VEGETABLES DESCRIPTION AND CULTURE. 235 



rows being laid off three and a half feet wide and the hills 

 t\vo feet asunder; cover them two or three inches. 



When they come up, thin them to two in a hill, and, if 

 there be any vacancy, transplant. It is better to plant 

 them level than on ridges, as they are less liable to suffer 

 from drought. As they continue growing all the season, 

 it is well to get them started as soon as the severe frosts 

 are over. The only after-culture they require is to keep 

 the ground clean and mellow, and a slight hilling up when 

 they are laid by. They will produce from twenty-five to 

 seventy or eighty bushels per acre, according to soil and 

 culture, and are as easily cultivated as corn. 



HORSE-RADISH. (Nasturtium Armoracia.) 



Horse-radish is a Cruciferous perennial plant, grow- 

 ing naturally in moist places in England, and various 

 other parts of Europe. Its flowers are white, and appear 

 in panicles in May. It has long been an inhabitant of the 

 garden. 



Culture. Horse-radish delights in a deep, rich mould, 

 moderately and regularly moist ; the roots are never of 

 good size if grown in poor soil, or under the shade of trees. 

 It seldom produces seed, and hence is propagated by sets 

 provided by cutting the roots and offsets into lengths of 

 two inches. The tops and crowns of the roots make the 

 best set?, as they are earlier and make a finer growth than 

 those from the centre of the root. Each set should have 

 two eyes. The finest crops are made by trenching the 

 ground two feet deep, and planting the cuttings with a 

 long, blunt-pointed dibble. It may be done late in the 

 fill, or if in spring, the earlier it is planted, if the ground 



