The Field and Garden Vegetables of America Part 1

The Field and Garden Vegetables of America.

by Fearing Burr.

PREFACE.

Though embracing all the directions necessary for the successful management of a Vegetable Garden, the present volume is offered to the public as a manual or guide to a.s.sist in the selection of varieties, rather than as a treatise on cultivation. Through the standard works of American authors, as well as by means of the numerous agricultural and horticultural periodicals of our time, all information of importance relative to the various methods of propagation and culture, now in general practice, can be readily obtained.

But, with regard to the characteristics which distinguish the numerous varieties; their difference in size, form, color, quality, and season of perfection; their hardiness, productiveness, and comparative value for cultivation,--these details, a knowledge of which is important as well to the experienced cultivator as to the beginner, have heretofore been obtained only through sources scattered and fragmentary.

To supply this deficiency in horticultural literature, I have endeavored, in the following pages, to give full descriptions of the vegetables common to the gardens of this country. It is not, however, presumed that the list is complete, as many varieties, perhaps of much excellence, are comparatively local: never having been described, they are, of course, little known. Neither is the expectation indulged, that all the descriptions will be found perfect; though much allowance must be made in this respect for the influence of soil, locality, and climate, as well as for the difference in taste of different individuals.

Much time, labor, and expense have been devoted to secure accuracy of names and synonymes; the seeds of nearly all of the prominent varieties having been imported both from England and France, and planted, in connection with American vegetables of the same name, with reference to this object alone.

The delay and patience required in the preparation of a work like the present may be in some degree appreciated from the fact, that in order to obtain some comparatively unimportant particular with regard to the foliage, flower, fruit, or seed, of some obscure and almost unknown plant, it has been found necessary to import the seed or root; to plant, to till, to watch, and wait an entire season.

Though some vegetables have been included which have proved of little value either for the table or for agricultural purposes, still it is believed such descriptions will be found by no means unimportant; as a timely knowledge of that which is inferior, or absolutely worthless, is often as advantageous as a knowledge of that which is of positive superiority.

That the volume may be acceptable to the agriculturist, seedsman, and to all who may possess, cultivate, or find pleasure in, a garden, is the sincere wish of the author.

F. B., JR.

HINGHAM, March, 1863.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

In the preparation of this work, I have received the cheerful co-operation of many esteemed personal friends, to whom I would here express my grateful acknowledgments.

For many valuable suggestions with regard to the culture and general management of the Potato, as well as for much important information respecting nearly all of our American varieties of this vegetable, I am indebted to J. F. C. HYDE, Esq., of Newton, Ma.s.s.; whose long experience in the production of seedlings, as well as in the cultivation of established kinds, will give peculiar value to this portion of the volume.

The ill.u.s.trations, so excellent and truthful, are from the pencil of Mr.

ISAAC SPRAGUE, of Cambridge, Ma.s.s.; whose fine delineations of animal as well as vegetable life have won for him the reputation of being "the first of living artists."

I am peculiarly indebted to Rev. E. PORTER DYER, of Hingham, for much valuable advice and a.s.sistance; and cannot too fully express my obligations for the unvarying kindness and courteous manner in which repeated, and perhaps often unseasonable, requests for aid have been received and granted.

My acknowledgments are also due to Hon. JOSEPH BRECK, author of "Book of Flowers," and late President of the Ma.s.sachusetts Horticultural Society; to CHARLES M. HOVEY, Esq., editor of "The Magazine of Horticulture," and President of the Ma.s.sachusetts Horticultural Society; to P. B. HOVEY, Esq., nurseryman and seedsman, of Cambridge, Ma.s.s.; and to DANIEL T.

CURTIS, Esq., seedsman and florist, and for many years Chairman of the Committee on Vegetables of the Ma.s.sachusetts Horticultural Society.

