JANUARY 143 



the coast, seaweed is the best of manure for Asparagus, and the use 

 of salt can then be dispensed with. 



BEANS may be sown in frames, and towards the end of the month 

 in the open quarters. Most of the Longpod section are nearly as 

 early as the smaller sorts, and far more profitable. But the smaller 

 sorts are prized for a certain elegance on the table, and they occupy 

 but little space to give a very fair return. Sow on ground deeply dug 

 and well manured. 



CABBAGE may be planted out at any time when weather permits, 

 provided you have or can obtain the plants ; and it is well to keep 

 vacant plots going with a few breadths of Cabbage at every season of 

 the year, for we never know when they may be acceptable, even 

 in the height of summer, if there -has been a hard run upon other 

 vegetables, or some important crop has failed outright. 



CAULIFLOWER may be sown in a gentle hot-bed or in a pan in 

 the greenhouse, or even in a frame, to make a start for planting out 

 in March or April. 



CRESS to be enjoyed must be produced from a constant succession 

 of small but frequent sowings. All the sorts are good but different 

 in flavour, and they should be used only while the shoots are young 

 and tender. Sow at intervals of a few days in pans, as in the case of 

 Mustard, until it is possible to cultivate in the open air, and then 

 give a shady position during summer on a mellow and rather moist 

 soil. 



CUCUMBERS are never ready too soon to meet the demand in 

 early spring. They are grown in houses more or less adapted to 

 their requirements, and also in frames over hot-beds. At this time 

 of year, however, frames are somewhat troublesome to manage, and 

 in trying weather they are a little hazardous, although later in the 

 season there is no difficulty whatever with them. For the present, 

 therefore, we shall confine our remarks to house culture. Almost 

 any greenhouse may be made to answer, but the work can be carried 

 on most successfully and with the greatest economy in houses which 

 are expressly constructed for Cucumbers. For winter work a lean-to, 

 facing south, possesses special advantages. But for general utility, 

 if we had to erect a building on a well-drained soil, it should be 

 dwarf, sunk three feet in the ground, with brick walls up to the eaves, 

 and lighted only from the roof. Such a structure is less influenced 

 by atmospheric changes than a building wholly above ground. The 

 size, of course, is optional ; and quite a small house will supply 

 an ordinary family with Cucumbers, But a small house is not 



