198 The Gardener*s New Director, 

 luirfery bed, the latter end of Adciy, fhading and water- 

 ing tliem as before, and landed them in July and Ju-^ 

 guj}, and never before had fiich large, tender, well- 

 blanehed Celery as they wtre, not one plant In a hun- 

 dred offering to fly ; this experiment 1 purfued with 

 the fame (uccefs; and I am perfuaded, if many of our 

 kitchen-garden ieeds were ioun in autumn, they would 

 fucceed better, forming good roots in autumn, while 

 the weather is gentle and mild ; whereas in the fpring 

 and fummer they arc hurried up by the fun, without 

 forming fufHcitnt roots or fibres to maintain them in 



viKour. 



CHARDOONS. 



THESE kitchen plants are not commonly propaga-' 

 ted by our kitchen gardeners ; but as fome gentle- 

 men efleem them, I fliall give my own practice, by 

 which I had them exceedingly large, in which their ex- 

 cellence confifts. The befl: time to fow them is in 



March, upon a good, rich, light earth, to be kept clear 

 of weeds, and as foon as t!ie plants come up, they muft 

 be well watered ; when they have five leaves, tranfplanfe 

 them into beds of the fame texture, at orie foot diftance, 

 plant from plant, watering them well until you perceive 

 them to grow, laying up the earth, or landing them as 

 you do Celery, at the fame time clear them of weeds: 

 here they may {land until the middle or the latter end 

 of June, or till the tenth of Julx. 



Then prepare a piece of rich fandy earth, and lay it 

 up in ridges as you do for Celery, at fix feet diflance, 

 ricge Irom ridge, and near three feet deep, taking care 

 that. the bottoms of thefe ridges are well dug, for the 

 eafier defcending of the roots. Thefe Ciiardoons will 

 be fit tor blanching by the twentieth of Augvjl : in dry 

 days prepare fome wheat-firaw ropes, which are better 

 than hay or any other bandage, gather up their leaves in 

 a regular manner, obferving not to bruife or break them, 

 fie the ropes within fix inches of their tops, when the 

 plants are quite dry ; bank up the earth as high as they 



are 



