The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1878-04-25

for . few ! Of corn or Q dish Of string
beans. is Z waste of valuable time,
without Z shadow Of excuse for it; and
vet such rambles for q few vegetables
occur daily upon thousands OF farms
during the summer, and the master OF
the house often wonders why his
women folks Z always SO busy, and
vet accomplish 80 little" If the farmer
Is so penurious that he will not furnish
his family any better vegetables than
those raised for his stock. he GER
tainly afford to plant . few rows of
each neal the house, and thereby facilir
tate the preparation of his meals ON
time.
But there is really no need Of any
family using inferior varieties of vege-
tables in these days of railroads and
other facilities for transporting seeds
to almost any town and hamlet
throughout our vast domain. From .
| fivc-cent paper of almost any kind of
| choice vegetable seed enough q be
raised in one season to supply an en-
tire ncighborhood; consequently the
cost of the article cannot be put for
ward as an Reuse for not having the
best Of everything of the kind in the
greatest abundance. There can GER
tainly be no excuse for a man who
fails to raise sweet corn for his table,
where other varieties a be raised for
his stock. 1t costs no more to raise n
than the other, but the difference in
flavor is SO marked that no one would
think of eating green field corn if any
of the sweet OF shriveled sorts could be
obtained. It NAV also be noticed that
the more the grain shrivels when ma
ture, the better the flavor when it is
green. For instance, the evergreen
sweet corn has never been surpassed in
flavor by any Of the newer sorts, and
the grain is quite large when green or
full of milk, but shrinks to one-fOurth
the size when ripe and dry 1t is a
late sort, but of excellent flavor. The
very early dwarf sorts of sweet corn
are, it is true, better than the common
varieties of field corn for the table;
still, as a rule, they are far inferior to
the medium or later sorts.
Another thing which most farmers
neglect is a succession of any kind of
vegetables, which can be readily Sc
cured by making several paintings at
different times. If one has seed Of an
early and late sort of the same kind,
the seeds of the two may be put into
the ground at the same time; but if he
has only one sort, then a small quanti-
ty should be put in at intervals of a
week or two, in order to prOlOng the
season. This plan is especially recon-
mended for corn and pease, as they re-
main in condition for the table only for
a very short period, at best, ripehing
quite rapidly after reaching an edible
condition; and this brings us to a point
where a word about green pease maybe
opportune at this time. What we have
said above in regard to the varieties of
sweet-corn is quite as applicable to the
different sorts Of the garden-pea. We
have as yet no very early sort that is of
much value for the table, although
they are extensively cultivated for mar
ket, and are eaten by persons who pre-
fer apoorly-flavored pea to none. Resi-
dents of cities are often compelled to
put up with inferior sorts of vegeta-
bles, but the farmer can and should
have the very best Of everything OF this
kind (for he is, if he chooses to be,
master of the situation), and at no
greater expenditure of labor than is re-
quircd to raise inferior kinds.
Every farmer should have al abun-
dance Of asparagus. as it is not only
one of the most healthful and general
ly appreciated early spring vegetables;
but, in addition, is one of those peren-
NAL plants that, when once well estab-
lished, will continue productive for a
lifetime. Rhubarb or pieplant is an
other excellent vegetable, which really
costs nothing to produce, and often
comes in quite OPPORTUNITY as a relish
during the spring months. String
beans should rot be overlooked in
making up a list for the vegetable gar.
den. OF course, the Lima-bean must
not he omitted, for it is one of the in.
~dispensable component parts of good
s~uccotash, at home or abroad. Among
cabbages, ~caulilowers, carrots and eel
cry there is more in the name than in
the difference of quality of the varie-
ties. Some are earlier than others,
larger or smaller, but all are good and
worthy of a place in the garden.
!, The season being at handfor making
gardens, it is well to look W. the list
of kinds of vegetables which are at.
tainable or adapted to the climate, and
then estimate the area of land needed
to produce a full supply throughout the
season, as we'll as how much of each
will probably be required. The land
occupied with early pease, spinach and
similar short-lived plants can be util.
lied later in the season for cabbages.
celery, turnips, or a fall crop of spin.
sch. But the first requisite of a good
vegetable garden is a very rich and
deep soil, for without this success will
be at best uncertain in any climate and
with ever SO good a variety Of seeds
~ v CsD 1