frequent attention, particularly in
changeable weather. Frames far from the house, or which
are cut off by snowdrifts or mud, are likely to suffer in
critical times. Water supply should be at hand. If
pipe-water cannot be had, a good well or cistern, with
force-pump, should be provided. Some provision should
also be made for warming the water in cold weather, for
very cold water chills and delays the plants and wastes the
heat of the bed.
If land is sufficient and the garden area remains year
by year in approximately the same place, it is advisable
to have a permanent frameyard. The windbreaks, water
supply and other accessories can then be well provided.
Pits may be dug for the hotbeds and the sides stoned
or bricked. These pits retain heat better than surface-
340 Glass
built beds, are less exposed to winds, and are permanent;
but they are more expensive in the beginning. The pits
can also be filled in autumn with manure or litter, and if
this is pitched out at any time in winter or spring, an
unfrozen area is at once ready for the making of the hot-
bed. Pits should be tile-drained, unless the soil is very
loose and the bottom is below the frost line of the sur-
rounding unprotected land. If many frames are employed,
they should extend in parallel rows, six or seven feet apart,
so that a man walking between can water or tend two runs.
Building the frame.
The common type of frame is shown in Fig. 208. It
is a little over 12 feet long, is 6 feet wide, and is covered
with four 3x6 sash. It is sometimes made of ordinary
1 ae tod fis :
BS fet lee.
in! ma { inthe Ii aly.
208. A frame. In this case the frame is mortised together, so that the
material can be taken apart and stored.
Construction of Frames 341
boards loosely nailed together. If one expects to use cold-
frames or hotbeds every year, however, it is advisable to
make the frames of heavier stuff, well painted, and to joim
the parts by bolts
or tenons, so that
they may be taken
apart and stored.
Fig. 209 suggests
methods of making
the frames so that
they may be taken apart. The pieces for the sash to slide
on are made of stuff three inches wide mortised into the
frame. These pieces have a strip or mounting nailed along
their middle to hold the sash to its place. Fig. 210 (from
Cornell Reading-Course Lesson) shows the details of a
two-sash coldframe before the parts are nailed together.
The depth of the frame must be governed largely by
the plants it is desired to grow, and by the length of time
fa
i
|
i
209. A method of making a collapsible frame.
210. The five members of a two-sash frame.
‘ they are to remain in the bed. It is well to have the
plants as near the glass as possible and yet give them room
in which to grow. If the frame sets on top of the manure,
342 Glass
the back side may be 12 to 15 inches high, and the front
side 8 to 10 inches.
38. COLDFRAMES AND FORCING-HILLS
A coldframe has no bottom heat, except that which it
receives from the sun; otherwise it is like a hotbed. A
coldframe is used for three general purposes: (1) for
the starting of plants early in spring; (2) for receiving
partially hardened plants that have been started earlier
in hotbeds and forcing-houses; (3) for wintering young
cabbages, lettuce and other hardy plants sown in autumn.
Coldframes are ordinarily placed near the buildings,
and the plants are transplanted into the field when set- —
tled weather comes. Sometimes, however, frames are
made directly in the field where the plants are to remain,
and the frames, and not the plants, are removed. When
used for this latter purpose, the frames are made very
cheap by running two rows of parallel planks through the
field at a distance of six feet apart. The plank on the
north is ordinarily 10 to 12 inches wide, and that on the
south 8 to 10 inches. These planks are held in place
by stakes, and the sash are laid across them. Seeds of
radishes, beets, lettuce, and the like are then sown be-
neath the sash, and when settled weather arrives the sash
and planks are removed and the plants are growing natu-
rally in the field. Half-hardy plants, as those men-
tioned, may be started two or three weeks in advance
of the normal season by this means.
When the heat is spent from hotbeds, they become
coldframes. They can then be used, if empty, for the
starting of late plants; or the plants may be hardened-off
Frames and Forcing-hills 343
in them as they cool, thus, perhaps, obviating the neces-
sity of transplanting to other frames.
Span-roof coldframes’ are useful, as they allow better
and more uniform conditions for the growing of plants
than the ordi- ,
nary frame.
They are cov-
ered with hot-
bed sash laid on
a framework, as
seen in Fig.
Zid and the
sashes pulled “=
down from the 211. Span-roof coldframe.
top for ventilation. They are essentially forcing-houses,
however, and the discussion of them is foreign to the pur-
pose of this volume.
Forcing-hills.
A forcing-hill is an arrangement by means of which
a single plant or a single hill of plants may be forced
where it permanently stands. It is a small or “ indi-
vidual” coldframe.
This type of forcing may be applied to perennial plants,
as rhubarb and asparagus, or to annuals, as melons and
eucumbers. Fig. 212 illustrates a common method of
hastening the growth of rhubarb in the spring. A box
with four removable sides, two of which are shown in
end section in the figure, is placed about the plant in
the fall. The inside of the box is filled with straw or
hitter, and the outside is banked thoroughly with any
244. Glass
refuse, to prevent the ground from freezing. When it
is desired to start the plants, the covering is removed
from both the inside and outside of the box, and hot
manure is piled around the box to its
top. If the weather is still cold, dry
ght leaves or straw may be placed
inside the box, or a pane or sash of
glass may be placed on top of the box,
to answer the purpose of a coldframe.
* Rhubarb, asparagus, sea-kale and simi-
212. Forwarding of lar plants may be advanced two to four
rhubarb in the field. ;
weeks by this method of forcing. -
Some gardeners use old barrels or half-barrels in place of
the box. The box, however, is better and handier, and
the sides can be stored for future use.
Plants that require a long season and which do not
transplant readily, as melons and cucumbers, may be
planted in forcing-hills in the field. One of these hills
is shown in Fig. 213. The frame or mold is shown at
the top. This mold is a box
with flaring sides and no
top or bottom, and provided
with a handle. This mold
is placed with the small end LE ~
down at the point where the oN : Erte,
seeds are to be planted, and 9°" “""n»-’“7gp_gjyv0>-— WE:
the earth is hilled up about 213. The making of an elevated
it and firmly packed with aah
the feet. The mold is then withdrawn, and a pane of glass
is laid on the top of the mound to concentrate the sun’s
rays, and to prevent the bank from washing down with the
‘
Forcing-hills 345
rains. A clod of earth or a stone may be placed on the pane
to hold it down. This type of forcing-hill is not much
made, because the bank of earth is likely to wash away,
and heavy rain occurring when the glass is off will fill
the hill with water and drown the plant. However, it can
be used to very good advantage when the gardener can
give it close attention.
A forcing-hill is sometimes made by digging a hole in
the ground and planting the ‘seeds in the bottom of it,
placing the pane of glass on a slight ridge or mound made
on the surface. This method is less desirable than the
other, because the seeds are placed in the poorest and cold-
est soil, ahd the hole is very likely to fill with water in
the early days of spring.
An excellent type of forcing-hill is made by the use of
the hand-box, as shown in Fig. 214. This is a rectangu-
lar box, without top or bottom,
and a pane of glass is shpped
into a groove at the top. The
earth is banked slightly about
the box, to hold it against Lane
winds and to prevent the water Se aol
from running into it. If these Det ae ee oes
boxes are made of good lumber and painted, they will last
for many years. Any size of glass may be used, but a
10 x 12 pane is as good as any for general purposes. |
After the plants are well established in these forcing-
hills and the weather is settled, the protection is wholly
removed, and the plants grow normally in the open. Forc-
ing-hills are not well adapted to large-area work, as they
require too much time in the tending. Neither do they
346 Glass
have much advantage of protection from windbreaks, and,
- containing a less body of air, they do not give as early
results as well-made coldframes.
For starting plants in a small way, a glass-covered box
in the kitchen window may answer very well. An incu-
bator is useful for the germinating of seeds.
4.. HOTBEDS
A hotbed has artificial bottom heat. This heat is
ordinarily supphed by means of fermenting manure, but
it may be obtained from other fermenting material, as
tanbark or leaves, or from heat in flues and pipes. The
hotbed is used for the very early starting of plants, and
when the plants have outgrown the bed, or have become
too thick, they may be transplanted into cooler hotbeds
or into coldframes. Some crops, however, may be carried
to full maturity in the hotbed itself, as radishes and let-
tuce. The date at which the hotbed may be started with
safety depends almost entirely upon the means at com-
mand of heating it and on the skill of the operator. In
the Northern States, where outdoor gardening does not
begin until the first or the last of May, hotbeds are some-
times started as early as January; but they are ordinarily
delayed until early in March. In exposed places, it is
well to have the glass as near the level of the ground as
possible.
Handling the horse manure.
The heat for hotbeds is commonly supplied by the
fermentation of horse manure. It is important that the
manure be uniform in composition and texture, that it
Marure for Hotbeds 347
come from highly-fed horses, and is practically of the same
age. As much as one-third or one-half of the whole ma-
terial may be of litter or straw that has been used in the
bedding. If the manure is very dense, it will not heat
well, and it should have bedding, litter or well- decay ed
leaves mixed with it.
The manure is accumulated in a long and shallow
square-topped pile, not more than four or five feet high
as a rule, and is then allowed to ferment. Better results
are generally obtained if the manure is piled under cover.
The manure should be moist, but not wet. If it is dry
when piled, moisten it throughout. If it is very wet, it
will usually remain cold until it begins to dry out. Some-
times the addition of a little hen manure to one part
of the pile will start the heating. If the weather is cold
and fermentation does not begin, wetting a part of the
pile with hot water may start it.
The first fermentation is usually irregular,—it begins
unequally in several places in the pile. To make the
fermentation uniform, the pile may be turned, taking
care to break up all hard lumps and to distribute the hot
manure throughout the mass. It is sometimes necessary
to turn the pile five or six times before it is finally used,
although half this number of turnings is ordinarily suffi-
cient. When the pile is steaming uniformly through-
out, it is fit to be placed in the hotbed. From the first
piling of the manure until it is fit to put in the bed will
be a period, ordinarily, of two weeks.
In some cases the material will not need to be turned
to induce fermentation, particularly when the manure is
from grain-fed horses. Sometimes the manure heats so
348 | Glass
quickly and so violently that it has to be wet to prevent
it from burning, although the admixture of straw or
litter with the manure will remedy the trouble. Each
case is a law unto itself.
Making the manure bed.
Hotbed frames are sometimes set on top of the pile of
fermenting manure, as shown in Fig. 215. The manure
should extend some distance beyond the edges of the
frame; otherwise the
frame will become too cold
about the outside, and the.
plants will suffer. It is
preferable to have a pit
beneath the frame in
215. Hotbed ane aes on top which the m anure is
eer ae placed. The pit should be
a foot wider on either side than the width of the frame,
and should be about two feet deep. Fig. 216 is a cross-
section of a standard pit hotbed (H. Ness, Cire. 3, n. s.,
Tex. Exp. Sta.), showing the position and proportion of
the manure. On the ground under a bed an inch or two of
any coarse material is laid to keep the manure from the
cold earth. On this, twelve to thirty inches of manure are
placed. Above the manure is a thin layer of leaf-mold or
some porous material, that will serve as a distributor of the
heat, and above this are four or five inches of soft garden
loam, in which the plants are to be grown.
It is advisable to place the manure in the pit in layers,
each stratum to be packed or settled down before another
one is put in. These layers should be four to eight inches
Heating with Manaure 349
in thickness. By this means the mass is easily made
uniform.
Only by experience can one learn what is the proper
“body ” or texture of good hotbed manure. That with
too much straw, and which therefore soon parts with its
heat, springs up quickly when the pressure of the feet
is removed. Manure with too little straw, and which
therefore does not heat well or spends its heat quickly,
packs down into a soggy mass underneath the feet. When
-—, Sash
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216. A manure-heated hotbed.
the manure has sufficient litter, it gives a springy feeling
to the feet as a person walks over it, but does not fluff up
when the pressure is removed.
