The Delta independent., 1911-07-28
The Way the Chink Does Things.
M. F. Rittenhouse.

M. F. RittenhouSe.
A Chinese market gardener OF
our town who has grown rich at
his business has some very unique
methods, but which are worth copy
| ing, for his gardens, both artistic
ally and financially, are great
success He saves his squash and
pumpkin seeds for the next years
planting by the simple process of
keeping the squash or pumpkin that
especially strikes his fancy in a
cool, dry place until the next
planting season. Then he plants
them with pieces of the pulp ad-
herring and they appear above the
ground with mushroom-like prompt
Less. His muskmelon seeds he ties
up in a Dag of coarse burlap and
covers this loosely with rich soil,
allowing the seed to sprout before
planting them. He also preserves
his cucumber seeds in the cucum-
Der. which he coats with parafine
as soon as pulled from the vine.
When he irrigates his potatoes
and he raises two crops on the
same farm each year-he waters
long and deeply and his potatoes
never grow near enough to be-
come sunburned as do those of the
inexperienced gardeners who lightly
sprinkle the surface of their poto-
&c patch as scantily and as often as
they sprinkle their lettuce beds.
There is no question as to the
superiority in quality and size of
the deep-seated potato over those
grown close to the surface. His
beet seeds are soaked in water
for at least forty-eight hours be-
fore planting. He sets them to
soak in warm water and during the
| Daytime keeps the vessel containing
them as much in the sunshine as
possible.
l have never yet seen him throw
away a young plant of any descrip-
ton. He merely transplants them
and ii is no eXaggeration to say
that nine-tenths OF the plants sur
vive and flourish, for he is surely
postmaster in the art of trans
planting. For example, when his
lettuce plants grow to the height
of two or three inches he Trims
out the bed and clipping off ABOUT
I al mn "a A-Af AboA up u taANA
plant he pulls up. he replants in
long rows and the transplanted let
tuce makes more rapid and
| lager growth than those he left un-
disturbed.
The replanted or rather trans
| planted lettuce with its clipped
roots grows to such enormous
heads that at short distance off
they remind one of thrifty cabbage
rows. He never uproots the head
lettuce he markets. Instead he
leaves the stalks in the ground and
assiduously waters and cultivates
them whereupon they produce an
other head in about half of the
time required for the first head to
reach marketable size. His beet
plants are transplanted with clipped
roots in precisely the same man
ner as the lettuce. His onions.
which are invariably started from
the seed-he refuses to use sets
are transplanted after having their
roots clipped and grow to be larger
in circumference than the ordinary
saucer.
He also beheads his cabbage, and
leaves the stalk to grow. He cuts
slight hicks or gashes in the grow
ing stalk, which watered and tend
ed produces second growth that
are in appearance fair limitations of
brussels sprouts and quite as good
TO eat. His faith in the forcing
powers of warm water is sublime
have known him to heat water for
his radishes in the chill days of
spring. testing its temperature as
carefully as IL preparing baby's
bath. He is equally an expert in
roofing rose cuttings. This he does
during the entire year. but he con-
siders August the most suspicious
month though l doubt il he could
give reason for thinking so. He
plants his cuttings by thrusting his
spade once deep into the soil. He
then slips the cutting in the open
ing, draws out the spade, presses
the earth down firmly and the cut
ting is planted.-Field and Farm.