Sweet Herbs and Small Salads 



191 



on flat beds in nicely prepared fine soil, and are given a good watering, 

 after which the beds are covered with mats. These are removed as soon 

 as germination takes place, and when the stalks are about 2 in. high 

 they are cut with a special knife in handfuls, and are deftly placed upright 

 in chip punnets, in which they are sent to market. 



Very often Mustard (or rather Rape) is grown with the Cress, in which 

 case the latter, being slower in germination than the Mustard, is sown two 

 or three days in advance. In this way both the Mustard and Cress arrive 

 simultaneously at a fit state for cutting. The best prices are realized 



Fig. 505. Crate packed with Punnets of Mustard and Cress 



from January to March and April (2s. to 4s. per dozen punnets), but the 

 prices come down later on. 



Dandelion. Owing perhaps largely to our greater intercourse with 

 continental nations the once much-despised Dandelion (Taraxacum Dens- 

 leonis) is now a crop worthy of the attention of some market gardeners. 

 Indeed it has been sent to market for many years past by oixe or two who 

 developed a connection for it, although one cannot say that it has been 

 "cultivated" as a crop in the ordinary sense of the term. The plants are 

 allowed to grow just wherever they like, and when large enough for sale, 

 are sliced off with the hoe, washed, and packed in baskets for market, 

 where they realize from 9d to Is. 6d. per half-bushel, and sometimes more. 

 The leaves, green or blanched, are appreciated as a salad. Besides the 

 common variety, there are now one or two improved strains. 



Dill (Anethum graveolens). An umbelliferous fennel-like annual or 