The quantity of manure to be used depends (1) on
its quality; (2) the season in which the hotbed is made;
(3) the kind of plants; (4) the skill of the operator in
managing the bed. Careless watering, by means of which
the manure is kept soaked, will stop the heat in any hot-
bed. The earher the bed is made, the larger should be
350 Glass
the quantity of manure. Hotbeds that are supposed to
hold two months should haye about two and one-half feet
of manure, as a rule. This is the maximum. For a light
hotbed to be used late in the season, six or eight inches
may be sufficient.
Various modifications of the common type of fabiea
will suggest themselves. If the hotbed were high enough
and broad enough to allow a man to work inside, we
would have a
forcing - house.
Such a structure
is shown in Fig.
2175) pon Pone
side of which the
manure and soil
CK A a are already in
217. Manure-heated forcing-house. place. Tivo to
three feet of manure should be used. The house may be
covered with hotbed sash held on a rude frame of scant-
lings. These manure-heated houses are often very efficient,
and are a good make-shift until such time as one can afford
to put in flue or pipe heat.
oe = ae
\ ee ae
Pipe-heated hotbeds.
Hotbeds may be heated by means of steam or hot water.
They can be piped from the heater in a dwelling-house or
greenhouse. Exhaust steam from a factory can often be
used with very good results. Fig. 218 shows a hotbed
with two pipes, in the positions 7, 7, below the bed. The
soil is shown at 4. Doors in the end of the house, shown
at 2, 2, may be used for ventilation or for admitting air
Heating with Pipes and Flues 351
underneath the beds. The pipes should not be surrounded
by earth, but should run through a free air space.
A flue-heated or pipe-heated hotbed may he likened to a
greenhouse bench, and the arrangement of piping for the
two should be similar.
Two to four steam- or
water-pipes are carried
underneath the bed. If,
however, one has plenty of
exhaust steam, which is
usually under consider-
able pressure, it may be
carried directly through
the soil in ordinary drain
pipes. It will rarely pay to put in a hot water or steam
heater for the express purpose of heating hotbeds, for if
such an expense is incurred, it will be better to make a
forcing-house.
218. Pipe-heated hotbed.
Flue-heated beds.
Hotbeds may be heated with hot-air flues with very
good results. A home-made brick furnace may be con-
structed in a pit at one end of the run and underneath a
shed, and the smoke and hot air, instead of being carried
directly upwards, are carried through a slightly rising
horizontal pipe which runs underneath the beds. For
some distance from the furnace, this flue may be made of
brick or unvitrified sewer pipe, but stovepipe may be
used for the greater part of the run. The chimney is
ordinarily at the farther end of the run. It should be
high, to provide a good draft. If the run of beds is long,
B52 Glass
there should be a rise in the underlying pipe of at least
one foot in twenty-five. The greater the rise in this pipe,
the more perfect will be the draft. li the runs are not
too long, the underlying pipe may return beneath the
beds and enter a chimney directly over the back end of the
furnace, and such a chimney, being warmed from the fur-
nace, will ordinarily have an excellent draft.
The underlying pipe should occupy a free space or
pit beneath the beds, and whenever it les near to the floor
of the bed or is very hot, it should be covered with asbestos.
a 6 Oly Fes
7 ie Ove. oO
FU NHE
Yj ff, tiff fy
Y yy
Y)43
219. Cross-section of a fiue-heated hotbed.
The construction of a flue-heated hotbed is thus de-
scribed by Ness (Tex. Exp. Sta.), and shown im Fig.
219: “A furnace is constructed outside the frame and
sunk about two feet below the level of the surface. From
this furnace two lines of 4- to 6-inch vitrified sewer pipe
are placed obliquely through the soil to the opposite end
of the frame, where vent to the smoke from the furnace
Hotbeds 353
is given on the outside of the frame. The pipes should
run parallel at equal distances from the walls of the bed
and each other, with a slant upward from the furnace to
the chimney at the other end of the frame. They should
be covered with a layer of earth sufficiently deep to secure
as nearly as possible an equal distribution of the heat.
The heat secured from this apparatus is much more diffi-
cult to control than that from fermenting manure, but .
the construction may be made permanent with only the
removal of the layer of earth, in which the seeds are sown
for each new crop.”
Substitutes for glass.
It will be noted that the bed in Fig. 219 is covered
with muslin. On this point Ness writes: “ Instead of
glass, the sashes may be covered with cotton cloth, satu-
rated with pure raw linseed oil. Before using such cloth,
care must be taken that the limseed oil is thoroughly
dried, as the fumes given’ off by the too fresh oils are
hable to kill or severely injure the plants, when enclosed
in such an atmosphere.”
Various prepared papers and fabrics have been advised
from time to time to substitute for glass on late-started
hotbeds or in the Southern States, and on coldframes.
Some of them may give much satisfaction, reducing cost,
breakage, and labor of handling. For late work or warm
climates it may not be necessary to oil the cloth.
“Most commercial growers in the South [writes F. S.
Earle, Bull. 108, Ala. Exp. Sta.] use cotton cloth for
covering coldframes, as it is much cheaper than glass,
and is much easier to handle in opening and closing the
304 Glass
beds (Fig. 220). Ordinary unbleached, double-width or
ten-fourths wide sheeting is used. One side is nailed fast
to the back side of the bed or in double beds to the ridge-
pole, and the other is nailed between two 1 x 2-inch strips,
thus making a square roller on which the curtain is rolled
up when it is wished to open the bed. By starting with
one short and one
long piece, so as
to break joints,
such a roller can
be made = any
desired length. It
will be necessary
to provide some
extra cover for
each _ coldframe
to use on very cold
nights, for the
220. i pina Paste ohn the cloth rolled single thickness
5 of cloth will not
turn more than a slight frost. The beds should always
be well banked at the ends and sides with earth.”
Hotbed covers.
Some protection, other than the glass or muslin, must
be given to early hotbeds. They need covering on every
cold night, and sometimes the entire day in very severe
weather. Very good material for covering the sash is mat-
ting, such as is used for carpeting floors. Old pieces of
carpet may also be used. Burlap makes excellent cover;
it may be doubled; and it may have straw, shavings or
Hotbed Covers 355
wool quilted in it. Various hotbed mattings are sold by
dealers in gardeners’ supphes.
In addition to the coverings of straw or matting, it is
sometimes necessary to provide board shutters to protect
the beds, particularly if the plants are started very early.
These shutters are made of half-inch or five-eighths-inch
lumber, and are the same size as the sash—3x6 feet.
They are used above the matting to keep it dry and to
prevent it from blowing off. In some cases they are used
without matting.
In very cold weather, it is sometimes necessary to keep
the mats and shutters on the hotbeds for two or three
days at a time. During this time, when the plants are in
comparative darkness, they are likely to become somewhat
soft and tender, and great care must be taken that they
are not scalded when the covers are removed and the sun
comes out. The stockier and the tougher the plants are
grown, the less is the danger of sun-scalding; but after a
long period of cloudy weather, this danger is greater and
the operator must watch his beds closely.
Hotbeds are usually more difficult to manage than forc-
ing-houses, since the operator can be inside the forcing-
house whatever the weather. In very cold and windy
weather, hotbeds cannot be opened. The operator works
from the outside. In many of the Plains regions, the
strong winds make it difficult to handle the hotbed sash.
In such case, the cheap forcing-house structure made of
frames and heated either with fermenting manure or
with pipes is more advantageous.
Beginners are likely to start the hotbed too soon. The
age of the plant does not count for so much as its stocki-
356 Glass
ness and vigor. If, therefore, the hotbed is started so
early that the plants have to be “ slowed up ” and stunted
in order to hold them until the field is ready, very little
is gained. In the Northern States, cabbages and cauli-
flower may be started with profit about six weeks before
the field is expected to be ready; tomatoes, six to seven
weeks; onions and beets, four to six weeks.
In summer, after the frames are stripped, the old beds
may be used for the growing of various delicate crops, as
melons or half-hardy flowers. In this position, the plants
can be protected in autumn. As already suggested, the
pits should be cleaned in the fall and filled with litter, to
facilitate the work of making the new bed in the winter
or spring.
Sowing seeds in the hotbed.
Ordinarily the manure will heat very vigorously for a
few days after it is placed in the bed. A soil thermome-
ter should be thrust through the earth to the manure, and
the frame kept tightly closed with sash and covers. When
the temperature is passing below 90°, seeds of the warm
plants, like tomatoes, may be sown, and when it passes
below 80° or 70°, the seeds of cooler plants may be sown.
By the time the beds are ready for planting, the weed
seeds probably will have germinated. Loosen and aérate
the soil before sowing. Sow in rows four to six inches
apart.
More and more, gardeners are coming to start all plants
in boxes or flats, for the plants can then be carted to the
field or put on the market with ease and with little loss.
The flats can also be shifted from one part of the frame
Handling from the Beds 307
to another, or from bed to bed, as conditions may
require.
Vegetables that do not transplant well, as melons and
cucumbers, may be grown in pots, old berry boxes, or on
inverted sods, rather than directly in the hotbed earth.
Pots are best.
The following practice in the handling of muskmelon
plants from hotbed to field is the experience of a commer-
cial grower of the crop:
Sow seed in flats in greenhouse about four weeks before
plants should be set out, say April 20th for region of New
York, in flats 24% in. deep and with 2 in. of soil; use sifted
soil, which should be rather sandy or leaf-loam, and cover
with burlap (if fertilizer bag is used, be sure to wash before
using). Keep the burlap damp but be careful not to over-
water. AS soon as the melons are up, say 1 in., take up
very carefully by using a little stick or an old table fork.
Sow plenty of seed and always throw away all poor plants
and have the plants uniform. Use 2%-in. flower-pots. If they
are dry, soak them in a tub of hot water to kill the germs.
Place the pots on the greenhouse bench or in a coldframe
with just a little hot manure sprinkled on the bottom and
a little soil or sand or sifted coal ashes. Level up and place
the pots level; sift on some good earth, one-third soil, one-third
sand, one-third well-rotted manure; sift this carefully over
the pots and be careful not to pack the earth in the pots;
take a piece of board, say % in. thick, 2 in. wide, and 12 in.
long, and stroke off until you see the top of the pots. Now
begin to transplant. Put one good plant in a pot. If it is
cloudy you will not need to shade the plants, but if the sun
shines they should be shaded by day and the shading taken
off at night. Keep a temperature from 75 to 90 degrees to
start with; then as the plants start nicely, give more ventila-
tion. As soon as the pot is full of roots, plants should be
358 Glass
transplanted, usually about the fourth week. Sometimes they
will have to be held back if it threatens frost; if so, give
plenty of ventilation.
Now we are ready for the field, which should be a good
warm well-prepared soil with a good sod, or if not some
manure plowed under. Now drag or roll down. We use a
one-horse moldboard plow to open the furrow, going both
ways in the furrow. Apply any good manure, loaded in a
manure-spreader; use some canvas on each side so that the
manure is thrown in the furrow. Level off, then put on fer-
tilizer, 50 to 100 lbs. 16% phosphate and potash. Close up
the furrow with a plow. Level the ridge with a plank or pole;
ridge when finished should be 3 or 4 inches high.
Previous to these operations, someone should have been
taking the plants out of the pots, which ought to have been
well watered the night before. Baskets are best in hauling
the plants to the field. Set the basket at an angle of about
45 degrees; take the plants out of the pots, handling carefully.
Then carry the basket to the field. Straddle one row and
plant two on each side of wagon. This is done by a boy
who is careful to carry his basket on one arm, using the other
hand to pick out the plant. Take hold of the ball of dirt,
hand to the planter who walks straddle of the ridge, using
a garden trowel. Press plants in with the hands or with the
feet slightly. Before planting, plants should be sprayed with
bordeaux and arsenate of lead.
Plant in rows 7 ft. apart and 20 to 24 in. in the row. Cul-
tivate with a spring-tooth cultivator which does not tear out
the vines as does the five-tooth cultivator. Never cultivate
deep for melons.
5. THE MANAGEMENT OF FRAMES
Only by experience can one learn how to manage a
hotbed. There are a few principles and cautions, however,
which will help.
