COTTAGE GARDENS. 



133 



COW-DUNG. 



tagers, and also broad beans for summer 

 use. Where peas are grown, the dwarf 

 and medium ought to be chosen, as the 

 taller sorts require tall sticks, and are 

 therefore more costly, and tend greatly 

 to shade the ground on which they are 

 grown. 



Ctiltural Notes. When early crops have 

 been growing up to June, and are no longer 

 serviceable, they should be removed without 

 loss of time ; the ground dug or trenched, 

 or forked over, preparatory to getting in 

 crops for the winter and spring following. 

 It will be useful here to point out such 

 crops as would be most profitable in a 

 small way. One of the cheapest means 

 of cropping at this time is to sow the 

 ground with turnip seed : a quarter of a 

 pound of seed (about 9d.) would sow half a 

 dozen rods. If sown on newly dug ground, 

 it would be up in three days, and would 

 yield many dishes of a wholesome vegetable 

 in winter ; leaving many plants to yield 

 useful greens in March and April following. 

 Other useful vegetables are borecole and 

 Brussels sprouts : of the former the green- 

 curled is much esteemed. There are others 

 of equal merit; all are very hardy and 

 prolific, and furnish sprouts for the table 

 from November to May. If they have not 

 already been planted, it should be done as 

 early as possible this month. Winter 

 spinach is also useful, and, as the seed is 

 cheap, it may be advantageously grown by 

 the cottager. Cole worts, again, are very 

 profitable ; they may be planted thickly, 

 and give a good supply of greens for 

 several months in succession. Where 

 potatoes have been planted to any extent, 

 such crops may be planted between the 

 rows before the potatoes are lifted. 

 November the gardener must be content 

 to turn his attention mainly to the prepara- 

 tion of the soil for the ensuing year. 



Cottager's Kale. Set Borecole. 



Couve Tronchuda. 



The culture and treatment of this 

 variety of cabbage are the same as for 

 the ordinary cabbage, the seed being 

 sown in March or April, according to 

 situation, and the young plants planted 

 out in June and July. It is fit for use, 



COUVE TRONCHUDA. 



like Savoys, after frosty weather sets in. 

 From the similarity of the leaf stalks to 

 seakale, for which it is a good substitute, 

 it is sometimes called the Seakale Cabbage. 

 The heart may be eaten as well as the leaf 

 stalks, being tender when dressed, and of 

 delicious flavour. 



Cow-dung. 



Charred cow-dung is an excellent manure 

 for almost all purposes, and by charring it, 

 it is fit for immediate use. Take some old 

 wood and build a cone two or three feet 

 high ; then procure some green cow-dung, 

 and cover the cone nine inches thick ; let 

 it drain for a day or two ; cover it with 

 weeds or rubbish, and set fire to the wood, 

 regulating the draught so as to prevent the 

 fire burning too fiercely ; and by the time 

 the wood is consumed, you will have a fine 

 crust of charred cow-dung. This mix, when 

 broken up, with composts. A few pieces 

 of it at the bottom of the pots in which 

 calceolarias, pelargoniums, cinerarias, or 

 pines or vines are grown, will be found a 

 most excellent manure- 



