Forcing Sea-kale. 269 



sized pots in the spring of the same year or autumn, or, as you 

 may want them, as they come into flower; all of which I have 

 done, and found them to answer my purpose well. 



In France it does not do to pot the young runners to force as 

 in England : they do not grow strong enough to force in the 

 following year ; they must be at least two years old. 



The seed of this strawberry should be saved in September 

 and October, when it is best, and it ought to be sown in Fe- 

 bruary or March, as the mildness of the season will admit. 



Paris, August i 1840. 



Justicia Adhatoda has stood out in Paris, and was only killed 

 at 14^° Reaumur, or about 7° below the freezing point of Fah- 

 renheit, in 1837 and 1838. It makes a fine shrub, and flowers 

 well ; I am not certain if it seeds'. — W. G. [See p. 250.] 



Art. XIII. On Forcing Sea-hale. By Robert Errington. 



The following is a mode of forcing that useful vegetable sea-kale, 

 which, in my opinion, merits general adoption. I am aware that 

 it is not altogether novel, yet it is, in my opinion, not sufficiently 

 known ; and, in recommendation of it, I can only add that by it 

 I have had a continual suppl}', without a single day's intermis- 

 sion, since the middle of last November, and that of the very 

 best quality. 



I force it in the mushroom-house ; and, to obtain a supply of 

 roots, I plant four rows in the open ground every spring. My 

 rows are 60 ft. long, 3 ft. apart, and 15 in. between the plants in 

 the row. It of course receives proper cultivation in this stage, 

 the plants having been raised from seed the year previous in a 

 single drill. The roots are taken up for forcing as soon as the 

 leaves are decaying, and with much care; and as much as possi- 

 ble taken up entire, as the root is of course a magazine of 

 nourishment for the incipient bud. The main stock is then " laid 

 by the heels," and covered with litter until wanted. In my 

 mushroom-house I have a pit or trench sunk below the level of 

 the floor line about 4 ft. : this furnishes room in the length of 

 the house for about four successive ages ; and I introduce the 

 second lot of roots the moment the first begins to bud, and so 

 on with the rest. I place fermenting matter, viz. dung and 

 leaves mixed, about 2 ft. 6 in. deep, under the roots, taking care 

 to have bottom-heat enough ; as, if that becomes too hot, I can 

 easily reduce the heat with water ; and the more water the sea- 

 kale receives in this way, the more tender it becomes. I place 

 the roots in this fermenting matter as thick as they will stand, 

 merely flooding in some fine old tan or old rich soil with water, 

 to fill the crevices between the roots completely. #:The surface 



