FARM GARDENING WITH HINTS ON CHEAP MANURING TEXT

An excellent plan is to make an A-shaped trough of two boards to turn the rain, on top of which a greater or less amount of straw, leaves or litter may be piled, if needed. Mice sometimes do considerable damage to stored celery, but are more easily controlled in short trenches than in long ones. Small amounts of celery may be stored in cellars, in boxes a foot wide and a foot deep, with damp sand in the bottom. No soil is needed between the plants. The coolest and darkest part of the cellar is best for storage. =Diseases.=--Celery diseases are preventable and insect attacks are few. For blight, kainit is recommended, both in the seed-bed and open field. For rust, the Bordeaux mixture is advised. Hollow-stemmed or pithy celery is the result of poor stock or improper soil, and can be avoided by the use of more manure and more water. =New Process.=--The method of growing celery in highly enriched soil, with plants set 6 or 8 inches apart both ways, is quite feasible. The plants stand so close as to blanch each other to some extent, but the system has never attracted general favor. A great deal of water is required. Cultivation is possible only when the plants are small. =Profits.=--The use of celery is obviously on the increase, but the demand is for a first-class article. The cash results may be set at anywhere from $200 to $500 per acre. The actual net profits of well-conducted operations are considerable. WATER CRESS. Water cress, a vegetable closely allied to several other edible cresses, is used in very large quantities in all city restaurants. It is a much-esteemed winter relish, and is mostly served with every one of the thousands of beefsteak orders daily filled in the great eating houses and lunch rooms. The demand for it seems to be on the increase. [Illustration: Water Cress.] Water cress is of the easiest culture. It can be grown in the soil of a forcing house under glass, and is extensively produced in this way by market gardeners. The cheapest method is to grow it in running water, preferably near a spring head; and many such situations are available to farmers. Flat beds, made of loam, gravel, or sand, covered with 3 or 4 inches of warm, spring water, will yield great quantities of water cress in early spring; and the use of a few sash will keep the cress in growth during the winter. The cress should be cut frequently, as the young shoots are most succulent and tender. For market purposes the water cress is tied in bunches, and retailed at from 3 to 10 cents per bunch, or packed in pint boxes, leaves uppermost, and retailed for about 10 cents per box. These are winter and early spring prices. Water cress culture is profitable in favored locations. CUCUMBER. The cucumber market is not easily over-supplied, but the pickling tub should stand ready to receive all cucumbers not sold in a fresh condition. For field culture, good ground must be selected, and marked out with a plow, 4 x 4 feet; or, a little wider, if the soil is strong. At least one shovelful of well-rotted manure is dropped in every hill, and mixed with the soil, and a dozen seeds planted, to be thinned out finally to three or four plants. It is better to have extra plants, on account of the attacks of the striped beetle. The cucumber belongs to a botanic family which is naturally tender, and the seeds should not be sown until the soil is quite warm. For farm work, the planting season is the latter part of May and the whole of June; and even July is a suitable month, if the soil can be irrigated. It will require two pounds of seed for an acre. The variety sown should depend on the purpose in view; but in all commercial operations, well-known and thoroughly tested sorts should be chosen. Shallow cultivation is recommended. If an early market is to be supplied with cucumbers, the seeds may be started under glass, on bits of inverted sod or in small boxes, and set in the open ground on the arrival of settled warm weather; but the farmer will usually find it most profitable to sow the seeds where the plants are to remain. The most serious enemy of the cucumber vine is the striped beetle, which attacks the young plant and frequently ruins it. The remedy is air-slaked lime, or soot, or sifted coal ashes, or wood ashes diluted with dry road dust. The best preventive is salt or kainit, used in the hills. The true plan is to have strong, vigorous plants, which, as a rule, will resist and outgrow the striped beetle, and be not greatly injured by its attacks. There is a blight which sometimes destroys the cucumber vine, apparently the result of weakness following a prolonged drouth. The vine of the cucumber must be kept in vigorous growth, not only by cultivation and a sufficient water-supply, but by care in removing all the fruit as soon as formed, for, if the seeds be permitted to mature, the vine will quickly perish. It is the purpose of the vine's existence