Oil.] The Kitchen Garden-. 453 



Some people blanch or whiten endive by laying boards 

 or tiles flatways upon the plants. The plants will be 

 fure to whiten tolerably well by this method, but not fo 

 regularly as thofe whofe leaves are tied together as above 

 direded. 



Clear the Beds of Aromatic Plants, 



Now clear the beds of aromatic plants from weeds, 

 and let them have the winter drefling. 



This mull be particularly obfervt^d in the beds of fage, 

 Savory, thyme, marjoram, and hyfTop ; and alfo the beds 

 x>f mint, baum, tarragon, tanfey, chamomile, penny- 

 royal, burnet and forrel; and all other beds of aromatic 

 herbs. 



They are now to be -treated In the following manner. 



.Cut down all the decayed flower-Hems clofe tothe head 

 ■of the plants, or to the furface of the ground, according 

 to what the plants are, and at the fame time clear tho 

 beds very well from weeds and litter, and carry the 

 .whole off the ground. 



After this it would be a great advantage to get fome 

 -VQi-y rotten dung, and let ii be broken fmall, then fpread 

 a fprinkling of it equally over the furface of all the beds, 

 and with a fmall fpadeor trowel dig li^jhtly between ftich 

 of the plants as will admit of it, taking care to bury the 

 dung as well as you can a little depth in the ground, and 

 at the fame time dig the alleys, fpreading a little of the 

 earth upon the beds, leaving the edges full. and ilrait. 



Thus the beds will appe.ir decent all the winter, and 

 ■the plants will reap much advantage from fuch a dreK- 

 ingi as will be {tQn in the fpring, when they begin to 

 ihoot. 



But the beds of mint and pepper-minr, and fuch like 

 creeping-rooted herbs, wi'i not well admit of digging; 

 therefore let the ftalks, if any, be cut down clofe to the 

 ground ; then clear the beds from weeds, and fpread a 

 :little rotten dung, as faid above, over the beds. Then 

 .dig the alleys, and flrew feme of the earth on the beds 

 over the dung. 



This will protect the roots of the mint fomewhat from 

 froll, and the rains will waili in the virtue of the dung, 

 and the earth which was thrown^ out of the alley; and 

 the whole will-greatly enrich ui'^ beds, and ilrengthen 



th«? 



