Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 12.djvu/293

281 VEGETABLES.] HORTICULTURE 281 a little protection can be given by a frame in winter, some of the Early Short Horn may be sown in August for spring use. The following are good garden carrots -.Early : French Forcing, Early Xarites, Early Short Horn. Mid-season: James s Intermediate, Long Blunt Rod. Main Crop : Long Surrey, Altrincham. See AGRICULTURE, vol. i. p. 369. null- 152. The Caulifloivcr, Brassica oleracea botrytis cauliflora, is nver. said by our old authors to have been introduced from Cyprus, where, as well as on the Mediterranean coasts, it appears to have been cul tivated for ages. It is one of the most delicately flavoured of vege tables, the dense cluster formed by its incipient succulent flower- buds being the edible portion. The sowing for the first or spring crop, to be in use in May and June, should be made from the 15th to the 25th of August for Eng land, and from the 1st to the 15th of August for Scotland. In the neighbourhood of London the growers adhere as nearly as possible to the 21st day. A sowing to produce heads in July and August takes place in February on a slight hotbed. A late spring sowing to produce cauliflowers in September or October or later, should be made early in April, and another about the 20th of May. The cauliflower succeeds best in a rich soil and sheltered position ; but, to protect the young plants in winter, they are sometimes pricked out in a warm situation at the foot of a south wall, and in severe weather covered with hoops and mats. A better method is to plant them thickly under a garden frame, securing them from cold by cover ings, and giving air in mild weather. For a very early supply, a few scores of plants may be potted and kept under glass during winter, and planted out in spring, defended with a hand-glass. Sometimes patches of three or four plants on a south border are sheltered by hand-glasses throughout the winter. It is advantageous to prick out the spring-sown plants into some sheltered place, before they are finally transplanted in May. The later crop, the transplanting of which may take place at various times, is treated like early cab bages. After planting, all that is necessary is to hoe the ground, and draw r up the soil about the stems. It is found that cauliflowers ready for use. in October may be kept in perfection over winter. For this purpose they are lifted carefully with the spade, keeping a ball of earth attached to the roots. Some of the large outside leaves are removed, and any points of leaves that immediately overhang the flower are cut oil. They are then placed either in pots or in hotbed frames, the plants being arranged close together, but without touching. In mild dry weather the glass frames are drawn off, but they are kept close during rain storms ; and in severe frost they are thickly covered with mats. The late Mr Barnes of Bictou informs us in the Gardeners Maga zine that his cauliflowers for spring are sown the first week of October, in pans, in a little bottom heat ; and about the end of the month, or the beginning of November, are potted into 3-inch pots, and plunged close to the glass. The plants are kept shifted on in some old melon-bed mould until the beginning of January, when they are shiftc l finally into 7-inch pots. In the first week in Feb ruary the ground is prepared. If wet, a little of the soil is taken out where each hand-glass is to stand, and replaced with dry dusty rubbish, in order to prevent the cauliflowers from getting the disease of &quot;blacklegs.&quot; Four plants are turned out under each hand-glass. If the weather proves dry, a liquid manure, consisting of ^ lb of nitrate of soda to 1 hogshead of cow-dung water, with the addition of a few gallons of hot water, is applied, which causes the plants to grow in March as in May, and produce fine cauli flowers early in April. Mr Barnes states that by shifting on the plants until they are in 12-inch pots, and then placing them in a vinery or peach-house, he has had cauliflowers early in March. Some of the host varieties of cauliflower are the Walcheren, which, if true, is of excellent quality, and the most generally useful for autumn ; Dwarf Erfurt, which is very dwarf and early, and good for summer and early autumn use ; Early London, rather tall, hut with a fine compact curd ; Le- normand s, a second early ; Snowball, dwarf, compact, and quick-heading ; and Veitch s Autumn Giant, which is an excellent hardy sort for autumn. eriac. 153. The Cdcriac, Apium gravcolens rapaceum, the celcri-navct of the French, is a variety of celery in which the stem forms an irregular knob, which is the part used, either sliced in salads or cooked. It is a hardy substitute for other kinds of celery. The roots grow to 3 tb or 4 It) weight. The plants should be reared like tho.se of celery; and, some time before winter sets in, they should be taken up and stored amongst sand in a shed or cellar. 