Page:The family kitchen gardener - containing plain and accurate descriptions of all the different species and varieties of culinary vegetables (IA familykitchengar56buis).pdf/134

 grow stocky and strong. Transplant about the 20th of May, two feet from plant to plant and three feet from row to row, where they are to remain. The frame in which the Cabbage plants were during Winter, is an excellent spot for these seeds, which may be sown as soon as they are removed, in March. Protect with mats and shutters in cold weather. The seed grows best when it is only very slightly covered. Although great care is taken for its early protection, it is of a very hardy nature, and will lie dormant in the ground all Winter, vegetating in the Spring, as the season advances. In some seasons there is a caterpillar very destructive to the vines, against which the only remedy is picking them off as soon as they appear. For the proper culture of this crop, it is indispensable to have rich ground. That whereon the Winter Spinach was grown will suit, if in good heart.

Truffle is a subterraneous fungus, growing naturally some inches below the surface, in some parts of Italy, France, and even Great Britain. We do not suppose that its cultivation has been attempted in this country, neither are we intimately acquainted with the process of its culture. It has been successfully grown by several individuals in England, who procured the Truffle from where it was found growing, laying it in a somewhat similar situation, either in the vicinity of woods or in the open field. It is a very singular production, combining (in the opinion of naturalists) a flavor of both flesh and vegetable. It is of a globular formation, about the size of a hen’s egg, without any roots or fibres. It is sometimes seen of a dark brown color, while at other times it is of a whitish appearance. The surface is uneven and rough, the flesh firm—white when young, but as it becomes old, it approaches