Transactions of the Horticultural Society. 417 



front, and of 

 any required 

 length, is co- 

 vered with 

 thatched mov- 

 able frames ; 

 which are tilt- 

 ed at pleasure 

 by a notched 

 prop. It is 

 used as a kind 

 of store-room 

 for all culinary 

 vegetables in 



leaf, which are ^^^P^^^^^^^^M?^M^»P1^ 



liable to be destroyed by frost ; such as cauliflower, broccoli, 

 lettuce, endive, &c. These, before the winter sets in, are 

 taken up from the open ground with balls of earth, and em- 

 bedded on a bottom layer of rich soil, filling up the vacancies 

 between and among the stems with old bark or decayed 

 leaves. Air is given on all occasions when it can be done 

 with safety, and in severe frosts additional coverings of litter 

 are put on. Vegetables keep better here than in dark sheds ; 

 the autumn crop of cauliflowers, for instance, can be so pre- 

 served till the end of January. The pit is also useful for 

 raising salad herbs in the spring, and New Zealand spinach, 

 vegetable marrow, and cucumbers, &c. in the summer. 



This is a truly useful structure, which may be erected for a 

 trifle, and which no good kitchen garden should be without. 

 Care should be had to protect the back of the pit from frost 

 by a bank of earth (a), to have the covering of reeds or thatch 

 (l>), of sufficient thickness, and the tilting piece (c) of suffi- 

 cient length. Reed frames or roofs of this sort are advan- 

 tageously used by some gardeners in the south of England, to 

 protect late crops of broccoli, lettuce, endive, &c. in the open 

 air. They are supported 

 on short stakes, and on dry 

 sunny days are lifted, and 

 set up among the plants 

 they cover, edgeways, and 

 south and north, so as to 

 admit the mid-day sun and 

 air, and produce as little 

 shade as possible : at night 

 they are replaced. Mr. 



Vol. II. — No. 8. ee 



120 



