Complete Text (Part 19)

longer. They are served like parsnip or salsify, and are palatable and pleasant; their disad- vantage is in their fibrous core, which must be removed before cooking. Vilmorin-Andrieux, remarking that seedlings differ m their amounts of core, suggests that a coreless strain might be bred. Skirret is grown from seed or from root-divisions. No varieties are offered. Soil deep, rich, cool, not recently manured. IMstances. — Rows twelve to eighteen inches apart. SKIRRET— SORRELS 253 Depth. — One -half inch for seed. Set roots two inches deep. Sow in autumn in mild climates; ordinarily in spring when the ground can be worked. Thin or transplant to six to nine inches in the rows. Take offsets or root-divisions in spring, and set out to the same distances. Dig in the fall, or Jjave roots in the ground until spring. Store in sand in the cellar. SOLANUM COMMERSONI is a plant allied to the potato and a possible future rival of it, long ago recommended for its use in certain conditions, but still very little known. It is grown like potato in all particulars except depth of planting, which should be four inches or more in dry soil, barely covering in wet. It thrives in heavy, wet, or chalky land, yields well under the peculiar conditions which suit it best, is very little troubled by disease, and will stand a little frost, even the tubers sharing in this quality. SORRELS and DOCKS are various perennial plants of the genus Rumex, not very far advanced from the wild state, but grown in gardens, especially in Europe, for the sake of their very early yield in spring, when green vegetables are scarce. The earliest is probably the Spinach Dock, which is Patience Dock, or the Herb 254 THE BOOK OF VEGETABLES Patience of the old herbals ; other Sorrels follow it in succession : Bailey names the Belleville, or Broad-leaved French, and Vilmorin-Andrieux gives this and still others. All the Sorrels and Docks are acid (the Patience Dock perhaps least so), and especially in spring, when this is prized. Round-leaved Sorrel (R. scutatus) is the latest in succession, being grown in summer. Sorrels are usually given an out-of-the-way place in the garden, and allowed to spread; but they are best when grown in rows. The flower-stalks should always be cut off, so as not to weaken the plants. Soil rich and somewhat moist. Acid soil is good for Sorrel. Distances. — Rows eighteen inches apart, plants six inches in the rows. Depth. — One-half to one inch. Sow seed in the drills, or Set root-divisions in spring. Culture. — Grub out all suckers, in row culture. Cut off all flower-stalks. Pick the large leaves (rather than take the whole top at one time) so as not to exhaust the plant. Renew the plantation after a few years, when the plants seem weaker. SORREL, WOOD. Wood Son-el is Oxalis acetosella, a perennial plant seldom cultivated, and not offered by seedsmen. Roots may be dug from wild plants and set SORREL— SPEARMINT 255 in the garden. Once there, they must be carefully re- strained, or they will multiply rapidly. Cut off all flower-stalks, and when once the plants are established pick the leaves as wanted. Set in cool soil, the plants in a bed, or individually at about one foot each way. SORREL, DEPPE'S, WOOD. Deppe's Wood Sor- rel is Oxcdts Deppeiy a Mexican plant grown for both roots and leaves. Serve the leaves as salad; the roots, peeled, salted, and cooked like asparagus, are sometimes used, but are rather insipid. The plant is multiplied from bulbels which grow on the root, or by root- divisions. Soil rich, moist, and if possible partially shaded. Rows one foot apart; bulbels in the row six inches. Cover about one inch. Set root-divisions twelve by six inches. Cultivate frequently. Cut off all flower-stalks. Cut the leaves as wanted. Mulch lightly in winter. Except in very cold posi- tions the plant is hardy. SOJA BEAN or SOY BEAN. See Bean, Soy. SPEARMINT. See Mint. 256 THE BOOK OF VEGETABLES SPINACH or SPINAGE (Spinacia oleracea) is a short-seasoned plant which bolts in heat, and therefore grown chiefly as a fall or spring crop, for its leaves, served boiled. Spinach comes to maturity in from six to eight weeks, is very hardy to frost, and may be kept over the winter in the North, under a mulch, though in New England not all of the plants will live. It may also be wintered in frames, and brought into growth Fifc. 117. Spin/..