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PRACTICAL GUIDE TO GARDEN PLANTS chicory 



May to the middle of August, to keep up 

 a succession, in beds or drills, ui the same 

 way as Lettuce. The seedling plants 

 when large enough are pricked out in dull 

 showery weather if possible about 1 ft. 

 apart each way for the Curled varieties, 

 and two or three inches more for the 

 Broad-leaved or Batavian kinds. After 

 firmly planting, the soil should be well 

 watered in dry weather, and a dusting of 

 lime and soot between the rows will be a 

 check to slugs &c. Birds must be kept 

 off by means of wire guards, black cotton, 

 or netting as with Lettuce. 



General treatment. — It should also 

 be borne in mind that during the months 

 of June, July, and August, if the weather 

 is very hot and dry, the plants are apt to 

 run to seed prematurely, that is, 'bolt,' 

 unless they have been frequently and 

 liberally watered. The plants raised 

 from seeds sown in August, however, are 

 not so hkely to suffer in this way, as the 

 weather gradually becpmes cooler, and 

 showers are as a rule more frequent. 

 Beyond attention to these points Endive 

 requires little further care than keeping 

 the surface of the soil well stirred with 

 the hoe and clear of weeds. 



Blanching da. — Unless the leaves of 

 Endive are blanched they are too rank 

 and bitter to the taste to be of any 

 appreciable use as a salad. By blanch- 

 ing, however, the acrid flavour departs, 

 and the foliage then becomes sweet and 

 tender. As the plants do not last long in 

 a good state when blanched, only a small 

 number should be covered as required. 

 It takes from ten to twenty days to 

 properly blanch the foliage. 



Blanching is done in various ways. 

 Some simply place a fiower-pot over each 

 plant, and exclude the light by placing a. 

 piece of slate over the hole in the bottom. 

 Others make a kind of roof over the 

 plants with two flat boards resting against 

 each other by the upper edges, the space 

 at each end being blocked by a slate or 

 piece of board. Endive may also be tied 

 up with a piece of raffia in the same way 

 as Lettuce, but this operation should only 

 be done when the leaves are quite dry. 

 Another good method of blanching is to 

 place a little clean hay or straw over the 

 plants as required, while some gardeners 

 simply place a piece of clean slate actually 

 down on the crowns of the plants when 

 they are in a dry condition. 



Winter protection. — Plants that are 



to stand out during the winter months 

 should be on a warm, dry, and well- 

 drained border facing south. Although 

 in mild vpinters Endive will live without 

 protection, it is wise to have some hay. 

 Utter, or dry fern handy to place over the 

 plants in frosty weather. When required 

 the plants may be blanched as described 

 above. 



Where spare frames exist, the plants 

 may be taken up carefully on the approach 

 of bad weather, having the leaves first of 

 all tied round with raf&a, and planted 

 close together in light rich soil. Thej' 

 will soon root into this if properly moved, 

 and may be blanched as required. It is 

 waste of time to treat injured plants in 

 this way. 



Varieties. — There are many of these 

 known, but those most generally culti- 

 vated are : the Green-curled, Moss-curled, 

 White-curled, Imperial White Batavian, 

 and Improved Boumd-lea/ved Bata/iiian. 



CHICORY '(CiCHORIUM Int¥bus). — 

 The wild Chicory is a native of Britain 

 and Europe generally. It is closely 

 related to Endive, and belongs to the 

 same order (Compositce, see p. 492). The 

 name is well known in connection with 

 Coffee. The long fleshy roots of the 

 cultivated Chicory plant are cut into 

 pieces, roasted, and ground, and after- 

 wards mixed with Coffee. It is not very 

 largely cultivated in the British Islands, 

 but is attracting greater attention every 

 year. 



Soil. — Owing to the deep rooting 

 properties of the plant Chicory Ukes a 

 deep rich but fairly hght soil, well dug and 

 manured the autumn or winter previous 

 to sowing the seeds. It will, however, 

 flotirish in any ordinary good garden soil, 

 and is very easily grown. 



Sowing do. — Seeds may be sown 

 thinly in shallow drills about April and 

 May. The rows should be 12-15 in. 

 apart, and when the plants are well above 

 the grornid they may be thinned out to 

 about 9 in. to 1 ft. apart in the rows. 

 The summer treatment is almost precisely 

 the same as for Lettuce and Endive, 

 namely, attention to stirring the soil and 

 keeping the weeds down. Being a deep- 

 rooted plant Chicory is able to stand 

 drought better than Lettuce or Endive. 

 Still in exceptionally dry seasons the plants 

 should be well watered at intervals. 



Blanching and Forcing. — Towards 



