Complete Text (Part 10)

Forcing Cucumbers is very extensively practiced, under conditions favorable to melons or squashes. Diseases. — For downy mildew spray with Bordeaux, one to eight strength, "early, constantly, and thor- oughly " (New York Bulletin No. 119) if necessary twice a week, to keep the leaves well covered with the mixture, especially in humid weather. For blight or leaf-blight, rotation. For anthracnose, rotation ; burn diseased vines. For wilt, Bordeaux and rotation. See Farmers' Bulletin No. 231. Pests. — Chief is the striped beetle, for which sow four days before the Cucumber trap-crops of squash, which the beetle prefers. When the Cucumber plants appear, cover with netting or in some other manner, or preferably spray with Bordeaux, one to eleven; "spray again at the third leaf, and at the third time just before the plants begin to form runners." "When the [squash] trap plants are up, and the beetles appear about them, dust about half the plants with green arse- nite, reserving the other half if rain or heavy dew makes the poison soluble and kills the plants first CUCUMBER IIS treated. . . When the beetles commence to pair [most of J the squashes may be cultivated up, leaving only a few of the vines for the beetles to feed on at flowering time, as the insects prefer the squash flowers and will not molest the others. Beans may be used with some suc- cess as a fall catch [trap] crop.'" (New York Bulletin No. 158.) Other remedies against the beetles are arsenites, air- slaked lime (often used for "driving 1 ' the beetles, by sowing before the wind, in the forenoon ; the beetles will fly before it to other crops), pyrethrum, hellebore, plaster saturated with kerosene or turpentine, tobacco water sprayed, or tobacco powder. Apply powders when the leaves are wet, and get on both sides of them. Or start the plants under glass ; set out the early crop as soon as possible, for a good start before the beetles appear ; set out the later crop as late as possible, to avoid the first brood of the pest. Or pick by hand, and trap the beetles under shingles laid about the patch. The spotted cucumber-beetle may be fought by the same means. Against the cucumber- worm use hellebore, arsenites, hand-picking. Exterminate the first brood. Against plant-lice, spray with tobacco water, with one pound whale-oil soap to every fifty gallons; use a bent nozzle to reach the under side of the leaves. Or use bisulphide of carbon in a small plantation, covering the young plants with an inverted bowl, using a tea- 114 THE BOOK OF VEGETABLES spoonful or more of the liquid ; leave the bowl for an hour ; the process is slow but sure. Burn all rubbish of the patch. Against the cucumber flea-beetle use arsenites, Bor- deaux if freely used, tobacco decoction, kerosene emul- sion, Paris green with land-plaster, one part to fifty. Against all pests, keep all plants growing well by good fertilization and cultivation. For squash-vine borer and squash bug, see under Squash. For melon - louse, see Melon. CUMIN, or Cummin (Cuminum cyminum\ is well known to the Bible and folk-lore. The seeds are offered by some American seedsmen among their herbs. It is an annual plant, grown for its fruit or seed, which is used much as caraway-seed in bread-making, flavoring, confectionery and liqueur-making, being aromatic and slightly peppery in flavor. Sweet Cumin is Anise. Black Cumin is Nigella sativa, which see. Soil. — Preferably warm and quick, well drained. Distances. — Rows a foot apart. Depth. — One-half to one inch. Sow when frosts are past, about June 1. Thinning' is scarcely necessary. Pick the seed when ripe. DANDELION (Taraxacum officinale) is our common weed, on which the cultivated varieties are great im- DANDELION 115 provements. It is grown for its leaves, used as greens and occasionally for garnishing. Dandelion is usually a fall and spring crop, being mostly sown in one spring and finished in the next. The plants may be started under glass, but are usually grown in the open, sown where they are to stand, requiring little care except to pick off all flowers so that they shall not go to seed and become a pest. More than one cutting is possible from the plants, and in the fall they may be protected under frames to give a few winter cuttings. It is possible to use in the garden the seed of the wild plants, but it is best to get the seed of the French cultivated varieties, of which seedsmen offer usually one or more. Soil. — Any good garden soil, especially if light ; the richer the better. Distances. — Rows a foot or fifteen inches apart. Depth. — Shallow. Sow when the ground is fit. Thin to six inches or more in the rows. Thinnings may be transplanted, if carefully pulled. Cultivate until the plants cover the ground, which they will do before midsummer, if set one foot apart each way. Fertilize occasionally with nitrate of soda or liquid manure. Pick off all flowers. Cuttings of the leaves may be had in the fall, one or more, especially if covered with sash. The plants 116 THE BOOK OF VEGETABLES may then be wintered like spinach, under a light mulch. Blanching of the leaves is possible by means of boards or flower-pots set over the plants. Forcing the roots like chicory, which see, will give leaves like the Barbe de Capucin. Forced or blanched leaves are less bitter. Spring cutting may be hastened by glass over the plants; after one cutting or possibly two, they are usually pulled up. DEW-PLANT. See Ice-Plant. DILL (Anethum graveolens\ a biennial herb, grown as an annual for its seeds, which taste much like cara- way seeds, but are more bitter. They are used for fla- voring, in pickling, and in medicine. For seasoning the