to produce ripe seeds, and it will make repeated and long-continued efforts to accomplish this end. In gathering the cucumbers, it is important to avoid injuring the vine. Some growers use a knife; others break the stem by a dexterous twist, without injuring the vine in the least. [Illustration: Johnson & Stokes' Perfected Jersey Pickle Cucumber.] It requires 300 cucumbers (more or less) of fair pickling size to make a bushel, and it is estimated that an acre will produce from 100 to 200 bushels, or even more. When the pickles are pulled while quite small, the number runs up to 125,000 per acre; and the pickle factories in some cases make their estimates on a yield of 75,000 per acre. The price is variable, but often quite profitable. CUCUMBER.--For planting in the South to ship to Northern markets use Improved Arlington White Spine. Giant of Pera is a fine table sort. For pickling, plant Johnson & Stokes' Perfected Jersey Pickle. For description see our "Garden and Farm Manual." =Downy Mildew.=--A disease which lately threatened to destroy the business of growing pickles in New Jersey and elsewhere, the downy mildew of the cucumber, can be fully overcome by spraying the vines with Bordeaux mixture. It requires six or seven applications, at intervals of a week or ten days, to conquer this comparatively new disease. Downy mildew is a fungous trouble affecting the leaves and destroying the further usefulness of the vine. A recent New York experiment showed a yield of $173 worth of pickles per acre under spraying as against complete failure where the Bordeaux mixture was not used. The cost of spraying was $9.50 per acre, leaving $163.50 per acre as the value of the crop saved by the operation. EGG PLANT. The advisability of growing egg plants in farm gardening operations is a question of location. On a suitable soil, near a good market, the operation will be a profitable one, if rightly managed. The egg plant is a tender vegetable, botanically allied to both the tomato and the potato, but less hardy than either, especially when young. For this reason it is best to delay sowing the seed, even in hot-beds, until cold weather is past, for the tender seedlings never fully recover from a chill or set-back. Indeed, for the farm gardener the month of May is early enough to sow the seed under glass, for this plant grows with great rapidity in a warm soil, and May-sown seed not infrequently yields plants that outstrip those sown a full month earlier. [Illustration: New Jersey Improved Large Purple Smooth Stem Egg Plant.] The egg plant demands a richer soil than either the potato or tomato. It also asks for more water. It is a rank feeder. A good stimulant, if rotted manure cannot be had, is nitrate of soda at the rate of 400 pounds to the acre. The farm gardener will do well to consider his market before engaging in the production of the egg plant on an extensive scale, for it is a perishable product. It bears shipment well, but its use is mainly limited to consumption while fresh. It may command a very high price at some seasons of the year and at other times be practically unsalable at any price, owing to an over-supply. If egg-plant seed be sown under glass in early May, and carefully protected against cool weather (especially at night), the young plants will be ready to transplant before the end of the month and large enough for the open field in June. They should be set in rows 4 feet apart, and about 3 feet apart in the row. Set at these distances, an acre of ground would accommodate about 3,500 plants. The enemy of the egg plant, in growth, is the potato bug, which must be hand-picked or poisoned. There is a rot which causes the fruit to drop from the stem before reaching maturity. This rot is a fungus, and the Bordeaux mixture is recommended for it. The blight which sometimes affects the foliage is in part at least caused by cold weather, and for this there is no remedy, except late planting. Every healthy plant should produce from two to six or more full-sized fruits, and it is therefore easy to calculate that an acre's product under favorable circumstances may be very large. EGG PLANT.--There is nothing equal to the New Jersey Improved Large Purple Smooth Stem for the use of farm gardeners. For description, see "Johnson & Stokes' Garden and Farm Manual." [Illustration: Johnson & Stokes' Imperial, or Long Standing Kale.] KALE OR BORECOLE. Kale, of which there are many varieties, is a headless cabbage, closely allied to such vegetables as Brussels sprouts, collards, etc. It is one of the most hardy of vegetables, and in this latitude it will live over winter in the open ground, with only straw or litter as a protection. If cut for use when frozen it should be thawed out in cold water. The kales are among the most delicately flavored cabbages. Some of them are of such ornamental shape as to be full worthy of cultivation for decorative purposes. The height varies from 1 to 2 feet, and the colors include both greens, dark purples and intermediate shades. Kale demands a rich, deep soil. The seed should be sown in a border or seed-bed, and transplanted to the open field and set in rows, after the manner of cabbage. It is largely and profitably grown in the South for shipment to the great Northern markets. Where farmers are situated near centres of population where kale is in demand, its culture will be found profitable, as it requires even less labor than cabbage. It is planted both in spring and autumn. The former crop is for autumn consumption and the latter crop is carried over winter after the manner of spinach, protected by a light covering of some sort of litter. KALE.