THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 



by treading or gentle rolling, and then covered up 

 by the hoe or rake. All seeds should, if possible, 

 be sown and covered up in dry weather. 



Planting. Many vegetables require to be re- 

 moved while young from the bed in which they 

 were grown from seeds, and planted out in rows. 

 Having adjusted the line, commence at one end 

 of it ; pierce the earth with the dibble, and into 

 the hole so made, insert the root of the plant, then 

 pierce the earth at its side, so as to press the 

 mould round the root, leaving no vacant space 

 below. The common errors in planting are injur- 

 ing the tap-root and rootlets by careless pulling ol 

 the young plant from the nursery, by rudely using 

 the dibble, or by pressing the earth too firmly 

 round the collar, and neglecting to do so with the 

 roots. 



Watering. In dry seasons, artificial irrigation 

 is of great use for giving due liquid aliment to 

 plants, and is indispensable to those newly trans- 

 planted as above. Watering, for whatever purpose, 

 is most advantageously performed in the morning 

 or evening. If done during the time 'the sun is 

 shining, take care not to water the leaves of any 

 plant. If the day be cloudy and cool, watering 

 the tops of plants can do no harm. Watering 

 overhead should resemble as nearly as possible a 

 soft shower, and be performed with a rose water- 

 ing-pot. The greater number of flowers are 

 injured by watering, if the water touches their 

 petals. 



KITCHEN VEGETABLES. 



The vegetables usually grown in kitchen-gardens 

 belong to various natural orders, which, for con- 

 venience, we shall arrange in the following groups 

 i. The cabbage tribe of vegetables ; 2. The pea 

 and bean kind ; 3. Those grown for the sake of 

 their roots and tubers ; 4. The onion and leek 

 kinds ; 5. Salads ; 6. Sweet herbs ; and 7. Mis- 

 cellaneous kinds. This grouping, it will be under- 

 stood, has only a partial reference to botanical 

 arrangement, and has been adopted in preference 

 to the confusion of common alphabetic lists. For 

 the technical classification of the plants here 

 treated, the reader is referred to the sheets on 



-SYSTEMATIC BOTANY. 



The Cabbage Tribe. 



The vegetables of this group belong to the order 

 Ouciferae, having cross-shaped flowers, and have, 

 in fact, been all derived from the one plant, Bras- 

 sica oleracea^ which grows on the shores of the 

 south of England. Its garden varieties cabbage, 

 savoy, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and Scotch 

 kale all so unlike each other, and so unlike their 

 indigenous prototype, present a series of the most 

 remarkable instances known of the power of man 

 to induce modifications in the size, form, and 

 structure of an organic being, and to sustain per- 

 manently the races thus obtained. 



Cabbage {White). The cultivated varieties of 

 the common or white -hearting cabbage are very 

 numerous. The best varieties in ordinary use 

 are Small and Large York, London Market, 

 Sugar-loaf, Enfield Market, Wheeler's Cocoa-nut, 

 Battersea, Vanack, Drumhead, Sutton's Imperial, 

 Atkin's Matchless, Williams' Early Nonsuch, 

 Sandringham Sprouting, M'Ewen's. To obtain 

 hearted cabbages throughout the year, two or 



three sowings must be made ; one in the spring 

 another in summer, and, finally, one in autumn! 

 Spring sowing can be effected at once, or it 

 may be divided into two or three operations ; from 

 the third week of March to the first week of May, 

 for the supply of summer and winter. Yet, by 

 attentive management, one sowing may be made 

 to produce all that a family can require : we 

 restrict our directions to that simple operation. 



As with the other Brassicce, one ounce of 

 cabbage-seed is sufficient to sow a bed ten feet 

 long by four feet wide broadcast, or fully a half 

 more when sown in drills, which is the preferable 

 mode ; and is done thus : 



Select a piece of good sound loam in an open 

 exposure, and let it be slightly manured. Dig the 

 ground for four rows, nine inches asunder, and 

 from fifteen to twenty feet long. Break the earth 

 finely, and leave it to settle for three or four days ; 

 then place boards to tread on, while a first drill,' 

 one inch deep, is struck by hoe and line ; make 

 the bottom of this and every other drill even, and 

 a little solid, by patting it with the back of the 

 rake. Sow the seeds rather thickly, because it is 

 better to thin out an abundance of plants than to 

 lose the greater part of a thin crop by insects. 

 When sown, cover the drill with fine earth, pro- 

 ceed to make and sow other drills, till the bed be 

 finished, and then either tread the surface over 

 with the feet placed nearly close together, or pat 

 the surface with the spade, and finish it off smooth 

 with the back of a rake. Always avoid to tread 

 ground into holes, and therefore recede from the 

 work backward. In a very dry season, seeds will 

 not easily vegetate ; therefore in such cases strike 

 the drills, and water effectually along them for 

 three successive evenings, covering the plot with 

 mats throughout the day. In the third evening, 

 make the drills even, sow, cover with earth, 

 sprinkle again, and lay on the mats by day, till 

 the plants be visible, then dust them once with the 

 finest road-dust while the dew is on, and in the 

 evening with air-slaked lime. These precautions 

 need not be repeated. We never saw a set of 

 cabbage, turnip, or celery plants so dusted that 

 was much infested with the turnip-beetle or 

 slugs. 



When the plants begin to produce their true 

 leaves, thin them out, first to an inch asunder, and 

 again to two inches ; they will thus gain strength 

 rapidly ; and when they have three or four good 

 .eaves four inches long, they will be fit to plant 

 out, some into nursery-beds, and others to the 

 slots where they are to remain. Those set in the 

 ormer, six inches asunder, will acquire stocky 

 roots, and be prepared for successive plantings. 

 Those planted permanently will require the ground 

 ;o be made rich with manure, and the transition 

 rom poor to rich earth will make them grow 

 rapidly. The smaller Yorks, &c. should stand 

 twelve or fifteen inches apart ; the large varieties, 

 twenty to thirty inches. Set each plant as deep 

 as the base of the lower leaves, keep down weeds 

 sy deeply hoeing or stirring the soil, and earth up 

 the rows when the plants are sufficiently advanced. 

 Red Cabbage is only used for pickling ; it is 

 raised by sowing in August, and transplanting, as 

 directed above. The heads form in the ensuing 

 summer, and are in fine condition in October. If 

 sown in spring, little-hearted cabbages can be 

 obtained, which may supply a loss, or serve as a 



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