THE FIELD AND GARDEN VEGETABLES OF AMERICA TEXT

yellow-fleshed variety. PURPLE OR BLOOD RED. Violette. _Vil._ Root fusiform, and very slender, fourteen inches in length, by two inches and a half in diameter at the top or broadest part. Skin deep purple, varying to some extent in depth of shade, but generally very dark. Flesh purple at the outer part of the root, and yellow at the centre or heart; fine grained, sugary, and comparatively well flavored. Not much cultivated for the table, on account of the brown color it imparts to soups or other dishes of which it may be an ingredient. It is also inclined to run to seed the year it is sown. It has, however, the reputation of flourishing better in wet, heavy soil, than any other variety. SHORT WHITE. Blanche des Vosges. _Vil._ Root obtusely conical, seven or eight inches long, by about four inches in diameter at the crown, which is large, flat, greenish, and level with the surface of the ground. Skin white, tinted with amber, smooth and fine. Flesh yellowish-white, remarkably solid, and fine in texture; sweet and well flavored. Foliage rather finely divided, and as vigorous as the Long Orange. The Short White yields well, retains its qualities during winter, and is well adapted for cultivation in soils that are hard and shallow. STUDLEY. Long Red Brunswick. Root fusiform, very long, and regular; the crown level with the surface of the soil. In good cultivation, the roots attain a length of sixteen inches, and a diameter of nearly two inches. Color bright reddish-orange, like the Altrincham. An excellent table-carrot, but flourishes well only in deep, mellow soil. WHITE BELGIAN. Green-top White. Root very long, fusiform, eighteen to twenty inches in length, and four or five inches in diameter. In the genuine variety, the crown rises five or six inches from the surface of the ground; and, with the exception of a slight contraction towards the top, the full diameter is retained for nearly one-half of the entire length. Skin green above, white below ground. Flesh white, tending to citron-yellow at the centre or heart of the root; somewhat coarse in texture. Foliage rather large and vigorous. The White Belgian Carrot is remarkable for its productiveness, surpassing in this respect all other varieties, and exceeding that of the Long Orange by nearly one-fourth. It can be harvested with great facility, and gives a good return even on poor soils. The variety is not considered of any value as a table esculent, and is grown almost exclusively for feeding stock; for which purpose, it is, however, esteemed less valuable than the yellow-fleshed sorts, because less nutritious, and more liable to decay during winter. Since its introduction, it has somewhat deteriorated; and, as now grown, differs to some extent from the description given above. The roots are smaller, seldom rise more than two or three inches above the soil, and taper directly from the crown to the point. A judicious selection of roots for seed, continued for a few seasons, would undoubtedly restore the variety to its primitive form and dimensions. The same amount of seed will be required as of the Long Orange: and the general method of culture should be the same; with the exception, that, in thinning out the plants, the White Belgian should have more space. WHITE BELGIAN HORN. Transparent White. _Vil._ Root seven or eight inches in length, and two inches in its greatest diameter, tapering regularly from the crown to the point. Skin fine, clear white. Flesh very white, and almost transparent, mild, tender, and delicate. A French variety, remarkable for the peculiar, pure white color of its skin and flesh. * * * * * TURNIP-ROOTED CHERVIL. PARSNIP CHERVIL. Chærophyllum bulbosum. [Illustration: Turnip-rooted Chervil.] A hardy, biennial plant, from the south of Europe. The root is fusiform, four or five inches long, and nearly an inch and a half in diameter; skin, grayish-black; flesh, white. The leaves are compound, the leaflets very deeply cut, and the divisions of the upper leaves very narrow and slender. The flowers are white, and terminate the top of the plant in umbels, or large, circular, flat, spreading bunches. The seeds are long, pointed, furrowed, concave on one side, of a brownish color, and retain their power of germination but one year. An ounce contains sixty-five hundred seeds. _Soil and Cultivation._--The seeds may be sown in drills, in October or April, in the manner of sowing the seeds of the common carrot: preference to be given to rich, mellow soil. The roots will attain their full size by the following August or September, when they should be harvested. With a little care to prevent sprouting, they may be preserved until April. _Seed._--The roots intended for seed should be set in the open ground in autumn or in spring. The seeds will ripen in August, and should be sown within a month or two of the time of ripening; or, if