-h seedlings. Two-thirds natural sire. very early, or even made to give a winter yield under favorable conditions. Spinach was formerly forced, in great quantities, but the southern crop has now almost crowded forced Spinach from the northern markets. Varieties are under two heads, the prickly -seeded and the round-seeded, the former the hardier, the latter the more heat-resistant. Diseases and pests are sometimes troublesome. Soil. — For early crop, rich, light and quick. For a later, cool and moist. Manure may be dug in, and the commercial fertilizer should be rich in nitrogen. At SPINACH 257 planting the soil should I» in good tilth. For fall sow- ing the land should have plenty of humus and be of good texture, so as not to wash or heave. Distances. — Rows a foot or more apart, plants four to six inches in the rows. Depth. — One inch. Sow about September 1 for an 'early crop, or in spring as soon as the ground can be worked. For later sow- ings the seed should be soaked. Sow for succession every fortnight until June, and again in August for the fall crop. Thin to four to six inches in the rows, or to nine inches for large varieties. Culture. — Preserve the surface mulch. Fertilizer. — The plant will be much improved by light applications of nitrate of soda or liquid manure, every ten days or two weeks. 258 THE BOOK OF VEGETABLES Pick the leaves as needed, but if the plants threaten to bolt, cut the whole plant. Two or three pickings may be had for the home table from the early and late crops. Under glass. — Very early sowings of Spinach may be made under glass in March, the plants to be set out when the ground is warm and the plants well hardened off. In the fall plants may be taken to frames, or sown in them, and can be kept growing well into the winter, or else can be left dormant, to be forced into growth by the use of glass as needed. Protection. — Mulch the fall-sown crop with straw or hay. Diseases. — Anthracnose, leaf-blight, mildew, and white smut may be checked by copper fungicides, which are, however, too poisonous to be safe with a pot-herb plant. Rotation, and burning all affected plants, are advised, and the soil may be treated with flowers of sulphur mixed with air-slaked lime. Try spraying with "dilute solutions of clear fungicides." (Lode- man.) Pests are chiefly the leaf-miner, which in places makes much trouble. No remedy is as yet known ; deep plowing in fall or early spring, to bury the pupae, and clean cultivation of the field, and of all neighboring spots to destroy pigweed, will be of use. SPINACH, FRENCH, or SPINACH 259 SPINACH, MOUNTAIN. See Orach. SPINACH, NEW ZEALAND, sometimes called New Zealand Ice-plant, is Tetragonia expansa, a hardy annual plant which is vigorous in heat and is used as a summer substitute for Spinach. It may be started early under glass, or planted in the open when the ground is fit, and when the plants are well established they will continue to yield throughout the season, until heavy frosts. Plants are often started in the open about September 1, and taken under glass to force. The parts used are the leaves and young tips, used as greens. Given plenty of room, the plant is very pro- ductive. There appears to be but one variety, and insects and diseases are not troublesome. New Zealand Spinach is one of our best summer pot-herbs, and should be better known. Soil. — Any good garden soil, preferably a medium loam. It should have been previously heavily manured, or dressed with a fertilizer rich in nitrogen. Distances. — Two to four feet each way according to the richness of the ground. Or sow in drills three feet apart, and Thin to eighteen inches to two feet in the row. Depth of seed, one inch. Sow under glass in February or March, having soaked the seed, as germination is slow. Transplant into pots, do not allow to become pot-bound, harden ' 260 THE BOOK OF VEGETABLES off, and set out about May 1. Or sow in the open, when the ground is fit, in hills or drills as above. If in hills; sow three to four seeds to a hill, and thin to one plant. Suceessional sowings