The Rhode Islander

Agricultural.

Garden Vegetables.

Early Cucumbers.—The following has been found by the writer, an easy and successful way to raise them. Place small pieces of dead turf, as large as one's hand, just below the soil in a hot bed, and plant the cucumber seeds upon them. When the stem is two or three inches long, the pieces of turf are removed, plants, roots, and all, to rich garden soil, and they will advance rapidly in growth and produce fruit two or three weeks earlier than those planted in open ground. Suitable turf is easily obtained where grass has been inverted the previous summer or autumn. The young plants should be set out as soon as they will probably escape frost.

Early Tomatoes.—Where there is no hot bed, these have been successfully started, in pots kept in a warm room, and the fruit ripened a week or two in advance of those otherwise treated. While the fruit is yet green I have much accelerated the ripening, by removing the larger leaves from dense bunches of the fruit, and placing white boards behind them, so as to reflect the sun's rays strongly upon them. These soon became red, while the rest remained unchanged in color. Would not planting them, as well as many other of the smaller garden fruits, against a white washed fence or wall, prove of great advantage? It is estimated in England, that a good wall for fruit is equal to an advance of six degrees towards the equator; why then is this powerful means of producing early fruit, so generally overlooked in this country?

Early Potatoes.—It is well known that the eye end of a potato will yield a crop earlier by some days, than the root end. This appears to be owing simply to the earlier growth of the sprouts from the eye end. Earliness will be greatly increased by placing the seed potatoes in a box of moist sand, early in spring, in a warm place in the house; and then planting them when the shoots are about two inches long, taking care not to break them off.

Strawberries.—Many cultivators suffer their beds to run wild, and still obtain tolerable crops; but a still better way is to plant them in drills or hills, and keep them so. Hoeing or cultivation, benefits them as much as it does corn. By pursuing this course, the writer obtained nearly a pint of large, fat, plump strawberries from some single plants the past season.

Lime.—This success of strawberries, might have been partly owing to the use of lime. Its tendency to diminish the growth of leaves and stem, and increase that of seed and fruit, is well known. It had been applied two years before to the strawberry bed, at the rate of about half a bushel to a square rod. A similar effect was observed on tomatoes, when the manure they received, which was well rotted, had a small quantity of lime thoroughly mixed with it. The growth of their stems was moderate, and the product in fruit very abundant. Others, manured without lime, grew abundantly in stem, and the product in fruit not quite so great. Slacked lime was used. The difference might have been owing to other causes; at any rate, more experiments are needed.

Early Lettuce.—This was obtained at least three weeks earlier than other lettuce sown in the hot bed, by taking up plants, sown the previous autumn in open ground, and transplanting them into the hot bed as soon as it was made. They were urged forward in growth rapidly, by the new heat they received, and formed heads four or five inches in diameter, while the other lettuce was hardly an inch high.

Selection of varieties.—This is a matter of very great importance, where excellence in quality is desired. For lettuce, I have found the Early Curled Silesia, and Imperial Cabbage Lettuce, very good varieties. The latter forms large fine heads of great delicacy.

The best Cabbages appear to be the Early Sugarloaf, Green Savoy, and old-fashioned large winter Drumhead. The Sugarloaf heads earlier than the Early York, appears to be superior in quality. For those who like a very tender cabbage, the Savoy will stand pre-eminent. The character of the Drumhead we all know.

I have tried many varieties of the turnip for table use, and find none to satisfy most persons who have eaten them, better than the White Norfolk, whether for early or late use.

Of beets, the Bassano excels any that I have tried. It is very early, will keep through winter in moist sand, and is as much more delicate and sweet than the red turnip beet, as the latter is better than the old fashioned, stringy, long blood beet.

Keeping Roots through Winter.—The most convenient and best method of doing this, is to procure barrels, hogsheads, or large boxes, place them in the cellar, fill them with the potatoes, turnips, beets, or other roots, and fill in the interstices with clean sand, which is to be kept moist. It is to be clean as a matter of convenience and neatness. One load will cover a large quantity of roots, and may be used for many successive years.

Macedon, N. Y., 1842. J. J. THOMAS.