%
Handling of Beds } 359
The objects to be sought, so far as the plants are con-
cerned, are specimens (1) ready at the required season ;
(2) stocky; and (3) that have made a continuous healthy
growth.
The dangers to avoid are (1) the chilling of the plants;
(2) too hot and close atmosphere, which tends to make
the plants soft; (3) crowding, which tends to make the
plants weak and spindling; (4) growing plants too far
from the light, which also tends to make them soft and
weak; (5) the scalding of the plants by the sun, an
injury very likely to occur when the sun comes out
after a long “spell” of dark or cold weather; (6) the
wilting of the plants, due to too great heat and too little
moisture.
Translated into the actual management of a hotbed,
these objects may be grouped as follows: (1) maintain-
ing the heat; (2) watering; (3) ventilating; (4) harden-
ing-off.
Above all things, the plant should be stocky (and
healthy) when put in the field. A stocky plant is com-
paratively short and thick, able to stand alone, and has a
normal bright green color throughout. Plants not stocky
are said to be “leggy” or “drawn,” since their general
tendency is to grow too long and weak for their bulk. A
stocky plant, however, may be stunted. The perfect plant
is both stocky and freshly vigorous.
The maintenance of the heat in the ordinary hotbed de-
pends primarily on the quality and the amount of manure;
but one can do something by subsequent management to
maintain it. Heat will ordinarily fail sooner if the hotbed
is above the ground and much exposed to winds. It may
360 Glass
also be lessened by careless watering, particularly by soak-
ing the manure. Manure that is too heavy and concen-
trated may heat violently, and wetting it may tend to cool
it to the point at which plants can grow; but a better
way is to mix leaves or other litter with the manure,
thereby preventing too rapid fermentation. Not only
should the heat from the fermenting manure be main-
tained, but care should be taken to prevent too much of it
from escaping. This is an important caution in very cold
nights and windy weather, at which time the frame should
be protected by mats or other covering. A cold and wet
soil also tends to lessen the heat in the hotbed. For this.
reason, hotbeds should be placed in a sandy or gravelly
place, if possible; or if not, the greatest precaution should
be taken to insure perfect drainage.
Watering should be performed with caution and care.
Careless watering tends (1) to pack or to puddle the soil,
(2) to chill the plants, and (3) to soak the manure and
Atti a te 287. A neat basket of celery.
a A
ESS ESS
be kept warm and some cool. Others, as onions and
squashes, must be dry; still others, as cabbages and roots,
must be kept moist. Hach class of vegetable is a law
unto itself. |
With the exception of root and tuber crops, most vege-
tables are uncertain in storage unless kept in an estab-
lishment cooled by artificial means, and which, therefore,
maintains uniformity of moisture and temperature. In
general, it is better to sell in the fall, even at a somewhat
reduced price, than to go to the expense and risk of stor-
ing. When, however, the fall market is so low as to pre-
clude any profit, storing is a necessary recourse. Persons
who have become expert in the handling of any one vege-
448 Marketing, Storing, Drying
table may store it with relative safety. If one has had no
experience in the storing of those vegetables that are diffi-
cult to keep, it is generally better to put them in
the hands of a person who makes a business of cold
storage and pay him for his labor, investment, and ex-
perience.
In general, a low temperature is essential to the keep-
ing of the product. It prevents over-ripening and delays
the work of fungi and
other disorganizing
agents. Usually it
is well to keep the
temperature rela-
tively near the freez-
ing point; but there
are some vegetables,
as melons and sweet
potatoes, that are in-
jured by a low tem-
perature. | Products
either over-ripe or
markedly under-ripe
usually do not keep
well. It is essential
to any success that
the specimens be per-
238. Vegetable containers for long-distance
Shipment: fectly sound when
put in storage, and in the proper state of maturity. No
doubt some of the loss in the storing of cabbages, for
example, is due to the infection of the plants with the
rot fungus before the heads are put in storage. Onions
Storage 449
seriously attacked by the smut or rust may not be ex-
pected to keep well, however good the storage.
The following essentials apply to the storing of most
vegetables: (1) Protect from frost; (2) keep them cool,
to prevent decay; (3) keep them relatively moist, to
avoid excessive evaporation and wilting; (4) avoid a
wet and stagnant evaporation, as this is likely to engender
rot, particularly when the temperature is too high; (5)
protect from natural heating or fermentation; (6) pro-
vide change of air, without exposing the products to such
draughts that they shrivel.
Several kinds of storage are illustrated in earlier chap-
ters, for potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, cabbage, celery.
The more general-purpose forms are shown herewith, in
enough detail to suggest the essential points.
For home use, it is well to store roots and tubers in
moist sand or in sphagnum moss (such as nurserymen
and florists use). Beets, carrots, parsnips, and potatoes
stored in this way keep plump and fresh for a twelvemonth
or more, if the temperature is kept low enough to pre-
vent sprouting. The reason for this good result is that
the sand or moss prevents evaporation and maintains uni-
formity of conditions.
The house cellar is commonly one of the poorest places
in which to store vegetables, particularly if it contains a
heater for the residence. In such case it is likely to be
too warm and too dry. The vegetables shrivel and tend
to start into growth, or to decay quickly. Cellars that
contain much vegetable-matter are likely to make the
house unwholesome unless there is ample ventilation and
pains is taken to pick over the vegetables from time to
450 Marketing, Storing, Drying
time and remove all unsound specimens. If the house
cellar is used for the storing of vegetables, it is well to
have a special vent or chimney. This may be a cheap
board affair extending up the back side of the house as
high as the roof. This flue carries
off the foul and warm air, and
thereby keeps the cellar sweet and at
a relatively low temperature. In some
cases an extra flue may be provided in
the chimney when the house is built,
and the warmth of the chimney will
cause a strong draft. Fig. 239 shows
a simple intake shaft for cool air
and an open window for the out-
eoing warm air (from Cornell Read-
ing-Course for the Farm Home, No.
— 113): “Warm air should be per-
939. Intake and outlet for mitted to pass out at the top of the
aver Ce room through ventilators, and cool
air from outside should be admitted to the room at the
bottom. In a cellar this can be accomplished by means
of a shaft leading down the wall from a window and
opening near the floor. A few windows at the top of
the wall constitute the system of ventilation for most farm
cellars.”
The old-fashioned “ outside cellar” usually gives better
conditions for the storing of vegetables than the house cel-
lar. This structure has been much advised of late, and
many improved plans are available. It is likely to be
uniform in temperature and moisture conditions. With
various modifications these cellars are used largely by mar-
Outside Cellars ADd1
ket-gardeners for the storing of roots, leek, celery and other
products that do not require a dry air.
The outside cellar is little more than a pit sunk to the
level of the ground with a gable roof covered with earth
and sod so that frost cannot enter; or if the ground is
likely to be moist, the pit is built partially above ground.
If the cellar is to be permanent, the walls may be laid of
stone or brick. If the masonry wall is lined with hollow
or “lining brick,” more uniform conditions are secured.
It is important that provision be made for ample drain-
age, and also for ventilation without opening the main
doors. This ventilation is usually secured by a little cupola
or shaft near the center of the structure or by windows
in the gables. A vestibule entrance is desirable if the
climate is severe. It is preferable that the cellar have a
natural earth bottom, provided the drainage, either natu-
ral or artificial, is complete.
A great difficulty with a permanent field or outside
cellar is the danger of its holding so much moisture and
being so “ close” as to encourage the growth of fungi and.
thus engender decay. Investigations into the causes of
the rotting of celery in storage have shown that the disease
is associated largely with poor and damp houses.
Pits, or field storage. |
The field cellar or pit is a temporary structure. A
style much used in parts of the Northern States may be de-
seribed as an example: On warm and well-drained land
(preferably sand or gravel) an excavation is made one to
two feet deep, usually fourteen to eighteen feet wide, and
of the length required to hoid the crop one has to store.
452 Marketing, Storing, Drying
The sides or margins of the excavation are held by one
or two planks placed on edge and secured by stakes driven
into the ground. The pit is then covered with a gable
roof made by laying boards from the margin to a ridge-
pole. The ridge-pole stands three to five feet above the
nner alee Wee 5
peioe GRY SES eae ee ee
240. An outside cellar, or pit, for the storing of
green vegetables, as celery.
bottom of the pit
and is held on
stakes driven
through the center
of the pit length-
wise. Usually it is
necessary to sup-
port the boards
between the mar-
gin and the ridge
by another run or plate held on stakes driven midway
between the side and the ridge. Boards about twelve feet
long are now laid from the ground to the ridge-pole, mak-
ing a continuous roof. Ordinarily these boards are lapped,
and the upper run is nailed lightly to hold the roof in
place. The boards are not nailed very securely, however,
for it may be necessary to use the boards the following
241. Ventilating shaft, and structure of the gable.
Outside Cellars 453
year, and the subsequent covering will hold them in place.
At intervals of ten or twelve feet, two or three boards are
left without nailing to allow of an entrance, and the place
is marked by a stake
driven into the ground.
These pits or tempo-
rary cellars are made
late in autumn, and
until severe freezing
weather comes the pro-
tection of boards is suf- LSID Ses ae
ficient ; but as winter 242. Interior of a good storage pit.
approaches, straw, grass or other litter is thrown over
the roof, and subsequently manure or earth is added. In
pits of this character, that contain a large body of air,
very uniform conditions
ame) sseeured, ) lin) them
celery, leek and _ brussels
sprouts, and even cabbage,
may be set compactly in
rows. The plants often
make a root-hold in the
soil, and therefore do not
shrivel and are not so
likely to rot as those
thrown in loose.
Jens Ol ae Isuagl Gare
very useful for the stor-
ing of late or winter celery. In them the celery grows
somewhat, and it blanches by spring. If, however, it is
desired to keep celery only a short time, and particularly
243. The sill and roof construction.
454 Marketing, Storing, Drying
if the crop has been blanched in the field, another kind
of structure is usually more desirable. In that case, a
house that has a little artificial heat is usually better.
Various patterns of storage structures.
To visualize the foregoing statements, pictures are here
assembled of several forms and details of home-made or
farm storage structures.
The building may be a wooden structure over a pit, as
244. Home-made storage cellar.
in Fig. 240, with a ventilating window in the gable. Usu-
ally some kind of roof ventilation is provided, perhaps
in the way of such shafts or chimneys as those in Fig.
241. Some of these houses are of excellent construction,
as indicated in Figs. 241 and 242. They may be ceiled
to keep them warm and prevent too rapid changes In tem-
perature, and roof windows may be provided for light. If
Storage Structures 455
the side walls are brick, the structure may be something
hike that in Fig. 243. The air-space in the roof is to be
noted.
The structure may be wholly or mostly buried, either
by being sunken or by having earth covered over it. Fig.
244 is a well-made outside cellar (James H. Beattie,
Farmers? Bull. 879), with ventilation and drainage. De-
tail for the interior of an outside cellar is given by James
i
low
2 So
AZ ETE TIEN |
OES Es| (EE
‘ CELING AND \RAFTERS |
Fue -4 8 PLATE PELE ESO I =
rr 2
WIN Vy
AW
YO INY
245. Detail of a partially buried cellar.
L. Strahan, Cornell Extension Bull. No. 22, shown in
Fig. 245. “The interior is arranged in a double row of
bins each 8 x 8 feet with a 4-foot alley through the middle.
At the alley corner of each bin is a 6 x 6-inch post built up
of 3 pieces of 2x6-inch material. The center piece is
eut 6 inches short to allow for a 2x 6-inch stringer, or
ceiling support, which runs longitudinally through the
cellar along the top of the posts. On this 2 x 6-inch piece
rest 2x4-inch joists spaced 2 feet and 6 inches on cen-
ters, and these in turn support a ceiling of 1-inch un-
matched boards. A 4-inch shoulder, 10 inches from the
456 Marketing, Storing, Drying
top, is constructed on the inside of the long walls to re-
ceive the ends of the 2 x 4-inch joists. This allows a space
of about 15 inches between the ceiling and the roof at the
point where the roof joins the wall, which can be stuffed
with old rags, carpet, or burlap as an added protection
against frost. Ventilation inside the cellar is provided
by means of a raised slatted floor and slatted bin divi-
sions.”
