CHAPTER XVIII. 



SALAD CROPS. 



SALAD crops are close kin to pot-herbs. 

 But a salad is eaten uncooked, while 

 pot-herbs are boiled. Some plants are 

 used both ways, but they are then classed ac- 

 cording to their most general use. Salad crops 

 need a cool, moist soil and quick continuous 

 growth. As has been frequently said before, 

 (but not too frequently,) this can only be obtained 

 by having the soil in good condition and plenty 

 of plant food in a shape that the crop can eat. 

 Salad crops need plenty of water, clean, thor- 

 ough culture, and a good deal of prompt at- 

 tention, but they mature so rapidly, that the 

 demands are not really excessive. Having 

 supplied their needs, you must, thereafter, de- 

 pend upon the weather to help you perfect your 

 crop. If you get dry, tough, wilted salad 

 crops, you need not take the trouble to harvest 

 them, for nobody wants that sort; and that is 

 the only kind you can raise if you neglect them. 

 There is no pleasure like the ever-new exulta- 

 tion and joy of seeing the things we ourselves 

 have planted come up; and these lovely col- 

 ored shoots, springing from the brown earth, 

 serve to renew our faith in the bounty of Nature 



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