210 THE GARDENER. [May 



Protecting Autumn Variety, wliicli conies into use in November and 

 December, and is an excellent sort for succeeding Veitch's Autumn 

 Cauliflower, which is closely foUowed by Osborn's Winter White, 

 which in its turn is followed by Carter's j\Iammoth Spring White ; 

 and this is finally succeeded by Sutton's Late Queen, which comes in 

 from the middle of April until the end of May. This variety is one 

 of the hardiest of all Broccoli, and it, together with the first-named, 

 are our favourites in this section of vegetables, and should be included 

 in all Broccoli lists. In most cases Broccoli seed will have been sown 

 by this time. Where all has not been put in, no time should now be 

 lost in completing the operation. The seed is best sown in beds 

 broadcast, but not too thick. Our beds for all plants of the kind are 

 generally made on one of the kitchen-garden borders, from 12 to 20 

 feet in width. If a very small quantity is sown, it may be put into 

 a drill along the bottom of a wall, or any such place. Under such a 

 system, the drill may be from 1 to 2 inches deep ; but the seed 

 should not be covered quite so much as this, whether in drills or 

 broadcast. Birds and slugs are always eager to destroy the young 

 plants when in a small state, and it is sometimes necessary to put a 

 piece of net over the seed immediately after sowing to keep birds off; 

 and other pests may generally be kept away by sprinkling a little 

 soot and lime over the surface. When once the plants are fairly 

 through the ground, they will push on rapidly ; and if the seed was 

 sown thick, and germinated well, they will be too crowded to 

 remain in the seed-ground until finally planted. In such cases they 

 should be carefully thinned out as soon as they have formed two or 

 three rough leaves, and dibbled into some good piece of ground, from 

 3 to 4 inches apart. This transplanting may cause them to fall a 

 little behind those in the seed-bed in growth, but they will form a 

 succession, and all will be converted into sturdy healthy plants by 

 the operation. Some may be ready for planting in their permanent 

 quarters by the end of May, others during June ; and those which 

 were given plenty of room at transplanting time may be retained until 

 July, if necessary, to fill up space then rendered vacant by removing 

 other early crops. 



The time of sowing or planting does not influence the time of head- 

 ing very much. This is entirely guided by variety. For instance, 

 were Veitch's and Sutton's varieties, recommended above, both sown 

 on the same day in April, the former would head in November, 

 the latter five months afterwards. I merely state this simple fact, as 

 the question is frequently asked by amateurs how Broccoli are got in 

 for such a time in succession. The extent of most kitchen-gardens 

 is barely sufficient to produce all that is required from them, by only 

 taking one crop off the ground in the year. Two crops, and 

 sometimes three, are not too many in some cases; and in such 

 gardens Broccoli has seldom a piece of ground set apart for it exclu- 



