Funny Jokes

For a very early crop in the garden, tubers are sometimes sprouted in
the cellar. When the sprouts are 4 to 6 inches high, the tubers are
carefully planted. It is essential that the sprouts are not broken in
the handling. In this practice, also, the tubers are first cut into
large pieces, so that they will not dry out too much.

The staple remedy for the potato bug is Paris green, 2 pounds or more of
poison to 150 to 200 gallons of water, with a little lime. For the blight, spray with bordeaux mixture, and spray thoroughly.
Bordeaux mixture will also keep away the flea beetle to a large extent.

Radish (Plate XXV).--In all parts of the country the radish is
popular as a side-dish, being used as an appetizer and for its
decorative character. It is a poor product, however, if misshapen,
wormy, or tough.
[Illustration: Fig. 313. French Breakfast and olive-shaped radishes.]

Radishes should be grown quickly in order to have them at their best.
They become tough and woody if grown slowly or allowed to stay in the
ground too long. A light soil, well enriched, will grow most of the
early varieties to table size in three to five weeks. To have a supply
through the early months, sowings should be made every two weeks. For
spring use, the French Breakfast is still a standard variety (Fig. 313).

For summer, the large white or gray varieties are best. The winter
varieties may be sown in September, harvested before severe frosts, and
stored in sand in a cool cellar. When they are to be used, if thrown
into cold water for a short time they will regain their crispness.

Sow radishes thickly in drills, 12 to 18 inches apart. Thin as needed.

Rhubarb, or Pie plant.--A strong perennial herb, to be grown in a
bed or row by itself at one end or side of the garden. It is a
heavy feeder.

Rhubarb is usually propagated by division of the fleshy roots, small
pieces of which will grow if separated from the old established roots
and planted in rich mellow soil. Poor soil should be made rich by
spading out at least 3 feet of the surface, filling with well-rotted
manure to within 1 foot of the level, throwing in the top soil and
setting the roots with the crowns 4 inches below the surface, firming
them with the feet. The stalks should not be cut for use until the
second year. See that the plant does not want for water when it is
making its heavy leaf growth. In fall, coarse manure should be thrown
over the crowns, to be forked or spaded in lightly when spring opens.

In growing seedling rhubarb, the seed may be sown in a coldframe in
March or April, protected from freezing, and in two months the plants
will be ready to set in rows, 12 inches apart. Give the plants good
cultivation, and the following spring they may be set in a permanent
place. At this time the plants should be set in well-prepared ground, at
a distance each way of 4 to 5 feet, and treated as those set with
pieces of roots.

If given good care and well manured, the plants will live for years and
yield abundantly. Two dozen good roots will supply a large family.

[Illustration: Fig. 314. Salsify, or oyster plant.]

Salsify, or Vegetable oyster (Fig. 314).--Salsify is one of
the best of winter and early spring vegetables, and should be grown in
every garden. It may be cooked in several different ways, to bring out
the oyster flavor.

The seed should be sown as early in the spring as possible. Handle the
same as parsnips in every way. The roots, like parsnips, are the better
for the winter freeze, but part of the crop should be dug in the fall,
and stored in soil or moss in a cellar for winter use.

Sea-kale is a strong-rooted perennial, the shoots of which are
very highly prized as a delicacy when blanched.

Seed should be sown in a hotbed early in the spring, plants transplanted
to the garden when from 2 to 3 inches high, and given good cultivation
through the season, being covered with litter on the approach of winter.
The young stalks are blanched early the following spring by covering
with large pots or boxes, or by banking with sand or other clean
material. The Dwarf Green Scotch, Dwarf Brown, and Siberian are among
the leading varieties. Sea-kale is eaten much as asparagus is. It is
highly prized by those who know it.

Sea-kale is also propagated by cuttings of the roots 4 or 5 inches long,
planted directly in the soil in spring. The plant being perennial, the
early shoots may be bleached year after year.

Sorrel of the European garden sorts may be sown in spring, in
drills 16 inches apart in beds, or 3 to 3-1/2 feet apart in rows. After
the plants are well established they should be thinned to 10 to 12
inches apart in the rows. They are perennial, and may be kept growing in
the same place for several years. Broad-leaved French is the most
popular variety.

