PRESERVATION OF RACES BY SEED. 301 



the favourite table vegetables of the inhabitants. He 

 states that the Indian gardeners, in the first place, 

 prepare a compost of buffaloes' dung, swine's dung, 

 and red maiden earth, mixed with water till they have 

 the consistence of paste, and scented with a small 

 quantity of assafcetida, the latter of which seems to be 

 perfectly useless. 



" The vegetables for this operation are drawn, 

 when wanted, from the beds, when they have attain- 

 ed about one third of their natural growth, and those 

 plants are chosen which are the most succulent and 

 luxuriant ; the tops are removed, leaving a few inches 

 from their origin in the crown upwards ; and a little 

 of the inferior extremity, or taproot, is cut straight 

 off likewise, allowing nearly the whole of the edible 

 part to remain, from the bottom of which to within 

 about an inch of the crown, are made two incisions 

 across each other entirely through the body of the 

 vegetable, dividing it into quarters nearly to the up- 

 per end. They are then dipped into the compost 

 until they are well covered by it, both externally and 

 internally, and are immediately placed in beds, pre- 

 viously prepared for their reception, at the distance 

 of fifteen or sixteen inches from each other, and so 

 deep in the ground chat the upper extremities only 

 appear in sight. They are afterwards regularly 

 watered ; and when they take root, and fresh tops 

 have made some advance in growth, they require but 

 little attention. The tops speedily become large, and 

 grow into strong and luxuriant stalks, the blossoms 

 acquire a size larger than ordinary, and the seed they 



