Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 12.djvu/292

280 280 HORTICULTURE [VEGETABLES. early, so as to be well established and come into use before winter. The head may be cut and used after the best of the little rosettes which feather the stem have been gathered ; but, if cut too early, it exposes these rosettes, which are the most delicate portion of the produce, to injury, if the weather be severe. The earliest sprouts become fit for use in November, and they continue good, or even improve in quality, till the month of March following. Van Mons mentions that by successive sowings the sprouts are obtained in Brussels for the greater part of the year. The most reliable crop is perhaps obtained from seed of the ordinary variety imported from Holland ; but good English-raised seed, represented by Carter s Perfection, may also be obtained. Scrymger s Giant is a vigorous dwarf kind. We doubt, however, the policy of planting dwarf kinds, as the taller ones with longer stems, if sufficiently vigorous, must yield a larger produce. In this place may be noted two hybrid sprouts, both raised by Mr Melville, at Dalmeny Park, near Edinburgh. They are the Albert Sprouts, a hardy green, long in running to seed, the result of a cross between the savoy and Brussels sprouts ; and the Dalmeny Sprouts, which grow 6 inches or 8 inches high, with a compactly cabbaged head of moderate size, and a stem thickly set with cabbage- like sprouts, a cross obtained between the cabbage and Brussels sprouts. Both may be grown in the same way as the borecoles. 148. The Cabbage, Brassica oleracea capitata, has sprung from the biennial B. oleracea of the British sea-coasts. The cabbage re quires a well-manured and well-wrought loamysoil. It should have abundant water in summer, liquid manure being specially beneficial. Round London, where it is grown in perfection, the ground for it is dag to the depth of two spades or spits, the lower portion being brought up to the action of the weather, and rendered available as food for the plants ; while, the top-soil, containing the eggs and larviB of many insects, being deeply buried, the plants are less liable to be attacked by the club. Farm-yard manure is that most suitable for the cabbage, but artificial manures such as guano, superphosphate of lime or gypsum, together with lime-rubbish, wood-ashes, and marl, may, if required, be applied with advantage. The first sowing of cabbage should be made about the beginning of March, and should consist of Nonpareil or Enfie.ld Market (also known as the Early Battersea) ; these will be ready for use in July and August, following the autumn-sown crops. Another sowing of the same sorts, or of the St John s Day, should be made in the last week of March or first week of April, and will afford a supply from August till November ; and a further crop of such sorts as Early York, Little Pixie, Atkins s Matchless, or other kinds that heart quickly, may be made in May to supply young-hearted cabbages in the early part of winter. The autumn sowing, which is the most important, and affords the supply for spring and early summer use, should be made about the last week in August, in warm localities in the south, and about a fortnight earlier in the north ; or, to meet fluctuations of climate, it is as well in both cases to anticipate this sowing by another two or three weeks earlier, planting out a portion from each, but the larger number from that sowing which promises best to stand without running to seed. The sorts should be Enfield Market, Nonpareil, or Winnigstadt. These later sown plants will be ready for transplanting by the end of September or early in October, and may be placed in the ground previously occu pied by the pea or bean crop. The cabbages grown late in autumn and in the beginningof winter are denominated Coleworts (vulg. Collards), from a kindred vege table no longer cultivated. Two sowings are made, in the middle of June and in July, and the seedlings are planted a foot or 15 inches asunder, the rows being 8 or 10 inches apart. The sorts employed are the Rosette and the Hardy Green. About London the large sorts, as Enfield Market, are planted for spring cabbages 2 feet apart each way ; but a plant from an earlier sowing is dibbled in between every two in the rows, and an inter mediate row a foot apart is put in between the permanent rows, these extra plants being drawn as coleworts in the course of the winter. The smaller sorts of cabbage may be planted 12 inches apart, with 12 or 15 inches between the rows. The large sorts should be planted 2 feet apart, with 2^ feet between the rows. The only culture required is to stir the surface with the hoe to destroy the weeds, and to draw up the soil round the stems. The Red Cabbage, Brassica oleracea capitata rubra, of which the Red Dutch is the most commonly grown, is much used for pickling. It is sown about the end of July, and again in March or April. The Dwarf Red and Utrecht Red are smaller sorts. The culture is in every respect the same as in the other sorts, but the plants have to stand until they form hard close hearts. The Couve Tronchuda or Portugal Cabbage, Brassica oleracea acephala costata, is of a distinct type and of excellent quality. The fleshy ribs of the leaves, cooked like sea-kale, are the only parts eaten. It is somewhat tender, and requires to be sown early in spring for use during the autumn. The names of the varieties of cabbage are very numerous, but, on comparing them at Chiswick, Mr Barron reduces the garden varieties to about seventeen types, the best of which are -.Early aorta : Atkins s Matchless. Early York, Little Pixie, Nonpareil, St John s Day. Mid-season : Enfield Market (Batter- sea or Fulham), Rosette Colewort, Wiunigstadt. Late sorts : Bacalan, Hardy Green Colewort, Pomeranian. See CABBAGE, vol. iv. p. 017. 