Spearmint is prized by many persons as a seasoning, particularly
for the Thanksgiving and holiday cookery.

It is a perennial and perfectly hardy, and will live in the open garden
year after year. If a supply of the fresh herbage is wanted in winter,
remove sods of it to the house six weeks before wanted. Place the sods
in boxes, and treat as for house plants. The plants should have been
frosted and become perfectly dormant before removal.

Spinach.--The most extensively grown of all "greens," being in
season in earliest spring, and in fall and winter.

The earliest spinach that finds its way to market is produced from seed
sown in September or October, often protected by frames or other means
through the severe winter, and cut soon after growth starts in early
spring. Even as far north as New York spinach may stand over winter
without protection.

Spinach is forced by placing sash over the frames in February and
March, protecting the young leaves from severe freezing by mats or
straw thrown over the frames.

Seed may be sown in early spring for a succession; later in the season
seed of the New Zealand summer spinach may be sown, and this will grow
through the heat of the summer and yield a fine quality of leaves. The
seed of this kind, being very hard, should be scalded and allowed to
soak a few hours before sowing. This seed is usually sown in hills about
3 feet apart, sowing four to six seed in each hill.

The spring and winter spinach should be sown in drills 12 to 14 inches
apart, one ounce being sufficient for 100 feet of drill. Remember that
common spinach is a cool-weather (fall and spring) crop.

Squash.--The summer squashes rarely fail of a crop if they once
escape the scourge of the striped beetle. The late varieties
are not so certain; they must secure a strong start, and be on "quick"
fertile warm land in order to make a crop before the cool nights of fall
(Fig. 315).

[Illustration: Fig. 315. One of the so-called Japanese type of squash
(Cucurbita moschata).]

The time of planting, method of preparing the hills, and after-culture
are the same as for cucumbers and melons, except that for the early bush
varieties the hills should be 4 or 5 feet apart, and for the later
running varieties from 6 to 8 feet apart. From eight to ten seeds should
be planted in each hill, thinning to four plants after danger from bugs
is over. Of the early squashes, one ounce of seed will plant fifty
hills; of the later varieties, one ounce will plant but eighteen to
twenty hills. For winter use, varieties of the Hubbard type are best.
For summer use, the Crooknecks and Scallop squashes are popular. In
growing winter squashes in a Northern climate, it is essential that the
plants start off quickly and vigorously: a little chemical fertilizer
will help.

Pumpkins are grown the same as squashes.

Sweet-potato is rarely grown north of Philadelphia; in the South it
is a universal garden crop.

Sweet-potatoes are grown from sprouts planted on ridges or hills, not
by planting the tubers, as with the common or Irish potato. The method
of obtaining these sprouts is as follows: In April, tubers of
sweet-potatoes are planted in a partially spent hotbed by using the
whole tuber (or if a large one, by cutting it in two through the long
way), covering the tubers with 2 inches of light, well-firmed soil. The
sash should be put on the frames and only enough ventilation given to
keep the potatoes from decaying. In ten or twelve days the young sprouts
should begin to appear, and the bed should be watered if dry. The
sprouts when pulled from the tuber will be found to have rootlets at the
lower end and along the stems. These sprouts should be about 3 to 5
inches long by the time the ground is warm enough to plant them out on
their ridges.

The ridges or hills should be prepared by plowing out a furrow 4 to 6
inches deep. Scatter manure in the furrow and plow back the soil so as
to raise the center at least 6 inches above the level of the soil. On
this ridge the plants are set, placing the plants well in to the leaves
and about 12 to 18 inches apart in the rows, the rows being from 3 to 4
feet apart.

The after-cultivation consists in stirring the soil between the ridges;
and as the vines begin to run they should be lifted frequently to
prevent rooting at the joints. When the tips of the vines have been
touched by frost the crop may be harvested, the tubers left to dry a few
days, and stored in a dry, warm place.

To keep sweet potatoes, store in layers in barrels or boxes in dry sand,
and keep them in a dry room See that all bruised or chilled potatoes are
thrown out.

[Illustration: 316. A good form or type of tomato.]

Tomato.--The tomato is an inhabitant of practically every home
garden, and everybody understands its culture (Fig. 316).