A simple pit is shown in Fig. 246 and described as
follows (Cornell Reading-Course for Farm Home, 113):
“A pit one or two feet deep is dug in a well-drained spot,
bamper
oy LE
==
=F
«
——— 7
[PREZZZ==
1) “apni
ti QXE
=
(3
tom
‘ 5 Dy,
/ Gf) ©, Ys,
SY 3 Yvon
Li 2 Yj Uy
Cepeda edddkddddddlddlb hdd Yy Yi LLM
246. A simple ventilated pit.
and a foundation wall of stakes and boards, or, better, of
concrete, is built around it. On this wall, rafters are
erected for the support of roof boards. The roof is coy-
ered with soil and sod, or with straw and a light covering
of earth, or with manure. Such a pit will last several
years, especially if a rot-resistant wood, as the so-called
*pecky ” cypress, is used. With the specific directions that
are furnished by cement manufacturers, concrete work is
within the range of any handy man, and a permanent
concrete cave or pit may be built with little expense and
trouble. No matter what the form of construction, one
Storing and Burying AD’
or two small ventilators should be provided at the top of
the eave, and one at the bottom of the door. These should
be arranged to open and close.”
The burying of vegetables.
Most root crops, as beets, carrots, potatoes, are kept over
winter with ease by burying them in the field. It is well
to choose a warm and well-drained place. The pit is cov-
ered very lightly at first, and more covering added as the
cold weather comes on. If the full covering is applied at
first the products are hkely to heat and decay sets in. Be
sure that the beets and potatoes are not attacked by fun-
gous diseases before they are put in the pit.
It is customary to make a small circular or rectangular
excavation six inches to a foot deep and from six to eight
feet across. In this the roots are piled in a tall cone.
Straw or salt-hay or rather dry litter is then thrown over
the pile to protect from the early frosts. As the season
advances, an inch or two of earth is thrown over the straw
and finally, when winter threatens to close in, the pile is
covered deep enough to give full protection. Usually ten
to twelve inches of earth over the straw will be sufficient,
the straw itself being four to six inches thick after it is
well matted down. In severe climates the earth may then
be covered with a foot or two of horse manure. Apples
ean be buried in this way with very good results, particu-
larly the long-keeping varieties, as Russets.
The pit may be elongated to any distance required. It
is well not to make it much wider than six or eight feet,
else the vegetables are likely to heat and there may be too
great pressure on the lowermost tubers.
458 Marketing, Storing, Drying
An excellent modification of the long pit is the compart-
ment-pit. This has narrow partitions of earth every four
or five feet, thus preventing the heating of the vegetables
and also allowing one compartment to be emptied in winter
without exposing an-
other. A good one
RY Ze is shown in Fig. 247
aS Ly (from Cornell Read-
my ing-Course). Usually
SSS = yy these | compartment-
a ie pits are sunk two or
247. Crcess-section of a trench. three feet sa aie eee
and a partition of soil six to twelve inches is left between
the excavations. Each pit is then filled until it is
“rounded full” and is covered as above described. It is
often difficult to make these partitions hold their shape,
however, particularly in loose and sandy land. In such
cases the vegetables may be heaped in several piles in a
long pit and earth tramped in between the piles.
Whatever the style of pit, it is essential that the soil be
naturally well drained, and a furrow or ditch should be
opened around the pit to carry off surface water.
3.- DRYING
It is not the purpose of this book to discuss the preser-
vation of vegetables; yet the importance of the subject
has latterly become so great that the drying of vegetables
for home use can hardly be passed over. The home c¢an-
ning of vegetables is better understood, and, moreover, a
discussion of it would be too extensive for this place, and
it is a culinary operation.
The Drying of Vegetables 459
“Comparatively speaking, the evaporating plant has
many advantages over the cannery,” writes J. S. Caldwell
in his exhaustive bulletin on “ The Evaporation of Fruits
and Vegetables” (Bull. 148, Wash. Exp. Sta.). “The
initial cost of building and equipment necessary to handle
a given volume of material is much less, the machinery is
less costly and depreciates much less rapidly. The em-
ployment of a technically trained, high-salaried supervisor
ys not necessary.”
“Tt must not be forgotten,” Dr. Caldwell continues,
“that in supplying the actual necessities of life, fruits
and vegetables are as indispensable as grains and meats,
and that without them it is impossible for human beings
to maintain continued normal health. But fruits and
vegetables retain all their nutritive value and their health-
preserving powers after having been subjected to drying,
which eliminates all inedible portions and converts the
material into non-perishable form while reducing its weight
by three-fourths to seven-eighths.”
Only briefly can the subject of the drying of vegetables
be opened here, and mostly by way of suggestion for the
home-maker. “ The nutritive value of food,” writes Pearl
MacDonald in Ext. Cire. 61, Pa. State Coll., “is prac-
tically unchanged by drying. In addition to the difference
in flavor produced by drying, there is usually a difference
in color. Green shell peas and beans remain practically
unchanged in color; but apples, for example, when pared
and exposed to the air are changed to a darker color due
to the action of the oxygen of the air upon certain of their
elements. According to the laws of nature, this is the re-
sult to be expected and everyone should recognize the fact.
460 Marketing, Storing, Drying
Many factory-evaporated products are treated chemically
to give them a lighter color, because the public demands
a less highly-colored product. Such treatment, however,
detracts from the natural color and flavor. * * * The
amount of water in the dried fruits and vegetables is
greatly reduced, which means that there is a greater con-
centration of food elements in dried products. Pound for
pound the nutritive value is greater in dried than in fresh
food. When dried foods are prepared for the table, how-
ever, the water lost by evaporation is replaced by soaking,
so that the nutritive value of cooked dried material ae
of fresh material is virtually equal.
“ Not all fruits and vegetables lend themselves to this
method of preservation. * * * Of the vegetables, green
shell peas, green shell beans (any of the bush and pole
bean varieties such as are used for green shell beans),
string beans, green shell lima beans, corn and pumpkin
are the best to dry.
“The reason for drying the green shell peas and beans,
green limas and string beans is to supply a greater variety
for the winter diet. The family may tire of having the
mature peas and beans frequently. If there is, however,
a supply of canned, green dried and mature dry peas
and beans, and these are properly placed in the menu,
there is little danger that this type of food will become
monotonous.”
Various kinds of trays may be used for the drying of
vegetables as for the more familiar drying of fruits. A
serviceable home-made construction, for use either in the
sun or on a stove is described (Pa. Cire. 61, from which
Fig. 248 is adapted), as follows:
Home Drying 461
“To make this drier use strips of wood about one inch
wide and one-half inch thick (lath will answer very well).
Cut these and the cross-pieces to which the strips are
nailed to fit the oven in which they are to be used;
or any desired length if they are not to be used in oven
tf,
HU)
Uh,
Mh
248. Home-made drier for vegetables. The drier com-
plete with wire-bottom tray on top, which may be taken
off and used separately. Beneath the top is a slat tray
(shown separately) that may be used instead. If the slat
tray is used, the top wire-screen tray may be inverted
over it for protection from flies and dust.
drying. Around the top of the drier construct a frame
of one-inch strips to prevent the material that is being
dried from dropping out. To the bottom of the drier, nail
wooden legs about four inches in length. This will raise
the frame so as to permit a circulation. of air under the
drier. Wire screen or mosquito netting should be tacked
around the sides of the frame to protect the food.
462 Marketing, Storing, Drying
“Copper or other screen may be used in place of the
slats. Copper screen is preferred because it will not cor-
rode if the food material comes in direct contact with it,
except of course foods that contain acid. Spreading
cheesecloth over the screen will overcome trouble of this
sort. ‘The cover is constructed of one-inch strips of a
size to fit the base, and is also screened. Several addi-
tional covers may be made and placed one above the other
in tiers, and thus a minimum of area be covered by the
apparatus.
“This type of drier may be used out of doors on a
fairly level porch roof; a southern exposure is best. A
tin roof is excellent for drying purposes. This type may
also be put on top the stove. A piece of asbestos may be
placed under the drier to protect the wood from the heat
of the stove.”
A home-made dry-house is shown in Fig. 249, also from
the Pennsylvania Circular on “The Drying of Fruits and
Vegetables.” The “house” opens front and back, with
five trays each, making ten trays or removable shelves to
hold the produce. The construction carries its own heat-
ing facilities, in the nature of a fire-place beneath. Of
course there are completer outfits manufactured’ for the
purpose.
The drying of vegetables received special impetus in
the war time, and much was written on the subject.
Farmers’ Bulletin 841 gives detailed advice. Its prelim-
inary statement is as follows: “ Fruits and vegetables may
be dried in the home by simple processes and stored for
future use. Especially when canning is not feasible, or
cans and jars are tco expensive, drying offers a means of
Home Drying 463
saving large quantities of surplus products which go to
waste each year in gardens and fruit plots. Drying also
affords a way of conserving portions of food which are too
small for canning.
“The drying may be done in the sun, over the kitchen
stove or before an
electric fan. Manu-
facturers have placed
driers on the market.
Home-made driers are
satisfactory.
“A good home-
made drier should
have the _ following
mearures: (1) It
should be light, easy
to operate, of simple
construction, inexpen-
sive, and, as nearly as
possible, non-inflam-
mable. (2) It should
permit a free circu-
lation of air, to allow
the rapid removal of
the air after it has
passed over the yege-
tables and absorbed ee Sable era
moisture. (3) It should provide for protection of the
food product against dust, insects, etc. (4) It should pro-
tect the materials from being moistened by steam, smoke,
rain, or dew while drying.”
464 Marketing, Storing, Drying
“Three main ways of drying are applicable in the home
manufacture of dried fruits and vegetables,” according to
Farmers’ Bulletin 841, “namely, sun drying, drying by
artificial heat, and drying by air blast. These, of course,
may be combined. “In general, most fruits or vegetables,
to be dried quickly, must first be shredded or cut into
slices, because many are too large to dry quickly or are
covered with a skin, the purpose of which is to prevent
drying out. When freshly cut fruits or vegetables are to
be dried by means of artificial heat, they should be ex-
posed first to gentle heat and later to the higher tempera-
tures. If the air applied at the outset is of too high a
temperature, the cut surfaces of the sliced fruits or vege-
tables become hard, or scorched, covering the juicy
interior so that it will not dry out. Generally it is not de-
sirable that the air temperature in drying should go above
140° to 150° F., and it is better to keep it well below
this point. Insects and insect eggs are killed by exposure
to heat of this temperature.
“When freshly cut fruits or vegetables are spread out
they immediately begin to evaporate moisture into the air
around them, and if in a closed box will very soon satu-
rate the air with moisture. This will slow down the rate
of drying and lead to the formation of molds. If a cur-
rent of dry air is blown over them continually, the water
in them will evaporate steadily until they- are dry and
crisp. Certain products, especially raspberries, should not
be dried hard, because if too much moisture is removed
from them they will not resume their original form when
soaked in water. On the other hand, the material must
be dried sufficiently or it will not keep, but will mold.
Yield of Dried Product 465
Too great stress cannot be laid upon this point. This
does not mean that the product must be baked or scorched,
but simply that it must be dried uniformly through and
through.
“Tt will be found advisable also to ‘ condition’ prac-
tically all dried vegetables and fruits. This is best done
in a small way by placing the material in boxes and pour-
ing it from one box into another once a day for three
or four days, so as to mix it thoroughly and give to the
whole mass an even degree of moisture. If the material
is found to be too moist, it should be returned to the dry-
ing trays for a short drying.”