149. The Capsicum is the produce of several species of the genus Capsi Capsicum cultivated for the sake of their pods, which in a green cum. state are used in salads and in pickles, and when ripe are powdered to form cayenne pepper. The pods, either green or ripe, are also used to make Chili vinegar. The Annual Capsicum, Spanish Pepper, or Guinea, Pepper, Cap sicum annunm, is the sort most commonly grown. The seeds should be sown in a hotbed in February, the young plants being transferred successively into 3-inch, 5-inch, and 8-inch pots. They require a warm genial atmosphere, and a light rich soil, and should be assisted with liquid manure or such artificial fertilizers as Clay s or Jackman s. In the south of England they may be grown in the open air, on a warm sunny border, if planted out towards the end of June. The fruit ripens in September, and may be kept two or three years in a dry room. The Bird Pepper, C. baccatum, and the Chili, C. frutescens, are both sub-shrubby plants, requiring stove heat. They should be grown in peaty soil, should not be over- potted, and should be kept dryish at the root in winter. The best cayenne pepper is prepared from C. frutescens, and C. baccatum is much relished by some persons. The Bell Pepper, C. grossum, and the Large Sweet Spanish, are milder in flavour than the other sorts, and are :nv,ch eaten in salads and also with cold meats. See CAYENNE PEPPER, vol. v. p. 280. 150. The Cardoon, Cynara Cardunculus, a perennial from the south Cardc of Europe and Barbary, is a near relation of the artichoke (par. 141). The edible part, called the chard, is composed of the blanched and crisp stalks of the inner leaves. Cardoons are found to prosper on light deep soils. The seed is sown annually about the middle of May, in shallow trenches, like those for celery, and the plants are thinned out to 10 or 12 inches from each other in the lines. In Scotland it is preferable to sow the seed singly in small pots, plac ing them in a mild temperature, and transplanting them into the trenches after they have attained a height of 8 or 10 inches. Water must be copiously supplied in dry weather, both to prevent the for mation of flower stalks and to increase the succulence of the leaves. In autumn the leaf-stalks are applied close to each other, and wrapped round with bands of hay or straw, only the points being left free. Earth is then drawn up around them to the height of 15 or 18 inches. Sometimes cardoons are blanched by a more thorough earthing up, in the manner of celery, but in this case the operation must be carried on from the end of summer. During severe frost the tops of the leaves should be defended with straw or litter. Besides the common and Spanish cardoons, there are the prickly-leaved Tours cardoon, the red-stemmed cardoon, and the Paris cardoon, all of superior quality, the Paris being the largest and most tender. The common artichoke is also used for the production of chard. 151. The Carrot, Daucus Carota, has been much improved and Carro transformed from the wild state; it is probably a native of the sea- coasts of southern Europe, but is now abundant throughout Europe and Asiatic Russia. The carrot delights in a deep sandy soil, which should be well drained and deeply trenched. In regard to the pre paration of the ground, one of our best northern gardeners has said &quot; Trench in autumn ; trench deep and lay the manure at the bot tom of the trench; in spring rake down, lay on an inch of wood ashes, and dig them lightly in.&quot; For the long-rooted sorts the soil should be at least 3 feet deep, but the Short Horn varieties may be grown in about 6 inches of good compost laid on the top of a less suitable soil. Peat earth may b;- usefully employed in lightening the soil. Good carrots of the larger sorts may be grown in unfavour able soils by making Lirgc holes 18 inches deep with a crowbar, and filling them up with sandy compost in which the seeds are to be sown. The main crop is sown at the end of March or beginning of April. After sowing, it is only necessary to thin the plants, and keep them clear of weeds. The roots are taken up in autumn and stored during winter in a cool shed or cellar. Forcing. For a supply of young carrots in winter, a hotbed com posed of 3 or 4 feet thick of leaves, or of 18 inches of dung, or of 2 feet of dung and leaves mixed, should be prepared about the end of November or beginning of December, and covered with a frame and lights. The bed should be surfaced with 8 or 9 inches of light soil, of which leaf -mould may form aconsiderable proportion, and the seed of Early Short Horn, Early Nantes, or French Forcing should be sown in drills 3 inches apart, and covered to the depth of ^ inch. The young plants should be thinned to H inches apart. The tem perature should range from 60 to 65, as much light and air being given as possible, but the sashes should be covered at night, espe cially in frosty weather. For succession sow again on a gentle hot bed under glass early in February, and follow this by another sowing on a warm sheltered south border early in March. The seed bed should be made up of light rich compost, in a situation well ex posed to the sun. If these quick-growing sorts are preferred, small successional sowings should be made in May and again in July, James s Intermediate being substituted at the last sowing. Where