February 3, 1863. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICrXTLBE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



95 



fewer to keeping it =o long. The most important part of the 

 business is considered the most objectionable : but it must be 

 surmounted, or the plan I would recommend of growing good 

 crops on a limited space cannot be accomplished. However rich 

 and fertile the ground may naturally be, such crops as Broccoli 

 soon alter the texture of it ; and I, for one,- put more faith in 

 good sound manure and fresh soil than in phosphates and other 

 salts, given, as they are and should be, in homoeopathic doses. 

 But where there is a will there is a way ; and the meanB of con- 

 cealing a heap of manure, or of turning it to account while it 

 is undergoing decomposition, will present themselves readily 

 enough if desired. 



Of the three cost important points to be attended to in the 

 cultivation of Broccoli in small gardens, keeping the ground firm 

 is the first — that is, as far as my own experience goes ; for, 

 having had chiefly to deal with light ground, I can affirm that 

 I never knew Broccoli do well in it if planted soon after it had 

 been trenched, although the experience of others may give a con- 

 trary result. Next comes manure, which has already been spoken 

 of ; and thirdly, the distance of plar.tiug them from each other. 

 "We are sometimes told to clear Broccoli of dead leaves as the 

 winter approaches. Now why should this be necessary ? If a 

 plant receives plenty of room at planting it makes a short thick 

 stem, and spreads out its broad vigorous leaves covering a yard 

 or 4 feet, or even more, no dead leaves being visible, and if you 

 happen to lift up the leaves in damp weather you will see the 

 surface of the ground so covered and shaded completely matted 

 with small active fibres. Now spread 3 inches of loam and 

 dung over those fibres, and the plant will continue to grow, and 

 no leaves will die ; for, from its receiving a continued supply of 

 proper food, it does not require the constituents of old leaves to 

 build-ap fresh, and then when frost comes the plant receives no 

 injury, for the leaves droop and cover the stem — a provision of 

 Nature which ought to be noted and allowed for. 



So, then, in planting the Broccoli, first choose strong healthy 

 plants that have been pricked-out from the seed-bed. Plant 

 them, if in rows, not less than 4 feet apart and not less tiian 

 3 feet apart in the row, and do not plant till the soil has been 

 run together by the rains of the last three months or so, at least 

 if the ground is light ; but remember, no manure need be dug 

 into the ground. When the plants have grown considerably 

 lay about 3 inches of it on the surface, without digging it in, 

 and there need be no fear that the plants will not find it, for 



what the fibres do not reach up to the rains will wash down 

 to them. All this may be done between other crops, such as 

 early Peas, Beans, &c. 



It is one of the most common mistakes to suppose that the 

 closer plants are packed together the more is obtained from the 

 ground. It may be so with regard to individual crops, but as 

 respects a succession it is a great fallacy. In sowing Onions, 

 Parsnips, Carrots, and such dwarf crops, sow two rows about 

 a foot apart, and then go about 4 or 5 feet and sow two more. 

 Let the intermediate space remain till the time for planting 

 winter crops of Cabbageworts, and plant one row of these through 

 the centre of this bare five-feet space. They will cover the 

 ground after being treated with manure as described, not dug 

 in, but laid on the ground between and about the stems, cover- 

 ing the roots, and preventing evaporation. There will then be no 

 necessity for clearing away dead leaves, or laying down to pro- 

 tect from frost — a plan which I have often adopted to my cost, for 

 the mice attacking them have eaten out the hearts, and spoiled 

 the crop. 



With respect to sorts, no better authority can be given than 

 late Numbers of The Journal of HoETieuLarrrRr,. I have 

 usually grown the Walcheren, because it yields for a length of 

 time. I erow Early Cape on account of its not coming in all 

 at once ; Snow's Winter as a winter crop ; Purple Sprouting as a 

 profitable crop ; and Miller's Dwarf, from its hardiness and 

 lateness, yielding heads almost till autumn-sown Walcheren comes 

 in again. I have occasionally grown other sorts, but find their 

 particular points of excellence are of more consequence to the 

 large than the small grower : therefore it is unnecessary for me to 

 enumerate them. The same may be said of the time of sowing, 

 for able pens have already done much on this point. I consider 

 March the best time for sowing early sorts, and April for late 

 ones. 



