The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1903-01-06
Notes From a North Carolina Garden
(W. F. Massey.)


1t is ra ather curious to note the various
habits CT different markets. In New
York and Philadelphia no lettuce will sell
but the cabbage headed type like The
Big Boston, while from Pittsburg west
ward they do not want these, but 10
want the curly varieties like the Grand
R3nids And we think the Western peop-
pc have the best taste in the matter, for
the Big Boston is to our taste about the
poorest of lettuce. We are now (Dec
Sth) eating the finest of white, crisp let
tuce from the open garden. This is
Naples Improved Arson and the Won
derful We are selling the Big Boston
because the market wants it but we do
not care to eat it when we can get the
others The two lettuces named both
make exceedingly firm heads, but have a
wide spread of outer leaves that requires
wider planting. They are also less liable
to the stem rot than the Big Boston,
and in quality are as far ahead OF the
Big Boston as it is possible for lettuce
to be. 1t has always been a matter Of
surprise to me that there is little
attention paid to the family gar
den during the Winter month.
in the South. Nine out OF ten
gardens now have nothing in them except
while it is easy in this sunny climate
to have plenty of the harder vegetables
all Winter without even protection OF
glass. We are now getting from the open
ground fire young onions excellent.
crisp radishes, spina ch and lettuce as well
as turnips. Our early cabbages Will be
set in a few days on a north slope to
protect them from the morning sun Wnen
frozen. As we have good strong plants
We expect to get good results. Straw
berry plants live better here when set in
December than at any other time, and we
are getting at them now We will discard
q number Of varieties have proved
worthless here and will try some OF the
newer ones.
In the flower garden the Paper White
narissus bulbs are blooming, and the
Roman hya cnths have their flower spikes
well above ground and will probably have
flowers open by Christmas day. Violets
are showing few flowers now, but will
commence again when the sun begins to
climb ncrthWard again. For the open
garden we prefer the White Italian hya
cinths to the Romans, as they make larg
er spikes and come later 50 that the flow
ers do not get nipred by sudden freezes
IS the Romans are apt to be- So far Whit
er has touched us lightly. The rose ge-
raniums are hardly injured al all, and the
zoElls are scorched but not killed. The
naked Towering jessamine, Jasminum
Nudifcrum, is gay with its yellow flow
ers, but tie famous yellow jessamne Of
the South, which festoons the trees along
the roadside in many places. will not be
in bloom till early March. Camelias and
Chinese azaleas are full of buds and
promise a great bloom later. Plumba go
CapenSis proves to be a reliable hardy
herbaceou plant here starting from the
roots in Spring and blooming profusely
the whole season. | have plants that
have been in the open ground through
two hard Winters and have barely stop
ped blooming now. Justicia Velutina has
also survived in the open ground in
sheltered place and made a big clump
gay with bloom all Summer. The big
Erythrina Crista CALI in a neighbors
lawn, now over 90 years old will now be
cut of at the surface of the ground as
usual and have 4 mound OF sawdust placed
ever the stamp. and will make a great
show again next Summer The sweet
brush honeysuckle is breaking into bloom
{ Continued on Page Four.)