The yield of the produce in dried material is stated by
K. L. Kirkpatrick in Cornell Reading-Course for the
Farm, Lesson 132. The water content of various fresh
fruits and vegetables and the amount of dried produce
that one hundred pounds of the fresh fruit or vegetable
will yield, are shown:
Pounds dried prod-
Percentage of uct from one hun-
water in the dred pounds fresh
produce produce
Tomatoes Ai Tal Sa ea ae ae 94.3 8.5
Celery ee eG geen Pe oa 94.0 7.0
STOMA men ita a eee cil) Sete get Mg 92.0 as
CAWOAS Cima ee Ys 91.0 8.0
CANFROUSM HT Bs haa ee ee Ses 88.0 10.0
Onions AE aS ASAE a a ed 87.0 8.5
SS CHUNG IMUM Nr een Eat tues) aye 8S 86.0 6.0
Apples 3 eye uate ene aetna rae 84.6 15.0
TAOUAEOCS eer me Be 78.3 22.0
SSWCC AGO re Botan U7 cm. 75.4 21.0
CHAPTER XX
THE HOME GARDEN
The home gardens of the country ought to be more
important than the commercial gardens and the trucking
areas. Perhaps they are, but as we have no statistics of
them we are unable to compute their produce or to esti-
mate their influence in the life of the people. If there
are twenty-five million families in the United States, there
ought to be several million home gardens. The value of
these gardens in the education and discipline of children
and in the raising of supplies should exceed all estimate.
The elements to be considered in the home garden are:
(1) An enterprise within the means and labor supply of
the family; (2) a sufficient product to supply the house-
hold; (3) continuous succession-crops; (4) ease and
cheapness of cultivation; (5) maintenance of the produc-
tivity of the land year after year.
The quantity of product to be grown depends on the
size of the family and its fondness for vegetables. An
area 100 x 150 feet is generally sufficient to supply a family
of five or six persons, not considering the winter supply of
potatoes; but the area must be well tilled and handled.
The ease and efficiency cf cultivation are much en-
hanced if all the crops are in long rows, to allow of wheel-
(466) |
Planning a Home Garden 467
tool tillage, either by horse or by man-power. The old
practice of growing vegetables in beds usually entails more
labor and expense than the crop is worth and it has had
the effect of driving more than one boy from the garden.
These beds always need weeding on Saturdays, holidays,
circus days, and the Fourth of July.
Even if the available area is only twenty feet wide, the
rows should run lengthwise the plot and be far enough
apart (one to two feet for small stuff) to allow of the
use of the hand wheel-hoes, many of which are very
efficient. If land is available for horse-tillage, none of the
rows should be less than thirty inches apart, and for large-
growing things, as late cabbage, four feet is better. If the
rows are long, it may be necessary to grow two or three
kinds of vegetables in the same row; and in this case it
is important that vegetables requiring the same general
treatment and similar length of season be grown together.
A row containing parsnips and salsify, or parsnips, salsify
and late carrots, affords a good combination; but a row
containing parsnips, cabbage and lettuce would be a faulty
combination.
One part of the area should be set aside for all similar
crops. For example, all root crops might be grown on
one side of the plantation, all cabbage crops in the adjoin-
ing space, all tomato and eggplant crops in the center, all
corn and other tall things on the opposite side. Perennial
crops, as asparagus and rhubarb, and gardening structures,
as hotbeds and frames, should be on the border, where they
will interfere least with the plowing and tilling.
The best results in maintaining productiveness are to
be secured when it is possible to practice rotation of crops,
468 The Home Garden
manures and tillage. Even in a small area, this rotation
can be practised to a considerable extent. The area de-
voted to root crops this year may be given to corn or
melons next year. It is particularly important to rotate if
diseases and insects become serious on any one crop; and
in this case, the greatest care should be taken to choose
those crops, for the rotation, on which the parasites cannot
thrive. For example, the club-root of the cabbage and
cauliflower works on turnips. Some insects cannot be
starved out in a small area, and it is then necessary to
cease growing the crop for a year or two. The cabbage
maggot is an example. If this pest obtains a good foot-
nold in the home garden, cabbages and cauliflowers may
be discontinued until the insect disappears; and this is
often a cheaper solution of the difficulty than to attempt
to destroy the insect with the bisulfide of carbon treat-
ment. If one lives on a farm, the cabbage patch may be
placed on the farther part of the estate for a year or two.
When the maggot has quit the area, the cabbage patch
may be made again on the old ground.
Of the home vegetable-garden, Hunn writes as follows
in the “ Practical Garden-Book ”:
“ Make the soil deep, mellow and rich before the seeds
are sown. Time and labor will be saved. Rake the sur-
face frequently to keep down weeds and to prevent the
soil from baking. Radish seeds sown with celery or other
slow-germinating seeds will come up quickly, breaking the
crust and marking the rows. About the borders of the
vegetable-garden is a good place for flowers to be grown
for the decoration of the house and to give to friends.
“A home vegetable-garden for a family of six would
Lay-out of a Home Garden 469
require, exclusive of potatoes, a space not over 100 by 150
feet. Beginning at one side of the garden and running
the rows the short way (having each row 100 feet long),
sowings may be made, as soon as the ground is in condi-
tion to work, of the following:
Fifty feet each of parsnips and salsify.
One hundred feet of onions, 25 feet of which may be potato
or set onions, the remainder blazk-seed for summer and fall use.
Fifty feet of early beets, 50 feet of lettuce, with which
radish may be sown to break the soil and be harvested before
the lettuce needs the room.
One hundred feet of early cabbage, the plants for which
should be from a frame or purchased. Set the plants 18
inches to 2 feet apart.
One hundred feet of early cauliflower; culture same as for
cabbage.
Four hundred and fifty feet of peas, sown as follows:
100 feet of extra early.
100 feet of intermediate.
100 feet of late.
100 feet of extra early, sown late.
50 feet of dwarf varieties.
If trellis or brush is to be avoided, frequent sowings of the
dwarfs will maintain a supply.
After the soil has become warm and all danger of frost
has passed, the tender vegetables may be planted, as follows:
Corn in five rows 3 feet apart, three rows to he early and
intermediate, and two rows late.
Tomatoes, one row, plants 4 to 5 feet apart.
One hundred feet of string beans, early to late varieties.
Vines as follows:
10 hills of cucumbers, 6x6 feet.
20 hills of muskmelon, 6x6 feet.
6 hills of early squash, 6x6 feet.
16 hills of Hubbard squash, 6x6 feet,
470 The Home Garden
One hundred feet of okra.
Twenty eggplants.
Six large clumps of rhubarb.
An asparagus bed 25 feet long and 3 feet wide.
Late cabbage, cauliflower and celery are to occupy the space
made vacant by removing early crops of early and intermediate
peas and string beans.
A border on one side or end will hold all herbs, such as
parsley, thyme, sage, hyssop, mints.
Much of the satisfaction in the garden of one’s own
hands hes in the compact housing of garden tools and
supplies, keeping all the outfit painted and repaired. The
daily work will suggest many conveniences and aids to be
made rainy days and odd times on the work-bench in the
garden-house, for it is assumed that even the home gar-
den will have its headquarters in a small neat structure
built for the purpose or in a part of the barn, woodshed,
garage or basement.
The garden will be well laid out, according to a plan.
All of it will express good workmanship—this is part of
its educational value to children. There is also a whole-
some promptitude about garden work. The place will be
planned with due regard both for good appearance and
economy of labor. “It improves the appearance of the
garden greatly and makes the work easier if all crops are
planted in straight rows,” writes C. E. Durst, in Cire.
198, Ill. Exp. Sta. “ For this purpose one should get into
the habit of using a garden line. This should be stretched
tightly and the rows made just to one side of it so that
the line will not be moved and the rows made crooked as
a result. For making deep drills for onion sets and peas,
A City Man’s Garden 471
the point of the hoe or a wheel hoe with plow attachment
should be used. For shallow drills for small seeds, the tip
of the hoe handle is especially good. This makes a nar-
row drill which is easily weeded and cultivated. The
secret of making perfectly straight rows is to take a firm
grip of the hoe and make good brisk draws. For vege-
tables planted in hills, the holes can be made quickly with
the point of the hoe. When several
rows of the same width are to be
planted, time can be saved by us-
ing a home-made marker, as shown
in Fig. 250. The runners can
easily be changed for rows of
different widths.”
The home-gardener will find it
a great help to keep a simple diary
of the operations, so that one year’s work and rewards
may be compared with those of another year. Even old
hands at the business like to refresh themselves on dates
for planting and to compare seasons and yields. A plan
or diagram of the garden affords a good record.
There will be a tight dry place for the keeping of seeds.
It is great joy to try a few novelties every year, whether
vegetables or other things. It is good schooling. The seeds
themselves are interesting in their fascinating shapes and
markings, and in the ways they have of “ coming up.”
The garden shown in Fig. 251 was a city back yard
25 x 70 feet, near New York City, described in Farmers’
Bull. 818: “ It happened to be bounded on two sides by a
board fence, and advantage was taken of this fact to plant
250. Hand-made marker.
472 The Home Garden
and train grape vines. Strawberry plants were set along-
side the flagstone walks and currant bushes between the
walks and the fence. In the space between the bushes and
the strawberries low-growing vegetables, such as bush beans,
peppers, eggplants, and the like, were set out. In a space
about 12 feet wide between the walks, low-growing, quick-
maturing varieties of early vegetables were planted in
such a way that later-maturing varieties could be put out
at proper intervals between them. ‘The early plantings
consisted of radishes, early beets, lettuce, carrots, and a
few parsnips. The beets gave way later to a few late cab-
bage plants. The sunniest portion of the yard was turned
over to tomatoes, of which there were about a dozen plants
trained to a single stem and set about 18 inches apart in
each direction. arly and late peas were put out in the
least sunny portions of the yard. Later, in the fall,
spinach, kale and potato-onion sets were planted in order
to provide a supply of green succulents for the winter and
early spring.”
A larger area, exclusively devoted to vegetables, is
planned in Fig. 252, by H. C. Thompson, in Farmers’
Bull. 934. “The size of the garden,” the author says,
“depends upon the number of persons to be supplied.
One-fourth to one-half an acre is sufficient for an average
family and should produce enough vegetables for use
throughout the year. By close attention to the rotation of
crops, the succession of crops, and interplanting, one-
fourth of an acre may be made to supply a family of six.
Where land is available, it is recommended that a suffi-
cient area be set aside to allow part of the garden to be
planted to a soil-improving crop each year.”
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From Beginning to Hnd ATS
Here ends the vegetable-gardening book. As it begins
with plants, so it ends with the home; thereby is the per-
sonal and human interest of the book emphasized. The
author enjoyed writing the book twenty years ago. Still
more has he enjoyed re-writing it in his maturer years, and
he has lived the subject all over again. He has had many
aids not available then, for now there are numerous
workers. He might have quoted endlessly from them with
profit, did not the limits of the book forbid. Temptation
is strong to say something of the strange vegetables now
before him on another continent, for this paragraph is
written far from home; but these interesting subjects must
be left for another occasion. The public has been kind to
the old book; the author can ask nothing better for the
new one. He has tried to make it sound, but cannot hope
to have escaped errors: the reader must exercise his own
judgment in the use of the statements and advice. The
author does not expect to re-write the book again; but if
subsequent editions are needed, certain changes may be
made. *
Abelmoschus esculentus, 327.
acid phosphate, 382, 383.
Actinomyces chromogenus, 203.
adzuki bean, 241.
listed, 10.
Agaricus campestris, 3.
Agromyza simplex, 22.
Aizoacee, 4.
alanga, 6.
alexanders, 6.
Aleyrodes vaporariorum, 435.
Alismaceez, 7.
Allium, citation, 16, 17.
Allium Ampeloprasum, 160.
ascalonicum, 159.
Cepa, 158.
fistulosum, 159.
Porrum, 160.
sativum, 159.
Schenoprasum, 157.
listed, 4.
Scorodoprasum, 160.
solaninum, 159.
viviparum, 158.
Alliums, listed, 7.
Alternaria solani, 203, 256.
Amaranth, 4.
edible, 58.
