KITCHEN GARDEN. 161 



ten or twelve inches deep, and work into them as 

 much well-rotted dung as will bring them to the 

 level of the alleys (for they will have sunk consid- 

 erably) ; after which, rake and smooth them, and 

 trace out with the spade or the hoe four small 

 trenches on each, not more than one inch deep ; 

 and in these sow fresh, and large, and well-ripened 

 seed, and so sparsely, that, when the plants rise, 

 they will not be found nearer together (in the rows) 

 than fourteen inches. Draw an inch of mould over 

 the seeds, and then roll or tread the rows, so as 

 to press the seed and the earth everywhere into 

 contact. 



If, on the other hand, you prefer planting, select 

 roots of one, of two, or of three years, remember- 

 ing that " the white are only to be employed, and 

 that those of a violet or livid colour are always 

 hollow and unproductive."* In putting these down, 

 your trenches must be deep enough to receive the 

 roots and a covering of three inches. The crowns 

 of these roots must be placed upright, and the pattes 

 [or fingers], as they are sometimes called, spread 

 and directed downward ; for on their taking this 

 direction (to the food provided for them) the pros- 

 perity of the plantation will principally depend. It 

 now only remains to cover them, and that should 

 be done with three inches of good fresh mould. In 

 winter the plants may be left to themselves, as 

 many experiments show that, in beds constructed 

 in the way and of the materials we have described, 

 they are never injured by frost ; and farther, that, if 

 the surfaces of such beds be entirely exposed to its 



* Duchesne, Prof. Nat. History, Versailles. Another remark 

 of this author is, that the male plants are much more profitable 

 than the female, and that, therefore, whether we sow or plant, 

 the number of seeds in the one case, and of roots in the other, 

 should be double the number usually employed ; and that, at the 

 time of flowering, when the sexes can be readily discriminated, 

 the females should be destroyed. 

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