94 SEA-KALE. 



Apnl, in a good deep soil, the roots will attain perfection in 

 autumn, and continue good all the winter. They last from 

 tnree to four years, according to the quality of the earth and 

 the care bestowed upon them ; but it is better to raise a few 

 from seed every year. 



SEA-KALE. 

 Chou MARIN. Crambe maritima. 



This plant is found on the sea-shore, in the southern parti 

 of England, where it grows spontaneously. As soon as it 

 appears above ground, the inhabitants remove the pebbles 

 or sand with which it is usually covered, to the depth of sev- 

 eral inches, and cut off the young and tender leaves and 

 stalks, as yet unexpanded and in a blanched state, close to 

 the crowTi of the root ; it is then in its greatest perfection. 

 When the leaves are full grown, they become hard and bit- 

 ter, and the plant is not eatable. 



It is cultivated in private gardens, and for sale, in various 

 parts of England. Cultivators have differed widely respect- 

 ing the mode of treating this plant ; many conceiving that 

 stones, gravel, and sea sand are essential to its gi'ow^h, have 

 gone to the expense of providing them ; but it has been dis- 

 covered that it will grow much more luxuriantly in a rich 

 sandy loam, where the roots can penetrate to a great depth. 



The seed of Sea-Kale may be sown in October, or as early 

 in the spring as the ground can be brought into good condi- 

 tion, in drills an inch and a half deep, and fourteen or six- 

 teen inches asunder ; the plants should afterward be thinned 

 out to the distance of six or eight inches from each other in 

 the rows, and kept clear of weeds by frequent hoeing through 

 the summer. When the plants are a year old, every third 

 row may be taken up, and also every other plant in each 

 row, leaving them fourteen or sixteen inches apai't ; these 