--For the South, we recommend Extra Dwarf Green Curled Scotch; for the North, Johnson & Stokes' New Imperial. See our "Garden and Farm Manual" for descriptions. LETTUCE. In some sections, especially in the South, lettuce can be grown with profit by farm gardeners. Depending on the latitude, the seed may be planted from autumn until spring. The plants are usually sheltered and headed under glass, or under muslin-covered sash, and are sent North in ventilated barrels. The lettuce is naturally a cool-weather plant, and its culture is easy. The seed is cheap and it germinates quickly. Well-grown lettuce always commands good prices. It is usual to start the seeds in a border or under a frame, and to prick out the plants into more roomy quarters as soon as they are large enough to handle. In a few weeks after transplanting, in good growing weather, they are headed ready for market. Good soil, abundance of moisture and free ventilation are essentials in lettuce production. [Illustration] In some parts of the North lettuce culture would be found profitable by farmers in the summer season, for there are varieties well adapted to high temperature, provided good soil and sufficient water be furnished. There is not a month in the year when lettuce is not demanded for use in salads, and this demand is likely to increase. LETTUCE.--For the South, we especially recommend Reichner's Early White Butter, Big Boston and New Treasure; for the North, New Sensation, Mammoth Salamander and Hornberger's Dutch Butter. Please see "Johnson & Stokes' Garden and Farm Manual." MELONS. Melon culture belongs on the farm rather than in the small market garden, on account of the large space occupied by the growing vines. An acre of ground will accommodate only about 450 watermelon hills (at 10 feet each way) or about 1,200 muskmelon or cantaloupe hills (6 feet each way), and hence the necessity for large areas of ground for the cultivation of these crops. The requirements of the various melons are quite similar. Broken sod ground or any green crop turned down favors their growth, and well-rotted stable manure in the hill is the best known stimulant. All the melons are tender, and are suited only to warm-weather growth, and this fact must be remembered in sowing the seed. Light alluvial soil near rivers or streams is adapted to melon growth, and many an old meadow now weedy and unprofitable might be used to advantage for one of these crops. [Illustration: New Black-eyed Susan Watermelon.] =The Watermelon.=--For cash-producing purposes the best watermelon is a large one, with a hard rind. It must have a dark pink or red centre and must be a good shipper. It should weigh thirty to forty pounds, and there should be 900 to 1,000 first-class melons to the acre. The best melon for family use or for a strictly retail trade is a medium-sized variety, which has a thin rind, pink or red flesh and extra sweetness, weighing from twenty to thirty pounds. The preparation of the ground has already been suggested. Two shovels of manure should go into each hill. The planting date is May in this latitude; or as soon as the ground is thoroughly warm. Four pounds of seed per acre will be required. But one plant per hill is allowed to grow. The end of the main shoots should be pinched off, to encourage branching and flowering. [Illustration] Cultivation should be thorough. Fungous diseases can be controlled by means of the Bordeaux mixture, except that it is difficult to reach the under side of the leaves. To prevent sunburn on melons, some growers sow buckwheat when the vines are in blossom, and thus secure a partial shade by the time the fruit is large enough to be injured by the sun. Generally, no protection is necessary. At $10 or $15 per hundred, the average wholesale price at Philadelphia, watermelon culture is profitable. Early prices are higher. WATER MELONS.--For shipping--Johnson's Dixie, Blue Gem, Duke Jones, Sweet Heart. For home market--Black-Eyed Susan, Florida Favorite, Kentucky Wonder, McIver's Wonderful Sugar. For descriptions, see "Johnson & Stokes' Garden and Farm Manual." =Citron.=--This small round melon is cultivated in all respects as the watermelon, but being smaller the hills may be closer. It is used in making preserves. The name citron is frequently applied to certain of the cantaloupes. =Cantaloupes or Muskmelons.