236 THE CHICORY CROP. 



are cultivated by us the G. endivia, the Common Endive 

 of the garden, and the G. intybus, the Chicory or Succory, 

 which we have now to describe. This is a native peren- 

 nial plant, met with growing to the height of 2 to 3 feet 

 on soils of a light calcareous nature. The stem is stout, 

 deeply furrowed, branched, and hairy. From the lower 

 portion milky leaves, not unlike those of the common 

 taraxacum, are thrown out. The uppermost leaves sit 

 closer to the branches, and are of a different shape. The 

 flowers, which are of rather a large size, are of an intense 

 blue colour, and generally grow in double heads, one open- 

 ing always some days before the other. The root is long, 

 tap-shaped, fleshy, sometimes branching, and contains a 

 milky juice, which indeed pervades the whole plant. The 

 leaves, if treated in the same manner as those of woad 

 Isatis tinctoria give a similar dye substance, which is 

 manufactured from them in some countries. 



Chicory being a very hardy plant, of a perennial habit, of 

 indigenous growth, and very productive even upon inferior 

 soils where moderate care and attention are bestowed upon 

 it, offers more than ordinary advantages for cultivation as 

 a field crop for forage purposes. The tillage treatment it 

 requires during its existence as a crop is very small, com- 

 pared with those crops of only annual duration its leaves 

 and stems afford a large supply of keep, much relished by 

 sheep and cattle, especially in the early part of the year, 

 before the regular crops come into use ; and its roots, for 

 which it is chiefly grown in this country, give, under 

 ordinary circumstances, of themselves a good return to the 

 grower. On the Continent it enters far more generally 

 into the farm crops than with us. In Holland, Belgium, 

 France, and Germany, it is grown for both purposes ; in 

 the south of France and Southern Italy, it furnishes a 

 considerable proportion of their forage for all sorts of cattle. 



Although chicory may be cultivated on well-nigh every 



