Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 12.djvu/299

287 VEGETABLES.] HORTICULTURE 287 being at once covered with litter, which should not be removed till the plants come up, and then only in the daytime, and when there is no frost. If the crop succeeds, which depends on the state of the weather, it will be in use about the beginning of March. Another sowing may be made in January, a third early in February, if the season is a favourable one, and still another towards the end of February, from which time till October a small sowing should be made, every- fortnight or three weeks in spring, and rather more frequently during summer. About the end of October, and again in November, a late sowing may bo made on a south border or bank, the plants being protected in severe weather with litter or mats. The winter radishes, which grow to a large size, should be sown in the beginning of July and in August, in drills from 6 to 9 inches apart, the plants being thinned out to 5 or 6 inches in the row. The roots become fit for use during the autumn. For winter use they should be taken up before severe frost sets in, and stored in dry sand. Forcing. To obtain early radishes a sowing should be made about the beginning of November, and continued fortnightly till the middle or cud of February ; the crop will generally be iit for use about six weeks after sowing. The seed should be sown in light rich soil, 8 or 9 inches thick, on a moderate hotbed, or in a pit with a temperature of from 55 to 65. Gentle waterings must be given, and air admitted at every favourable opportunity ; but the sashes must be protected at night and in frosty weather with straw mats or other materials. Some of these crops are often grown with forced potatoes. The best forcing sorts are Wood s Early Frame, and the Early Rose Globe, Early Dwarf-top Scarlet Turnip, and Early Dwarf-top White Turnip. Those best suited for general cultivation are the following : Spindle-rooted: Long Scarlet, including the sub-varieties Scarlet Short- top, Early Frame Scarlet, and Wood s Early Frame ; Long Scarlet Short-top, best for general crop. Turnip-rooted ; Early Rose Globe-shaped, the earliest of all ; Early Dwarf- top Scarlet Turnip, and Early Dwarf-top White Turnip; Earliest Erfurt Scarl. t, and Early White Short-leaved, both very early sorts ; French Break fast, olive-shaped ; Red Turnip, and White Turnip, for summer crops. Winter sorts : Black Spanish, White Chinese, Californiati Mammoth. ipion. 182. The Ranqyion, Campanula Rapnnculus, is a tap-rooted biennial, native or naturalized in the south of England, and found on banks and -in pastures in central and southern Europe, extend ing to the Caucasus. The white fleshy roots, known as &quot; ramps,&quot; are used raw as a salad, or boiled like asparagus. It is but little cultivated in England. The seed, which is very minute, and should be mixed with sand before sowing to secure even distribution, is sown in drills 6 to 8 inches apart, about the end of* May or beginning of June, in deeply worked ground, and in a cool situation, and the young plants are merely to be thinned and kept clear of weeds. The roots, which somewhat resemble small radishes, will be fit for use about November, and on the approach of frost, if taken up and stored in sand, they will keep fresh and firm till spring. &amp;gt;arb. 183. The Rhubarb of gardens is derived from different species of Rheum, especially R. Rnaponticum and R. undulatum. The parts chiefly utilized are the fleshy foot-stalks of the leaves, which are much used for preserves, puddings, and tarts, as well as for stew ing. Rhubarb requires an open situation and a rich deep soil, which should be well manured, and prepared by deep trenching. To form a plantation, divisions of the old roots, each provided with a bud or crown, should be put in early in spring, the crown being set about 2 inches below the surface. They should stand 3 to 4 feet apart each way, according to the habit of the variety. The plants will afford a supply in the following spring. It is desirable to renew the plantation in the course of four or five years, shifting to new ground. When gathering the crop, the leaf-stalks should be bent downwards, and pulled off sideways, not cut. The flower-stems should be cut oif as soon as they make their appearance, in order to strengthen the root. Established sorts must be increased by division, as seedlings do not reproduce the variety. Rhubarb may, however, be grown from seeds a flower stem or two being allowed to grow up for the purpose of producing them. The seeds should be sown on a slight hotbed in spring, and transplanted out in rows in the month of May, no stalks being gathered from them for the first two years. Forcing. Rhubarb may be forced in a variety of ways for early or winter use ; it may have a pot or box set over the crown and covered up by warm litter, dung, or leaves like sea-kale ; or the roots may be taken up, potted, and set into any forcing-house at work, the crowns being kept in the dark so as to blanch the stalks ; or they may be planted closely in long narrow boxes of moderate depth, and set in a mushroom-house or cellar, where there is a considerable temperature. The rhubarb will soon throw up its stalks, and these, being partially etiolated, possess a delicacy and flavour superior to those grown in the open air. It is easy, by varying the time of subjecting the boxes to the increased tempera ture, to keep up a succession of rhubarb stalks, from the period at which kitchen apples become scarce or begin to lose their flavour, till green gooseberries come into season. The favourite old sorts of rhubarb were