D A U 



DEC 



The time of sowing this sort of crops must 

 vary according as they are wanted. When they 

 are required in succession, three or four differ- 

 ent sowings should he made from January till 

 the beginning of May; but for the principal 

 crop, the sowings should always be performed 

 about the latter end of January, or in the begin- 

 ning of the following month. A sowing may 

 likewise be made in August, to stand through 

 the winter, for producing an early spring crop ; or 

 early crops of this sort may be obtained by for- 

 cing them on hot-beds. The principal crop ge- 

 nerally becomes ready for use about the begin- 

 ning of June. 



In the sowing of the seed, after the surface of 

 the beds has been rendered perfectly smooth 

 and even by the rake, it should be distributed 

 in as even a manner as possible over the whole, 

 and then carefully raked in. As the seed is of 

 a light and chaffy nature, a calm dry time 

 should be chosen for the purpose, to prevent its 

 being blown in an irregular manner into heaps. 

 It is also useful to rub and separate the chaffy 

 parts of the seed well before sowing, and some 

 think it an advantage to have sand or dry fine 

 mould well mixed with it. It should be sown 

 moderately thick, especially when the soil in- 

 clines to be heavy. In very light soils it is 

 sometimes the practice to tread in the seed, to 

 prevent its rising in heaps, raking the surface 

 over afterwards; but this should never be done 

 where there is any degree of stiffness in the 

 land. The sowings are usually performed on 

 beds of four or five feet in breadth, but they may 

 be made on large plats where necessary. 



After the plants have attained three or four 

 inches in growth, they should be thinned out to 

 from six to eight inches distance, in proportion 

 to the size that is wanted; and be kept perfectly 

 free from weeds : this is performed by a small 

 hoe with the greatest readiness ; but some thin 

 their plants out by the hand; the former is 

 however the better method, as the earth is at 

 the same time stirred about the roots of the 

 plants. The work is best done when the wea- 

 ther is dry. The crops should afterwards be 

 occasionally looked over every fortnight or three 

 weeks, to be further thinned when necessary, 

 and to keep the weeds from rising. 



Where these roots are much wanted at an 

 early period while young, it is better to sow a 

 piece of ground for the purpose than to depend 

 upon the thinnings of the general crops. 



The crops put in in August for the following 

 spring produce, should be managed in the sanre 

 way, but it will be necessary to protect the 

 plants in winter, when the weather is severe, 

 by coverings of some light dry materials, 



such as litter, straw, &c. so as to prevent their 

 tops from being injureJ. 



Culture on Hot-beds for early Use. — In this 

 method crops may be provided for early use 

 where those of the autumn have been injured or 

 destroyed. 



In this intention the sowings should be made 

 in the beginning of January and the following 

 month, on hot-beds formed of dung, moulded 

 eight or ten inches deep, and covered by frames 

 and glasses. In the growth of the plants air 

 must be freely admitted bv having the glasses 

 removed, except in the night-time and when the 

 weather is severe. When the plants are an inch 

 or two in height, they must be thinned out to 

 the distance of three or four inches, an.ipb 

 occasionally supplied with water in a moderate 

 proportion. When the heat of the beds de- 

 clines much, linings should be had recourse to 

 as there may be occasion. 



By this management these roots may be pro- 

 vided a month or six weeks sooner than in the 

 other methods. 



In order to preserve the roots of the main 

 crops in the winter, they should be taken up 

 about November, when the season is dry ; and 

 when sufficiently dried in the air, and cleared 

 from earth, and their tops cut off close, be 

 packed up in drv sand in a shed, cellar, or other 

 convenient place, being well covered on the top 

 with straw. In this mode they may be pre- 

 served ti'ri-March or April. If they arc suffered 

 to remain in the ground, they are not only liable 

 to be destroyed by vermin, but to become ean- 

 kery, and rotten. 



In order to save the seed of these plants, 

 some of the finest roots should be planted out 

 about Februarv, in rows two feet apart, and one 

 foot distant from plant to plant. They shoot 

 up to stem in April or the following month, 

 flower about June, and in August the seed be- 

 comes ripe; then the tops should be cut off 

 when drv, exposed in the sun, and, after becom- 

 ing perfectly dry, the seed thrashed out, and 

 put up into bass for use. 



DECIDUOUS PLANTS, such pfents, whe- 

 ther of the tree or shrub kind, as shed or lose 

 their leaves in the autumnal er winter seasons. 



It embraees a great variety of both the former 

 and latter sons, in most of which the leaves be- 

 gin to fall off ki the autumn, and the whole are 

 naked during the winter season. 



Almost all the valuable timber and fruit-trees- 

 arc of this tribe, as well as the greatest part o- 

 thc ornamental trees and shrubs that are intro- 

 duced in plantations and shubberies. There are 

 likewise several other plants that may be termed 

 deciduous, from their shedding their leaves on 



