NOTES IN THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 



opens it commences to grow, and the leaves are fit in a week after to cut for boiling. It is 

 cooked and served up just like any other kind of " greens," and is something in flavor, 

 between cauliflowers and asparagus — very excellent. The seeds are planted broadcast, 

 like turneps, in August and September, and twenty feet square will supply a family. It 

 is emphatically a poor man's vegetable, requiring so little attention, and affording so much 

 food; it will hold its place in the best garden where it is once afforded a trial. 



Sea Kale. — I think this is a vegetable too seldom seen in this country. I do not re- 

 member to have found it for sale in any of the city markets more than once or twice. I 

 suppose this is because it demands a little attention in the .spring, and besides, it does not 

 yield so large crops as asparagus. The flavor is, however, more delicate to my taste than 

 asparagus, and as it has the merit of being more of a novelty, the gardener should always 

 have a bed of it about twelve by twenty or thirty feet. It wants deep, rich soil, like as- 

 paragus, and beds made in the same way, answer well for sea kale. Sandy soil is the most 

 congenial to it. To make beds of sea kale, sow the seeds in April, and thin them out, 

 when well growing, so as to leave them about twelve inches apart. In the autumn cover 

 the beds with a little manure, and over this spread three or four inches of black bog earth 

 that has been well pulverized; or, if you have it at hand, tan bark will answer equally as 

 well — charcoal dust is still better. Through this layer, the young shoots will rise in the 

 spring, and force their way up in a blanched state. The}^ are then ready for cutting and 

 cooking, as the sea kale, like celery, must be blanched. When you have cut over the bed 

 twice, remove the loose materials, except the manure, which, (with the addition of a 

 slight sprinkling of refuse salt,) msLj be lightl)^ turned under. The plants then grow all 

 summer, and at the end of autumn the blanch covering should be again renewed. Consi- 

 dering how much importance every body seems to attach to the asparagus bed, it is sur- 

 prising how little sea kale is known. I am sure if one half the ground usually devoted to 

 asparagus, were occupied by a permanent bed of sea kale, it would give more variety, and 

 more satisfaction, at the dinner table. 



Salsify, or the "vegetable oyster," as its admirers call it, is now pretty generally cul- 

 tivated, and a limited supply of it may be had in many of our markets. It is as easily 

 raised as parsnips, if the seeds are planted early in April, in the same way — but it should 

 have a place in the richest part of the garden. As the salsify is an excellent winter vege- 

 table, and may be left out in the beds all winter without an}' injury by the frost, and is 

 unquestionably the most delicate and agreeable of all the root vegetables, there is no rea- 

 son for its very limited culture. T presume that many who plant it, fail because they sow 

 the seeds too late. 



Rhubarb, or Pie Plant. — It is remarkable how the cultivation of this has increased 

 within a short time. Twenty years ago it would have been diflScult to find a dollar's 

 worth in New-York markets — now thousands of dollars worth are sold annuall3^ As 

 everybody raises it, and many prefer it for tarts to gooseberries themselves, I will not take 

 the trouble to say anything about its general cultivation. 



There is one hint about Rhubarb, however, that I will give, as I think it very useful. 

 This is that everybody, fond of early spring tarts, (and who is not.) should have a small 

 plantation near the stable yard. If it is only a dozen hills, it will be something well worth 

 while — enough to make you feel that your garden is better than your neighbor's. These 

 hills should be about three feet apart — so as to admit of covering each hill with an old 

 barrel, at the beginning of winter. By having them near the barn-yard, the spaces be 

 tween the barrels can he filled without any trouble, (by throwing it in from time to time,) 

 with litter and fresh manure from the horse stable. The tops of the barrels should be 



