TUE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



uliitc beets, in supplying them with 

 abuiu'aiice of li([iiicl iiia:uirc, and if 

 they are earthed up in tlie same way 

 as celer}', the}" get delicately blanched, 

 and '.nay be oaten as asparagus. 



On allotment ground, mangold is al- 

 •wa\ s an important crop. There isno- 

 thiiigkeepssowcU, and when Swedesare 

 gone, it comes in famously as food 

 from JMarch to the beginning of May, 

 wlicnever hay is getting scanty, and 

 green food not yet fit for cutting. 

 There is never a difi'icult}' in finding a 

 market for it, and a man in the least 

 doubt about the croppingof an allotment, 

 is always on the safe side in setting 

 apart a large piece for this valuable 

 root. Unlike garden beet, this is 

 wanted as large and as heavy as it can 

 be got. The White Globe is a famous 

 sort for quick growth, the Long Red 

 is also a profitable sort ; indeed, they 

 are pretty much alike as to that, b\it 

 there is one point about the culture 

 that I must say a word upon for the 

 benefit of small farmers and cottagers 

 generally; it is this, that instead of 

 devoting a whole season to the growth 

 of mangold as they do in most places, 

 you have only to keep jour eyes very 

 wide open,' and your fingers quite nim- 

 ble to take a heavy crop of potatoes 

 off the ground before :he mangold is 

 put on it, and then the crop of the 

 latter will be first-rate. I see lots of 

 people who have been farming all their 

 lives, and have not got beyond one 

 crop of mangold a year, and nothing 

 else, and with deep loams too that 

 would grow anything. Whj', it is an 

 injustice to the nation, cramped up as 

 we are, thirt}' millions strong, oti a bit 

 of an island only just large enough for 

 Brobdignag to make one hop skYp and 

 jump upon, not to make three crops 

 every year off such ground. It would 

 only require additional manuring and 

 a little additional labour, and while a 

 few poor men would benefit at slack 

 times of the year, the farmer himself 

 might make his fortune, and " do the 

 state some service." In September 

 last year, I visited a valued friend, who 

 tills a pretty garden of thirty acres, on 

 which everything eatable is produced 

 in fine order, from melting fruits to 

 small salads. On the 7th of September I 

 went over the ground, and saw Swedes 



aid iniiiigjld as fine as my London 

 nLV'hh;):rs have it at that time, and 

 who take a whole year to produce it. 

 The Long Red beets measured gene- 

 rail}' from ten to thirteen inches in 

 girth, and were then growing at a 

 furious rate, and would, before taking 

 up, be splendid roots. Where they 

 stood, the land had yielded forty-fold 

 potatoes, at the rate of eighteen tons 

 per acre, and when the Swedes and 

 beets en me off it was made to carrj'' 

 colewortsor something that would keep 

 it going till potatoe-planting began 

 again. The potatoes were planted in 

 the last week of March, they came oflt 

 in the middle of June. In the mean- 

 time, a few seed beds in a sly corner 

 were occupied with the Swedes and 

 mangold sown on the first of June, 

 and as fast as the ground was cleared 

 of potatoes, these were planted out, 

 a pint of water given to every plant, 

 and, as I just said, on the 7th of Sep- 

 tember they were in fine condition. I 

 call that profitable gardening, and 

 commend the plan to all whom it may 

 concern. I should saj', however, that 

 this was £ nith of London on a fruitful 

 soil, but where are there not fruitful 

 soils that are kept only half at work? 



In the ordinary culture of Man- 

 gold, the soil should be rich, and salt 

 may be freely used as a manure. In 

 open field culture, where the land is 

 stubborn, the middle of April is the 

 best time to sow, but in allotment 

 grounds where the spade brings the 

 ground in good tilth, the first 

 week in May is the best time. The 

 drills should be thirty inches apart, 

 and the seed dropped in patches 

 of three or four, one foot apart, on 

 slightly elevated ridges, which should 

 be laid up with the spade in preparing 

 the ground. If some really good 

 guano is sown with the seed, at the 

 rate of three cwt. per acre, it will give 

 them a splendid start or, in the absence 

 of guano, get as much soot, charcoal- 

 dust, wood or coal-ashes, and any pow- 

 dery fertilizing stuff you can lay hands 

 on, and eke it out along the rows as 

 far as you can ; this will hurry them 

 out of the reach of slugs, which are 

 very fond of them. 



Ihe after culture is simple enough. 

 Thin the plants to a foot apart, and 