Amaranthus, 4.
Ammonium sulfate, 381, 383.
fond
Amorphophallus Konjac, 7.
Anasa tristis, 286.
Anethum graveolens, 11.
angelica, 5.
anise, 334.
Annals of Horticulture, 3.
Anomis erosa, 324.
anthracnose of bean, 236.
of lettuce, 102.
INDEX
Anthriscus Cerefolium, 5,125.
Aphis brassicae, 71.
cabbage, 71.
gossypui, 287, 297, 324.
pseudodrassice, 71.
runmicis, 238.
spinach, 71.
turnip, 71.
Apium Celeri, 138.
dulce, 138.
graveolens, 5, 8, 138.
Petroselinum, 138.
rapaceum, 139.
Apios tuberosa, 8.
apple, balsam, 281.
aracha, 8.
Aracee, 7.
Arachis hypogea, 10.
Araliacese, 5.
Aralia cordata, 5.
racemosa, 50.
Archangelica officinalis, 5.
Arctium Lappa, 9.
Armoracia rusticana, 8, 185.
army-worms, 430, 432.
Arracacia xcanthorrhiza, 8.
arrow-head, 7.
arrow-root, 7.
arsenate of lead, 429.
spray, 69.
Artemisia, species, 7.
Arthur (J. C.) cited, 209.
artichoke, botany of, 41.
Chinese or Japanese, 9.
discussion of, 39.
Jerusalem, 42, 48.
listed, 6.
Arum Family, 7.
Ascochyta pisi, 230.
(477)
AV8
asparagus bean, 10.
beetle, 21.
botany of, 31.
discussion of, 19.
listed, 4.
miner, 22.
officinalis, 31.
pea, 10.
Atriplex hortensis, 4, 59.
Autographa brassice, 69, 102.
falcigera, 128.
Bacillus phytophthorus, 204.
tracheiphilus, 284.
Bacterium campestre, 67.
lachrymans, 285.
phaseoli, 236.
Beumerta Nasturtium, 121.
babn, 6, 334.
balsam apple, 11, 281.
Dear Make 2Sie
bamboo, 3.
banana, mentioned, 2.
Barbarea, listed, 5.
precozr, 118.
verna, 118.
barbe-de-capuein, 114,
Basella, 4.
Basellaces, 4.
basic formula, 888.
basil, 6.
sweet, 334.
Batatas edulis, 226.
bean, adzuki Metcalfe, moth,
mung, rice, urd, 241.
broad, 242.
garden, 243.
horse, 243.
kidney, 239, 251.
lima, 247, 252.
listed, 9, 10.
multiflora, 246, 252.
Sieva, 247, 252.
string, 243.
tepary, 241, 253.
beans, botany of, 250.
discussion of, 235.
Index
Beattie, James H., cited, 455.
Beattie, W. R., quoted, 325.
beet, botany of, 169.
discussion of, 164.
leaf, 59.
listed, 4, 8.
Benincasa cerifera, 281.
hispida, 11.
Beta Cicla, 170.
esculenta, 169.
listed, 4, 8.
maritima, 170.
vulgaris, 170.
binominal system, 16.
black-leg of cabbage, 68.
of potato, 204.
black-rot of cabbage, 67.
black salsify, 198.
blanching celery, 132.
blight of peas, 230.
of potatoes, 202, 203.
blister-beetles, 434.
blood, dried, 383.
Bluebell Family, 9.
bordeaux mixture, 429.
borecole, 79.
Botrytis cinerea, 101.
rot of lettuce, 101.
bottom-rot of lettuce, 101.
Boussingaultia, 4.
Boyd, J. G., cited, 14.
Brassica acephala, 94.
alba, 61, 98.
bullata, 94.
campestris, 95.
capitata, 94.
caulorapa, 94.
communis, 95.
gemmifera, 94.
gongylodes, 94.
japonica, 61, 97.
Napobrassica, 95.
Napus, 96.
oleracea, 93.
_ pekinensis, 91, 96.
ramosa, 93.
Rapa, 96.
rugosa, 61, 96.
Rutabaga, 95.
Sabauda, 94.
Brassicas, listed, 5, 8.
breeding of seeds, 403.
Bremia lactuce, 102.
broad bean, 242.
broccoli, 83, 87.
listed, 5.
Bruchus obtectus, 237.
pisorum, 230.
brussels sprouts, botany of, 94.
discussion of, $1.
listed, 5.
Buckwheat Family, 4.
bulb crops, 140.
bunch onions, 144.
Bunias orientalis, 5.
burnet, 5,
burying vegetables, 457.
bushel box, 441.
cabbage aphis, 71.
botany of, 67.
bug, harlequin, 72.
celery, 88.
Chinese, 88.
discussion of, 66, 93
listed, 5.
looper, 69, 102.
root-maggot, 71.
Shantung, 88.
webworm, 70.
worm, 69, 70.
ealabash gourd, 11.
Calathea Alluia, 7.
Caldwell, J. S., quoted, 459.
Calendula officinalis, 6.
Calonyction aculeatum, 6.
Caltrop, water, 10.
Campanulaceer, 9.
Campanula rapunculus, 9.
Canavalia ensiformis, 10.
Cannacez, Canna Family, 7
Canna edulis, T.
cantaloupe, 295, 306.
cape gooseberry, 279.
Index 479
Capsella Bursa-pasteris, 5.
Capsicum, 273.
annuum, 276.
cerasiforme, 278.
conoides, 277.
fasciculatum, 277.
grossum, 277.
species, 11.
eapucin, 8.
caraway, 334.
listed, 11.
ecarbolic acid emulsion, 429.
Cardaminum Nasturtium, 121.
cardoon, listed, 6.
Carpetweed Family, 4.
earrot, botany of, 189.
discussion of, 185.
listed, 8.
rust-fly, 127.
Carum Carvi, 11.
cassaba melon, 296, 307.
cassabanana, 11.
cassava, 8.
Cassida bivittata, 217.
nigripes, 217.
pallidula, 268.
catjang, 10.
eatnip, 6, 334.
eauliflower, botany of, 94.
discussion of, 83.
listed, 5.
cayenne pepper, 11, 275.
celeriac, 139, 193.
listed, 8.
celery, botany of, 138.
cabbage, 88.
discussion of, 126.
listed, 5.
looper, 128.
cellar, outside, 450.
storage, 450.
Ceratoma trifurcata, 237.
Cercospora apii, 127.
beticola, 164.
capcici, 274.
Cerefolium Cerefolium, 125,
480
Cherophyllum bulbosum, 8, 194.
sativum, 125.
Chetocnema confins, 218.
Chard, discussion of, 59.
chayote, 11, 281.
Chelyumorpha argus, 217.
Chenopodiaceer, 4, 8, 9.
Chenopodiums, listed, 4.
chervil, listed, 5.
salad, 124.
tuberous, 194; listed, 8.
chickling vetch, 10.
chick-pea, 10.
chicory, botany of, 115.
discussion of, 112.
listed, 6, 9.
chilli, 274.
listed, 11.
Chinese cabbage, 88.
chive, 156, 157.
listed, 4.
chorogi, 9.
Christmas melon, 296.
christophine, 11, 281.
chrysanthemum, listed, 6.
chufa, 7.
ciboule, 156, 159.
Cicer arietinum, 10.
Cichorium divaricatum, 115.
Endivia, 115.
Intybus, 115.
pumilum, 115.
species, 6.
citron, 311.
Citrullus Colocynthis, 310.
vulgaris, 310.
cive, 156, 157.
Cladosporium fulvum, 256.
clary, 6, 334.
cloth for frames, 353.
clubroot, 67.
cluster bean, 10.
co-ba, 3.
Cochlearia Armoracia, 185.
officinalis, 5.
coldframes, 342.
cole crops, 66, 91.
plants, botany of, 91.
Index
collards, 79, 81, 94.
Colletotrichum lagenarium, 285
296.
lindemuthianum, 236.
Colocasia, species, 7.
commercial fertilizers, 380.
companion-cropping, 417.
Composite, 6, 9.
composting, 376.
Convolvulaces, 6, 9.
Convolvulus Batatas, 226.
Coptocycla bicolor, 217.
signifera, 217.
Corbett, L. C., cited, 14.
quoted, 77.
Corchorus olitorius, 5.
coriander, 334.
listed, 11.
Coriandrum sativum, 11.
corn borer, 317.
corn-salad, 121, 122.
listed, 6.
corn, sweet, 316.
corrosive sublimate, 430.
cos lettuce, 107.
costmary, 6, 334.
cost of seeds, 409.
covers for hotbeds, 354.
cowpea, 10, 241.
Crambe maritima, 5, 46.
Craniolaria annua, 9.
creole scorzonera, 9.
cress, botany of, 118.
discussion of, 116.
listed, 5.
Danae
Crioceris asparagi, 21.
Crithmum maritimum, 6.
Crocus sativus, 4.
Crosby, C. R., cited, 18.
Crowfoot Family, 9.
Cruciferz, 5, 8, 9.
Cryptotenia canadensis, 6.
cucumber beetle, 285.
botany of, 305.
discussion of, 284.
cucumbers, listed, 11.
Index
Cucumis Anguria, 290, 309.
Chito, 309.
Dudaim, 308.
flexuosus, 308.
Melo, 306.
odoratissimus, 308.
sativus, 305.
species, 11.
Cucurbitacee, 11.
Cucurbita Citrullus, 310.
Lagenaria, 280.
maxima, 304, 313.
moschata, 304, 314.
ovifera, 3138.
Pepo, 303, 312.
species, 11.
Cucurbits, chapter on, 280.
culeas, 7.
culinary herbs, 331.
eumin, 11.
Cuminum Cyminum, 11.
eutworms, 430, 431, 432.
Cyamopsis psoraloides, 10.
Cyclanthera pedata, 11.
Cylas formicarius, 217.
eymling, 313.
Cynara Cardunculus, 42.
Scolymus, 41.
Cyperus esculentus, 7.
Cyphomandra betacea, 11, 254.
dandelion, discussion of, 63.
listed, 7.
Daucus Carota, 8, 189.
Daye clanriya Ac. 2:
De Baun, R. W., quoted, 77, 137,
219.
Depresaria heracliana, 128, 190.
Diabrotica duodecimpunctata,
2 Oil
vittata, 285, 291.
diamond-back moth, 69.
Diaphania hyalinata, 292.
nitidalis, 287.
dibbers, 420.
dill, 334.
listed, 11.
481
Dioplodia sp., 296.
Dioscoreacex, 8.
Dioscorea, species, 8.
diseases of asparagus, 21; bean,
PAG 5 beet, 164 ; brussels
sprouts, 82; cabbage, 66; car-
rot, 186; cauliflower, 83; cel-
ery.) 125 scorn), ‘Sweet, oll6:
cucumber, 284; eggplant, 267;
kohlirabi, 87; lettuce, 101;
melon, 291; onion, 141; pea,
230; pepper, 274; potato, 202;
pumpkin, 302; rutabaga, 177;
Goud, Mee owes, sors
sweet corn, 316; sweet potato,
PAT 2 tO Go, A) S WaAvIRIaNyO,, JLT 2
watermelon, 296.
dish-cloth gourd, 281.
dock, discussion of, 48.
docks, listed, 4.
Dolichos biflorus, 10.
Lablab, 10.
double-cropping, 414.
drainage, 369.
dried blood, 383.
drop of lettuce, 101.
drying vegetables, 458.
dudaim, listed, 11.
melon, 308.
Durst, C. E., quoted, 470.
Dye, H. W., cited, 18.
Earle, F. S., quoted, 261, 353.
eel-worm, 436.
eggplant, botany of, 272.
discussion of, 267.
Egyptian onion, 144.
elecampane, 9.
Eleocharis dulcis, T.
Empoasce mali, 205.
endive, botany of, 114.
discussion of, 109.
listed, 6.
epigeal germination, 229.
Epilachna corrupta, 237.
Epitria cucumeris, 207.
fuscula, 268.