the Tobolsk and the Elford or Buck s; the latter comes from R. undulatum, and is one of the best in flavour, as well as of a fine red colour. Other good sorts of more modern date are Mitchell s Royal Albert, Dancer s Early Scarlet, Myatt s Linnaeus, and Myatts Victoria, the last a large-growing thick-stalked kind, the others being all earlier sorts. Johnson s St Martin s and Salt s Crimson Perfection are also favourite kinds ; and Stott s Monarch grows to a very large size. 184. The Rocambole, Allium Scorodoprasnm, is a hardy bulbous Rocanv perennial, occurring in a wild state in sandy pastures and waste bole, places throughout Europe, but not common in the south ; in Britain it is found chiefly in the north of England and the south of Scotland. The plant is grown for the sake of its bulbs, which are smaller and milder than those of garlic, and consist of several cloves chiefly produced at the roots. The cloves should be planted about the end of February or in March, and treated like the garlic or shallot. When mature, the bulbs should be taken up, dried, and stored for use. 185. The Salsafy (or Salsify], Tragopogon porrifolius, is a hardy Salsf.fy. biennial, with long cylindrical fleshy esculent roots, which, when properly cooked, are extremely delicate and wholesome ; it occurs in meadows and pastures in the Mediterranean region, and, in Britain, is confined to the south of England. The salsafy requires a free rich deep soil, which should be trenched in autumn, the manure used being placed at two spades depth from the surface. The first crop should be sown in March, and the main crop in April, in rows a foot from each other, the plants being afterwards thinned to 8 inches apart. In November f he whitish roots should be taken up and stored in sand for immediate use, others being secured in a similar way during intervals of mild weather. 186. The Savoy, Brassica oleracea bullata major, is a near ally of Savoy, the cabbage, but .has bullate or blistered leaves ; it is more hardy, and, except in very severe seasons, instead of suffering is rather im proved in flavour by frost. The savoys come into use in autumn, and continue until the spring. The early crop should be sown in February, the main crop about the middle of March, and a month afterwards the latest crop. The rows of the smaller sorts.should be 1 j inches, and those of the larger ones 2 feet, apart. The best sorts of savoys for garden culture are : Tours, early and hardy ; TJlm, early, but not so hardy ; Little Pixie, small, early, and good; Dwarf Green Curled, best for a general crop; Golden, handsome and excellent. The large Drumhead savoy is more suitable for field culture, unless bulk of produce is required. 187. The Scorzonera,, Scorzonera hispanica, is a hardy perennial, Pcor- a native of Spain, but cultivated in gardens for its fleshy cylindri- zonera. cal roots, which resemble those of salsafy except in being black out side, and which are used in the same manner. They should be treated in every respect like salsafy (par. 185). 188. The Sea-kale, Crambe maritima, is a hardy perennial, grow- .Sea-kale, ing spontaneously along the coasts of England, of Ireland, and of the Scotch lowlands, along the western coasts of Europe, and on the Baltic, reappearing on the Black Sea. Sea-kale prefers a light dry soil, and when manure is necessary it should consist of sea-weed or well-rotted dung ; or a dressing of salt or of nitrate of soda may be given. When it is raised from seeds, they should be sown in March or April in rows a foot asunder, the plants being thinned to 6 inches apart. In the following March these should be planted out in trenched well-prepared ground, 2 feet asunder, in rows 2 to 3 feet apart. The top with the crown buds should be cut off before planting to prevent them from running up to seed. In the spring of the second year the young shoots if blanched will be fit for use, and therefore the summer growth should in every way be promoted by the use of water and liquid mam;re. Tolerably blanched stalks may be produced by plants only nine months old from- the seed, and after two summers seedling plants will have acquired sufficient strength for general cropping. The seeds, instead of being sown in rows and transplanted, may be deposited in patches of three or four together, where they are to remain. In the autumn, after the leaves have been cleared off, the ground should be forked up, and 6 or 8 inches depth of leaves or of light sandy soil laid over the plants, by either of which means they will be bla nched, though not forced. The blanched sprouts should be cut for use whilst they are crisp, compact, and from 3 to 6 inches in length, the stem being cut quite down to the base. Sea-kale beds may be made equally well from cuttings of tlu roots, the extremities of the roots, technically called &quot;thongs,&quot; being the parts best adapted for this purpose. They should be taken up in autumn, cut into lengths of about 4 inches, and laid aside in a heap of sand or earth till spring, when they should be planted out like the seedlings. Cuttings should not be taken from any but very healthy plants. Forcing. Sea-kale may be forced in the open beds by the aid oi sea-kale pots or covers, which are large enough to cover a plant, contracted a little at top, with a movable lid or cover. In the autumn the stalks are cut over, the decayed leaves removed, the ground loosened about the eyes, and a thin stratum of coal-ashes mixed with salt laid on the surface to keep down earth-worms. One of the earthenware pots or covers, or failing these a large inverted flower-pot, is placed over eacli plant or each patch of plants, and