168 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
them. But sometimes they are destroyed in a wholesale manner 
by the weather, especially on cold wet soils, and under the most 
favourable circumstances they cannot be depended upon for sup- 
plying the table after the middle of May. In early seasons they 
are over by the first week in May. There are, according to the seed 
catalogues, broccolis fit for the table in December and January, and 
in May and June; but the weather must be mild indeed if good 
heads can be cut in either of the two first-mentioned months, and 
the season must be very backward for the supply to be prolonged 
until the latter part of May. The purple sprouting broccoli, a most: 
valuable vegetable in its season, is also over early in May, and it 
must be confessed that few indeed are the vegetables available for 
the supply of the table in the months to which reference has here: 
been made. 
The vegetables generally considered as belonging to the late 
spring months, but upon which little dependence can be placed, have: 
been thus briefly alluded to, and we are now brought face to face 
with the question, What are the best vegetables for April and May ? 
This question will naturally suggest itself to the minds of many 
readers, and although beset with difficulties, I will do my best to- 
answer it in a manner that will be of real service to my reader. 
Broccolis and Kales should, of course, be had as long as they are: 
in season; but, as will have been gathered from the foregoing 
remarks, the kales cannot be depended upon any length of time in 
April, nor the broccolis long in May. One of the best of the kales. 
for spring is the Jerusalem, which is much longer in running to seed 
than the others. 
First-class Seakale is usually considered a luxury, but there is no: 
good reason why it should be regarded as such, and I would strongly 
recommend its being grown as one of the staple vegetables of April 
and May. Some of the readers of the Frorat Wortp will naturally 
enough say, “It is all very well to talk about growing seakale as a 
staple crop, but where is the fermenting materials to come from ?’” 
But let me assure my friends that no fermenting materials are’ 
necessary in the production of seakale in April and May. It begins 
to grow freely in April, and with no more trouble than is occasioned 
by turning large flower-pots over the stools, the finest seakale may 
be had. You have simply to mark out a given space, and plant the: 
seakale from two and a half to three feet apart each way. To form 
large clumps quickly, two or three roots may be put in each; and if” 
there are no roots, seed may be sown in clumps, and the plants in. 
due course be thinned to three to each. It is not too late to sow 
seed now, provided it is done quickly. 
To insure a supply of the finest seakale, it is simply necessary 
early in March to turn a pot, or the half of a cask that has been 
sawn in two, over each crown. About one halfsof the pots should 
have soil or loose litter heaped over them to keep the roots cool,. 
and prevent them starting so early, and making such rapid progress 
as those covered with pots fully exposed to the sun. The holes in 
all the pots must of course be closed to exclude the light. 
Autumn sown Cabbage is also very valuable, and I have found it. 
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