KITCHEN-GARDEN VEGETABLES. 
roots should be removed and others brought 
forward to succeed them. 
After the earlier forced roots are removed 
they may be returned to the north border, and 
have a little old tan strewed over their crowns. 
Here their strength will in some measure be re- 
cruited, and they will bear forcing a second time, 
and will produce a second crop of leaves towards 
the middle or end of March. These leaves will 
be produced from the lateral buds around the 
base of the crown, if in the first cutting it has 
not been pared too close; they will scarcely be 
so fine as the first crop, but will prove very 
useful late in the season, if the supply of roots 
is limited. 
An easy, and at the same time an effectual, 
method of blanching Chicory leaves in a com- 
paratively light house, is to have a few wooden 
boxes constructed, about 12 or 14 inches deep, 
and to invert these over the plants. Each box 
should be large enough to cover a sufficient 
number to supply a respectable salad for a 
week, which will vary from one to three dozen, 
according to the requirements of the family. 
By proper attention to removing the old roots 
in rotation, and substituting fresh ones in their 
places, a supply of excellent salad may be ob- 
tained from a space large enough to hold three 
of these boxes. 
Any one who possesses a garden in which to 
grow the plants in summer, may blanch them 
in a cellar with equal facility, if it is kept suffi- 
ciently dark, except that it will require three 
weeks to produce leaves of the requisite length. 
If the cellar is used for this purpose, it will be 
the readiest way to form a stack in one corner, 
and lay the roots horizontally in sand as you 
would to preserve Carrots. The roots should 
not be all put in at once, but a layer or course 
of roots should be brought in once a week, and 
by the time the fourth course is in the first will 
be ready to cut. Under this system the old 
roots should not be removed, but retained to 
produce a second cutting; and by taking ad- 
vantage of this property it will not be necessary 
after the first four or five weeks to bring in a 
fresh supply of roots oftener than once every 
fortnight or three weeks. The roots should be 
laid about 3 inches apart in layers of sandy soil. 
This is a cheap method of procuring a first-rate 
winter salad. 
As Chicory commences its growth very early, 
the blanched leaves may be obtained out-of- 
doors in February and March, by planting the 
roots in a moderately dry border, and inverting 
a close box over them, in the same manner as 
WOOL, LE, 
437 
directed for growing them in the Mushroom- 
house. By this method a somewhat longer 
time will be necessary to produce leaves of the 
requisite lengths, for which reason it will only 
be resorted to when other means are not con- 
venient. 
The French, who excel in the production of 
Chicory, adopt the following modes of treat- 
ment :— 
The seeds are sown thinly in April or May. 
In November or December beds of light sandy 
soil, or well-decomposed dung, about 2 feet in 
width and 3 inches thick, are formed in a cellar. 
On these is placed a row of Chicory roots laid 
on their side, with the crowns outwards; next 
comes another layer of earth of the same thick- 
ness aS before; then another row of roots; and 
so on. The mild and equable temperature of 
the cellar, and the want of light, soon occasion 
the production of blanched leaves, which are 
cut as soon as they have attained a sufficient 
size. Water must be given as required if the 
soil used is too dry. 
Near Paris a more expeditious method is 
pursued; beds of hot dung are made up, and 
the roots of Chicory, tied up in bundles, are 
placed in an upright position upon the beds, 
and watered from time to time so as to keep 
them moist. Another method of blanching 
without taking up the roots consists in sowing 
in drills from 6 to 8 inches asunder, and cover- 
ing the Chicory in February 
with 4 or 5 inches thick of 
earth, or with double that 
thickness of leaves. In three 
weeks or a month after- 
wards, according to the sea- 
son, it pushes, and as soon 
as it appears above the addi- 
tional soil or leaves it is cut 
over by the original level of 
the ground. Thus treated 
the leaves are very white 
and tender. 
In order to save seeds, a 
few plants may be left 
through the winter. They 
will flower in July and 
August, and ripen their 
seeds in autumn. 
The varieties grown in 
France are: Coffee Chicory 
(Chicorée & café), Improved 
Chicory Chicorée sauvage 
améliorée), and Variegated Chicory (Chicorée 
sauvage améliorée panachée). 
Fig. 1190.—Witloof Chicory. 
70 
