The Field and Garden Vegetables of America Part 7

The Kohl Rabi is a vegetable intermediate between the cabbage and the turnip. The stem, just above the surface of the ground, swells into a round, fleshy bulb, in form not unlike a turnip. On the top and about the surface of this bulb are put forth its leaves, which are similar to those of the Swede turnips; being either lobed or entire on the borders, according to the variety. The seeds are produced the second year; after the ripening of which, the bulb perishes.

_Sowing and Cultivation._--Mr. Thompson's directions are as follows: "Kohl Rabi may be sown thinly, broadcast, or in drills four inches apart, in April, May, or June. When the young plants are an inch or two in height, they may be transplanted into any good, well-enriched piece of ground, planting them eight inches apart, in rows fifteen inches asunder, and not deeper in the ground than they were in the seed-bed.

Water should be given till they take fresh root, and subsequently in dry weather as required; for though the plants suffer little from droughts, yet the tenderness of the produce is greatly impaired by an insufficient supply of moisture. With the exception of stirring the ground and weeding, no further culture is required. The crop will be fit for use when the bulbs are of the size of an early Dutch turnip: when allowed to grow much larger, they are only fit for cattle. Of field varieties, the bulbs sometimes attain an immense size; weighing, in some cases, fourteen pounds."

_Seed._--Take up a few plants entire in autumn; preserve them during winter in the manner of cabbages or turnips; and transplant to the open ground in April, two feet apart in each direction. The seeds are not distinguishable from those of the Swede or Ruta-baga Turnip, and retain their vitality from five to seven years.

_Use._--The part chiefly used is the turnip-looking bulb, formed by the swelling of the stem. This is dressed and eaten with sauce or with meat, as turnips usually are. While young, the flesh is tender and delicate, possessing the combined flavor of the cabbage and turnip.

They are said to keep better than any other bulb, and to be sweeter and more nutritious than the cabbage or white turnip. "In the north of France, they are extensively grown for feeding cattle,--a purpose for which they seem admirably adapted, as, from having a taste similar to the leaves of others of the species, they are found not to impart any of that peculiar, disagreeable taste to the milk, which it acquires when cows are fed on turnips."

_Varieties._--These are as follow:--

ARTICHOKE-LEAVED. _Thomp._ _Vil._

Cut-leaved.

Of German origin, deriving its name from the resemblance of the leaves to those of the Artichoke. Bulb small, and not smooth or symmetrical.

The leaves are beautifully cut, and are very ornamental; but the bulb is comparatively of little value. Not much cultivated.

EARLY DWARF WHITE. _Vil._

Bulb white, smaller than that of the Common White, and supported close to the ground. The leaves are also smaller, and less numerous.

It is earlier, and finer in texture, than the last named; and, while young, excellent for the table.

Transplant in rows fifteen inches apart, and ten inches asunder in the rows.

EARLY PURPLE VIENNA. _Thomp._ _Vil._

This corresponds with the Early White Vienna, except in color, which, in this variety, is a beautiful purple, with a fine glaucous bloom. The leaf-stems are very slender, and the leaves smooth, and few in number.

These two Vienna sorts are by far the best for table use. When taken young, and properly dressed, they form an excellent subst.i.tute for turnips, especially in dry seasons, when a crop of the latter may fail or become of inferior quality.

EARLY WHITE VIENNA. _Thomp._

Dwarf, small, early; bulb handsome, firm, glossy, white, or very pale-green. The leaves are few, small, with slender stems, the bases of which are dilated, and thin where they spring from different parts on the surface of the bulb. The flesh is white, tender, and succulent, whilst the bulb is young, or till it attains the size of an early white Dutch turnip; and at or under this size it should be used.

Set the plants in rows fifteen inches apart, and ten inches from plant to plant in the lines.

GREEN.

Similar to, if not identical with, the Common White. The bulbs are pale-green, attain a very large size, and the variety is hardy and productive. Not suited to garden culture, but chiefly grown for farm-purposes.

PURPLE. _Thomp._ _Vil._

This variety differs little from the White, except in color; the bulb being purple, and the leaf-stems and nerves also tinged with purple.

Like the White, it attains a large size, and is only adapted for field culture; the flesh being too coa.r.s.e and strong-flavored for table use.

WHITE. _Thomp._ _Vil._

Bulb large,--when full grown, measuring seven or eight inches in diameter, and weighing from eight to ten pounds; leaves rather large and numerous; skin very pale, or whitish-green; stem about six inches high.

Hardy, very late, and chiefly employed for farm-purposes.

The variety should be cultivated in rows eighteen inches apart, and the plants should stand one foot apart in the rows.

OXALIS, TUBEROUS-ROOTED.--_Law._

Tuberous-rooted Wood-sorrel. Oca. Oxalis crenata.

Of the Tuberous-rooted Oxalis, there are two varieties, as follow:--

WHITE-ROOTED.

Oca blanca.

Stem two feet in length, branching, prostrate or trailing, the ends of the shoots erect; leaves trifoliate, yellowish-green, the leaflets inversely heart-shaped; flowers rather large, yellow,--the petals crenate or notched on the borders, and striped at their base with purple. The seeds are matured only in long and very favorable seasons.

In its native state, the plant is perennial; but is cultivated and treated, like the common potato, as an annual.

_Cultivation._--The tubers should be started in a hot-bed in March, and transplanted to the open ground in May, or as soon as the occurrence of settled warm weather. They thrive best in dry, light, and medium fertile soils, in warm situations; and should be planted in hills two feet and a half apart, or in drills two feet and a half apart, setting the plants or tubers an inch and a half deep, and fifteen or eighteen inches apart in the drills; treating, in all respects, as potatoes.

The tubers form late in the season; are white, roundish, or oblong, pointed at the union with the plant, and vary in size according to soil, locality, and season; seldom, however, exceeding an inch in diameter, or weighing above four ounces. The yield is comparatively small.

_Use._--The tubers are used as potatoes. When cooked, the flesh is yellow, very dry and mealy, of the flavor of the potato, with a very slight acidity. The tender, succulent stalks and foliage are used as salad.

OXALIS, RED TUBEROUS-ROOTED.

Oca colorada.

Plant similar in habit to the White Tuberous-rooted; but the branches, as well as the under surface of the leaves, are more or less stained with red. Tubers larger than those of the last named, roundish, tapering towards the connection with the plant, and furnished with numerous eyes in the manner of the common potato; skin smooth, purplish-red; flesh often three-colored,--the outer portion of the tuber carmine-red, the central part marbled, and the intermediate portion yellow,--the colors, when the root is divided transversely, appearing in concentric zones, or rings. The flesh contains but little farinaceous matter, and possesses a certain degree of acidity, which, to many palates, is not agreeable.

Propagated, and in all respects cultivated, like the White. Either of the varieties may also be grown from cuttings, which root readily.

According to a statement from the London Horticultural Society's Journal, the acidity may be converted into a sugary flavor by exposing the tubers to the action of the sun for eight or ten days,--a phenomenon which is a.n.a.logous to what takes place in the ripening of most fruits.

When treated in this form, the tubers lose all trace of acidity, and become as floury as the best descriptions of potatoes. If the action of the sun is continued for a long period, the tubers become of the consistence and sweet taste of figs. Mr. Thompson states that the disagreeable acid taste may also be removed by changing the water when they are three-quarters boiled.

The plants are tender, and are generally destroyed early in autumn by frost. The tubers must be taken up before freezing weather, packed in sand, and placed in a dry, warm cellar for the winter.

DEPPE'S OXALIS. _Thomp._ _Vil._