kept till spring, should be packed in earth or sand: for, when these precautions are neglected, they will often remain dormant in the ground throughout the year. _Use._--The Tuberous-rooted Chervil promises to be a valuable esculent root. M. Vilmorin considered it worthy to be classed with the potato, though not equally productive. On his authority, upwards of six tons have been produced on an acre; an amount which he states may be greatly increased by a judicious selection of the best roots for seed. The roots, which are eaten boiled, are of a gray color, and nearly of the size and form of an Early Horn Carrot. The flesh is white, farinaceous, and of a flavor intermediate between that of a chestnut and a potato. * * * * * CHINESE POTATO, OR JAPANESE YAM. Dioscorea batatas. Stem twelve feet or more in length, of a creeping or climbing habit; leaves heart-shaped, though sometimes halberd-formed; flowers small, in clusters, white. "The root is of a pale russet color, oblong, regularly rounded, club-shaped, exceedingly tender, easily broken, and differs from nearly all vertical roots in being largest at the lower end." [Illustration: Chinese Potato, or Japanese Yam.] _Propagation and Cultivation._--The Chinese Potato requires a very deep, light, rather sandy, and tolerably rich soil; and this should be thoroughly stirred to the depth of at least two feet. No fresh manure should be used, but fine, well-decomposed compost applied, and deeply as well as very thoroughly incorporated with the soil; avoiding however, if possible, its direct contact with the growing roots. It is propagated either by small roots; by the top or neck of the large roots, cut off to the length of five or six inches; or by the small bulbs, or tubers, which the plants produce in considerable numbers on the stem, in the axils of the leaves. These should be planted the last of April, or as soon as the ground is in good working condition. Lay out the land in raised ridges two feet and a half or three feet asunder; and on the summit set the bulbs, or tubers, with the point or shoot upwards, eight or ten inches apart; and cover about an inch deep. Cultivate in the usual manner during the summer; and late in autumn, after the tops are dead, and just before the closing-up of the ground, take up the roots, dry them a short time in the sun, and store them in the cellar for use. The roots are perfectly hardy, and will sustain no injury from the coldest winter, if left unprotected in the open ground. During the second season, the growth of the old root is not continued, but gradually decays as the new roots are formed. A well-grown root will measure about two feet in length, and two inches and a half at its broadest diameter. _Use._--The flesh is remarkably white, and very mucilaginous in its crude state. The roots are eaten either boiled or roasted, and require rather more than half the time for cooking that is usually given to the boiling or roasting of the common potato. When cooked, they possess a rice-like taste and consistency, are quite farinaceous, and unquestionably nutritive and valuable for food. * * * * * CHUFA, OR EARTH ALMOND. EDIBLE CYPERUS. NUT RUSH. Cyperus esculentus. A perennial plant, from the south of Europe. The roots are long and fibrous, and produce at their extremities numerous small, rounded or oblong, jointed, pale-brown tubers, of the size of a filbert. The flesh of these roots, or tubers, is of a yellowish color, tender, and of a pleasant, sweet, and nut-like flavor. The leaves are rush-like, about eighteen inches high, a little rough, and sharply pointed. The flower-stalks are nearly of the same height as the leaves, three-cornered, hard, and leafless, with the exception of five or six leaflike bracts at the top, from the midst of which are produced the spikelets of flowers, which are of a pale-yellow color. _Propagation and Culture._--It is propagated by planting the tubers in April or May, two inches deep, in drills two feet apart, and six inches apart in the drills. They will be ready for harvesting in October. In warm climates, the plant, when once introduced into the garden, spreads with great rapidity, and is exterminated with much difficulty. In the Northern and Middle States, the tubers remaining in the open ground are almost invariably destroyed by the winter. _Use._--It is cultivated for its small, almond-like tubers, which, when dried, have somewhat the taste of the almond, and keep a long period. They are eaten either raw or roasted. "The plant grows spontaneously in the light, humid soils of Spain; and is cultivated in Germany and the south of France. The tubers are chiefly employed for making an orgeat,--a species of drink much used in Spain, Cuba, and other hot climates where it is known. When mashed to a flour,--which is white, sweet, and very agreeable to the taste,--it imparts to water the color and richness of milk."