Okra, or gumbo, as it is invariably called in the South, figures very largely in Creole cooking, but here in the East is only just appearing in the markets. The demand is sure to grow rapidly, because it is one of those insidious articles which seem indispensable when once used. Soups, stews, gravies and innumerable made dishes are all improved by a little okra, and it is the basis of many special dishes. My household is fond of gumbo soup, so for that alone okra had to have a place in the garden, and now we use it in a dozen different ways. Cut into slices and spread alternately with rice and tomatoes in a casserole, with butter, in which curry-powder and salt has been mixed, dotted all over the top and baked for three hours, it is a deliciously savoury luncheon dish. But it is the growing, not the cooking, of this neglected vegetable that I have to do with just now. The ground for okra should be thoroughly enriched and well cultivated. Make a furrow about an inch deep, and if only a home supply is wanted, about thirty feet long. Sow the seeds two inches apart in rows and cover. Thin to eighteen inches apart when the seedlings are about two inches high. If more than one row is to be grown, make them two and a half feet apart. Okra is a semi-tropical plant, so is better not sown until the second week in May. Once started, it grows very rapidly, yields and continues a supply of pods throughout the season. The flowers are large and rather pretty, but only last a few hours; after they fall it takes about twelve hours for a pod to develop sufficiently for gathering. To be in perfect condition for cooking they should not be much more than an inch long. Any surplus quantity can be dried or canned for winter use. Sliced, they are a splendid addition to mixed pickles. Swiss chard is such a true cut-and-come-again that for home or market it is invaluable, and a poultry-keeper can find no better or cheaper green food for fowls that are yarded. The leaves and stalks are the edible part, and can be boiled like spinach or the stalks alone used. They are white and run the full length of the leaf. Cut them out and tie loosely; cook and serve just as you would asparagus. The new variety called “Lucullus” is, I think, the best. Make the ground very rich; sow in rows three feet apart, about the end of April or the first week in May. Thin the plants when they are about two inches high to stand eighteen inches apart. When used as spinach cut the leaves when they are ten inches high, but when the stalks are to simulate asparagus gathering should be delayed until they are about fourteen inches high. Then cut off the green part of the leaf, which can still be used as greens. No matter how the leaves are to be used or at what height the crop is cut, be very careful never to injure the heart of the plant, for if you do successive crops will be spoiled.