124 VEGECULTURE 



conveyed. A fairly deep, narrow trench, kept cool and moist by 

 periodical flooding, is useful for the purpose, especially if it be 

 dug on sloping ground or constructed with a gentle incline, 

 because water poured into the top end will flow along the whole 

 trench and saturate it thoroughly ; an occasional pailful, for 

 instance, will keep a small trench of sufficient size to ensure a 

 fair supply of leaves in splendid hydrometrical condition. 

 Then there remains the greenhouse or hothouse in which to 

 grow supplies for the winter. Here the Cress may be grown in 

 boxes, borders, or pans, placed over hot-water pipes or in warm 

 corners, pieces of the stem or root being dibbled into fine soil 

 an inch or two apart, the whole being well supplied with moisture. 

 Baskets or pots containing cuttings may also be dropped into 

 both indoor and outdoor ornamental ponds or the water-butt. 

 In fact, Watercress grows with such ease, and rarely refuses to 

 flourish under the most crude conditions wherein moisture 

 predominates, that means of culture may readily be devised by 

 the grower to suit his own circumstances and needs. Water- 

 cress is usually propagated and increased by cuttings of stem or 

 root, or the young tops treated as an ordinary cutting, and 

 struck in pots or boxes. Any portion of the plant, indeed, 

 placed in water for a while will begin to emit white rootlets, 

 and in that state may be planted where desired to grow. One 

 of the simplest ways to ensure constant supplies of fresh Water- 

 cress is to sow seeds in pots. Keep these under glass, and the 

 compost very moist, until seedlings appear, then put the pots 

 in wire baskets, and sling them, an inch deep from the base, 

 in the rain-water-butt. Several baskets can be accommodated 

 in a large butt, and when the last basket has been stripped, the 

 first to be cleared will probably have a second lot of leaves ready 

 for use, for the old roots will send up new leaves in a few weeks' 

 time. If seeds are sown every week or fortnight a successional 

 supply may be kept up even in a small vessel of water. Wire 

 baskets, or the flat-backed wire pockets, can be fastened to nails 

 against the inner sides of the butt, if preferred. It is also easy 

 to grow the Watercress in this style in pottery wall pockets. 

 One inch deep in the water will ensure that the soil of the pots 

 is kept evenly moist, but in dry, dusty weather the baskets 

 should be dipped occasionally, or an overhead watering given. 



DANDELION (Leontodon taraxacum}. This is so well known 

 as a weed and a nuisance that attempt at description would be 

 ludicrous. But, nevertheless, the cultivated plant is a far 