leaves are sometimes used. Soil. — Any well-drained garden soil. Distances. — Rows twelve to eighteen inches apart. Depth. — About one inch. Sow thinly, preferably in spring, when the ground is fit; autumn sowing is possible but not so sure. Thin to eight inches. Gather the seeds when ripe, before they fall. The plant will renew itself from its own seeds, if allowed. DOCK. See Sorrel. EARTH - NUT— EGGPLANT EARTH-NUT. See Peanut. EGGPLANT, Guinea-squash, or Aubergine (Solarium melongena), is a very tender annual plant, seldom cul- tivated commercially with us north of New York city, and, except in the southern states, invariably started un- der glass. It is grown for its large fruits, which are edible from one-third the full size until they are fully ripe. The culture of Eggplant is much like that of tomato, though the plants require more care; they must not receive a check from their first starting, in order to get good results. Conse- quently they are best grown in pots before transferring to the open ground. Eggplants are always grown in hills, which should be made rich and "quick"; two or three good fruits to a vine is a satisfactory crop. Varieties are practically black and white, and large and dwarf. Black are required for the market, but white are excellent for home use; the dwarfs are much earlier than the large, and are to be recommended for Pot-grown plant ready 118 THE BOOK OF VEGETABLES short-season climates. There are troublesome diseases and pests. SoU. — Eggplant does best on a well-drained sandy loam ; the wetter and harder, the worse for the crop. The land should be in the best of tilth, and very rich and quick. Into each hill fork compost and a handful of high-grade commercial fertilizer, best in the formula of nitrogen 4 per cent, phosphoric acid 8 per cent, potash 10 per cent. A sunny exposure is desirable. Distances are according to variety; dwarfs, two feet by three feet; standards, three feet by four feet. If the soil is very rich, and the season long, more room may be given. EGGPLANT 119 Depth, — About one-half inch ; outdoors, one inch. Sow under glass in March; plants mature their fi-uit in from 120 to 150 days, according to variety. Prick out, in flats, as soon as they crowd; and again when they crowd again. Better results are gained from pot culture, repotting from time to time until the six- Pic ». EntplMit The common oval shape. inch size is reached; the plants may be a foot or more in height before setting out in the North. They should be well hardened- off. Set outdoors when danger of frosts is well over, say the first or second week in June. If set out earlier, hand-glasses may be needed, or some similar protec- tion. THE BOOK OF VEGETABLES An outdoor crop may be raised in a favorable season. Plant when frosts are past, in hills, three to five seeds to a hill, and thin to one. Give the best of cul- tivation. Fertilizing should be done before set- ting out (see under Soil) with a single applicationofni tro- gen or liquid ma- nure, after setting. Cultu re.— Pre- serve the surface- mulch by constant cultivation, until the plants cover Fig.«o. Ego>i»nt. a round type. the ground. When three or four fruits are set to each vine, pinch off the end, and also any subsequent blossoms, in order to produce the finest fruits. Pick the fruit as needed up to the time when it is almost ripe. The young fruits are edible; if they are used, several may be allowed to set to a vine. Very ripe fruits are unsatisfactory. Diseases. — The chief are a blight-fungus and a leaf- blight, for each of which destroy affected plants and practice rotation; for the latter, destroy insects that can carry infection, and spray with Bordeaux until the ELECAMPAx\E 121 fruits are about to ripen, when use a clear fungicide that will not stain. Insects. — Against cutworms, use protective devices, such as collars around the young plants; set out poisoned bran or clover baits. Dig for the worm near any injured plant. Against potato bugs, hand-picking, Paris green (1 pound to 75-110 gallons water) and lime. Against aphis and plant-lice, spray with tobacco water, kerosene emulsion, pyrethrum, or hot water, taking care to reach the under sides of the leaves. ELECAMPANE {Inula Heknium) is a perennial herb grown for its root, used in various domestic reme- dies and once famous for use in pulmonary troubles. It is propagated by seeds, or by divisions of the roots. Often found growing wild; few seedsmen offer the seed. Soil. — Any good garden soil. Distances. — Rows eighteen inches to two feet apart, plants eighteen inches in the row. Sow seed in fall or spring, thinly. Depth. — About one inch. Thin to above distances. Set root -divisions, cut with an eye in each piece, at the above distances. For use the roots are best when two years old ; yearly plantings are preferable, the plants to be dug in their second fall. 122 THE BOOK OF VEGETABLES ENDIVE (Chkvrium Endivia) is the French Chicory, a salad plant not as jet properly appreciated in America, for it can be made to follow lettuce in the hot months, and thus to give salads when most other salad plants are at their worst. Endive matures more slowly than lettuce, requiring about seven weeks. To be at its best it should be blanched, for otherwise it is bitter and slightly tough when full grown. Picked young for either salads or boiled greens, it will not require blanch- ing. Endive is hardy to frost, and may be sown quite as early as lettuce outdoors, or may be started under glass and set out when the ground is fit. For late fall V\g. 81. Seedlings of Endive. Two-thirds natural siie. use, Endive is often transplanted into frames ; or for winter use it is taken indoors and