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Show MARTYNIA IS QUITE USEFUL Uncommon Vegetable Has Undeservedly Undeserv-edly Become Unpopular Excel-cellent Excel-cellent With Mixed Pickles. (By HUGO ERICHSEN.) In the mind of the average gardener, gard-ener, be he urban, suburban or rural, the culture of vegetables is associated with drudgery which is in no wiso diverting, and yet, if one only deviates from the beaten paths and is not afraid to grow things that are decidedly decid-edly uncommon, as much fun can be had in the kitchen garden as in Flora's domain, and no little profit. One of the uncommon vegetables I have grown is the martynia. The martynia, known to our forefathers fore-fathers as the martinoes, has undeservedly unde-servedly hecome unpopular. Perhaps the disagreeable odor of its gloxinialike gloxinia-like flowers, and the peculiar shape of the hairy seed-pods that succeed them had something to do with Its disfavor. The latter are responsible for two other designations of this vegetable curiosity, for in England, where it is grown extensively, it is known as the unicorn plant and in Mexico, where it grows wild, it is called the devil's finger-naits. The pods are produced in great abundance and should be gathered when less than half grown, as they are worthless after the hardening of their Bubstance. They are pickled in vinegar like cucumbers and are very useful in putting up mixed pickles. The plants require considerable warmth, therefore, the seed should Martynia. not be sown until the trees are out in full leaf. ' They are planted in rows or hills three feet apart each way and should be thinned out thoroughly, as they require re-quire considerable space. It is a good plan to sow the seed in a hotbed and transfer the young plants to the garden in the latter part of April or as soon as the weather is settled. |