The Field and Garden Vegetables of America Part 16

Root regularly turbinate, or fusiform, of full medium size, smooth, and with few small or fibrous roots; neck two inches long; skin, above ground, green, washed with purplish-red where most exposed to the sun,--below ground, yellow; flesh yellow, firm, sweet, and well flavored. Esteemed one of the best, either for stock or the table. Keeps fresh till May or June.

SKIRVING'S PURPLE-TOP.

Skirving's Improved Purple-top. Skirving's Liverpool. Southold Turnip, of some localities.

Bulb ovoid, or regularly turbinate, and rather deeper in proportion to its diameter than the common Purple-top Yellow; surface remarkably smooth and even, with few fibrous roots, and seldom deformed by larger accidental roots, although, in unfavorable soils or seasons, a few coa.r.s.e roots are put forth in the vicinity of the tap-root; size full medium,--five to seven inches in length, and four or five inches in diameter. Sometimes, when sown early in good soil, and harvested late, the average will considerably exceed these dimensions. Neck short, but, when grown in poor soil, comparatively long; skin, above ground, fine, deep purple,--below ground, yellow,--the colors often richly blending together at the surface; flesh yellow, of solid texture, sweet, and well flavored.

This variety was originated by Mr. William Skirving, of Liverpool, Eng.

In this country it has been widely disseminated, and is now more generally cultivated for table use and for stock than any other of the Swede varieties. The plants seldom fail to form good-sized bulbs. It is a good keeper; is of more than average quality for the table; and long experience has proved it one of the best sorts for cultivation on land that is naturally shallow and in poor condition. On soils in a high state of cultivation, upwards of nine hundred bushels have been obtained from an acre.

In sowing, allow twenty inches between the rows, and thin to ten or twelve inches in the rows.

SWEET GERMAN.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Sweet German.]

Bulb four or five inches in diameter, six or seven inches in depth, turbinate, sometimes nearly fusiform. In good soil and favorable seasons, it is comparatively smooth and regular; but, under opposite conditions, often branched and uneven. Neck two or three inches in length; skin greenish-brown above ground, white beneath; flesh pure white, of extraordinary solidity, very sweet, mild, and well flavored.

It retains its solidity and freshness till spring, and often at midsummer has no appearance of sponginess or decay. As a table variety, it must be cla.s.sed as one of the best, and is recommended for general cultivation.

WHITE FRENCH.

Long White French.

[Ill.u.s.tration: White French.]

The roots of this variety are produced entirely within the earth. They are invariably fusiform; and, if well grown, measure four or five inches in diameter, and from eight to ten inches in length. Foliage not abundant, spreading; skin white; flesh white, solid, mild, sweet, and delicate. It is not so productive as some other varieties, and is therefore not so well adapted to field culture; but for table use it is surpa.s.sed by few, if any, of its cla.s.s.

A rough-leaved, fusiform-rooted variety of the common garden-turnip: is known by the name of "White French" in many localities; but, according to the most reliable authority, that name has not only long been used in connection with, but properly belongs to, the white turnip above described.

SALSIFY, OR OYSTER-PLANT.

Leek-leaved Salsify. Vegetable Oyster. Purple Goat's Beard. Tragopogon porrifolius.

The Salsify is a hardy biennial plant, and is princ.i.p.ally cultivated for its roots, the flavor of which resembles that of the oyster; whence the popular name.

The leaves are long and gra.s.s-like, or leek-like; the roots are long and tapering, white within and without, and, when grown in good soil, measure twelve or fourteen inches in length, and rather more than an inch in diameter at the crown.

_Soil and Cultivation._--The Oyster-plant succeeds best in a light, well-enriched, mellow soil; which, previous to sowing the seeds, should be stirred to the depth of twelve or fifteen inches. The seeds should be sown annually, in the same manner and at the same time as the seeds of the carrot and parsnip. Make the drills fourteen inches apart; cover the seeds an inch and a half in depth; and thin, while the plants are young, to four or five inches asunder.

Early sowings succeed best; as the seeds, which are generally more or less imperfect, vegetate much better when the earth is moist than when dry and parched, as it is liable to become when the season is more advanced. Cultivate in the usual manner during the summer; and, by the last of September or beginning of October, the roots will have attained their full growth, and be ready for use. The plants will sustain no injury during the winter, though left entirely unprotected in the open ground; and the table may be supplied directly from the garden, whenever the frost will admit of their removal. A portion of the crop should, however, be taken up in autumn, and stored in the cellar, like other roots; or, which is perhaps preferable, packed in earth or sand. Roots remaining in the ground may be drawn for use till April, or until the plants have begun to send up their stalks for flowering.

_Seeds,--production and quant.i.ty._--For the production of seeds, allow a few plants to remain during the winter in the open ground where they were sown. They will blossom in June and July. When fully developed, the stem is about three feet in height, cylindrical, and branching. The flowers are large, of a very rich violet-purple, and expand only by day and in comparatively sunny weather. As the flowers are put forth in gradual succession, so the heads of seeds are ripened at intervals, and should be cut as they a.s.sume a brownish color.

The seeds are brownish,--lighter or darker as they are less or more perfectly matured,--long and slender, furrowed and rough on the sides, tapering to a long, smooth point at the top, often somewhat bent or curved, and measure about five-eighths of an inch in length. They will keep four years.

