Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 12.djvu/297

285 VEGETABLES.] HORTICULTURE 285 season. The ground should be light and rich, and the situation warm and sheltered. Sow thickly in rows 6 inches apart, and slightly cover the seed, pressing the surface smooth with the back of the spade. When gathering the crop, cut the young plants off even with the ground, or pull them up and cut oil the roots, commencing at one end of a row. From October to March the seeds should be sown thickly in shallow boxes and placed in a warm house or frame, with a temperature not below 65. 172. The Nasturtium, or Indian Cress, Tropfeolum majus, is a perennial climber, native of Peru, but in cultivation treated as a hardy annual. The flowers are sometimes eaten in salads, and are used for garnishing, and the leaves and young green fruits are pickled in vinegar as a substitute for capers. The plant should have a warm situation, and the soil should be light and well enriched ; sow thinly early in April, either near a fence or wall, which may be utilized for its support, or in an open spot, where it will require stakes 6 to 8 feet high. Its flowers are no less ornamental than useful. 173. The New Zealand Spinach, Tetragonia expansa, is a half- hardy annual, native of New Zealand, sometimes used as a sub stitute for spinach during the summer months, but in every way inferior to it. The seeds should be sown in March, on a gentle hotbed, having been previously steeped in water for several hours. The seedlings should be potted, and placed under a frame till the end of May, and should then be planted out, iu light rich soil. The young leaves are those which are gathered for use, a succession being produced during summer and autumn. 174. The Onion, Allium Cepa, is a hardy bulbous biennial, which has been cultivated in Britain from time immemorial, but the native country of which is unknown. The onion should be grown in an open situation, and on a light, rich, well-worked soil, which has not been recently manured. The principal crop may be sown at any time from the middle of February to the middle of March, if the weather is fine and the ground sufficiently dry. The seed should be sown in shallow drills, 10 inches apart, the ground being made as level and firm as possible, and the plants should bo regularly thinned, hoed, and kept free from weeds. At the final thinning they should be set from 3 to 6 inches apart, the latter distance in very rich soil. About the beginning of September the crop is ripe, which is known by the withering of the leaves ; the bulbs are then to l)e pulled, and exposed on the ground till well dried, and they are then to be put away in a store-room or loft, where they may be perfectly secured from frost and damp. About the end of August a crop is sown to afford a supply of young onions in the spring months. Those which are not required for the kitchen, if allowed to stand, and if the flower-bud is picked out on its first appearance, and the earth stirred about them, fre quently produce bulbs equal in size and quality to the large ones that are imported from the Continent. A crop of very large bulbs may also be secured by sowing about the beginning of September, and transplanting early in spring to very rich soil. Another plan is to sow in May on dry poor soil, when a crop of small bulbs will be produced ; these are to be stored in the usual way, and planted in rich soil about February, on ground made firm by treading, in rows about a foot apart, the bulbs being set near the surface, and about 6 inches asunder. The &quot;White Spanish and Tripoli are good sorts for this purpose. To obtain a crop of bulbs for pickling, seed should be sown thickly in March, in rather poor soil, the seeds being very thinly covered, and the surface well rolled ; these are not to be thinned, but should be pulled and harvested when ripe. The best sorts for this crop are the Silver-skinned, Early Silver-skinned, Nocera, and Queen. Forcing. Onions may be forced like mustard and cress if required for winter salads, the seeds being sown thickly in boxes which are to be placed in a warm house or frame. The young onions are of course pulled while quite small. The Potato Onion, Allium Cepa aggregatum, is propagated by the lateral bulbs, which it throws out, under ground, in considerable numbers. This variety is very prolific, and is useful when other sorts do not keep well. It is sometimes planted about midwinter, and then ripens in summer, but for use during the spring and early summer it is best planted in spring. It is also known as the underground onion, from its habit of producing its bulbs beneath the surface. The Tree Onion or Egyptian Onion, Allium Cepaproliferum, pro duces small bulbs instead of flowers, and a few offsets also under ground. These small stem bulbs are excellent for pickling. The Welsh Onion or CibouJe, Allium fistulosum, is a hardy perennial, native of Siberia. It forms no bulbs, but, on account of its extreme hardiness, is sown in July or early in August, to furnish a reliable supply of young onions for use in salads during the early spring. These bulbless onions are sometimes called Scallions, a name which is also applied to old onions which have stem and leaves but no bulbs. The following are among the best varieties of onions for various purposes : For summer and autumn. Queen ; Early White Naples : these two sorts are also excellent for sowing in autumn for spring salading. Silver- skinned ; Tripoli, including Giant Kocca. For winter. Thrown Globe, including Magnum Bonum ; White Globe ; Yellow Danvers ; White Spanish, in its several forms ; Trebons, the finest variety for autumn sowing, attaining a large size early, ripening well, and keeping good till after Christmas ; Strasburg (Deptford) ; Wcuthurstield Ked ; Blood Ked, strong-llavoured. For pickliny. Queen, Early Silver-skinned, White Nocera, Egyptian. 