In the Spring and Summer months the appetite craves fresh vegetables; and their free use, especially in those seasons, will be found excellent for the general health of the family. Spinach, for instance, is said to be beneficial in kidney complaints; Dandelion greens are good for biliousness; Tomatoes act upon the liver; Celery upon the nerves; Onion soup restores a debilitated stomach, etc., etc. In fact, it would be easy thus to go through the whole vegetable list and find each one possessing some special mission of healthfulness.

Where Early Vegetables Come From.

The Bermudas send annually about $400,000 worth of potatoes, onions, beets and tomatoes to New York, during the months of March, April and May. Florida garden produce finds its way North very early in the Spring, and later, in regular order, Georgia, South and North Carolina, and Virginia, wheel into line with their numerous productions, until, finally, our home gardeners have their season. During all this time our vegetables on sale are improving in freshness as they are drawn from sources nearer home, and prices are falling.

The Varieties.

Potatoes.—The heavier ones are more mealy and nutritious than those which are waxy and soft. There are many favorite varieties. Some are early but less mealy, others prolific but lacking in flavor, etc.—hence prices vary. Sweet Potatoes.—There are two varieties—the red and yellow—with but little difference in price. Cabbage.—A standard vegetable the year round; the heaviest are the best. Cauliflower, best from April to December; the large, creamy white, solid heads are preferred; dark or soft spots indicate staleness. Onions are very nutritious; their powerful odor is due to a strong smelling, volatile, sulphurized oil. There are the white or silver skinned, yellow and red. Spanish Onions are milder, and much eaten raw. Garlic, a pungent species of the onion tribe, and very healthful; used for flavoring. Leeks and Chives are allies of the onion. Leeks have large leaves, a thick stalk and small root; Chives, used as salads, have small, spine-like leaves. Carrots, Turnips, Beets and Parsnips are standard vegetables to be had throughout the year; frost improves the latter.

Asparagus.—A choice and health giving vegetable. Season begins in March, and it grows fibrous in July. Celery is improved by frost, and is in its prime and cheapest during the winter months, after which it becomes tougher and stringy. Cucumbers.—A pleasant, cooling vegetable, but difficult of digestion, and containing little nourishment. Tomatoes are excellent food for people with weak stomachs or liver difficulties; is a vegetable that could ill be spared. Millions of bushels are canned every year, and if properly put up are nearly as good as the fresh article. Peas.—The smaller varieties are best, should be purchased in the pods, which should be cool, crisp and green. A black spot on the pea indicates that it is too old to be at its best. Beans, shelled and string.—The former embrace the Lima sorts. The Neapolitan or snap is considered best of the String beans. Green Corn comes from the South in May, and the home supply lasts till October. Ears should be well filled and milky, and not too old. Green sweet corn is the best.

Rhubarb.—Much used for sauce and pies. The leaves are said to contain oxalic acid, and must not be eaten. Radish, said to be difficult of digestion itself, but helps to digest other food. There are two varieties, the small bulbous, or round, and the long. Artichoke, a tuber like the potato; is pickled, used as a salad and as a vegetable. Squash.—The summer squash is in market from April to September. Winter squash is more substantial but less delicate. Oyster Plant has a grassy top, and a long, tapering, white root like a carrot; its flavor suggests that of oysters. Egg Plant, called Guinea Squash at the South, should be firm, hard, and rather under ripe, it also tastes somewhat like an oyster; the large, purple, oval shaped, is the better variety. Okra or Gumbo.—The green seed pods are much esteemed for soups and stews, especially in the South, and are growing in favor at the North. The long green variety is considered best. Lettuce, Spinach, Brussels Sprouts, Kale, Beet-tops, Dandelion Leaves, ETC., are used as salads and for greens.

Melons.—Musk-melon, the stronger the musk odor, the finer it is; but if it appears quite ripe all over, it is over ripe and decomposing. If it has no odor, it is only fit for cattle. Water-melon, if pressed near its center, should yield a little, and the indentation disappear when the finger is removed. If no indent can be made, the melon is too green, if the depression remains, the melon is over ripe.

