416 VILLA GARDENING part v 



rally had them mixed. There is a variety called the Colossal, but 

 I am doubtful if it is really distinct. It is i^robably only a selection 

 from the old kind. However, at first it seems more vigorous, and 

 on that account is worth growing in order to save time. In saving 

 seeds, select those from the most vigorous stems, gathering them 

 when ripe ; and when the puljD w4iich surrounds the seeds is quite 

 soft, wash the seeds from among it, then dry and pack them away 

 in a dry cool place till they are required. Asparagus seeds will 

 keep good for several years — I do not know exactly how many, 

 but I have sown them and obtained a good crop of plants when 

 four years old. 



Value of Spring Shelter. — The early Asparagus is often 

 injured by cold frosty weather in spring, and any shelter which 

 will break the force and take away the l)leakness of the east wind 

 in April, and oftentimes in May, will be of real benefit to the young 

 heads of Asparagus just ijushiug out. The best shelters are mov- 

 able glass frames, and with a number of these Asparagus may be 

 cut very much earlier from the open-air bed than is generally the 

 case. They should be placed on the beds in the begiiuiing of 

 February, after they can be spared froni the autunni and winter 

 salads, and they will come in for hardening young bedding stutt' 

 when the Asparagus beds do not require their shelter. If glazed 

 frames are not available, dry sprays of Bracken scattered over the 

 beds will be very useful. Branches of Hazel, such as are commonly 

 used for Pea sticks, laid over the beds afibrd a good deal of shelter, 

 and may, in cold situations, be profitably employed without any 

 change of their original condition. 



CHAPTER V 



Seakale. — I am afraid some of my readers may think I am 

 rather erratic in my movements, as I am not taking up the 

 diff'erent subjects in the usual alphabetical, or, indeed, any kind of 

 order or system. I am thinking only of their importance to the 

 consumer, and in the case of the plant under consideration I am 

 anxious to remove some of the apathy and neglect which are shown 

 towards it. There are hundreds of people who have never tasted 

 Seakale, and do not know what a delicious vegetable it is in the 

 winter, when things are snowed up, or when one languishes under 

 a daily dose of Cabbage or Brussels Sprouts. It is a British j^lant, 

 and grows wild on the south-western coast, and ought certainly to 

 be found in every middle-class garden. 



Preparing the Land. — There is no plant that will pay better 



