LONG-ROOTED VEGETABLES 43 



to support them. Small roots may also be started in heat and 

 planted out, which procedure will ensure an earlier and heavier 

 yield. Lift the roots in November and store them. Being 

 quite hardy, however, the roots may be allowed to remain in 

 the ground a second season ; they will improve in size, but 

 deteriorate in flavour. 



HORSERADISH (Cochlearia armor acia). Horseradish will 

 grow anywhere, and thrives under oppression. A garden 

 overrun with it is a true sign of neglect, and the individual 

 whose lot it is to eradicate the roots has my sympathy. But, 

 nevertheless, the Horseradish is a useful vegetable commodity ; 

 and if it becomes a pest and a nuisance, the gardener is alone 

 to blame. There are too many instances where roots are 

 planted in some out-of-the-way corner, cultivation being left 

 entirely out of the question ; the result being ugly forked 

 specimens, with just a crown and a mass of roots, which are of 

 little use. During the months of November and December, 

 when the soil is workable, the Horseradish-bed may be taken 

 in hand, and, if managed properly, there need be no lack of 

 useful roots, in due time, without the fear of encroachment 

 beyond the specified limits of the bed. There is no need, 

 moreover, to select the best site in the garden, because the 

 Horseradish is accommodating enough to thrive in any situa- 

 tion. To grow straight roots the soil must be deeply worked, 

 and, if poor, some well-decayed manure applied. Pieces of 

 young, straight roots about six inches long, and furnished with 

 a crown, should be selected. Gently scrape off all rootlets that 

 may be upon the selected piece, without injuring the skin. 

 Plant the roots about nine inches apart, and bury them so 

 that there are three or four inches of soil between the crowns 

 and the surface of the ground. Growth will make its appear- 

 ance the next spring, and by autumn there will be an abundance 

 of useful sticks. The bed should be treated in the same manner 

 the following winter, though there is no real necessity for chang- 

 ing the position. If the ground is well dug and manured 

 annually, Horseradish may be grown on the same site for many 

 years. One other method consists in making a very deep hole 

 with a long dibble, and, selecting a fair-sized, straight young 

 root with a plump crown, shorten it to about four inches in 

 length, and drop it into the hole, pushing it gently to the 

 bottom. Do not fill the hole with soil. The plant may also 

 be grown upon ridges of soil, adopting either of the foregoing 