--_Hort._ * * * * * GERMAN RAMPION. TREE PRIMROSE. EVENING PRIMROSE. OEnothera biennis. The German Rampion, or Evening Primrose, common in this country to gravelly pastures and roadsides, is a hardy biennial plant, and, when in full perfection, measures three or four feet in height, with long, flat, pointed leaves, and large, yellow, fragrant flowers. The seed-pods are oblong, four-sided; the seeds are small, angular, of a brown color, and retain their germinative properties three years. _Sowing and Cultivation._--The seeds should be sown annually, in April, in a rich and shady situation; for if grown in a dry, sunny exposure, and sown very early in the season, the plants are inclined to run to flower during the summer: which renders the roots worthless; for they then become hard and fibrous. Sow in drills an inch deep, and fourteen inches apart; thin to six or eight inches in the rows; cultivate in the usual form; and, in September, the roots will be ready for use. For winter use, take up the roots before freezing weather, and pack in sand. For spring use, they may be taken directly from the ground. _To raise Seed._--Two or three plants, left in the ground through the winter, will yield an abundant supply of seeds the following summer. _Use._--The root is the only part used. This, when full grown, is generally from ten to twelve inches long, fusiform, occasionally with a few strong fibres, whitish on the outside, and white within. The thick, outer covering separates readily, and should be removed when the root is eaten in its crude state. It possesses a nutty flavor; but is inferior to the true Rampion, having a slight pungency. If required as a raw salad, it should be eaten while young. When the roots have attained their full size, they are usually dressed in the manner of Skirret and Scorzonera. * * * * * JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE. Helianthus tuberosus. The Jerusalem Artichoke is a hardy perennial. In its manner of growth and flowering, it much resembles the common sunflower; of which, as its scientific term suggests, it is really a species. Stem six to eight feet high, very rough, and much branched; leaves alternate, large, rough, heart-shaped at the base, pointed at the ends, and indented on the borders; flowers large, yellow,--produced on the top of the plant, at the extremities of the branches. _Soil, Propagation, and Culture._--"It thrives best in a light, mellow soil, made rich by the application of old, decomposed manure; but the roots will flourish well if planted in any corner of the garden less suited for other descriptions of vegetables. To obtain fine roots, however, the soil should be trenched fifteen or eighteen inches in depth. "It is propagated by planting the small tubers, or offsets: the large tubers may also be cut or divided into several pieces, each having one eye, as practised with the potato. In April, or early in May, lay out the rows three feet apart, drop the tubers one foot apart in the rows, and cover three inches deep. As the plants come up, hoe the ground between the rows from time to time; and draw a little earth around their stems, to support them, and to afford the roots a thicker covering." _Taking the Crop._--The new tubers will be suitable for use in the autumn. In digging, great care should be taken to remove the small as well as the full-grown; for those not taken from the ground will remain fresh and sound during the winter, and send up in the spring new plants, which, in turn, will increase so rapidly, as to encumber the ground, and become troublesome. In localities where the crop has once been cultivated, though no plants be allowed to grow for the production of fresh tubers, yet the young shoots will continue to make their appearance from time to time for many years. _Use._--"The roots, or tubers, are the parts of the plant eaten. These are boiled in water till they become tender; when, after being peeled, and stewed with butter and a little wine, they will be as pleasant as the real Artichoke, which they nearly resemble both in taste and flavor." M'Intosh says that the tubers may be used in every way as the potato; and are suited to persons in delicate health, when debarred from the use of most other vegetables. _Varieties._--For a long period, there was but a single variety cultivated, or even known. Recent experiments in the use of seeds as a means of propagation have developed new kinds, varying greatly in their size, form, and color, possessing little of the watery and insipid character of the heretofore grown Jerusalem Artichoke, and nearly or quite equalling the potato in flavor and excellence. COMMON WHITE. Tubers large, and often irregular in form; skin and flesh white; quality watery, and somewhat insipid. It is unfit for boiling, but is sometimes served baked or roasted. It makes a very crisp and well-flavored pickle. PURPLE-SKINNED. A French variety, produced from seed. Tubers