482
Hruca sativa, 5.
Huphoribiacee, 8.
Euphoria inda, 317.
European corn borer, 317.
Euschistus euschistoides, 318.
variolarius, 318.
evaporated vegetables, 458.
Evening Primrose Family, 8.
Hvergestis rimosalis, 70.
straminali, 70.
Faba vulgaris, 250.
Fagacee, 3.
fall sown plants, 363.
family, supply for, 469.
Fedia Cornucopie, 6.
fennel, 5, 334.
flower, 9.
fertilizing the land, 377.
fetticus, 6.
field storage, 451.
flats for seed-testing, 399.
for transplanting, 428.
flea-beetle of eggplant, 268.
potato, 207.
sweet potato, 218.
flea-beetles, general account, 435.
flue-heated hotbeds, 351.
Feniculum vulgare, 5.
forcing hills, 342, 343.
formaldehyde, 4380.
frame, defined, 336.
frame, estimate, 338.
making, 338.
management, 358.
fumigation, 429.
fungi, general discussion, 425.
fungicides, 428, 429.
Fusarium batatis, 217.
congludinans, 68.
hyperoxysporum, 217
niveum, 296.
oxysporium, 204.
Spee 230s 2oG65
garbanzo, 10.
garden huckleberry, 11, 255.
webworm, 70.
Index
Gargaphia solani, 268.
carlich apa
listed, 7.
gesse, 10.
gherkin, 284, 290, 309.
ginger, 7.
Family, 7.
Ginseng Family, 5.
girasole, botany of, 44,
discussion of, 42.
listed, 9.
glass, 3385.
substitutes for, 353.
Glycine Soja, 10, 241.
goa bean, 8, 10.
gobo, 9.
goober, 10.
Good King Henry, 4.
gooseberry, cape, 279.
goosefoot, 4.
Family, 4, 8, 9.
gourd, 280, 281, 3183.
Family, 11.
gourds, listed, 11.
grading, 441.
gram, Madras, 10.
Gramines, 3, 9.
Grass Family, 3, 9.
grasshoppers, 433.
gray mold of lettuce, 101.
greenhouse white-fly, 4385.
greens, defined, 99.
discussion of, 51, 58.
Green, S. N., quoted, 111.
ground cherry, 278.
groundnut, 8.
ground-pea, 10.
growing of seeds, 402, 405.
grubs, white, 433.
Seas
gumbo, 105 323 s2a-
Hale J. He ‘citediat4s
half-hardy, 410.
Halsted, B. D., cited, 280.
hand-box, 345.
hardening-off, 362.
hardy plants, 410.
Index 483
haricot, 239. insects, general discussion, 425;
harlequin cabbage bug, 72. ; artichoke, 39; asparagus, 21;
harrows, 394. bean, 237; beet, 164; brussels
Hawaiian beet webworm, 165. sprouts, 82; cabbage, 69; car-
heating hotbeds, 346. rot, 186; cauliflower, 83 ; celery,
Helianthus annuus, 44. 127; corn, sweet, 317; cucum-
tuberosus, 9, 44. ber, 285 ; egg-plant, 268 ; gumbo,
Heliothis obsoleta, 317, 324. 324; horse-radish, 181; kale,
Heliothrips fasciatus, 238. 79; kohlrabi, 87; lettuce, 102;
helebore, 429. melon, 291; okra, 324; onion,
Hellula undalis, 70. 142; parsnip, 190; pea, 230;
herbage vegetables, 3. pepper, 274 ; potato, 204 ; pump-
herabrium specimens, 15. kin, 302; radish, 171; rhubarb,
herbs, culinary, 331. 33; rutabaga, 177 ; spinach, 53;
Heterodera radicicola, 436. Squash, 3802; sweet corn, 3517;
Hibiscus eseulentus, 10, 32T. sweet potato, 217; tomato, 256 ;
Sabdariffa, 5. turnip, 177; water-cress, 119;
Hill, R. G., cited, 219. watermelon, 296.
hoe, 395. inter-cropping, 414.
home garden, chapter on, 466. Inula Helenium, 9.
hop, listed, 4 Ipomea Batatas, 9, 226.
horehound, 6, 334. reptans, 6.
horse bean, 243. Iris Family, Iridacee, 4.
horse-radish, botany of, 184. irrigation, discussion of, 384.
discussion of, 181.
listed, 8. jack-bean, 10.
hotbeds, 346. Juglandacee, 3.
huckleberry, garden, 255. jute, edible, 5.
Humulus Lupulus, 4.
humus, discussion of, 375. kale, botany of, 93.
husk tomato, 278, 279. discussion of, 79.
listed, 11. listed, 5.
hyacinth bean, 10. kandela, 10.
hydropyrum, 3. kan-kun, 6.
Hymenia fascialis, 165. kerosene emulsion, 429.
perspectalis, 165. Kerstingiella geocarpa, 10.
hypogeal germination, 229. Kirkpatrick, E. L., quoted, 465.
hyssop, 6, 334. kitchen herbs, 332.
Hyssopus officinalis, 6. kohlrabi, botany of, 94.
discussion of, 87.
ice-plant, 4. listed, 5.
implements, discussion of, 388, | koniakum, 7.
392. konjac, 7.
impurities in seeds, 398. kudzu, §.
Indian cress, 5.
innala, 9. Labiate, 6, 9.
insecticides, 428, 429. laboratory work, 15.
484
Lactuca angustana, 108.
capitata, 108.
longifolia, 108.
romana, 108.
sativa, 6, 107.
Scariola, 108.
Lagenaria cucantha, 11, 280.
lamb’s quarter, edible, 58.
lamb’s quarters, 4.
land, treatment of, 365.
Laspeyresia nigricana, 231.
Lathyrus sativus, 10.
Latin names, 18.
Lavandula, species, 6.
lavender, 6, 334.
lead, arsenate of, 429.
leaf-beet, discussion of, 59.
leaf-spot of beet, 164.
leek, 154, 160.
listed, 7.
Leguminose, 8, 9.
leguminous plants and nitrogen,
375.
Lema trilneata, 205.
Lens esculenta, 10.
lentil, 10.
Leonard, M. D., cited, 18.
Lepidium sativum, 5, 118.
Leptinotarsa decemlineata,
256, 268.
lettuce, botany of, 107.
discussion of, 100.
listed, 6.
Levisticum officinale, 5.
Ligyrus gibbosus, 186.
Lilium, species, 7.
Lily Family, Liliaces, 4, 7.
lima bean, 247, 252.
listed, 10.
lime-sulfur, 429, 430.
Linden Family, 5.
Linneus, cited, 16.
Lipusa multiflora, 252.
Lloyd, J. W., cited, 14.
longevity of seeds, 401.
Lotus Tetragonolobus, 10.
lovage, 334.
listed, 5.
204,
index
Lozostege sticticalis, 165.
similalis, 70.
Luffa acutangula, 281.
cylindrica, 281.
species, 11.
Lycopersicon cerasiforme, 266.
esculentum, 265.
pimpinellifolium, 267.
pyriforme, 267.
species, 11.
tuberosum, 215.
Lygus pratensis, 128.
MacDonald, Pearl, quoted, 459.
Macrosiphum, pisi, 231.
solanifolii, 205, 257, 269.
Madeira-vine Family, 4.
Madras gram, 10.
maggot, onion, 148.
maize, listed, 9.
sweet, 316, 322.
malanga, 7.
Mallow Family, 5, 10.
jew’s, 5.
Malvacee, 5, 10.
Mamestra picta, 71.
Mancasellus brachyurus, 119.
mangel, listed, 8.
mango melon, 309.
Manihot utilissima, 8.
manure for hotbeds, 346, 348.
Maranta arundinacea, 7.
marigold, pot, 6.
marjoram, 6, 334.
sweet, 334.
market-gardening, 14.
marketing, 439.
Marrubium vulgare, 6.
Marssonia panattoniana, 102.
Martynia, 11, 327, 329.
Jussieut, 329.
louisiana, 329.
proboscidea, 329.
Martyniaces, 9, 11.
matting for hotbeds, 355.
McClintock, T. A., cited, 53.
McKay, quoted, 213.
Melissa officinalis, 6.
Melittia satyriniformis, 286.
melocoton, 11.
melon aphis, 287, 297.
botany of, 306.
discussion of, 291.
Family, 11.
melons, handling in pots, 357, 423.
listed, 11.
Mentha, species, 6.
mercury, listed, 4.
Mesembryanthemum, 4.
Metcalfe bean, 241.
listed, 10.
mildew of lettuce, 102.
of onion, 142.
millipedes, 436.
Milward, J. G., cited, 215.
Mint Family, 6, 9.
mints, listed, 6.
miscible oils, 429.
mitsuba, 6.
Momordica Balsamina, 281.
Charantia, 281.
species, 11.
Montia perfoliata, 4, 63.
moonflower, 6.
Moracee, 4.
morele, 11, 254.
Morning-glory Family, 6, 9.
moth bean, 241.
listed, 10.
Mo-yii, 7.
mucklands, 366.
mugwort, 7.
Mulberry Family, 4.
multiplier onion, 144.
mung bean, 241.
listed, 10.
Munn, M. T., cited, 153.
Murgantia histrionica, 72, 181.
mushroom, listed, 3.
mustard, botany of, 61.
discussion of, 60.
Family, 5, 8.
mustards, listed, 5, 8.
muskmelon, 292.
myrrh, 5.
Index
Myrrhis odorata, 5.
Myrtacee, 3.
Myzus persice, 53, 1, 128, 174,
181, 269, 324.
Nasturtium Armoracia, 185.
officinale, 120.
negro bug, 128.
Nelumbo nucifera, 8.
nematode, 436.
» Nepeta Cataria, 6.
Ness, H., quoted, 348, 352, 353.
New Zealand spinach, 4, 51.
Nigella sativa, 9.
nightshade, 254.
Family, 9, 11.
nitrate of soda, 381, 382, 383.
nitrogen and egumes, 375.
nomenclature, 16.
Nympheacee, 8.
Ocimum, species, 6.
Gnothera biennis, 8.
Ogdoconta cinereola, 238.
oils, miscible, 429.
oka, 8, 10.
botany of, 327.
discussion of, 323.
olerarium, 2.
olericulture, defined, 1.
olery, 2.
olluco, 8.
Onagracee, 8, 10.
onion, botany of, 156.
discussion of, 141.
Egyptian, 144.
listed, 7.
mildew, 142.
multiplier, 144.
potato, 144.
smut, 141.
top, 144.
tree, 144.
Welsh, 155.
orach, 4.
discussion of, 59.
Origanum, species, 6.
480
486 Index
outside cellar, 450. multiflorus, 240, 252.
Oxalidacez, 8. nanus, 252.
Oxalis crenata, 8. retusus, 241.
oyster plant, listed, 9. species, 9, 10.
vulgaris, 239, 251.
Pachyrhizus, species, 8, 10. Phlegethontius quinquemaculata,
Pachyzancla bipunctalis, 165. 256.
packages, 441, 445, 448.
packing, 441, 443.
Palmacee, 3.
Papaipema nitela, 206.
Papilio polyxenes, 127.
para cress, 7.
paris green, 429.
parsley, 1238, 124.
Family, 5, 8, 11.
listed, 5.
parsnip, botany of, 192.
discussion of, 190.
listed, 8.
Pastinaca sativa, 8, 192.
pea, botany of, 234.
discussion of, 229.
Family, 8, 9.
listed, 10.
peanut, 10.
pear, balsam, 281.
peas and beans, chapter on, 228.
Pegomyia hyoscyami, 53, 164.
pennyroyal, 6, 334.
pepino, 11, 255.
de comer, 11.
peppermint, 6, 334.
pepper, botany of, 275.
discussion of, 273.
red, listed, 11.
perennial crops, 19.
Peronospora schleideniana, 142.
Petroselinum hortense, 5, 124.
sativum, 124.
pe-tsai, botany of, 96.
discussion of, 88.
listed, 5.