For information or other very acceptable a.s.sistance, I am also indebted to Rev. CALVIN LINCOLN, of Hingham; Rev. JOHN L. RUSSELL, of Salem, Ma.s.s.; JOHN A. BUTLER, Esq., of Chelsea, Ma.s.s.; EDWARD S. RAND, Jun., Esq., of Boston; Mr. AUSTIN BRONSON, of Enfield, N.H.; GEORGE W. PRATT, Esq., of Boston; JOHN M. IVES, Esq., of Salem, Ma.s.s.; Mr. JAMES SCOTT, of Hatfield, Ma.s.s.; Mr. ALONZO CRAFTS, of Whately, Ma.s.s.; Mr. JOHN C.

HOVEY, of Cambridge, Ma.s.s.; Mr. ISAAC P. RAND, of Dorchester, Ma.s.s.; Mr.

GEORGE EVERETT, of Concord, Ma.s.s.; and CALEB BATES, of Kingston, Ma.s.s.

From a work ent.i.tled "Descriptions des Plantes Potageres, par VILMORIN, ANDRIEUX, et CIE., Paris;" from CHARLES M'INTOSH'S excellent "Book of the Garden;" the "Gardener's a.s.sistant," by ROBERT THOMPSON; "Rogers's Vegetable Cultivator;" and "Lawson's Agriculturist's Manual,"--I have made liberal extracts; and lest, in the course of the volume, any omission of authority may occur where it should have been accredited, my indebtedness to the valuable publications above mentioned is here candidly confessed.

In adapting directions for cultivation, prepared for one climate, or section of country, to suit that of another quite dissimilar, so much alteration of the original text has at times been found necessary, that I have not felt at liberty to affix the name of the original writer, but have simply added the usual marks denoting derivation of authority.

FIELD AND GARDEN VEGETABLES.

CHAPTER I.

ESCULENT ROOTS.

The Beet. Carrot. Chervil, Turnip-rooted. Chinese Potato, or j.a.panese Yam. Chufa, or Earth Almond. German Rampion. Jerusalem Artichoke. Kohl Rabi. Oxalis, Tuberous. Oxalis, Deppes. Parsnip. Potato. Radish.

Rampion. Swede, or Ruta-baga Turnip. Salsify, or Oyster Plant. Scolymus.

Scorzonera. Skirret. Sweet Potato. Tuberous-rooted Chickling Vetch.

Tuberous-rooted Tropaeolum. Turnip.

THE BEET.

Beta vulgaris.

The Common Beet, sometimes termed the Red Beet, is a half-hardy biennial plant; and is cultivated for its large, succulent, sweet, and tender roots. These attain their full size during the first year, but will not survive the winter in the open ground. The seed is produced the second year; after the ripening of which, the plant perishes.

When fully developed, the beet-plant rises about four feet in height, with an angular, channelled stem; long, slender branches; and large, oblong, smooth, thick, and fleshy leaves. The flowers are small, green, and are either sessile, or produced on very short peduncles. The calyxes, before maturity, are soft and fleshy; when ripe, hard and wood-like in texture. These calyxes, which are formed in small, united, rounded groups, or cl.u.s.ters, are of a brownish color, and about one-fourth of an inch in diameter; the size, however, as well as depth of color, varying, to some extent, in the different varieties. Each of these cl.u.s.ters of dried calyxes contains from two to four of the true seeds, which are quite small, smooth, kidney-shaped, and of a deep reddish-brown color.

These dried cl.u.s.ters, or groups, are usually recognized as the seeds; about fifteen hundred of which will weigh one ounce. They retain their vitality from seven to ten years.

_Soil and Fertilizers._--The soil best adapted to the beet is a deep, light, well-enriched, sandy loam. When grown on thin, gravelly soil, the roots are generally tough and fibrous; and when cultivated in cold, wet, clayey localities, they are often coa.r.s.e, watery, and insipid, worthless for the table, and comparatively of little value for agricultural purposes.

A well-digested compost, formed of barnyard manure, loam and salt, makes the best fertilizer. Where this is not to be obtained, guano, superphosphate of lime, or bone-dust, may be employed advantageously as a subst.i.tute. Wood-ashes, raked or harrowed in just previous to sowing the seed, make an excellent surface-dressing, as they not only prevent the depredations of insects, but give strength and vigor to the young plants. The application of coa.r.s.e, undigested, strawy manure, tends to the production of forked and misshapen roots, and should be avoided.

