The Field and Garden Vegetables of America Part 12

An English variety, much employed for forcing, and extensively cultivated in the vicinity of London for early marketing. It is, for an early sort, a large, beautiful, oblong, white-skinned potato. Its only fault is its hollow eyes. It is very productive.

STATE OF MAINE.

This variety, as implied by its name, is of Maine origin, and was introduced to general notice six or seven years ago. In form, the tubers are similar to the White Chenango, being long, smooth, and somewhat flattened; though the smaller and undeveloped bulbs are often nearly round. Eyes almost even with the surface, and quite numerous; color white, like the Jackson White. When cooked, the flesh is white, very dry, mealy, and of good flavor.

It is quite early, but more liable to disease than the Davis Seedling and some other varieties. In Maine it is grown in great perfection, nearly equalling the Jackson White and Carter as a table potato. On light soil, it is only moderately productive; but on strong land, in high cultivation, yields abundantly.

ST. HELENA.

Laplander.

An old and very productive variety. Plant erect, and of a bushy habit, about two feet and a half in height; foliage light green; flowers pale reddish-purple. The tubers are of an oblong form, and remarkably large; specimens having been produced measuring ten inches in length. Eyes numerous, but not deeply set; skin white and smooth; flesh white when cooked, mealy, and of fair quality. It is a very healthy variety, and not easily affected by disease; but belongs to that cla.s.s of late field potatoes, the foliage of which does not in ordinary seasons decay until injured by frost, and the tubers of which generally require to be kept some time before they are fit for using to the greatest advantage.

TAYLOR'S FORTY-FOLD. _Law._

Forty-fold.

Plant about one foot and a half high, slender, and spreading in habit; foliage light green; flowers very rarely produced; tubers oval, much flattened, and of medium size; skin rough, and of a dull, reddish color.

This variety is very dry and starchy, well flavored, and suffers comparatively little from disease. It is also very productive, and a good early sort for the garden; but not well adapted for field culture, or for cultivation for agricultural purposes.

TOLON.

Plant quite low and dwarf, decaying with the season; flowers lilac-purple, large and handsome, generally abortive; tubers of medium size, roundish, of a pink or reddish color; flesh yellow, dry, but not of so mild a flavor as many of the more recent kinds. Moderately productive. Introduced.

VERMONT WHITE.

A very fair and good-sized but poor variety, grown to a considerable extent in the northern and more interior portions of New England. Color white outside; but the flesh, when cooked, is yellow, soft, not dry, and strong flavored. It is a strong grower, and very productive, but rots badly. It commands only a low price in the market, on account of its very inferior quality; and cannot be recommended for general cultivation.

VETO, OR ABINGTON BLUE.

Tubers long, resembling in form those of the Long Red, and, like that variety, often watery at the stem-end after being cooked; color blue or purplish; flesh white; quality fair as a table potato.

This variety originally was remarkably productive, and at one period was in very general cultivation; but now is rarely planted, as it is extremely liable to disease, and rots badly.

WHITE CHENANGO.

Chenango. Mercer, of New York.

An old and familiar variety; at one period almost everywhere known, and generally acknowledged as the best of all varieties. As a potato for early planting, whether for family use or for the market, it was a general favorite; but, within a few years past, it has not only greatly deteriorated in quality and productiveness, but has been peculiarly liable to disease and premature decay of the plants. When well grown, the tubers are of good size, rather long, slightly flattened, and comparatively smooth; eyes slightly sunk; color white, with blotches of purple,--before cooking, somewhat purple under the skin; flesh, when cooked, often stained with pale purple; in its crude state, zoned with bright purple. Quality good; dry, mealy, and well flavored.

The variety is considerably affected by the soil in which it may be cultivated; in some localities, being much more colored than in others.

It is now rapidly giving place to new seedling varieties, quite as good in quality, and more healthy and productive.

WHITE CUPS.

Tubers long and flattened, somewhat irregular; eyes deeply sunk; skin yellowish; flesh white.

It is a very handsome variety, of Maine origin, but is only moderately productive. It is also of ordinary quality, rots easily, and will probably never become popular.

