MONTHLY CALENDAB. 5G3 



1 762. Sealale may be grown in about nine months from the seed, in the 

 following manner, in place of the expensive and tedious process now fol- 

 lowed : — The ground having been prepared in winter, and subjected to a month 

 or two of frost in a rough state, the seed should be sown in the latter end of 

 March or early in April, and even as late as May. Having selected a piece of 

 ground, open but sheltered, trench it three feet deep, using plenty of manure 

 — at least a third part, — mixing it thoroughly with the soil ; when ready, 

 strike the ground into 4-foot beds, and sow two rows of seed in patches two feet 

 apart. As soon as the plants come up, thin out to two or three in the patch, 

 and when faii'ly established, remove all but one. In the course of the season 

 use abundant supphes of liquid manure, and keep the surface well stirred. In 

 autumn the beds will be covered with fine healthy leaves and plump crowns. 

 Pick off the leaves as they decay, and as soon as they are all off, the crowns 

 should be slightly covered with ashes or tanner's bark till wanted for forcing. 

 In November, the plants will be ready for forcing, either on the beds or in 

 some more shaded corner. Treated in the manner described above for aspa- 

 ragus, seakale may be produced as a Christmas vegetable. 



1763. Cardoons — A perennial in its native country, — the shores of the Medi- 

 terranean, — it becomes an annual in this country, the first sowing taking place 

 in the beginning of March, on a very slight hotbed ; in April, on the natural 

 ground ; and again in June, for next spring's crop. The trenches are dug as 

 for celery, and moderately manured with well-decomposed dung. In sowing, 

 two or three seeds are sown together in a clump, 12 inches apart. Should each 

 vegetate, remove all but one, when six inches high. When the plant is 1 8 inches 

 high, put a stake to it, and tie the leaves lightly to it, earthing-up the stem at 

 the same time, like celery. Throughout the summer, water copiously and 

 frequently with soft water and a little guano, to prevent flowering. In Sep- 

 tember the early crop will be fit for use ; remove the earth carefully, take the 

 plant up by the roots, which are cut off ; the points of the leaves are also cut 

 off to where they are solid and blanched. These are carefully washed, the 

 parts of the leaf-stalks left tied to the stem, and they are ready for the cook. 



1764. Catdijloicers may still be sown in some situations, and those sown last 

 month are now ready to prick out under hand-glasses, or in frames, as they 

 advance : if the season is mild, they may even be planted out under a south 

 wall, provided the plants are not wet at the roots. Those plants advancing 

 and heading should have the large leaves broken and turned over them, to 

 give shelter from sun and rain, and by having the earth drawn round the stem. 

 The plants sown in May will now be ready for planting out in rows two feet 

 and a half asunder, giving them a copious watering to promote their growth. 



1765. CaWa^es.— Prepare a piece of ground by deep trenching and copious 

 manuring, for spring cabbages, savoys, and winter greens, and keep it forked 

 over regularly until the plants are sufficiently advanced for planting out. 

 When ready, plant them in rows two feet apart, watering them well to settle 

 the earth at their roots. Savoys and spring cabbages, in particular, require a 

 rich soil thoroughly manured with well-rotted dung. 



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