Book T. 



DANDELION. CELERY. 



657 



roots are scraped and boiled, and eaten along with potatoes, or with a sauce of butter and 

 vinegar. 



3990. Varieties. The French have the common large-leaved, the chicoree a navel, or 

 cafe-chicoree, with large white fleshy roots, and the variegated chiccory. 



3991. Culture. Isaac Oldacre, an excellent practical gardener, who experienced the advantages of cul- 

 tivating this plant in the Imperial gardens near Petersburgh, gives the following directions. "It should 

 be sown in the end of June or beginning of July, on a rich piece of ground, broad-cast, in the same manner 

 as endive ; when the leaves begin to cover the ground, thin out the plants, leaving those that remain on 

 the beds from three to four inches apart ; those pulled out may be planted into other beds, at the same 

 distance as those which are left to remain ; keep them clear from weeds, and if the leaves grow verv 



470 



strong, and shade the roots much, cut them off within one inch of the 

 ground. The end of September or beginning of October is the proper 

 time to shift the roots ; the leaves should be first cut off with care, so as 

 not to destroy the hearts of the plants, then dig up the roots, shorten 

 them, and plant them in pots or portable boxes, with a dibble, very close 

 together, in rich mould ; give them water when dry, and shelter them in 

 severe frosts, by a light covering of litter. After they are well rooted, 

 the pots or boxes, as wanted, are to be removed into the mushroom-house 

 or cellar, where they must be entirely excluded from light, in order to 

 blanch the leaves, which will be effected in six or seven days. Succory 

 will thrive in a heat of sixty degrees, but it is best to keep it in a lower 

 temperature. If the roots are strong, each pot or box will bear cutting 

 twice, after which they should be removed, and changed for the succes- 

 sion, as the leaves of the future growth become bitter. (Hort. Trans. 

 vol. iii. p. 139.) 



3992. Crop in cellars. On the continent, the roots are taken up on the 

 approach of winter, and stacked in cellars in alternate layers of sand, so 

 as to form ridges with the crowns of the plants on the surface of the ridge. 

 Here, if the frost be excluded, they soon send out leaves in such abund- 

 ance as to afford a supply of salad during winter. If light is excluded, 

 the leaves are perfectly blanched, and in this state are known under the 

 name of Barbede Capucin. On ship-board it is customary to use a barrel of sand with numerous holes 

 (Jig. 470.), or a hamper, for the same purpose. 



3993. To save seed. Proceed as directed for endive. 



Subsect. 4. Dandelion. — Leontodon Taraxacum, L. (Eng. Pot.) Syngen. Polygam. 

 JEqu. L. and Cichoracece, J. Dents de Lion, or Pisse-en-lit, Fr. ; Lowenzahn, Ger. ; 

 and Piscia in letto, Ital. 



3994. The dandelion is a hardy perennial, a native of Britain, well known among gar- 

 deners as a troublesome weed, but which may also be used as a salad, and as a substitute 

 for coffee. 



'3995. Use. The leaves in early spring, when just unfolding, afford a very good in- 

 gredient in salads. The French sometimes eat the young roots, and the etiolated leaves, 

 with thin slices of bread and butter. When blanched, the leaves considerably resemhle 

 those of endive in taste. The root is considered an equally good substitute for coffee as 

 chiccory, and may, like that plant, be stored in cellars or barrels for producing winter 

 salad. {Caled. Hort. Mem. iv. 138.) 



3996. Culture. Though regularly produced in the London market, it is seldom or never cultivated, being 

 generally to be found in sufficient luxuriance by the sides of hedges and dry ditches. It might easily be 

 propagated either by seeds or roots ; and, if introduced as a garden-plant, should have a rich deep soil, and 

 be carefully tied up, and earthed round, to blanch it effectually. Cut off all the flowers as they appear, to 

 prevent the dispersion of the seed, and the weakening of the plant. When salad is scarce, the dandelion 

 might be dug up from road sides in winter, and forced in pots, like succory. 



Subsect. 5. Celery. — Apium graveolens, L. (Eng. Pot. 1210.) Pent. Dig. L. and 

 Umbelliferce, J. Ache, Fr. ; AZppich, Ger. ; and Appio, Ital. 



3997. The celery is a hardy biennial plant, a native of Britain, and known in its wild 

 state by the name of smallage. It is frequent by the sides of ditches, and near the 

 sea, where it rises with wedge-shaped leaves, and a furrowed stalk producing greenish 

 flowers in August. The whole plant has a rank coarse taste, and the effects of cultiv- 

 ation in producing from it the mild sweet stalks of celery are not a little remarkable. 

 A head of celery, we are informed (Caled. Hort. Mem. vol. ii. p. 297.), was dug up on 

 the 4th of October, 1815, at Longford, near Manchester, which weighed 9 lhs. when 

 washed, with the roots and leaves still attached to it, and measured four feet six inches in 

 height. It was of a red sort, perfectly solid, crisp, and firm, and remarkably well flavored. 



3998. Use. The blanched leaf-stalks are used raw, as a salad, from August till 

 March ; they are also stewed, and put in soups. In Italy, the unblanched leaves are 

 used for soups, and when neither the blanched nor the green leaves can be had, the seeds 

 bruised, form a good substitute. The root only of the variety called the celeriac is used, 

 and Sabine informs us (Hort. Trans, vol. iii.) "it is excellent in soups, in which, whether 

 white or brown, slices of it are used as ingredients, and readily impart their flavor. 

 With the Germans, it is also a common salad, for which the roots are prepared by 

 boiling, until a fork will pass easily through them ; after they are boiled, and become 

 cold, they are eaten with oil and vinegar. They are also sometimes served up at table, 

 stewed with rich sauces. In all cases, before they are boiled, the coat and the fibres 



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