WHITE MOUNTAIN.

Tubers large, long, white, smooth, uniformly fair and perfect. Appears to be nearly identical with the St. Helena and Laplander. It is very productive, and a good agricultural variety; but, for table use, can be considered only of second quality.

WORCESTER SEEDLING.

Dover. Riley.

Tubers of a pinkish-white color, and similar in form to the Jackson White. Eyes deep-set; flesh white, more so than that of the Davis Seedling. It keeps well, and is an excellent variety for cultivation for family use, but less profitable than many others for the market. Stalks upright; blossoms pinkish, but not abundant.

In quality, this comparatively old and well-known variety is nearly or quite equal to the Carter; and, besides, is much more productive. As a garden potato, it deserves general cultivation. Requires the full season.

THE RADISH.

Rapha.n.u.s sativus.

The Radish is a hardy annual plant, originally from China. The roots vary greatly in form; some being round or ovoid, some turbinate, and others fusiform, or long, slender, and tapering. When in flower, the plant rises from three to four feet in height, with an erect, smooth, and branching stem. The flowers are quite large, and, in the different kinds, vary in color from clear white to various shades of purple. The seed-pods are long, smooth, somewhat vesiculate, and terminate in a short spur, or beak. The seeds are round, often irregularly flattened or compressed: those of the smaller or spring and summer varieties being of a grayish-red color; and those of the winter or larger-rooted sorts, of a yellowish-red. An ounce contains from three thousand three hundred to three thousand six hundred seeds, and they retain their vitality five years.

_Soil, Propagation, and Cultivation._--All the varieties thrive best in a light, rich, sandy loam; dry for early spring sowings, moister for the summer.

Like all annuals, the Radish is propagated by seeds, which may be sown either broadcast or in drills; but the latter method is preferable, as allowing the roots to be drawn regularly, with less waste. For the spindle-rooted kinds, mark out the drills half an inch deep, and five or six inches apart; for the small, turnip-rooted kinds, three-quarters of an inch deep, and six inches asunder. As the plants advance in growth, thin them so as to leave the spindle-rooted an inch apart, and the larger-growing sorts proportionally farther.

"_For raising early Radishes without a Hot-bed._--Sow in the open ground the last of March or early in April, arch the bed over with hoops or pliant rods, and cover constantly at night and during cold days with garden-matting. In moderate days, turn up the covering at the side next the sun; and, if the weather is very fine and mild, remove it entirely."

_Open Culture._--Sow in spring as soon as the ground can be worked. If s.p.a.ce is limited, radishes may be sown with onions or lettuce. When grown with the former, they are said to be less affected by the maggot.

For a succession, a small sowing should be made each fortnight until midsummer, as the early-sown plants are liable to become rank, and unfit for use, as they increase in size.

Radishes usually suffer from the drought and heat incident to the summer; and, when grown at this season, are generally fibrous and very pungent. To secure the requisite shade and moisture, they are sometimes sown in beds of asparagus, that the branching stems may afford shade for the young radishes, and render them more crisp and tender. A good criterion by which to judge of the quality of a Radish is to break it asunder by bending it at right angles. If the parts divide squarely and freely, it is fit for use.

_Production and Quant.i.ty of Seed._--To raise seed of the spring or summer Radishes, the best method is to transplant; which should be done in May, as the roots are then in their greatest perfection. Take them up in moist weather; select plants with the shortest tops and the smoothest and best-formed roots; and set them, apart from all other varieties, in rows two feet and a half distant, inserting each root wholly into the ground, down to the leaves. With proper watering, they will soon strike, and shoot up in branching stalks, producing abundance of seeds, ripening in autumn.

One ounce and a half of seed will sow a bed five feet in width and twelve feet in length. Ten pounds are required for seeding an acre.

The excellence of a Radish consists in its being succulent, mild, crisp, and tender; but, as these qualities are secured only by rapid growth, the plants should be frequently and copiously watered in dry weather.

The varieties are divided into two cla.s.ses; viz., Spring or Summer, and Autumn or Winter, Radishes.