676 ADORN A CEOUS ESCULENTS. 



the crown with one or two inches of the root attached, or of the root, 

 without any visible buds, about the same length, and planted with the 

 upper end uppermost, as in sea-kale. These cuttings may either be 

 dropped into holes made by a dibber, fifteen or eighteen inches in 

 depth, and about the same distance apart every way, the upper part of 

 the hole being filled in with light soil or wood ashes ; or they may be 

 planted while the ground is being trenched, covering them to the depth 

 of eighteen inches. March is the season for planting, and the soil 

 should be rich, free, moist, and at least two feet deep. The roots, that 

 is the part produced between the top of the cutting and the surface of 

 the ground, and which may be called a blanched stem, will be fit for 

 use at the end of the first autumn, when the leaves have decayed ; 

 but they will be much stronger at the end of the second autumn. 

 They ought never to be allowed to remain longer than three years, nor 

 to ripen seed, otherwise the roots become tough and disagreeable to use. 

 A portion ought to be planted every year to come in in succession. 

 The horizontal mode of growth has recently been adopted with great 

 success. Instead of inserting the roots vertically, they have been laid 

 along in rich soil, about four inches from the surface. They swell rapidly, 

 and are easily found when wanted. In taking the crop, begin at one end 

 of a row, and dig down as far as the roots have penetrated, so as to 

 take up every particle of root, for the least fragment left will send up 

 leaves the following year. For this reason many gardeners grow their 

 horse-radish always on the same spot of ground ; trenching up one- 

 half every winter ; and selecting the larger roots, and laying them up 

 in sand, or earthing them up in a shady border, for use, and leaving 

 the smaller roots in the bottom of the trench for next year's crop. In 

 whichever way horse-radish is grown, the soil ought to be deep, rich, 

 and moist, in order that the growth may be rapid and the root succu- 

 lent ; the flower-stems should be cut off as soon as they appear, because 

 they deprive the root of nourishment which would otherwise be sent 

 down to it ; and the crop should not be allowed to stand more than 

 three or four years, otherwise the roots will become filled with woody 

 fibre, sticky, and unfit for use. 



Lepidium latifolium, L., a cruciferous annual, a native of Britain on 

 the sea-coast, has roots resembling those of the horse-radish, which 

 may very well be used as a substitute ; the leaves are excellent as 

 greens, and not bad in salads. 



Condimentaceous Esculents. 



Condimentaceous esculents are such as in cookery are always used 

 with pastry in the form of tarts, pies, puddings, &c. ; or preserved in 

 sugar, or pickled in vinegar. Though fruits are chiefly employed in 

 these preparations, yet we have as substitutes the rhubarb and the 

 Oxalis crenata for tarts, pies, and puddings, and the angelica for pre- 

 serving in sugar, and the samphire for pickling. The principal plant 

 belonging to this section, however, is the rhubarb, which, though 

 scarcely known as a tart plant in the commencement of the present 

 century, is now become generally cultivated for that purpose, even in 



