JANUARY 147 



and the former may be fit for use a week or so before the latter. Do 

 not be content to use Rape, or any other substitute, but sow the 

 genuine article. 



PEAS may be sown in open quarters, and the driest and warmest 

 places must be selected. It is next to impossible to grow them too 

 well ; for if the haulm runs up higher than usual, the produce will be 

 the finer. Remember, too, that if you dig deep trenches and put in 

 a lot of manure for Peas, the ground is so far prepared for Broccoli, 

 Celery, and late Cauliflowers to follow, for the early-sown Peas will 

 be off the ground in time for another paying crop. As everybody 

 wants an early dish of Peas, sow Ringleader, Earliest Blue, Ameri- 

 can Wonder, or Emerald Gem, in pots, or on strips of turf laid grass- 

 side downwards, in boxes having movable bottoms that can be with- 

 drawn by a dexterous hand when the transfer is made from frames to 

 the open ground. Troughs for Peas can be made in almost no time 

 out of waste wood that may be found in the yard, or a few lengths of 

 old zinc spouting blocked up at the ends will answer admirably. 

 In the absence of such aids, common flower-pots answer pretty well. 

 The seed should have the shelter of a frame or pit, but should have 

 the least possible stimulus from artificial heat, except in cases where 

 there is all the skill at command to promote very early production. 



POTATOES are prized when they come in early, and may be for- 

 warded on beds of leaves and exhausted hot-beds by covering with 

 light rich soil, and employing old frames for protection, with litter 

 handy in case of frost. For this early work take the earliest sorts of 

 Kidneys and Rounds, because the he&vy main-cropping varieties are 

 not quick enough. 



RADISHES are more or less in demand for the greater part of the 

 year. The early crops are, however, especially valued, and there 

 need not be the least difficulty in producing a supply. A half-spent 

 hot-bed, or, indeed, any position that affords shelter and warmth, will 

 answer admirably for raising this crop, until it may be trusted to a 

 suitable position in the open. 



SEA KALE may be covered with pots or a good depth of litter, or 

 a combination of pots and litter. This should be done early, as at 

 the first move of vegetation this delicious vegetable will come into 

 use, and will generally be of finer quality than if forced. It happens, 

 however, to be the easiest of all things to force, and so, wherever it is 

 cared for, it may be had in plenty from Christmas (or earlier) until 

 May. As it must be thoroughly blanched, covering is needful in all 

 cases. 



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