1 -ry. 154. The Celery, Apium graveolens, has been so much improved by cultivation as to have lost its ac. id deleterious properties, and is now a stout succulent plant, with a mild and agreeable flavour, and in the finer varieties with the stalks solid instead of hollow and pipy. The blanched portions only should, however, be used. Celery is usually sown at three different times, on a hotbed in the beginning of March, and in the open ground in March, and again in April. The seedlings, when about 2 inches high, are pricked into rich soil, in which they arc allowed to stand till they are 4 or 5 inches high. The first crop is defended by frames or hand-glasses, and is planted wide to admit of being lifted with balls of earth adhering to the roots. Towards the end of May trenches for blanching the celery are prepared 3^- or 4 feet apart, 15 inches wide at the bottom, and about a foot below the natural level of the surface. The soil at the bottom of the trench is to be carefully dug and manured, and a single row of plants placed in each trench. Sometimes, where a large supply is required, the trenches are made 6 feet wide, and rows 15 or 18 inches apart are planted across the trenches. As the plants advance in growth, earth is laid up about the stalks of the leaves, and this is repeated at the end of every ten or fifteen days. Many delay the earthing-up until the plants have nearly attained their full size, when the operation is performed at once ; but it is better to commence the earthing-up when the crop is half-grown, and to complete it by adding a little more soil at short intervals. Successional crops should be planted out from the 1st of June till the 1st of August. Celery loves a rich light soil, and will bear to be flooded with water at the root while growing. The varieties of celery include some with red stalks and some with white. The latter, as they blanch more perfectly than the red, are sometimes pre ferred, but the red varieties blanch to a very delicate pink, and are generally better flavoured. Some of the best varieties are : Whites : Early Dwarf Solid White (Incomparable White), Williams s Matchless White, Wright s Grove White. Reds: Leicester Red (Major Clarke s Solid), Ivery s Nonesuch, Sul- ham Prize Pink, Williams s Matchless Red. See CELERY, vol. v. p. 290. 155. The Chicory or Succory, Cichorium Inty bus, is much esteemed Chicory. by the French as a winter salad, and when blanched is known by the name of Barbe dc Capiicin. When intended for winter use, it is sown in May or June, commonly in drills, and the plants are thinned out to 4 inches apart. If at first the leaves grow very strong, they are cut off, perhaps in the middle of August, about an inch from the ground, so as to promote the production of new leaves, and check the formation of flower-stems. About the beginning of October the plants are raised from the border, and all the large leaves cutoff; the roots are also shortened, and they are then planted pretty closely together in boxes filled with rich light mould, and watered when needful. When frost comes on, the boxes are pro tected by any kind of litter or haulm. As the salad is wanted, they are removed into some place having a moderately increased tempera ture, and where there is no light. Each box affords two crops of blanched leaves, and these are reckoned fit for cutting when about 6 inches long. Another mode of obtaining the young leaves of this plant in winter is to sow seeds in a bed of light rich mould, or in boxes in a heat of from 55 to 60, giving a gentle watering as required. The leaves will be fit to cut in a fortnight after sowing, and the plants will afford a second crop. In Belgium a variety of chicory called Witlocfis much preferred as a salad to the French Barle de Capucin. The seeds are sown and the plants thinned out like those of the ordinary sort. They are eventually planted in light soil, in succession, from the end of October to February, at the bottom of trenches a foot or more in depth, and covered over with from 2 to 3 feet of hot stable manure. In a month or six weeks, according to the heat applied, the heads are fit for use, and should be cut before they reach the manure. The plants might easily be forced in frames on a mild hotbed, or in a mushroom-house, in the same way as sea-kale. The sorts cultivated are the Common, the Improved, and the Witloef. That grown for mixing with coffee is a variety with larger fleshy roots. See CHICORY, vol. v. p. G14. 156. The Chives, Allium Schcenoprasum, is a hardy perennial, Chives, found in the North of England and in Cornwall, and growing in rocky pastures throughout temperate and northern Europe and Asiatic Russia, and also in the mountain districts of southern Europe. It is cultivated for the sakeof its leaves, which are used in salads and soups as a substitute for young onions. It will grow in any good soil, and is propagated by dividing the roots into small clumps in spring or autumn ; these are planted from 8 to 12 inches apart, and soon form large tufts. The leaves should be cut frequently so as to obtain them tender and succulent. 157. The Com- Salad or Lamb s Lettuce, Valerianella olitoria, is a Corn- weedy annual, native of southern Europe, but naturalized in corn- salad, fields in central Europe, and not un frequent iti Britain. In France it is used in salads during winter and spring as a substitute for lettuces, but it is less esteemed in England. The plant is raised from seed sown on a bed or border of light rich earth, and should be weeded and watered, as occasion requires, till winter, when it should be protected with long litter during severe frost. The largest plants should be drawn for use in succession. Sowing may bo made every two or three weeks from the beginning of August till October, and again in March, if required in the latter part of the spring. The sorts principally grown are the Round-leaved and the Italian, which last is sometimes referred to Valerianella eriocarpa. 158. The Cress, or Garden Cress, Lepidium sativum, is an annual Cress. plant, native of western Central Asia. It is used in salads, the young plants being cut and eaten while still in the seed-leaf, form ing, along with plants of the white mustard in the same stage of growth, what is commonly called &quot;small salad.&quot; The seeds should be sown thickly broadcast or in rows in succession every ten or fourteen days, according to the demand. The sowings may be made in the open ground from March till October, the earliest under hand-classes, and the summer ones in a cool moist situation ; but XIT - 76