KITCHEN-GARDEN VEGETABLES. 
rows. In dry weather frequent waterings 
should be given. When the plants have made 
four leaves they should be carefully taken 
up and replanted where they are to remain. 
Plants of the curled-leaved varieties may be 
planted 1 foot apart each way; but for the 
Batavian, which generally requires more room, 
15 inches by 12 inches may be allowed. 
Instead of sowing in seed-beds and. transplant- 
ing, some sow the seeds where the plants are 
to remain, and thin out to the proper distances. 
This answers well for the early crops, or such 
as have not to be planted on sloping banks, or 
in frames in winter. 
About three months after sowing, or as soon 
as the plants are nearly full-grown, the leaves 
should be gathered together, and tied up near 
the top with matting, and again round the 
middle about a week afterwards. If water 
should be necessary after tying, it should only 
be given at the root of the plant. 
Blanching is also effected by placing inverted 
flower-pots over the plants, covering the hole 
in the bottom with a piece of slate or tile; by 
laying a slate, or preferably a flat tile, over the 
plants; by covering with sand or coal-ashes; or 
by placing boards on each side of the row, lean- 
ing their upper edges against each other, so as 
to form a roof, and preventing the light from 
getting in at the ends. A mat laid over the 
plants also answers tolerably well for the flat- 
growing kinds. The best methods, however, are 
tying up, or using a blanching-pot or saucer. 
Forcing.—In France this excellent winter 
salad is regularly forced, under the following 
treatment :— 
The seeds are sown in January and February 
on a brisk hot-bed covered with vegetable mould, 
which is afterwards beaten with the back of the 
spade to give the seed a hold. A fortnight or 
three weeks after the plants come up they are 
transplanted in another hot-bed where less heat 
is maintained. Air is given when the weather 
is favourable, and the plants, when sufficiently 
hearted, are tied up as when grown in the open 
ground. Endives produced in this way are 
perfectly blanched, of good flavour, and are 
sold at Paris in the spring. 
There is another mode which has been success- 
fully practised of late years, and in which the 
seeds are sown from the 10th to the 15th of Sep- 
tember, in the open ground, under bell-glasses or 
cloches, or in a cold frame. About three weeks 
afterwards the young plants are pricked out 
under other bell-glasses or in cold frames; and 
in November or December they are planted 
443 
close together in frames. The plants must not 
be exposed to the air, otherwise they toughen; 
they should therefore be kept rather close; and 
in frosty weather they must be protected with 
litter and straw-mats. Endives obtained in this 
way are very small, but well blanched and very 
good. The French Small Green Curled is the 
kind generally employed for forcing. 
The time occupied in blanching varies from 
ten days to three weeks—a longer period being 
required for completing the process in winter 
than in summer, when growth is more rapid. 
A number of plants, sufficient to afford a supply 
for a week, should be set to blanch at one time, 
and by doing the same every week, a constant 
succession will be.secured. 
Various modes of protecting Endives during 
the winter are adopted. The market-gardeners 
near London form sloping banks facing the 
south and sheltered from the north. On these, 
in November, Endives are planted 6 or 8 inches 
apart, and protected with litter in severe 
weather, but they are left uncovered at all other 
times. <A supply during winter may, however, 
be more certainly secured by taking up the 
late-sown crops before frost, and replanting in 
soil or sand, in a frame or shed, or by placing 
a frame over them without taking up. These 
can be blanched by one of the methods already 
given, or in a Mushroom-house. To keep the 
plants clean during the process of shifting they 
should be tied up with matting strips. Blanched 
Endives soon lose their freshness. 
To save Seeds.—Only the finest plants should 
be selected, preferably autumn-sown that have 
been protected through the winter and planted 
out in a warm sheltered situation in March, or 
plants raised from seed sown early in spring. 
The flower-stems should be supported, to pre- 
vent injury from the wind, and the seeds should 
be gathered as they ripen. After having been 
spread upon a cloth to dry, they may be rubbed 
out and stored. They remain good for five or 
six years. Plants raised from old seeds are not 
so apt to run as those from new seeds. 
Broad-leaved Batavian (fig. 1194).—Leaves long and 
broad, the edges somewhat ragged. Commonly culti- 
vated. Requires to be tied up for blanching. 
Exquisite Curled.—It would be difficult to convey an 
idea of the beauty of this elegantly curled Endive. In 
colour it is midway between the white and green varie- 
ties, and in habit it resembles Fine Green Curled. Re- 
commended for forcing. 
Fine Green Curled.—The finely-laciniated leaves are 
highly ornamental, and make a most delicate salad. If 
sown in a shady positicn, the plants remain fit for use a 
long time. 