The early fruits are very easily grown by starting the plants in a
greenhouse, hotbed, or in shallow boxes placed in windows. A pinch of
seed sown in March will give all the early plants a large family can
use. When the plants have reached the height of 2 or 3 inches, they
should be transplanted into 3-inch flower-pots, old berry boxes, or
other receptacles, and allowed to grow slowly and stocky until time to
set them out, which is from May 15 on (in New York). They should be set
in rows 4 or 5 feet apart, the plants being the same distance in
the rows.

[Illustration: 317. A tomato trellis.]

Some support should be given to keep the fruits off the ground and to
hasten the ripening. A trellis of chicken-wire makes an excellent
support, as does the light lath fencing that may be bought or made at
home. Stout stakes, with wire strung the length of the rows, afford an
excellent support. A very showy method is that of a frame made like an
inverted V, which allows the fruits to hang free; with a little
attention to trimming, the light reaches the fruits and ripens them
perfectly (Fig. 317). This support is made by leaning together two
lath frames.

The late fruits may be picked green and ripened on a shelf in the sun;
or they will ripen if placed in a drawer.

One ounce of seed will be enough for from twelve to fifteen hundred
plants. A little fertilizer in the hill will start the plants off
quickly. The rot is less serious when the vines are kept off the ground
and the rampant suckers are cut out. Varieties pass out and new ones
come into notice, so that a list is of small permanent value.

Turnips and Rutabagas are little grown in home gardens; and
yet a finer quality of vegetable than most persons know could be secured
if these plants were raised on one's own soil and brought fresh to the
table. They are usually a fall crop, from seed sown in July and early
August, although some kitchen-gardens have them from spring-sown The
culture is easy.

Turnips should be grown in drills, like beets, for the early crop.
The young plants will stand light frosts. Choose a rainy day for planting,
if practicable. Cover the seed very lightly. Thin the young
plants to 5 to 7 inches in the row. Sow every two weeks if a
constant supply is desired, as turnips rapidly become hard and woody
in warm summer weather. For the fall and winter crop in the North,

"On the fourteenth day of July,

Sow your turnips, wet or dry."

In many parts of the northern and middle states tradition fixes the 25th
of July as the proper time for sowing flat turnips for winter use. In
the middle states, turnips are sometimes sown as late as the end of
August. Prepare a piece of very mellow ground, and sow the seed thinly
and evenly broadcast. In spite of the old rhyme, a gentle shower will
then be acceptable. These turnips are pulled after frost, the tops
removed, and the roots stored in cellars or pits.

For the early crop, Purple-top Strap-leaf, Early White Flat Dutch, and
Early Purple-top Milan are the favorite varieties. Yellow-fleshed sorts
like Golden Ball are very fine for early table use, when well grown, but
most eaters prefer white turnips in spring, although they occasionally
patronize the yellow varieties in the fall. Yellow Globe is the favorite
yellow fall turnip, though some persons grow yellow rutabagas and call
them turnips. For late crop of white turnips, the same varieties chosen
for spring sowing are also desirable.

Rutabagas are distinguished from turnips by their smooth, bluish
foliage, long root, and yellow flesh. They are richer than turnips; they
require the same treatment, except that the season of growth is longer.
Fall-sown or summer-sown bagas should have a month the start of
flat turnips.

Except the maggot (see cabbage maggot), there are no serious
insects or diseases peculiar to turnips and bagas.

Watermelon.--The watermelon is shipped everywhere in such enormous
quantities, and it covers so much space in the garden, that
home-gardeners in the North seldom grow it. When one has room, it should
be added to the kitchen-garden.

The culture is essentially that for muskmelons (which see), except that
most varieties require a warmer place and longer period of growth. Give
the hills a distance of 6 to 10 feet apart. Choose a warm, "quick" soil
and sunny exposure. It is essential, in the North, that the plants grow
rapidly and come into bloom early. One ounce of seed will plant
thirty hills.

There are several white or yellow-fleshed varieties, but aside from
their oddity of appearance they have little value. A good watermelon has
a solid, bright red flesh, preferably with black seeds, and a strong
protecting rind. Kolb Gem, Jones, Boss, Cuban Queen, and Dixie are among
the best varieties. There are early varieties that will ripen in the
Northern season, and make a much better melon than those secured on
the market.

The so-called "citron," with hard white flesh, used in making preserves,
is a form of watermelon.