But there is one practice I would recommend — that is, never 

 to plant the first and strongest plants from the seed-bed. I 

 once had a fine crop of Purple Sprouting Broccoli. I chose 

 the very best plants I could fiud, and let them run to seed ; 

 there were no other plants of Broccoli or any other Cabbagewort 

 seeding within a long distance of them that I knew of, and yet 

 when I sowed the seed and planted-out the strongest plants 

 they all came green and reedy ; but the second planting was 

 perfection. Since then I usually throw away the leading plants 

 from a seed-bed.— F. Chittt. 



ITETEOBOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS EOE 1S62. 



TTARINGSTOWN, CO. DOWN, IRELAND. 

 Latitude, 54,° 26' 30". Longitude, 6° 15' 30". Height above sea, 191 feet. 





B&SOUBTSK. 



aELF-HEGISTEaiNG THERMOMETER. 



FROST. 



RAIN-GAVGE. 





CLOUD. 









WIND 













Corrected and 



reduced to 32° 



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P.M. 



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Ins. Ir.s. 

 29.55 1.21 

 29.81 1-30 

 29.50 0.S2 

 29.73 0.90 

 29.64 0.57 

 29.62 0.70 

 29.60 o.:o 

 29.72 | 0.00 



O 



52 



54 

 55 

 65 

 68 

 71 

 63 

 69 

 70 

 64 

 58 

 52 



2°o 

 20 

 23 

 25 

 32 

 41 

 38 

 41 

 39 

 32 

 2i 

 32 



44.30 

 46 46 

 47.61 

 56.47 

 61.00 

 61.40 

 62.03 

 61.03 

 60.97 

 24.90 

 43.13 

 47.32 



35.45 



35.14 

 35.39 

 39.03 

 44.48 

 46.47 

 47.86 

 51.00 

 47.30 

 42.00 

 30.90 

 3S.58 



39.S9 

 40.75 

 41.50 

 47.75 

 52.64 

 53.94 

 54 95 

 56.02 

 54.14 

 4S.45 

 37.02 

 42.95 



O 



27 

 34 

 32 

 40 

 36 

 30 

 30 

 28 

 31 

 32 

 36 

 20 



10 



10 



10 



3 



1 



IS 

 4 

 11 

 15 

 12 



Ins. 

 4.17 

 1.03 

 2.81 

 3.29 

 4.15 

 2.57 

 3.43 

 1.40 

 1.95 

 3.65 

 2.71 

 3.29 



Ins. 

 0.S2 

 0.41 

 0.73 

 0.59 

 1.05 

 0.32 

 0.64 

 0.40 

 0.62 

 0.96 

 0.91 

 0.65 



17th 



2>d 



7 th 



20th 



2nd 



4th 



7 th 



5 th 



3rd 



20th 



29th 



17th 



17 

 15 

 20 

 16 

 12 

 16 

 14 

 17 

 17 

 11 

 12 

 IS 



135 



16 

 15 

 17 

 13 

 7 

 15 

 14 

 18 

 10 

 12 

 13 

 20 



169 







l 





 3 

 1 

 2 

 1 

 1 

 1 

 1 

 1 

 1 



13 



1 

 1 

 5 

 3 



2 

 1 

 

 1 

 2 

 

 

 



16 



1 

 6 

 11 





 



1 

 1 



2 

 

 

 



24 



2 

 7 

 2 

 2 

 4 

 2 



I 

 2 



4 

 2 

 2 

 3 



33 



4 

 3 



b 



i 



2 

 3 

 4 

 3 

 1 

 2 

 3 



31 



s 



2 

 5 



10 

 8 

 7 

 9 

 9 

 3 



13 

 6 

 8 



ss 



10 

 4 

 3 



X. 



7 

 6 

 6 



4 

 4 

 6 

 6 

 10 



70 



5 

 2 

 2 

 3 

 6 

 10 

 9 

 9 

 6 

 7 

 4 

 G 



69 



n 





". 



March.." 



i 









2 





17 







July 





 

 



9 



16 

 8 

 S 



19 



1 





ft 



-September 



29.;: 

 29.57 

 29.72 

 29.3d 



0.75 

 1.32 

 1.11 

 0.60 



5 

 1 



November 



22 1 10 

 S 15 



a 







Total 



356.13 



66 i 133 



34.45 



S.ll 



21 





29.6S 





53.88 



,41.13 



47.66 















Note. — Highest barometer 30.34, February 9th, hard frost, wind S.E. Lowest 2S.S3, October 23rd, wind N.W., stormy. 

 Hishest thermometer in shade, June 2nd, 71°, wind S.W. Lowest 20", February 9th, Wind S.E. Wettest month January, 

 4.17. Greatest fall in twenty-four hours, May 2nd, 1.05, wind N.E. — Thomas Waring. 



