410 
the quality is finer, and the plants are not so 
liable to be attacked by club as in richly man- 
ured soil. Where this disease is prevalent the 
ground should be dressed with quicklime. For 
autumn sorts the ground may be highly 
manured; but if made too rich for winter and 
spring sorts, the plants will be more liable to 
injury by frost than those less stimulated. It 
has been ascertained that in severe winters 
Broccoli growing in the open field have been 
nearly all saved; whilst those of the same sort 
planted in well-sheltered gardens have been 
nearly all killed. 
With regard to manure, farmyard manure is 
probably the best; but in some cases other sub- 
stances may be applied with advantage. In| 
gardens that have been long cropped with | 
vegetables, marl will be an excellent applica- | 
tion for this crop. Lime may also be mixed | 
with the soil in digging, or applied occasionally, | 
and when newly slaked, to the surface of the 
ground; but not after the heads begin to form. | 
Flowers of sulphur dusted on the roots when | 
transplanting will tend to prevent mildew; | 
common salt and nitrate of soda may be used 
with advantage in killing worms or grubs which 
attack the stem and roots. Guano is a power- | 
ful stimulant, but it produces a rank growth; and 
though the produce may be large, the quality is 
not so fine as that obtained where maz! is applied. 
Loose, rich ground promotes leggy, sappy 
growth; a firm or almost solid root-run is 
theretore preferable, as this tends to keep the 
plants sturdy and hard. The start should be 
made with young plants direct from the seed- 
bed, firmly fixed with the dibber, and not 
crowded. In some districts the hardiest, if 
not the finest, Broccoli are grown on land just 
previously cleared of either early Peas or Straw- 
berries, both crops usually leaving the ground 
in a solid state. The surface is merely hoed 
over and all rubbish removed. Drills are then | 
drawn with a heavy hoe, and, if dry, given a_ 
good soaking with water or liquid manure, soon | 
after which planting may be done with a dibber. 
Some gardeners make the holes with a crowbar, 
and are rewarded with a supply of Broccoli even 
after severe frosts. Broccoli required to stand 
through a winter should have plenty of room 
—3 feet apart each way if on comparatively 
loose ground, 23 feet apart if on solid ground. 
Veitch’s Autumn Protecting, and others which 
heart early, may have 24 feet each way, while 
the smaller forms, such as the White Cape and 
the Walcheren, may be planted 18 inches from 
plant to plant in rows 2 feet apart. 
THE GARDENER’S ASSISTANT. 
Occasional waterings may be required in dry 
weather. The surface of the ground should be — 
kept stirred, and some earth drawn to the 
stems. When the heads of white Broccoli are 
exposed to light, and especially to the direct 
solar rays, their colour becomes dingy or yellow- 
ish; to prevent this the side leaves should be 
broken over the heart to afford shade. 
Protection in Winter.—Although most of the 
varieties of Broccoli are hardy enough to resist 
a few degrees of frost, some even withstanding 
severe frosts, yet we occasionally experience 
| winters that cut off nearly every kind, espe- 
cially if they have not been grown as hardy as 
possible. This loss can be prevented by taking 
up, on the approach of frost on a dry day, those 
which have either formed or are just- beginning 
to form a head, and placing them side by side 
on the floor of a cellar. Or lift them with some 
soil about their roots and replant them firmly 
and somewhat closely in rich moist soil, where 
they can be readily protected with mats and 
litter. Empty pits in vineries at rest, Peach- 
houses, and such like, as well as ordinary brick 
pits and deep wooden frames, are suitable for 
this purpose, and if the plants are moved before 
severe frost cripples them there will be a 
good supply of small hearts till midwinter or 
later. 
Taking the Crop.—Broccoli, for some tables, 
is required to be cut when not larger than 
a tea-cup; for others it is allowed to be full- 
grown; but in no case should it be allowed to 
remain till the compactness of the head is 
broken. It should always be cut whilst the 
curd, as the flowering mass is termed, is entire, 
or before bristling leafy poimts make their 
appearance through it. In trimming the head 
a portion of the stalk is left, and a few of the 
leaves immediately surrounding the head, their 
extremities being cut off a little below the top 
of the latter. 
To save Seed.—Select those plants that in leaf 
_and flower are most characteristic of the variety. 
Some allow them to remain where they have 
grown; others prefer transplanting them care- 
fully, supplying them regularly with water 
during the summer. Those plants which have 
a disposition to produce large and coarse leaves 
should be avoided. For early sorts, the small- 
est plants with the least undulated leaves may 
be selected and planted out late in the season, 
and afterwards removed and replanted in fresh 
soil, in order to retard their flowering till next 
spring. 
Insects, &c.—See under Cabbage. 
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