Beans, Peas, and Lentils.—These leguminous seeds are very nutritious and palatable, and rank high among strength-giving foods. They contain vegetable casein in place of gluten, and hence are not suitable for making bread; all these articles are more digestible if eaten with fat, and the American staple dish of Pork and Beans is really the marriage of two articles which agree very well with each other. Dried Peas, split, or ground into meal, are much used for soups. Lentils, which are round seeds like flattened peas, are excellent used as a vegetable, but are comparatively little known. The most popular varieties of the white beans are the Marrow, Kidney and Pea beans. There are also Frijoles or black beans, Lima beans, etc.

DRIED FRUITS.

The chief consideration with articles in this line is, that they should be as fresh as possible, and free from vermin and traces of vermin. Worms in dried fruits are never in sight, even though they may swarm below the surface. Dried Apples should be light colored, plump and acid. Evaporated fruit (by the Alden process, etc.) is preferred to sun-dried. It is often bleached in the fumes of sulphurous acid, which has a tendency to keep the fruit free from worms, and does not injure the flavor. Dried Peaches should be pealed, clear and dark. Dried Plums should be pitted, clear and bright. Dried Berries—the chief danger is from worms.

Raisins.

Raisins are dried grapes. The finest are the Dehesa “Layers;” next are the Cluster, or Bunch raisins, and the “Loose,” which are without stems. They are better in proportion to the number of crowns in the brand, as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Crowns. The small seedless raisins are called “Sultana,” and come from Smyrna. Valencias are the common cooking raisins. California Raisins (Muscatel) are excellent, very fast growing in popular favor, and are the coming summer raisin. The best raisins are of the “Last crop.” Age tends to crystallize the grape sugar in raisins, and they are also liable to the attacks of vermin.

Dried Currants are the small dried grapes of the Ionian Islands. The “Vostizza” come in cases, and are considered better in proportion as they are larger in size. There are a number of varieties of currants. They should be bright and clean.

Figs are said to be easier of digestion than any other dried sweet fruit, and are slightly laxative. “Eleme,” signifies superior, or hand picked. Generally the last crop “Layers” (as distinguished from those in kegs) are the best; they should be fresh, moist, thin skinned, semi-transparent, and free from vermin. There are many varieties, and they are put up in all sorts of packages.

Prunes are dried plums, or “French plums,” as they are sometimes called. They are extensively raised in the valley of the Loire, in France; also in Germany, and about Bosnia, in Turkey. California prunes are also excellent, and very popular wherever they are known. The largest and freshest prunes are the best. They come in bottles, tins, bags, boxes and casks.

Dates.—This “Bread of the Desert” is the sun-dried fruit of the date palm, and is both nourishing and palatable. Dates were formerly packed in frails, but now come usually in boxes. Among the best varieties of Persian and Egyptian dates are the “Hallowee” and the “Sair;” some are large, yellow, moist, and little wrinkled, others are smaller, dark in color, with small pits; some are very sweet and insipid, and others almost aromatic in flavor.

Tamarinds are the pods of a tree, growing in the East and West Indies, gathered when ripe, and preserved in sugar or molasses. They are acid, pleasant, healthful, and cooling. They come in bottles, stone jars and kegs.

NUTS.

Almonds are of two kinds, the sweet and bitter; the latter are only used for making extracts. Among the edible varieties are the Tarragona, Valencia, “Jordan,” a corruption of Jardin (garden), etc. There are hard, soft, and “paper shell” almonds, and almond meats freed from their shells. Filberts are cultivated hazel nuts and come mainly from Sicily. Pecans come from Texas. Walnuts from Italy, France, and Chili. Brazil Nuts grow along the Amazon in clusters on high trees. They are oily and rich. Peanuts come from Virginia, and Chestnuts from Italy and our own Northern States.