175. The Orach or Mountain Spinach, Atriplex hortcnsis, native Orach, of Tartary, is a tall-growing hardy annual, whose leaves, though coarsely flavoured, are used as a substitute for spinach, and to cor rect the acidity of sorrel. The White and the Green are the most desirable varieties. The plant should be grown quickly in rich soil. It may be sown in rows 2 feet apart, and about the same distance in the row, about March, and for succession again in June. If need ful, water must be freely given, so as to maintain a rapid growth. 176. The Oxalis crcnata, Oca of the South Americans, is a Oxalis tuberous-rooted half-hardy perennial, native of Peru. Its tubers are crenata comparatively small, and somewhat acid ; but if they be exposed to the sun from six to ten days, they become sweet and floury. In the climate of England they can only be grown by starting them in heat in March, and planting out in June in a light soil and warm situation. They grow freely enough, but few tubers are formed, and these of small size. The fleshy stalks, which have the acid flavour of the family, may, however, be used in the same way as rhubarb for tarts. The leaves may be eaten in salads. It is easily propa gated by cuttings of the stems, or by means of sets like the potato. 177. The Oxalis Deppei, a bulbous perennial, native of Mexico, Oxalis has scaly bulbs, from which are produced fleshy, tapering, white, Deppei semi-transparent roots, about 4 inches in length, and 3 to 4 inches in diameter. They strike down into the soil, which should therefore be made light and rich with abundance of decayed vegetable matter. The bulbs should be planted about the end of April, 6 inches apart, in rows 1 foot asunder, being only just covered with soil, and having a situation with a southern aspect. The roots should be dug up before they become affected by frost, but if protected they will con tinue to increase in size till November. When taken up, the bulbs should be stored in a cool dry place for replanting, and the roots for use. The roots are gently boiled with salt and water, peeled and eaten like asparagus with melted butter and the yolks of eggs, or served up like salsafy and scorzonera with white sauce. 173. The Parsnip, Pastinaca sativa, is a hardy biennial, found in I arsni] temperate regions. Its long tapering fleshy whitish nutritious roots have a peculiar but agreeable flavour. It succeeds best on a free sandy loam, which should be trenched and manured in the previous autumn, the manure being well buried. The seed should be sown thinly in March, in rows, 18 inches apart, and finally thinned out to 1 foot apart. The leaves will decay in October or November, when a portion of the roots may be taken up and stored in dryisn sand for immediate use, the rest being left in the ground, to be taken up as required, but the whole should be removed by Feb ruary to a dry cool place, or they will begin to grow. The best sorts are the Hollow- crowned, the Maltese, and the Student. 179. The Pea, Pisum sativum, is a hardy annual, climbing by Pea. means of the tendrils of its leaves, and has been cultivated from time immemorial. The seeds or pulse are very nutritious, whether eaten green or ripe, and those of the early crops are esteemed as luxuries. The pea prefers a friable calcareous loam, deeply worked, and well enriched with good hotbed or farm-yard manure. The early crops require a warm sheltered situation, but the later are better grown 6 or 8 feet apart, or more, in the open quarters, dwarf crops being in troduced between the rows. The dwarf or early sorts may be sown 3 or 4 feet apart. The deep working of the soil is of importance, lest the plants should suffer in hot dry weather from mildew or arrest of growth. The first sowing should be made about the beginning or middle of November, in front of a south wall, the plants being defended by spruce fir branches or other spray throughout the winter. In February sowings are sometimes made in flower-pots or boxes, and the young plants afterwards planted out. The main crop should be sown towards the end of February, and moderate sowings should be made twice a month afterwards, up to the beginning of July for the north, and about the third week in July for warmer districts. During dry hot weather late peas derive great benefit from mulching and watering. The latest sowings, at the middle or end of August, should consist of the best early sorts, as they are not so long in producing pods as the larger and finer sorts, and by this means the supply may be prolonged till October or November. As they grow up the earth is drawn to the steins, which are also supported by stakes, a practice which in a well-kept garden is always advisable, although it is said that the early varie ties arrive sooner at maturity when recumbent. Where space permits, all the taller sorts are best sown ia single rows at wide intervals of 20 or 30 feet. Peas grown late in autumn are subject to mildew, to obviate which Mr Knight proposed to dig over the ground in the usual way, and to soak the spaces to be occupied by the rows of peas thoroughly with water, the earth on each side to be then collected so as to form ridges 7 or 8 inches high, these ridges being well watered,