11

Dorr's Iowa Seed Manual. 9

Martynia (For Pickles).
Plant in May, in hills four feet apart. Pick when small. Preserve as cucumbers. Packet 10c; oz. 30c.

Melon - Musk.
Both the Musk and Watermelon thrive best in a warm, rich, sandy loam. Thoroughly stir the soil. Plant twelve to fifteen seeds to the hill, which make six feet apart. Work under the surface of the hills a liberal quantity of decomposed stable manure. When they begin to vine, thin out to four of the most thrifty. To grow melons very early, pursue the same plan as recommended for Cucumbers.

Per Packet, Five Cents, Except Where Noted.

Skillman's Fine Netted-Flesh green, sugary and excellent quality. Oz. 10c; 1/4 lb. 30c; lb. $1.00.
Green Citron-Medium size, deeply netted; flesh green; delicious flavor. Oz. 10c; 1/4 lb. 30c; lb. $1.00.
Green Nutmeg-Fruit oval, good size, rich, exquisite flavor. Oz. 10c; 1/4 lb . 30c; lb. $1.00.
White Japan-Very early, thick flesh, sweet. Oz.10c; 1/4 lb. 35c; lb. $1.25.
Casaba-Large, very sweet and fine. Oz. 10c; 1/4 lb. 30c; lb. $1.00.
Improved Cantelope-Large size, flesh light green, most delicious flavor, superior for market or private gardens. Oz. 10c; 1/4 lb. 30c; lb. $1.00.
Surprise-Thin, cream-colored skin, thickly netted; flesh deep salmon color, very thick, fine. Packet 10c; oz. 15c; 1/4 lb. 50c.
Turks Cap, or Hackensack-Popular where known, deeply netted, green flesh, fine flavor. Oz. 10c; 1/4 lb. 35c.
California Citron-Very large and showy, good quality, flesh deep orange. Oz. 10c; 1/4 lb. 35c.
Bay View-Although but of recent introduction, it occupies an enviable position in the list of luscious melons. It is by far the finest flavored melon we ever ate, deliciously rich and sweet, large size under ordinary treatment; on good ground it averages from twelve to eighteen inches in length, and weighs from twelve to twenty pounds. Flesh very deep, rich green color, skin russet colored; very handsome and attractive in appearance; very firm when ripe and endures shipping well. Packet 10c; oz. 25c; 1/4 lb. 75c, lb. $2.00
Christiana-Extra early, green rind, yellow flesh, splendid flavor. Packet 10c; oz. 15c; 1/4 lb. 50c.

Melon-Water.
Plant in hills eight feet apart, and cultivate same as Muskmelon.

Per Packet, Five Cents, Except Where Noted.

Mountain Sprout-Large size, oval, red fleshed. Oz. 10c; 1/4 lb. 30c; lb. $1.00.
Mountain Sweet-Oblong, rind thin, flesh red. Oz. 10c; 1/4 lb 30c; lb $1.00.
Phinney's Early-Flesh deep red, superior quality, early and productive, valuable market variety. Oz. 10c; 1/4 lb 30c; lb. $1.00.
Black Spanish-Large size, almost round, skin dark green, flesh red. Oz. 10c; 1/4 lb. 30c; lb. $1.00.
Ice Cream-Medium size, almost round, white seed, flesh scarlet. Oz. 10c; 1/4 lb. 30c; lb. $1.00.
Orange-One of the sweetest, when ripe rind peels off like an orange. Oz. 10c; 1/4 lb. 40c.
Gipsey or Rattlesnake-Very large and productive, great favorite with gardeners. Oz. 10c; 1/4 lb. 30c; lb. $1.00.
Haskell's Excelsior-The very best market sort; flesh bright red, very superior quality, enormous size, frequently weighing over forty pounds. Took first premium at our State Fair two years. Oz. 15c; 1/4 lb. 50c; lb. $1.50.
Peerless-Of unquestionable quality, medium size, thin rind, light mottled green, flesh bright scarlet, splendid. Oz. 10c.; 1/4 lb. 30c; lb. $1.00.
Apple Pie-Excellent substitute for apples for making pies. Oz. 15c.
Citron-For preserves. Oz. 10c; 1/4 lb. 30c.
Chinese Sculptured Seeded-Flesh cream color, very early, delicious, seeds very curiously marked. Oz. 10c; 1/4 lb. 30c.
Cuban Queen-This magnificent new melon is certainly the largest and finest variety ever introduced, and was the admiration of all who saw it during the past season. The skin is beautifully striped dark and light green, of the latter there being two shades agreeably diversified. The vines are very strong, healthy and vigorous in growth. The flesh is bright red, remarkably solid, peculiarly luscious, crisp and sugary, and in delicious flavor is unsurpassed. It is an excellent keeper, and although the rind is unusually thin, being scarcely more than half an inch thick on a melon of enormous size, will bear transit to distant markets well. Their great size, handsome appearance, thin rind, red flesh, and delicious taste are
so captivating that they cannot fail to bring extra prices wherever put on sale. A letter now before us from a man who tried it, says, "I now have a melon weighing fifty-five pounds, and have known of one being raised that weighed ninety-one pounds; it is certainly a magnificent novelty." Do not fail to give it a trial, you will be well repaid and greatly pleased.
Packet 10c; oz . 30c; 1/4 lb. $1.00; lb. $3.50.

Mustard.
A pungent salad, used sometimes with Cress, also elegant for greens. Sow thickly in rows and cut when about two inches high; for use during Winter it may be sown at intervals in boxes, in the greenhouse or in a frame. For a crop of seeds sow in April, in drills a foot apart, and thin out moderately when about three
inches high. Sow early in shallow drills.
White English or London-Packet 5c; oz . 10c; lb. 50c.
Brown or Black-Packet 5c; oz 10c; lb. 50c.
Larg White California-Very fine. Packet 10c; oz. 15c; 1/4 lb. 40c; lb. $1.00.

Nasturtium, or Indian Cress.
The seeds, while young and succulent, are pickled and used as capers. The plants are also highly ornamental; the tall variety makes an excellent screen or covering for unsightly places in the garden.
Tall-Packet 5c; oz. 15c.
Dwarf-Packet 5c; oz. 25c.

Okra, or Gumbo.
Its long pods when young are used in soups, stews, etc., and are believed to be very nutritious. Sow at the usual time of all tender vegetables, in drills two inches deep, setting the plants from two to three feet apart.
Dwarf White-Packet 5c; oz. 10c; 1/4 lb. 25c.
New Improved Dwarf Okra-This is an improvement on the old Okra, and promises to be quite an acquisition. It grows but fourteen inches high, has long slender pods, and is very productive. Packet 10c; oz. 40c.

Onion.
No vegetable is more extensively known and cultivated than the Onion. It has been the common seasoning for soups and meats of all nations from time immemorial; and in cooking it is indispensible. It possesses valuable medicinal properties, and is used in colds and coughs as an expectorant. It contains considerable nutriment and is tolerably wholesome, especially if boiled; raw. fried or roasted, they are not very digestible. Eating a few leaves of parsley will destroy, in a measure, the unpleasant smell they impart to the breath.
There is no vegetable where the quality of the seed exerts a greater influence upon the crop than in Onions. Here, then, if nowhere else, the greatest care should be taken to secure the best possible seed. Seed grown in the North will be pretty sure to produce better Onions when sown in the Southern States than Southern grown seed.

To Make Money
growing Onions, plant them year after year, regardless of price.
There is probably no vegetable which fluctuates so much in price as the Onion. They seem to run to extremes. We have seen them sold in Iowa as low as
fifteen cents, and as high as four dollars per bushel