purplish rose-color; flesh dryer when cooked, and finer flavored, than that of the foregoing. RED-SKINNED. Like the Purple-skinned, produced from seed. Skin red. Between this and the last named there are various intermediate sorts, differing in shades of color, as well as in size, form, and quality. YELLOW-SKINNED. _Law._ The tubers of this variety are of a yellowish color, and are generally smaller, and even more irregularly shaped, than those of the Common White. They are, however, superior in quality, and of a more agreeable taste when cooked. * * * * * KOHL RABI. TURNIP CABBAGE. Brassica caulo-rapa. [Illustration: Green Kohl Rabi.] The Kohl Rabi is a vegetable intermediate between the cabbage and the turnip. The stem, just above the surface of the ground, swells into a round, fleshy bulb, in form not unlike a turnip. On the top and about the surface of this bulb are put forth its leaves, which are similar to those of the Swede turnips; being either lobed or entire on the borders, according to the variety. The seeds are produced the second year; after the ripening of which, the bulb perishes. _Sowing and Cultivation._--Mr. Thompson's directions are as follows: "Kohl Rabi may be sown thinly, broadcast, or in drills four inches apart, in April, May, or June. When the young plants are an inch or two in height, they may be transplanted into any good, well-enriched piece of ground, planting them eight inches apart, in rows fifteen inches asunder, and not deeper in the ground than they were in the seed-bed. Water should be given till they take fresh root, and subsequently in dry weather as required; for though the plants suffer little from droughts, yet the tenderness of the produce is greatly impaired by an insufficient supply of moisture. With the exception of stirring the ground and weeding, no further culture is required. The crop will be fit for use when the bulbs are of the size of an early Dutch turnip: when allowed to grow much larger, they are only fit for cattle. Of field varieties, the bulbs sometimes attain an immense size; weighing, in some cases, fourteen pounds." _Seed._--Take up a few plants entire in autumn; preserve them during winter in the manner of cabbages or turnips; and transplant to the open ground in April, two feet apart in each direction. The seeds are not distinguishable from those of the Swede or Ruta-baga Turnip, and retain their vitality from five to seven years. _Use._--The part chiefly used is the turnip-looking bulb, formed by the swelling of the stem. This is dressed and eaten with sauce or with meat, as turnips usually are. While young, the flesh is tender and delicate, possessing the combined flavor of the cabbage and turnip. They are said to keep better than any other bulb, and to be sweeter and more nutritious than the cabbage or white turnip. "In the north of France, they are extensively grown for feeding cattle,--a purpose for which they seem admirably adapted, as, from having a taste similar to the leaves of others of the species, they are found not to impart any of that peculiar, disagreeable taste to the milk, which it acquires when cows are fed on turnips." _Varieties._--These are as follow:-- ARTICHOKE-LEAVED. _Thomp._ _Vil._ Cut-leaved. Of German origin, deriving its name from the resemblance of the leaves to those of the Artichoke. Bulb small, and not smooth or symmetrical. The leaves are beautifully cut, and are very ornamental; but the bulb is comparatively of little value. Not much cultivated. EARLY DWARF WHITE. _Vil._ Bulb white, smaller than that of the Common White, and supported close to the ground. The leaves are also smaller, and less numerous. It is earlier, and finer in texture, than the last named; and, while young, excellent for the table. Transplant in rows fifteen inches apart, and ten inches asunder in the rows. EARLY PURPLE VIENNA. _Thomp._ _Vil._ This corresponds with the Early White Vienna, except in color, which, in this variety, is a beautiful purple, with a fine glaucous bloom. The leaf-stems are very slender, and the leaves smooth, and few in number. These two Vienna sorts are by far the best for table use. When taken young, and properly dressed, they form an excellent substitute for turnips, especially in dry seasons, when a crop of the latter may fail or become of inferior quality. EARLY WHITE VIENNA. _Thomp._ Dwarf, small, early; bulb handsome, firm, glossy, white, or very pale-green. The leaves are few, small, with slender stems, the bases of which are dilated, and thin where they spring from different parts on the surface of the bulb. The flesh is white, tender, and succulent, whilst the bulb is young, or till it attains the size of an early white Dutch turnip; and at or under this size it should be used. Set the plants in rows fifteen inches apart, and ten inches from plant to plant in the lines. GREEN. Similar to, if not identical with, the Common White. The bulbs are