V. BROCCOLI. 



and the other is of a bright purple colour. Broccoli is 

 eaten from about the beginning of November, to about 

 the middle of April. The purple sort comes earliest j 

 and the white is not generally in much perfection until 

 about the middle of February. There is a purple sort 

 which is called Cape broccoli, which comes earlier, I 

 believe, than any of the other purple, this being a purple 

 too. Gardeners talk of early broccoli seed, and of late j 

 and, doubtless, by dint of great care in saving seed from 

 the earliest heads, the habit of early produce in the 

 plants may be produced ; but, while I do not think there 

 is much in this, it ought to be attended to when people 

 go to purchase seed. The time for sowing the purple 

 broccoli is about the beginning of April, if you wish to 

 have it in the autumn and in the beginning of winter, 

 and, if you wish to have it in the spring, the beginning 

 of May is a proper time to sow. Something, however, 

 depends upon the goodness, as well as the earliness, of 

 the ground j for, in good ground, especially if it be in a 

 warm situation, you may venture to sow either earlier or 

 later than the times here*mentioned. The first week in May 

 is quite time enough to sow the white broccoli 5 for, if 

 sowed earlier, it gets too much heat before the summer is 

 over ; it begins to form a head or flower before the frost 

 comes ; and, if the head be only closely approaching 

 towards outward appearance, sharp frost will destroy it : 

 it will rot ; and as this sort of broccoli never sends out 

 sprouts from the side, you lose the produce altogether. 

 Now, as to the manner of sowing the seed, as to the 

 manner of treating the plants after they are up, as to the 

 manner of transplanting them where they are to stand to 

 produce, and as to the cultivation while they are going 