_Propagation and Culture._--Beets are always raised from seed. For early use, sowings are sometimes made in November; but the general practice is to sow the seed in April, as soon as the frost is out of the ground, or as soon as the soil can be worked. For use in autumn, the seed should be sown about the middle or 20th of May; and, for the winter supply, from the first to the middle of June. Lay out the ground in beds five or six feet in width, and of a length proportionate to the supply required; spade or fork the soil deeply and thoroughly over; rake the surface smooth and even; and draw the drills across the bed, fourteen inches apart, and about an inch and a half in depth. Sow the seeds thickly enough to secure a plant for every two or three inches, and cover to the depth of the drills. Should the weather be warm and wet, the young plants will appear in seven or eight days. When they are two inches in height, they should be thinned to five or six inches apart; extracting the weaker, and filling vacant s.p.a.ces by transplanting. The surplus plants will be found an excellent subst.i.tute for spinach, if cooked and served in like manner. The afterculture consists simply in keeping the plants free from weeds, and the earth in the s.p.a.ces between the rows loose and open by frequent hoeings.

Mr. Thompson states that "the drills for the smaller varieties should be about sixteen inches apart, and the plants should be thinned out to nine inches apart in the rows. The large sorts may have eighteen inches between the rows, but still not more than nine inches from plant to plant in the row. When large-sized roots are desired, the rows may be eighteen inches or two feet apart, and the plants twelve or fifteen inches distant from each other in the rows. But large roots are not the best for the table; and it is better to have two medium-sized roots, grown at nine inches apart, than one of perhaps double the size from twice the s.p.a.ce. As a square foot of ground should afford plenty of nourishment to produce a root large enough for the table, the area for each plant may, therefore, be limited to that extent. If the rows are sixteen inches apart, and the plants thinned to nine inches in the row, each plant will have a s.p.a.ce equal to a square foot. Such, of course, would also be the case if the rows were twelve inches apart, and the plants the same distance from each other in the row. But it is preferable to allow a greater s.p.a.ce between the rows than between the plants in the row: for, by this arrangement, the leaves have better scope to grow to each side, and the plants so situated grow better than those which have an equal but rather limited s.p.a.ce in all directions; whilst the ground can also be more easily stirred, and kept clean."

_Taking the Crop._--Roots, from the first sowings, will be ready for use early in July; from which time, until October, the table may be supplied directly from the garden. They should be drawn as fast as they attain a size fit for use; which will allow more time and s.p.a.ce for the development of those remaining.

For winter use, the roots must be taken up before the occurrence of heavy frosts, as severe cold not only greatly impairs their quality, but causes them to decay at the crown. Remove the leaves, being careful not to cut or bruise the crown; spread the roots in the sun a few hours to dry; pack them in sand or earth slightly moist; and place in the cellar, out of reach of frost, for the winter.

"The London market-gardeners winter their beets in large sheds, stored in moderately damp mould, and banked up with straw. Mr. Cuthill states that it is a mistake to pack them in dry sand or earth for the winter; and that the same may be said of parsnips, carrots, salsify, scorzonera, and similar roots.

"The object here is, that the moist soil may not draw the natural sap out of the roots so readily as dry sand would do; and hence they retain their fresh, plump appearance, and their tenderness and color are better preserved. In taking up the roots, the greatest care must be exercised that they are neither cut, broken, wounded on the skin, nor any of the fibres removed; and, when the small-leaved varieties are grown, few, if any, of the leaves should be cut off."--_M'Int._

If harvested before receiving injury from cold, and properly packed, they will retain, in a good degree, their freshness and sweetness until the new crop is suitable for use.

_Seed._--To raise seed, select smooth and well-developed roots having the form, size, and color by which the pure variety is distinguished; and, in April, transplant them eighteen inches or two feet apart, sinking the crowns to a level with the surface of the ground. As the stalks increase in height, tie them to stakes for support. The plants will blossom in June and July, and the seeds will ripen in August.