Phaseolus acutifolius, 241, 253.
lunatus, 241, 247, 252.
macrocarpus, 252.
Metcalfei, 241.
{
sexta, 256.
Phoma lingam, 68.
Phomopsis vexans, 268.
Phorbia brassice, 71, 171.
ceparwn, 143.
fusciceps, 239.
phosphate, acid, 382, 383.
rock, 382.
Phthorimea operculella, 206.
Phyllostachys pubescens, 3.
Phyllotreta armoracie, 181.
Physalis peruviana, 279.
pubescens, 279.
species, 11.
Phytolacea, 4.
Phytophthora infestans, 202.
pickle worm, 287.
Picridium vulgare, 9.
pie-plant, discussion of, 32.
pigweed, 4.
edible, 58.
pimiento, 275.
pipe-heated hotbeds, 350.
Piper nigrum, 274.
Pisum arvense, 235.
humile, 235.
macrocarpon, 238.
saccharatum, 235.
sativum, 10, 234.
pits for storage, 451, 456.
Plasmodiophora brassice, 67.
Plasmopora cubensis, 285.
Plathypena scabra, 239.
Plectranthus tuberosus, 9.
plow, discussion of, 392.
Plutella maculipennis, 69.
Pokeweed Family, 4.
Polygonacee, 4.
Pontia rape, 69.
Portulacaceer, 4.
Index
Portulaca oleracea, 4, 62, 638.
potash, sulfate, 383. ;
potato beetle, 204.
botany of, 215.
crops, chapter on, 201.
discussion of, 202.
listed, 9.
potherb, defined, 99.
pot marigold, 6.
pots for transplanting, 357, 422.
power, list of, 391.
Principles of Fruit-Growing, 3.
Proboscidea lowisiana, 11, 329.
Psila rose, 127, 186.
Psophocarpus tetragonolobus, 8,
10.
Puccinia asparagi, 21.
Pueraria hirsuta, 8.
pulse crops, 228.
Family, 8, 9.
pumpkin, botany of, 311.
discussion of, 301.
pumpkins, listed, 11.
purslane, edible, 61.
listed, 4.
winter, 63.
pusley, edible, 61.
Pyrausta nubilalis, 317.
Pythium, sp., 230.
quantity of seeds, 410.
quinoa, 4, 9.
Radicula Armoracia, 185.
Nasturtium-aquaticum, 121.
radish, botany of, 175.
discussion of, 170.
listed, 8.
rat-tailed, listed, 9.
rag-doll tester, 401.
rampion, 9.
Ranunculacee, 9.
Raphanus caudatus, 176.
sativus, 175.
species, 8, 9.
red pepper, 274.
listed, 11.
487
red-spider, 269, 454.
resting land, 377.
Rheum hybridum, 38.
Rhaponticum, 4, 37.
Rhizoctonia solani, 101, 208.
rhubarb, botany of, 37.
discussion of, 32.
forwarding, 344.
listed, 4.
rice bean, 241.
listed, 10.
ridging, 373.
rocambole, listed, 7.
rocket-salad, 5.
rock phosphate, 382.
Rogers, Stanley S., quoted, 445.
rollers, 394.
romaine, 107.
root crops, chapter on, 161.
root-knot, 436.
root-maggot, cabbage, 71.
Roripa Armoracia, 185.
listed, 5.
Nasturtium-aquaticum, 119,
121.
Rosacee, 5.
roselle, 5.
rosemary, 6, 334.
Rosmarinus officinalis, 6.
rotation, discussion of, 376.
Rumex Acetosa, 49.
dentatus, 49.
Patientia, 48.
scutalus, 49.
species, listed, 4.
rust, aparagus, 21.
rutabaga, botany of, 95, 96.
discussion of, 179.
listed, 8.
Rutacee, 3.
saffron, 4.
sage, 6, 334.
Sagittaria sagittifolia, T.
salad chervil, 124.
erops, 99.
defined, 99.
488
salsify, 196, 197.
black, 198.
listed, 9.
Spanish, 198.
Salvia officinalis and S. Selarea,
6.
samphire, 6.
Sanguisorba minor, 5.
sash, defined, 336.
Satureia, species, 6.
savory, 6.
summer, 334.
winter, 334.
scab of potatoes, 203, 204.
seandigie, 420.
Scandiz Cerefolium, 125.
Sclerotinia libertiana, 101, 127,
186.
scoke, 4.
Scolymus hispanicus, 9, 199.
scorzonera, creole, 9.
hispanica, 198.
listed, 9.
seurvy-grass, 5.
sea-kale, botany of, 46.
discussion of, 45.
Sechium edule, 11, 281.
seedage, 397.
seed-bed, discussion of, 411.
seed-breeding, 403.
seed-growing, 402, 405.
seed-sowing, 407, 408.
seed-testing, 397.
seeds, discussion of, 397.
in hotbeds, 356.
Septoria lycopersica, 255.
petroselini, 127.
pisi, 230.
~ serpent melon, 308.
sets, onion, 144.
shallot, 156, 159.
listed, 7.
Shantung cabbage, 89.
shepherd’s purse, 5, 58.
Sicana odorifera, 11.
sieva bean, 247, 252.
simlin, 313.
Index
Sinapis alba, 98.
japonica, 97.
nigra, OT.
pekinensis, 96.
rugosa, QT.
singhara nut, 10.
Sisymbrium Nasturtium - aquati-
cum, 119, 121.
Sium Sisarum, 8, 195.
skirret, 195.
listed, 8.
slugs, 437.
Sminthurus hortensis, 288, 291.
Smith, L. B., cited, 53.
smut of onion, 141.
Smyrnium Olustrum, 6.
snake gourd, 11.
soil, sterilizing, 413.
Solanacee, 9, 11.
solanaceous fruits, chapter on, 254.
Solanum esculentum, 272.
Lycopersicum, 265.
Melongena, 272.
muricatum, 11, 255.
nigrum, 11, 254.
serpentinum, 273.
tuberosum, 9, 215.
sorrel, discussion of, 48.
listed, 4.
southernwood, 7.
sowbug, water-cress, 119.
sowing in hotbeds, 356. -
of seeds, 407, 408.
soybean, 10, 241.
Spanish salsify, 198.
spearmint, 6, 334.
Species Plantarum, 16.
Spleronema fimbriatum, 217.
Spilanthes oleracea, 7
spinach aphis, 53, 71.
botany of, 57.
discussion of, 52,
listed, 4.
New Zealand, 51.
Spinacia glabra, 58.
inermis, 58.
oleracea, 57.
spinosa, 5T.
sponge, vegetable, 281.
Spongospora subterranea, 204.
spraying outfit, 396.
sprouting tests, 400.
Spurge Family, 8.
Squash, botany of, 311.
bug, 286.
discussion of, 301.
-vine borer, 286.
squashes, listed, 11.
Stachys Sieboldii, 9.
Starnes, quoted, 299.
steam-heated hotbeds, 350.
sterilizing soil, 413.
stink-bug, 318.
Stizolobium, species, 10, 241.
storage, field, 451.
of cabbage, 75.
of potatoes, 210.
of sweet potatoes, 222.
rot of celery, 127.
storing, 447, 454.
Strahan, James L., quoted, 455.
strawberry, mentioned, 2.
tomato, 278.
string bean, 2438.
striped cucumber beetle, 285.
Stuart, William, cited, 212.
Sturtevant, H: i., 1, 22:
sub-irrigation, 387.
sub-soiling, 3738.
substitutes for glass, 353.
succession-cropping, 414.
suceory, 113.
sugar-beet webworm, 165.
sugar corn, 316.
sulfate of ammonia, 381, 383.
of potash, 383.
summer savory, 334.
Sunflower Family, 6, 9.
superphosphate, 384.
sweet basil, 334.
cicely, 5.
sweet corn, botany of, 322.
discussion of, 316.
listed, 9.
sweet herbs, 331.
sweet marjoram, 334.
Index
sweet potato, botany of, 226.
discussion of, 216.
listed, 9.
Synchytrium endobiotica, 203.
Tanacetum vulgare, T.
tanier, 7.
tansy, T.
Taraxacum officinale, 7, 65.
tarnished plant-bug, 128.
taro, 7.
tarragon, 7, 334.
tender plants, 410.
tepary bean, 241, 253.
listed, 10.
testing seeds, 397.
Tetragonia expansa, 4, 51.
Tetranychus telarius, 269, 434.
Thompson, H. C., grading sweet
potatoes, 446.
on asparagus, 25.
on home garden, 474.
on sweet potatoes, 223.
thousand-legged worms, 436.
thrips, bean, 238.
on onion, 142.
Thrips tabaci, 142.
thyme, 6, 334.
Thymus, species, 6.
Thyreocoris pulicarius, 128.
Tiliacee, 5.
tillage, discussion of, 371.
tools, 390.
tip-burn of lettuce, 102.
tobacco, 429.
tomato, botany of, 264.
discussion of, 255.
husk, 278, 279.
listed, 11.
strawberry, 278.
tree, 254.
tools, discussion of, 388.
topee-tamboo, 7.
topinambour, white, 7.
Tragopogon porrifolius, 9, 197.
transplanting, discussion of, 418.
Trapacee, 10.
Trapa, species, 10.
489
490
tree tomato, 254.
trenching, 373.
Trichobaris trinotata, 206.
Trichosanthes Anguina, 11.
Tropzolum Family, 5, 8.
trucking, defined, 14.
tuber moth, 206.
turnip aphis, 71.
botany of, 95, 96.
discussion of, 177.
listed, 8.
udo, discussion of, 49.
listed, 5.
Ullucus tuberosus, 8.
Uinbellifere, 5, 8, 11.
underdrainage, 369.
unicorn plant, 11, 329.
Uranotes melinus, 324.
urd bean, 241.
listed, 10.
Urocystis cepule, 141.
Valerianacese, Valerian Family, 6.
Valerianella Locusta, 122.
olitoria, 122.
species, 6.
vandzon, 10.
vegeculture, 2.
vegetable gardening, defined, 1.
marrow, listed, 11.
oyster, listed, 9.
sponge, 281.
vegeticulture, 2.
vehicles, 391.
ventilating frames, 361.
Verticillium alboatrum, 267.
viability of seeds, 399.
Vicia Faba, 10, 239, 250.
Vigna, species, 10, 241.
Vitacer, 3.
Voandzeia subterannea, 10.
Voorhees; basic formula, 383.
celery fertilizing, 130.
pulse fertilizer, 228.
root crop fertilizers, 162.
tomato fertilizer, 257.
wart of potatoes, 203.
water caltrop, 10,
Index
water-chestnut, 7, 10.
water-cress, 118, 119.
listed, 5.
water-heated hotbeds, 350.
watering frames, 360.
Water-lily Family, 8.
watermelon, botany of, 310.
discussion of, 296.
listed, 11.
Water-Plantain Family, 7.
Watts, R. L., cited, 14.
Waugh, quoted, 99.
wax gourd, 281.
webworm, cabbage, 70
weeds, discussion of, 423.
weighing seeds, 17.
Welsh onion, 156, 159.
whale-oil soap, 429.
wheel-hoe, 395.
white-fly, 435.
grubs, 433.
winter melon, 307.
purslane, 63.
savory, 334.
wintering autumn-sown
363.
wirewornis, 432.
witloof, discussion of, 114.
listed, 6.
wonderberry, 11, 255.
Wood-sorrel Family, 8.
Work, Paul, cited, 418.
wormwood, 7, 334.
plants,
Xanthosoma sagittifotium, 7.
yam-bean, 8, 10.
Family, 8.
listed, 9.
yautia, 7.
yellows of cabbage, 68.
yield of dried vegetables, 465.
of seeds, 406.
young-tsai, 6.
Zea Mays, 9, 322.
saccharata, 322.
zebra caterpillar, 71.
Zingiberaceer, 7.
Zingiber officinale, T.
Zizania latifolia, 3,
a ’
te
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VAI
UO0091L60589