BORECOLE BROCCOLI 25 



sowing in the first week of May, and plant out on a plot which will 

 not have to be disturbed to make way for Potatoes. The crop may 

 be advantageously followed by Celery. 



BROCCOLI 



(Brassica okracea botrytis asparagoides) 



THE great importance of this crop is indicated by the long list of 

 varieties and the still longer list of synonyms. As a vegetable it needs 

 no praise, and our sole business will be to treat of the cultivation. 



Of necessity we begin with generalities. Any good soil will grow 

 Broccoli, but it is a strong-land plant, and a well-tilled clay should 

 yield first-class crops. But there are so many kinds coming into use 

 at various seasons, that the cultivation may be regarded as a some- 

 what complex subject. We will therefore premise that the best must 

 be made of the soil at command, whatever it may be. The Cornish 

 growers owe their success in great part to their climate, which carries 

 their crops through the winter unhurt ; but they grow Broccoli only 

 on rich soil, and keep that in good heart by means of seaweed and 

 other fertilisers. All the details of Broccoli culture require a liberal 

 spirit and careful treatment. But the value of a well-grown crop 

 will justify first-class culture ; while, on the other hand, the value of 

 a badly-grown crop will be insufficient to justify the space it covers, 

 to say nothing of the poor labour that has been devoted to it. 



Broccoli should always be sown on good seed-beds and be planted 

 out ; the seed-beds should be narrow, say three or three and a half 

 feet wide, and the seed should be sown in drills half an inch deep at 

 the utmost less if possible ; and where sparrows haunt the garden 

 it will be well to cover the beds with netting. A quick way of 

 securing all round seeds against small birds is to put a little red lead 

 in a saucer, then lightly sprinkle the seed with water and shake it 

 about in the red lead. Not a bird or mouse will touch seed so 

 treated. 



The seed-beds must be tended with scrupulous care to keep down 

 weeds and avert other dangers. It is of great importance to secure 

 a robust plant, short and full of colour, and free from club at the 

 root. Now, cleanliness is in itself a safeguard. It promotes a 

 short sturdy growth, because where there are no weeds or other 

 rubbish the young plant has enough light and air. Early thinning 



