474 



THE GARDE}^ AND ITS FRUITS. 



[Chap. V, 



pared the autumn before, and with a wooden dibble, cigliteen inches long, 

 they make holes about ten inclies deep, at proper distances apart, and on- 

 large tlietn by working the dibble round till the hole at the top is about 

 three inches in diameter. They immediately fill these holes with water, and 

 rej^cat lliis three times the same day. In the evening they fill them with 

 sheep-dang, leaving only room enough for the young plant, which they very 

 carefully remove from the bed of manure and place in the hole witli a little 

 cartli. Directly afterwards they give them a good watering, and as soon as 

 the sun begins to dry them, water them again. Fui-thermore, as the plants 

 grow, they dig round them, and eartli them up in rows. Wiicn the head is 

 forming, they pinch off some of the lower leaves of the plant, and use tlicm 

 to cover tlie young head." 



52G. Broccoli is nearly allied to cauliflower, and though inferior in quality 

 is mucli cultivated. One of the secrets of growing cabbage is frerpicnt lioe- 

 ing, and in case of drought, watering. The ground can not be stirred too 

 frequently, and it is well to hoe when the dew is on, if you are a little care- 

 ful about getting dirt on the jr^ants. 



Although cauliflowers are a little more diflicult to gi'ow than cabbages, 

 we have no doubt they are much more nutritious and digestible as food. 

 "\Vo have said more about the cultivation of the brassica family in gardens 

 than we shall of any other, because the various sorts may be growu in a 

 great measure as a second crop, or to fill up waste places, and therefore it is 

 economical, because it affords such a great quantity of food. 



527. Carrots, Beets, Parsueps, Salsify, aud Horseradish. — All these plants 

 require one grand feature in their cultivation, and one which many farmers 

 neglect. It is a perfect trenching of the earth, not less than two feet deep, 

 and far better if it is three feet. They all succeed best on a ratlier light 

 loam, not too sandy, which was manured the previous year with old manure. 

 If desirable to continue planting the same plat with these roots, let them 

 come in rotation, and use no manure that is not in a very pulverulent con- 

 dition. Guano, at the rate of three or four hundred pounds 2">cr acre ; super- 

 plios])hate, at the rate of five hundred pounds per acre ; lime, at the rate of 

 fifty bushels per acre ; imleached ashes, at the rate of ten to twenty bushels 

 per acre, are all good fertilizers for root crops. All these roots are apt to 

 grow pronged and ill-shapen in fresh-manured ground, as they always do in 

 ground badly spaded or plowed, unless prejsared by the very best kind of 

 sui'face and subsoil plowing. 



52S. Carrots, for early use, may be sown as soon as the ground is dry. 

 For winter use, the last of May or first of June in the latitude of jSTew 

 York. They are best preserved for winter use in dry sand. The best early 

 variety is Early Horn ; the best for winter, or stock, is the Imjn-ovcd Long 

 Orange, though some prefer the Altringham. The large, white, Belgian 

 carrot has been cultivated here, but the yellow is still the favorite. 



529. Beets should be sown very early for greens. The Early Flat Bas- 

 sano" or Early Blood Turnip-Beet will produce food soonest ; but for win- 



