1839] 



FARMERS- REGISTER 



43 



shooting up. There are joints? in the roots of the 

 sparrow grass like the wire grass, from every one 

 of which a head is produced. Butchers' dung is 

 what it delights in. I would recommend your 

 beds to be about four teet wide, thai the grass 

 may be cut without treading on the beds, which 

 often hardens the earth so much that the grass 

 can't come up, and must of course perish. In 

 these beds I would have three rows, fur the roots 

 ought to have a sufficient quantity ot' earth on all 

 sides. Beds thus managed, Miller says, will last 

 ten or twelve years, Bradley 20, and 1 am inclined 

 to join with the latter. 



Beans, (faba Jagein, gr. to cat) delights in a 

 fine rich stitl soil, without dung, though that must 

 be supplied where the lands are poor. To have 

 fine beans, especially the Windsor sort, which is 

 much the best, they ought to be planted six inches 

 asunder, in rows three feet distant from one ano- 

 ther, in the wane of the moon (as it is vulgarly 

 said) and under a hedge which serves lor a shel- 

 ter. When the flowers begin to open towards the 

 bottom of the stalk, the tops should be pinched 

 ofi'; though it is as good a season as any to do it 

 in, when ihe blossoms are well blown and set. It 

 3'ou want an early crop, plant in October and hill 

 them up as they grow, and shelter them; if a se- 

 cond crop, cut them down within 2 or 3 inches of 

 the ground before they bear ti-uit. Dont pull the 

 bean, cut it wiih a knile. I'he first production is 

 the properest of all seeds for sowing. When the 

 seed is ripe, you must pull up the stalks and sun 

 them, observing to turn them every day or two. 

 Beans, like all other seed, degenerate in the same 

 ground, vvherelbre, 'tis advisable to change your 

 seed, and the beds they grow in. 



Kidney bean, Phaseolus, Phaselos, (great 

 or long swift ship, which the husk resembles,) 

 may be planted in March; if sooner, they must be 

 well sheltered, (for they are easily killed.) in a 

 light fertile soil, in trenches about two feet and a 

 half asunder, each grain two inches distant from 

 one another, and one inch deep. They will not 

 bear transplanting. They should be planted in a 

 dry season. The Dutch sort, which is the com- 

 mon kind, should be stuck, otherwise the}' lie on 

 the ground and rot. This sort, if stuck, grow to a 

 great height and afford a constant succession. A 

 second sowing will supply you sufficiently the sea- 

 son. If, when you plant, it should be a dry season, 

 water the furrows or trenches belbre you drop the 

 seed in, French beans and snaps are the same. 

 The Dutch sort are not so apt to be stringy, which 

 the dwarf sort are. 



Bushel or sugar beans, being of a tender 

 nature, should not be planted till April, which is 

 the best season, in hills made light and rich, about 

 three to the hill, so as to admit a stake in the mid- 

 dle of them. They will grow round the stake to 

 a great height, will bear very profusely, and con- 

 tinue till destroyed by host. They are esteemed 

 very delicate, and are of various colors, as white, 

 marbled and green, &c. 



Cabbage, &c. — Under brassica is included all 

 the several species of the cabbage, among which 

 cauliflowers and brocoli are classed. The proper 

 time for sowing the seed of brocoli is in the latter 



end of May, and transplant them into beds when 

 they have eight leaves, and plant them out about 

 the latter end of July, in a place well sheltered, not 

 under the drip of trees, in a soil rather light than 

 otherwise. About December, it is said, they will 

 have purple heads, which are eaten, though I my- 

 self could never make them head before March. 

 The distance these require is about two feet every 

 way, though more would do better, if there is 

 plenty of ground. The Roman brocoli is the pro- 

 per sort to cultivate, otherwise called the Italian 

 brocoli. When you cut the flowers or heads, cut 

 to about five or six inches of the stem, and before 

 they are boiled, strip off the skin, and after hav- 

 ing washed them, boil them in a clean cloth and 

 serve them up with butter, as cauliflowers are. 

 The stems will eat like asparagus and the heads 

 like cauliflowers. 



The common white cabbage, capitala alba, 

 is the proper sort for winter. It is long sided and 

 flat. The seeds should be sown in April or March, 

 and ifthey should grow long shanked, they should 

 be pricked out until the middle of May, when they 

 are to be transplanted to stand at about two feet 

 and a half distant from one another, and three and 

 a half row from row. Three things are necessary 

 to cabbages as well as other vegetables; to be wa- 

 tered in a dry season, hilled up if they grow long 

 shanked, and kept clear of weeds, which draw the 

 nourishment from the plants and make them spin- 

 dle. In November, take up your cabbages by the 

 roots, and plant them under a ridge of earth with 

 the tops of their heads to the south, covering the 

 stem entirely, and this will protect them the whole 

 winter. If they are hard and compact when thus 

 placed out, they will be sulficiently protected; and 

 though the outside leaves may be affected by the 

 frost, yet the hearts will remain entire. 



The SAVOY cabbages, which are esteemed 

 best when pinched by the frost, are to be treated in 

 the same manner as the white, only they may be 

 planted nearer one another, not being a long sort. 



The battersea cabbage is the earliest of 

 all, and head in a short time, and burst if not cut 

 soon. 



But Ihe SUGAR LOAF, which is the finest, will 

 remain a considerable time. These should be 

 sown every month, and transplanted every season. 



The BORECOLE, is treated like the white cab- 

 bage and need not be above a foot asunder. These 

 are tough till the frost has made them tender. 



There is a cabbage which is called the Russia 

 kind. They are very small, and soon degenerate, 

 if the seed is not changed. 



There's a turnip cabbage, which being 

 very strong is fit only for soup. 



The seed of the curled cof.EwoRT are to be 

 sown in July, about twelve inches asunder. 



There is a musk cabbage, moschumoleus, re- 

 markable for its tasting like musk, and is to be 

 treated in the common manner. I have met with 

 these in Virginia; but Miller says they are not 

 propagated much in England, though the most 

 delicious. 



The common coleworts, should be sown the 

 beginning of July and transplanted. There is a 

 perennial colewort, which will in poor land remain 

 four years, but in rich not above two, before they 

 go to seed. In order to save the seed of cabbage, 



