BROCCOLI 27 



White, Walcheren. and Veitch's Self-protecting, are now available. 

 To grow Autumn Broccoli profitably, sow in February, March, and 

 April, the early sowings in a frame to insure vigorous growth, and 

 the later sowings in the open ground. Plant out as soon as possible 

 two feet apart each way in fresh land that has been deeply tilled. It 

 the soil is poor, and you cannot make it up to your satisfaction, draw 

 deep drills, fill these with fat manure, and carefully plant by hand, 

 filling in round each root with crumbs from the surface soil. This 

 will give them a good start, and they will take care of themselves 

 afterwards. When they show signs of heading in, run in shallow 

 drills of Prickly Spinach between them, and as this comes up the 

 plants will be drawn, leaving it a fair chance of making a good stolen 

 crop, needing no special preparation whatever. Another sowing may 

 be made in May, but the early sowings, if a little nursed in the 

 first instance, will pay the best, because early Broccoli are scarce, 

 whereas late Broccoli are plentiful. 



WINTER BROCCOLI such as Sutton's Christmas White, Vanguard, 

 Superb Early White, Favourite, Snow's, &c., should not be sown before 

 the end of March and thence to the end of April. As a rule, the April 

 sowing will make the best crop, although much depends on season, 

 soil, and climate. Begin to plant out early, and continue planting 

 until a sufficient breadth of ground is covered. Within reasonable 

 limits it will be found that the time of planting does not much affect 

 the date when the heads turn in, and only in a moderate degree in- 

 fluences the size of them. 



SPRING BROCCOLI are capricious, no matter what the world may 

 say. It will happen that sorts planted for cutting in June will turn in 

 during April and May, and the sun rather than the seedsman must 

 often be blamed for their precocity. In average seasons the late 

 sorts are late, but the Broccoli is a sensitive plant, and unseasonable 

 warmth tempts it beyond the bounds of prudence. Sow the spring 

 Broccoli in April and May, the April sowing being the more important. 

 It will not do, however, to follow a strict rule save to this effect, that 

 early and late sowings are the least likely to succeed, while mid- 

 season sowings say from the middle of April to the middle of May 

 will, as a rule, make the best crops. Such sorts as Sutton's Pearl, 

 Perfection, Safeguard, and Reading Giant may be sown as early as 

 March and as late as the end of May, and where there is a constant 

 demand for Broccoli in the early months of the year, two or three 

 small sowings will be better than one large sowing. 



SUMMER BROCCOLI are useful when Peas are late, and they are 