slowly blanched in storage. Varieties are of two types, — the curled and the broad-leaved ; the curled are more tender. Vilmorin- Andrieux gives thirteen of the curled and seven of the ENDIVE 128 broad -leaved, with two intermediate; American seeds- men offer no such variety. Soil. — Any good garden soil. It should be rich and " quick." Distances. — Plants should stand not less than twelve Pin. 02. Plant of curled Endive, tied for blanching. inches apart each way, except for small varieties. Rows apart as convenient. Depth. — Shallow, about one-fourth inch. Sow. — Under glass in March or April ; transplant once or twice, and harden off. Sow in the open ground as soon as the ground is fit. Thin to about a foot apart in the rows. Transplant thinnings. The house-grown or early seedlings do not 124 THE BOOK OF VEGETABLES transplant so well as lettuce; and they have more of a tendency to go to seed than the August-sown plants. Set out house-grown plants when well hardened and the ground is fit. For faU crop, sow Endive in late July or in August. Pick for salad or for greens at any time after the leaves are four inches tall. Or cut the leaves and allow more to grow. These young leaves are the tenderest. "For eating cooked, we prefer to take the plants quite young, and before they have had time to make heads. With ordinary outdoor culture, they will lose rather than gain in tenderness between this stage and the time when satisfactory heads can be produced." (Waugh, Vermont Bulletin, No. 54.) Once headed, Endive should be Blanched by excluding the light from the head of the plant. This is done in a variety of ways: by cover- ing with boards or with hay; by tying the heads; by covering with a drain -tile, or with a flower pot with the hole stopped. Or plant in a trench and earth-up or cover over. In any case, the plants should be dry when covered, and kept so. Blanching is completed in from ten to twenty days, according to conditions, and when it is finished the plants should be used at once, or they will decay. Fertilize by liquid manure or nitrate of soda, every week or ten days, in light applications. But see under EVENING PRIMROSE— FENNEL 125 Fertilizer for Lettuce. It seems likely that manure would similarly benefit Endive. In the fall Endive may be covered with sash, and will then yield very late. Or transplant into sash from the open ground, about September 1. Storage. — Endive may be taken up, each plant with considerable earth, and stored in a dry cellar or shed. The plants should be dry when lifted, and for con- venience may be tied. They will slowly blanch in storage, and when blanched should be used at once. They may similarly be stored in coldframes out-of- doors, at the approach of winter, and blanched as they are required. Place the plants close together. Pests. — See under Lettuce. EVENING PRIMROSE (CEnoihera biennis) is seldom grown as a vegetable. It is a biennial plant with a fleshy tap-root, and bears rosettes of leaves with flower- stalks. Its culture is like that of salsify, using the plant as an annual. Sow in soil not recently manured, in drills eighteen inches apart, depth about one inch ; thin to nine inches. Give good culture. Lift in the fall and store in sand, or in mild climates leave in the ground and dig as needed. FENNEL is of three kinds. (For Fennel-flower, see Nigella. Sea-Fennel is Samphire.) 126 THE BOOK OF VEGETABLES (1) Common Fennel, also Wild or Bitter Fennel (Famindum vulgtirc\ is a plant little known in America and seldom cultivated. It will grow in any soil, rows two or more feet apart; being perennial, it will seed itself and multiply indefinitely when once established. The leaves are occasionally used for seasoning, and the seeds in the manufacture of liqueurs. (2) Sweet Fennel, also called Garden Fennel and Long Sweet (Foenicidurn officinale)^ is a biennial usually treated as an annual. This plant is much more stoutly stemmed than the wild or common Fennel ; the stems are enclosed in the leaf-stalks, and if picked when ten- der, and served raw, constitute the "Carosella" of Naples, there considered a great delicacy. Soil. — Any good garden soil. Distances. — Drills eighteen inches or more apart. Depth. — One to two inches. Sow when the ground is fit. In mild climates sow in late September, in order to have the crop come early in the following spring. Cut the stems while still enclosed in the leaf-stalks, and when young. Serve raw. Succession. — Sow monthly. (3) Florence Fennel, sometimes called Naples Fen- nel (Fceniculum dulce), is the Finocchio of the Italians, who esteem it highly. It is little known in America; its flavor is delicate, slightly resembling celery, but sweeter. Soil. — Any good garden soil. FETTICUS— FEVERFEW 127 Distances. — Rows two to three feet apart, plants thinned to six inches in the rows. Depth. — One to two inches. Sow when frosts are past, and again for succession in about a month. South of New York, sow in early August for fall crops. Culture. — The plant forms bulbous enlargements at the bases of the stems. When these reach the size of a hen's egg, earth up around the group, barely covering the outer ones. In about ten days, or when they are blanched, cut the outer ones and earth the inner, con- tinuing till all are used. More commonly, however, the whole plant is blanched at once by earthing up, like celery. Serve boiled. FETTICUS is Corn-Salad, which see. FEVERFEW, a name sometimes used for Agrimony, is properly Chrysardhemum Parthenmm^ formerly used in domestic medicine, by means of a bitter tonic made from its leaves, and efficient in the cure of fevers. Feverfew is a perennial plant; its single form is pre- ferred for medicine.