The American Pictorial Home Book
or Housekeeper's Encyclopedia - online book

A reference manual of household management in Victorian times.

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498
GARDENING.
Parsley.—Extra curled'and plain. As the seed germinate slowly soak them in milk or luke-warm water before sowing them 1-2 inch deep in drills, 1 foot apart. For family use prepare a bed of rich soil and sow the seed, and let the plants remain for years ; gather the seeds when in perfection. The roots continue to germinate for a series of years.
Parsnips.—Long, smooth white, early round, Guernsey or cup. Sow in drills 8 inches apart and 1 inch deep. The soil should be deep and rich. When well up, thin the plants to 5 inches or more apart in the rows.
Peas—Early.—Prince Albert (early), Kent, extra early Emperor, Daniel O'Rouke, Mag, Double blossom frame, Bishop's early,Dwarf (prolific), Early Warwick, Bishop's Dwarf (long pod, fine), (late or general crop); Lord Raglan, Dwarf Monmoth, champion of Eng­land ; Lincoln, champion of Scotland, fine; Harrison's Glory, Dwarf marrow fat, Blue Imperial, Queen of Dwarfs, Prussian Blue, Dwarf Sugar, Edible pods, Tom Thumbs, Harrison's perfection, Tall Sugar, Edible pods, and extra fine; Blue Scimeter, Grey Eyes, Black eyes, Galavance, Black, Mountain Crowder, a most valuable pea. Sow every 2 or 3 weeks, or every week, in any warm month for a succession of crops. A light, dry soil, not too rich, suits best. Sow in rows from 2 to 4 feet apart, according to the variety. The pea is a hardy plant and will endure frost a little.
Pepper.—Sweet Spanish for salad, large Squash for mangoes, Sweet Mountain for the same purpose, Small Chile, Large Bell, Cherry, Oxheart, Capsicum, Long Cayenne, small, for pepper sauce. Sow in small beds; when 3 or 4 inches high transplant to 18 inches apart each way, and hoe often and with care; do not let the frost bite them.
Pumpkin.—Large Cheese, Connecticut field, Mammoth or South­ern pumpkin, Spotted rind, Hard Shell or Potato pumpkin, long, round, flat or green pumpkin. Plant them in] drills or hills 8 or 10 feet apart each way, according to the richness of the soil. A valua­ble winter vegetable.
Potato, Irish.—Early Rose, Utah, Early Goodrich, Nansomend, the Murcer,and endless numbers. Always plant in a sandy or loamy soil; apply to each hill a double handful of plaster or ashes when the plants appear above ground. Hoe often. Keep free from grass and weeds.
Potato, Sweet.—Make a hot bed to raise the plant from, or plant them with small potatoes in hills in sandy or loamy soil about 18 inches apart; do not cover them very deep. In the Southern States they raise them in the greatest perfection. They set them in drills, covering the end of slips that may be a yard long be-