The Field and Garden Vegetables of America Part 114

In some localities, it is cultivated to a limited extent for the manufacture of wine; the juice being expressed from the stalks, and sugar added in the ratio of three pounds and a half to a gallon. This wine, though quite palatable, has little of the fine aroma of that made from the grape; and, if not actually deleterious, is much less safe and healthful. Any of the other varieties may be used for the same purpose; the princ.i.p.al superiority of the Cahoon consisting in its larger stalks, and consequently its greater product of juice.

DOWNING'S COLOSSAL.

A large variety, nearly of the size of Myatt's Victoria. It is described as being less acid than the last named, and of a fine, rich, aromatic flavor.

EARLY PRINCE IMPERIAL.

Stalks of medium size; recommended by D. T. Curtis, Esq., Chairman of the Vegetable Committee of the Ma.s.sachusetts Horticultural Society, as in all respects the best flavored of any variety ever tested; and commended for general cultivation, as particularly adapted to the wants of the family, if not to the wishes of the gardener, to whom size and productiveness are more than flavor. It invariably turns red in cooking, which makes it preferable for the table as a sauce. When cooked, it is of the color of currant-jelly, and remarkably fine flavored.

In 1862, it received the first prize of the Ma.s.sachusetts Horticultural Society, as the best for family use.

ELFORD. _Thomp._

Buck's Rhubarb.

An early sort, well adapted for forcing. The stalks are rather slender, covered with a thin skin of a bright-scarlet color; and their substance throughout is of a fine red, which they retain when cooked, if not peeled,--a process which, owing to the thinness of the skin, is not considered necessary. Even when grown in the dark, the stalks still preserve the crimson tinge. It was raised from the seed of _Rheum undulatum_.

HAWKE'S CHAMPAGNE.

A new variety, said to equal the Prince Albert in earliness, and also to be of a deeper and finer color, and much more productive. It forces remarkably well; is hardy in open culture; and commands the highest market prices, both from its great size, and fine, rich color.

MITCh.e.l.l'S ROYAL ALBERT. _Thomp._

Stalks large, red, and of excellent flavor. Early and prolific.

MYATT'S LINNaeUS.

Linnaeus.

A medium-sized or comparatively small variety, recently introduced.

"Besides being the earliest of all, and remarkably productive as well as high flavored, and possessing little acidity, it has a skin so thin, that removing it is hardly necessary; and its pulp, when stewed, has the uniform consistence of baked Rhode-Island Greenings; and it continues equally crisp and tender throughout the summer and early autumn." One of the best sorts for a small garden or for family use.

MYATT'S VICTORIA.

Victoria.

Leaves large, broader than long, deep-green, blistered on the surface, and much waved or undulated on the borders. Leaf-stalks very large, varying from two inches and a half to three inches in their broadest diameter, and frequently measuring upwards of two feet and a half in length: the weight of a well-developed stalk, divested of the leaf, is about two pounds. They are stained with red at their base, and are often reddish, or finely spotted with red, to the nerves of the leaf.

It has rather a thick skin, is more acid than many other varieties, and not particularly high flavored: but no kind is more productive; and this, in connection with its extraordinary size, makes it not only the most salable, but one of the most profitable, kinds for growing for the market.

It requires a deep, highly-manured soil; and the roots should be divided and reset once in four or five years. It is about a fortnight later than the Linnaeus.

NEPAL.

Rheum Australe. _Thomp._ Rheum Emodi.

The leaf-stalks attain an immense size, but are unfit for use on account of their strongly purgative properties: but the leaves, which are frequently a yard in diameter, are useful in covering baskets containing vegetables or fruit; and for these the plant is sometimes cultivated.

TOBOLSK RHUBARB.

Early Red Tobolsk.

Leaves comparatively small; leaf-stalks below medium size, stained with red at the base. It is perceptibly less acid than most varieties, and remarkable for fineness of texture and delicacy of flavor.

SUNFLOWER.

Tall Sunflower. Annual Sunflower. Helianthus annuus.

Stem from five to eight feet or more in height; leaves heart-shaped, rough, three-nerved; flowers very large, terminal, nodding; the seeds are large, ovoid, angular, or compressed, nearly black, sometimes striped with white, and retain their germinative properties five years.

The plant is a native of South America.

DWARF SUNFLOWER. _Law._

H. Indicus.

This species, which was introduced from Egypt, differs from the last princ.i.p.ally in its more dwarfish habit of growth, but also in being less branched. The flowers are much smaller, and generally of a lighter color.

_Soil and Cultivation._--The Sunflower will thrive in almost any soil or situation, but succeeds best on land adapted to the growth of Indian Corn. It is always grown from seed, which should be sown in April, or the beginning of May, in drills three feet apart. When the plants are well up, they should be thinned to a foot asunder, and afterwards cultivated in the usual manner; stirring the ground occasionally, and keeping the plants free from weeds. The flowers appear in July, and the seeds ripen in August and September. The central flower is first developed; attains a larger size than any that succeed it; and ripens its seeds in advance of those on the side-branches. The heads of seeds should be cut as they successively mature, and spread in a dry, airy situation for three or four weeks; when the seeds will become dry and hard, and can be easily rubbed or threshed out.

_Use._--"The seeds of both species yield an oil little inferior to that of the Olive for domestic purposes, and which is also well adapted for burning. In Portugal, the seeds are made into bread, and also into a kind of meal. They are also sometimes roasted, and used as a subst.i.tute for coffee; but the purpose for which they seem best adapted is the feeding of domestic fowls, pheasants and other game. The greatest objection to its culture is, that it is a most impoveris.h.i.+ng crop, particularly the Large or Common Tall species."--_M'Int._

TOBACCO.

Nicotiana, sp.

All the species and varieties of Tobacco in common cultivation are annuals; and most, if not all, are natives of this continent. "Like other annual plants, it may be grown in almost every country and climate, because every country has a summer; and that is the season of life for all annual plants. In hot, dry, and short summers, like the northern summers of Europe or America, Tobacco-plants will not attain a large size; but the Tobacco produced will be of delicate quality and good flavor. In long, moist, and not very warm summers, the plants will attain a large size,--perhaps as much so as in Virginia; but the Tobacco produced will not have that superior flavor, which can only be given by abundance of clear suns.h.i.+ne, and free, dry air. By a skilful manufacture, and probably by mixing the Tobacco of cold countries with that of hot countries, by using different species, and perhaps by selecting particular varieties of the different species, the defects in flavor arising from climate may, it is likely, be greatly remedied."

The species and varieties are as follow:--

CONNECTICUT SEED-LEAF.

Peach-leaf. Virginia Tobacco. Nicotiana tabac.u.m.