are scarcely needed, as the plants will live until winter, if not too heavily cropped. An early spring crop will sometimes come from self-seeding. Transplant thinnings if needed, but with care to save as much of the roots as possible. Thinning in the drills may be gradual, the young plants eaten. Culture. — Keep the surface in good condition until the plants cover the ground. Fertilize about once in two weeks with nitrate of soda or liquid manure. Pick the leaves and shoots as wanted. Under glass in the fall. — The plants will continue to yield until December if covered with frames where they stand. Or Lift and take into the house, where if not too old or exhausted by bearing they will yield throughout the winter. Or Mulch young plants in the fall, and they will live through an ordinary winter, although like Spinach they will not always grow vigorously in spring. For this purpose sow the last week in August. SPROUTS, BRUSSELS. See Brussels Sprouts. SQUASHES 261 SQUASHES are various forms of the Cucurbitcc, in- cluding the Pumpkins and Vegetable Marrows, which are cultivated in the same way, for their large fruits. Fig. 119. Squash seedlings. Two-thirds natural size. Varieties are very numerous, coming botanically under the names of Cucurbita maxima, C. pepo, and C. mos- chata; culturally they divide into bush and running Squashes, the Pumpkins and Marrows being of the second type. Bush Squashes are chiefly summer varie- ties, while running kinds are chiefly late and long-keep- ing. The popular idea is that the varieties hybridize when in flower, and this is true to a limited extent of some of them, but pumpkins will not cross with Squashes. They are all tender annual plants, and must, gen- Fig. 120. Plant of sum- •n 1 . 1 1 .i • i mer Squash, scallop erally speaking, complete their de- or pattypan type. 263 THE BOOK OF VEGETABLES velopment between June and September, but their maturity may be hastened by starting under glass, or under protection in the field. The soil should have plenty of available plant - food, and every effort should be made to ad- vance the growth of the vines, so that they blossom before midsummer. Culture is not diffi- cult: the soil moisture should be preserved, and the running vines not allowed either to root at the joints or to run to vine, while all very early solitary blossoms should be picked off, for the sake of bringing on a later uniform crop. Storage of the winter Squashes depends for success upon not bruising them, and upon not start- ing the stem, as well as upon pro- tection from frost. Pests and diseases are troublesome. Soil should be "quick," warm, and ;r Hera-en Squash. O.Pepo. well drained, but SQUASHES 268 not dry. Hills may be specially prepared by mixing compost with the earth in a space eighteen inches or more across, or by filling the entire space with compost, but much manure or nitrogen is not advisable, as the plants will be likely to run to vine. See also under Soil for Flg\l*S. Summer Crookneck Squash. C.Pepo. Muskmelon. Distances are according to varietv, hills of bush varieties three to five feet apart each way, of running kinds six to nine feet. Give as much room as can be spared, especially in good soil. Depth.— About one inch. Sow under glass three to four weeks before the time of setting out, which should be when frosts are past. Or sow in the open, where the plants are to stand, under hand-glasses, the first week in May. Sow with- out protection about June 1. There should be ten to twelve seeds to the hill. Under glass sow in pots or on inverted sods, as Squashes transplant poorly, five to six seeds to each recep- 264 THE BOOK OF VEGETABLES tacle, thin to one. Or sow in berry-boxes and set out box and all. Thin when danger from pests is over, to three plants in the hill. Set out house-grown plants when frosts are past, three to the hill. Culture. — Preserve the surface mulch, and prevent running varieties from rooting at the joints, as they would then grow rather than make fruit. If the plants, after flowering, run too much to vine, pinch them back to force fruiting. If one fruit 1','J > * ,,mi * 'li'JJflBF sets much earlier than the Fig. 125. Hubbard Squash, others, pick it off, for the sake of a uniform crop. For