=--It is a matter of choice whether the green-fleshed or red-fleshed sorts are grown; or whether the variety be large or small. The sorts covered with strongly webbed or netted markings are in high favor for shipping to distant points, as they carry well. Flavor is in part at least a matter of temperature and sunshine. Cantaloupes may be nicely ripened by removing them from the vines and storing in dry, warm rooms. The usual planting distance is from 4-1/2 to 6 feet, in hills containing rotted manure. Compost, made of hen manure, is sometimes used in the hill, well mixed with the soil. Good cantaloupes are always in active demand. MUSK MELONS.--Early sorts for shipping--McCleary's Improved Jenny Lind, Netted Beauty, The Captain, Champion Market, Improved Netted Gem, Anne Arundel. Late sorts--The Princess, Johnson & Stokes' Superb, etc. See "Garden and Farm Manual" for descriptions. [Illustration: McCleary's Improved Early Jenny Lind Muskmelon.] =Enemies.=--In addition to the fungous diseases of the watermelon and cantaloupe, which are best treated with Bordeaux mixture, all melons are sometimes badly troubled with an aphis called the melon louse. The remedy is whale-oil soap--a pound in six gallons of water; or kerosene emulsion. The latter is made by dissolving half a pound of soft soap in one gallon of water; then adding two gallons of kerosene, churning violently; then diluting with ten or twelve gallons of water. This emulsion is put upon the melon vines in the form of a spray, and is one of the best insecticides known. It is to be used on all sucking insects, like lice and squash bugs. Biting insects are easily killed with Paris green--one pound in 100 pounds of flour or plaster, or in 150 gallons of water. [Illustration: Improved Early Netted Gem Muskmelon (Rose Gem Strain).] Where the land is suited to melon culture, in any part of the country, the farm gardener will find no more satisfactory or remunerative crop. MUSHROOMS. Under certain favored circumstances the mushroom may be grown as a farm gardener's crop. The requisites are horse manure and a dark cellar, cave or vault. If the manure be available and a suitable apartment at hand, the growing of mushrooms may be taken up for winter work. [Illustration: A Bed of Mushrooms from English Milltrack Spawn.] There are many ways of growing mushrooms, and they can be produced in any situation where a steady temperature of 60 deg. can be maintained. A simple method is to prepare a bed consisting of horse manure and loam, three parts by measure of the former and one of the latter, the manure having been somewhat fermented and sweetened by allowing it to heat and turning it several times. A compact bed a foot deep is made. This bed will first heat and then cool. As it cools, when at 80 deg. or 85 deg. an inch below the surface, bits of brick spawn the size of a hen's egg are inserted about 9 inches apart. The bed must not be immediately covered, or the temperature will rise sufficiently to kill the spawn. In ten days, more or less, as shown by a thermometer, this danger will be past, and the bed should receive a coating of good loam an inch deep. No water is to be applied until after the bed is in full bearing. It is assumed that the temperature of the room or cellar has been uniformly 60 deg., day and night; that the bed has not been made where it could become water-soaked; that it is sufficiently moist, yet not wet; and that no draft of air has passed over the surface in a way either to reduce the temperature of the bed itself or to dry the soil upon the surface. If these conditions cannot be maintained, either by a specially favorable place or by means of covering the bed with litter, it is better to let mushrooms alone. The crop should appear in six or eight weeks, and should last two months, the total product being from one-half to one pound per square foot. The cash price is from 50 to 75 cents per pound in the large cities; and the crop is sufficiently profitable to warrant the losses which beginners so commonly experience. These losses are the result of carelessness or ignorance in the matter of details. The usual sources of failure are poorly prepared beds, the medium being either too wet or too dry; frequent changes of temperature; improper use of water; and, lastly, poor or stale spawn. Mushrooms are packed in small baskets lined with paper, and carefully covered to prevent evaporation. A five-pound package is a favorite shipping size. ONIONS. The onion is a national crop; as widely though not quite as extensively grown as the potato. It is available as a money crop for the farm gardener. =Choice of Soil.=--Heavy, stiff clay land is to be avoided. Sand and gravel dry out too quickly. Stony land renders good culture difficult. The best soil for onions is a deep, rich, mellow loam. Soils which