The Culture of Vegetables 



beautiful fresh colours. The Dwarf Arctic Curled endures the 

 severest frost uninjured, and the plant is elegantly crisped. The 

 crop may be advantageously followed by Celery. 



BROCCOLI 



Brassica oleracea botrytis asparagoides 



THE great importance of this crop is indicated by the long list 

 of varieties and the still longer list of synonyms. As a vegetable 

 it needs no praise, and our sole business will be to treat of the 

 cultivation. 



Of necessity we begin with generalities. Any good soil will grow 

 Broccoli, but it is a strong-land plant, and a well-tilled clay should 

 yield first-class crops. But there are so many kinds coming into use 

 at various seasons, that the cultivation may be regarded as a some- 

 what complex subject. We will therefore premise that the best must 

 be made of the soil at command, whatever it may be. The Cornish 

 growers owe their success in great part to their climate, which carries 

 their crops through the winter unhurt ; but they grow Broccoli only 

 on rich soil, and keep that in good heart by means of seaweed and 

 other fertilisers. All the details of Broccoli culture require a liberal 

 spirit and careful treatment. But the value of a well-grown crop 

 will justify first-class culture ; while, on the other hand, the value of 

 a badly-grown crop will be insufficient to justify the space it covers, 

 to say nothing of the poor labour that has been devoted to it. 



Broccoli should always be sown on good seed-beds and be planted 

 out ; the seed-beds should be narrow, say three or three and a half 

 feet wide, and the seed must be sown in drills half an inch deep at 

 the utmost less if possible ; and where sparrows haunt the garden 

 it will be well to cover the beds with netting. A quick way of 

 protecting all round seeds against small birds is to put a little red 

 lead in a saucer, then lightly sprinkle the seed with water and 

 shake it about in the red lead. Not a bird or mouse will touch 

 seed so treated. 



The seed-beds must be tended with scrupulous care to keep 

 down weeds and avert other dangers. It is of great importance to 

 secure a robust plant, short, full of colour, and free from club at the 

 root. Now, cleanliness is in itself a safeguard. It promotes a short 

 sturdy growth, because where there are no weeds or other rubbish 

 the young plant has ample light and air. Early thinning and plant- 



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