best results, pick off all blossoms from a plant after two or three fruits have set, and pinch back all ends. Fertilizer. — It is better to depend upon a well- enriched soil than to fertilize after the plants have started. A little quick-acting fertilizer under the seeds in the hill (but not touching them) will help the start, but nitrogen added later in available form will produce vines rather than fruit. Pick summer varieties when ripe. Pick winter kinds, for storage, when almost ripe, taking care not to start the stem, and leave them in the sun to dry; the end of the stem should dry as soon as possible. Then SQUASHES 265 Store in a well-aired, dry house or cellar, away from frost, the temperature preferably at about 50 degrees, 45 to 65 degrees being the safe range. In transportation, take care not to bruise the Squashes. Diseases.— Are the same as of cucumber, which see. Pests. — The striped cucumber beetle is, until the plants grow too large for it, the worst foe of the Squash, and four- fifths of the vines are likely to go it the bugs are numerous. Treat as under cucumber, except that Squash follows Squash. |g Hand covers may be used. The squash bug is another bad enemy; treat in the same way, pick by F is- ' M - Common Pumpkin. O. Pips. hand, and trap at night under chips or shingles left near the plants, under which the insects will hide. Burn all vines after harvest, or plow them under. In small plantations, hunt for the eggs, which are very visible in large patches on the under sides of the leaves; tear off the part of the leaf and destroy. For melon-louse use methods as under Cucumber and Musk melon. 866 THE BOOK OF VEGETABLES For root-borer catch the moths. These are about an inch in spread, very dark brown with an olive sheen, and settle at the base of the leaves at twilight. Help the joints root by covering with earth; they will then better withstand the pest. Plant trap crops of early- fruiting varieties, and when the fruits are picked burn the vines, roots and all. Cut out the borers from the vines and roots by splitting these lengthwise, then cover the injured parts with earth; avoid infested ground; harrow lightly in fall and plow deeply in spring. Feed well and keep the plants free of diseases and other pests. SQUASH, GUINEA. See Eggplant. STACHYS TUBERIFERA, or Chinese or Japanese Artichoke, sometimes called Chorogi or Knotroot, is a tuber-bearing type of the Stackys group of plants, and has been grown in two varieties, the Sieboldi and the Floridana, though in general very little known. The STACHYS TUBERIFERA 267 tubers may be left in the ground through an ordinary winter, and should be dug only when wanted, as they soon spoil upon exposure to the air. They come to full size very late in the season, continuing to grow as long as the tops are green. PiK. 138. Tuber of Stachys tuberifera. Three-fourths natural sire. Soil light and quick. Duitances. — One foot each way. Depth. — Cover about two inches. Set tubers when heavy frosts are past. Cultivate regularly. Dig as wanted after the tops die down. If stored, keep in moist sand. Use. — Fry, or use in salad. STAR OF THE EARTH. See Buck's Horn Plantain. ST. PETER'S HERB. See Samphire. 268 THE BOOK OF VEGETABLES STRAWBERRY BLITE, our common weed (Cheno- podium capitatum), is sometimes grown in gardens as a pot-herb. Cultivate like Spinach. SUCCORY. See Chicory. SUGAR-BEET. See Beet, Sugar. SWEET CICELY, or Sweet-scented Chervil (Myrrhis odorata\ is a hardy perennial whose leaves are used in salads; they have a strong aniseed flavor. In France the roots are used in soups. Soil. — Any good garden earth. Distances. — Rows one foot apart in seed-bed. Per- manent distances two feet each way. Depth. — One inch. Sow in autumn, as soon as the seeds are ripe. Spring-sown seed is likely to fail. Thin to three inches in the seed-bed. Transplant when growing well, at five or six inches, to the permanent distances. Or wait until the fol- lowing spring. Set root-divisions in spring. Culture. — Give ordinary care. Pick the leaves or dig the roots as wanted. Mulch lightly in winter. Reset or renew every few years. SWEET POTATO SWEET POTATO (Ipvrnwa Batatas) is a tender plant grown for its tuberous roots. North of New