An ounce contains three thousand two hundred seeds, and will sow a row eighty feet in length. Some cultivators put this amount of seed into a drill of sixty feet; but if the seed is of average quality, and the season ordinarily favorable, one ounce of seed will produce an abundance of plants for eighty or a hundred feet.

_Use._--The roots are prepared in various forms; but, when simply boiled in the manner of beets and carrots, the flavor is sweet and delicate.

The young flower-stalks, if cut in the spring of the second year and dressed like asparagus, resemble it in taste, and make an excellent dish.

The roots are sometimes thinly sliced, and, with the addition of vinegar, salt, and pepper, served as a salad. They are also recommended as being remedial or alleviating in cases of consumptive tendency.

There is but one species or variety now cultivated.

SCOLYMUS.

Spanish Scolymus. Spanish Oyster-plant. Scolymus Hispanicus.

In its natural state, this is a perennial plant; but, when cultivated, it is generally treated as an annual or as a biennial. The roots are nearly white, fleshy, long, and tapering in their general form, and, if well grown, measure twelve or fifteen inches in length, and an inch in diameter at the crown. When cut or bruised, or where the fibrous roots are broken or rubbed off, there exudes a thick, somewhat viscous fluid, nearly flavorless, and of a milk-white color. The leaf is large, often measuring a foot or more in length, and three inches in diameter, somewhat variegated with green and white, deeply lobed; the lobes or divisions toothed, and the teeth terminating in sharp spines, in the manner of the leaves of many species of thistles. When in flower, the plant is about three feet in height. The flowers, which are put forth singly, are of an orange-yellow, and measure an inch and a half in diameter. The seeds are flat, and very thin, membranous on the borders, of a yellowish color, and retain their vitality three years. An ounce contains nearly four thousand seeds.

_Soil and Cultivation._--Any good garden loam is adapted to the growth of the Scolymus. It should be well and deeply stirred as for other deep-growing root crops. The seeds should be sown from the middle of April to the 10th of May, in drills an inch deep, and fourteen inches asunder. Thin the young plants to five inches distant in the rows; and, during the summer, treat the growing crop as parsnips or carrots.

_Use._--It is cultivated exclusively for its roots, which are usually taken up in September or October, and served at table, and preserved during the winter, in the same manner as the Salsify, or Oyster-plant.

They have a pleasant, delicate flavor; and are considered to be not only healthful, but remarkably nutritious.

SCORZONERA.

Black Oyster-plant. Black Salsify. Scorzonera Hispanica.

This is a hardy perennial plant, introduced from the south of Europe, where it is indigenous. The root is tapering, and comparatively slender,--when well developed, measuring about a foot in length, and an inch in diameter near the crown, or at the broadest part; skin grayish-black, coa.r.s.e, somewhat reticulated, resembling the roots of some species of trees; flesh white; leaves long, ovate, broadest near the end, and tapering sharply to the stem. They are also more or less distinctly ribbed, and have a few remote teeth, or serratures, at the extremities. When in flower, the plant measures about four feet in height; the stalk being nearly cylindrical, slightly grooved or furrowed, smooth, and branched towards the top. The flowers are large, terminal, yellow; the seeds are whitish, longer than broad, taper towards the top, and retain their vitality two years. An ounce contains about two thousand five hundred seeds.

_Soil and Culture._--Though a perennial, it is generally cultivated as an annual or biennial, in the manner of the carrot or parsnip. Thompson says, "It succeeds best in a light, deep, free soil and an open situation. It is raised from seed, which may be sown in drills one foot apart, covering with soil to the depth of half an inch. As it is apt to run to seed the same year in which it is sown, and consequently to become tough and woody," the planting should not be made too early, particularly in the warmer sections of the country. A second sowing may be made about four weeks from the first, "as a precautionary measure, in case the plants of the first sowing should run. The young plants, when three or four inches high, should be thinned out to eight inches asunder in the rows. Towards the middle or last of September, the roots will have attained sufficient size to be drawn for immediate use: others will come in for use in October and November. In the latter month, they will be in perfection; and, before the closing-up of the ground, a quant.i.ty may be taken up, and stored in sand for the winter. When the ground is open, the roots may be drawn from time to time, as required for immediate use. About the middle of April, the roots remaining in the ground will begin to run to flower; after which they soon become hard, woody, and unfit for the table. Before this takes place, however, they may be taken up, and stored in sand, where they may be kept for use till May or June."

_To raise Seed._--Allow a few well-grown plants to remain in the ground during winter; or select a few good-sized roots from those harvested in autumn, and reset them in April, about eighteen inches apart, covering them to the crowns. The seed will ripen at the close of the summer or early in autumn. Seed saved from plants of the growth of two seasons is considered best; that produced from yearling plants being greatly inferior.

_Use._--It is cultivated exclusively for its roots; no other portion of the plant being employed in domestic economy. The flesh of these is white, tender, sugary, and well flavored. They are boiled in the manner of the parsnip, and served plain at the table; or they may be cooked in all the forms of salsify or scolymus. Before cooking, the outer, coa.r.s.e rind should be sc.r.a.ped off, and the roots soaked for a few hours in cold water for the purpose of extracting their bitter flavor.

SKIRRET.

Crummock, of the Scotch. Sium sisarum.

Skirret is a hardy perennial, and is cultivated for its roots, which are produced in groups, or bunches, joined together at the crown or neck of the plant. They are oblong, fleshy, of a russet-brown color without, white within, very sugary, and, when well grown, measure six or eight inches in length, and nearly an inch in diameter.