504 
leaves form a good substitute for Spinach in 
summer. They are produced in great abundance, 
and are said to be good food for cows. 
The Quinoa requires a light rich soil and a 
warm situation. Its seeds may either be sown 
on a gentle hot-bed in March, for planting out 
Fig. 1268.—Quinoa (Chenopodium Quinoa). 
in April or May; or out-of-doors in April, in 
drills 2 feet asunder. When the plants are 4 
or 5 inches high they may be thinned out to 
18 inches apart in the rows, and the thinnings 
may be planted in rows at the same distances | 
apart; by this mode the plants may be easily 
propagated. 
given; and if the plants are grown for Spinach, 
the stems should be topped at the first gather- 
ing, to induce them to branch. The leaves may 
be gathered in succession throughout the sum- 
mer. The seeds ripen in September. 
Radish (Raphanus sativus). — An annual, 
THE GARDENER’S ASSISTANT 
In dry weather water should be | 
widely cultivated. ‘There is no doubt that the 
species is indigenous in the temperate regions 
of the old world; but as it has been cultivated. 
in gardens from the earliest historic times, from 
China and Japan to Europe, and as it sows 
itself frequently round cultivated plots, it is 
difficult to fix upon its starting-point” (De Can- — 
dolle). It is chiefly cultivated for the roots; 
but the seed-pods, pulled when green, are occa- 
sionally pickled, and the seed-leaves are some- 
times used as a salad. 
The Radish will succeed well in any garden 
soil that is not over moist or too heavy. For 
early and late crops a warm sheltered situation 
should be chosen; whilst for those sown in the 
heat of summer a rather shady spot is prefer- 
able. The ground where the sowing is to be 
made should be deeply dug, and raked fine. 
The seed is generally sown thinly broadcast, in 
beds from 4 to 5 feet wide, with 1-foot alleys 
| between, the soil from the latter being used to 
cover the seeds, but only lightly. The surface 
_is then raked smooth, and in light soils pressed 
with the back of the spade. Winter Radishes, 
| however, are best sown in drills 6 inches asunder ; 
but if roots of large size are desired, as much as 
9 inches may be allowed. After sowing, the 
beds should be protected from birds, which are 
very fond of the seeds. 
Where Radishes are not forced, a sowing may 
be made in the middle of December, if the 
weather is mild; and immediately after having 
been sown the seed-beds should be covered with 
about 4 inches thick of litter, which should not 
_be removed till the plants come up, and then 
only in the daytime when the temperature is 
above 32°. The crop, if not destroyed by frost, 
will be fit for use about the beginning of March; 
but this greatly depends upon the weather. 
A sowing, to be treated in a similar manner, 
may be made in the course of January, weather 
permitting, and another in February. With the 
Parisian market-gardeners this is the first crop 
of Radishes raised out-of-doors. For this sow- 
ing they form a bed by digging a trench 18 or 
20 inches deep, and filling it up with from 14 to 
18 inches of dung, which is covered with 4 inches 
of vegetable mould. On this the seed is sown; 
and if the weather is frosty at night the bed is 
protected with straw-mats. Another sowing, 
also in a warm situation, may be made in the 
second fortnight of February, and from that 
time till the middle of October a small quantity 
may be sown, in any open situation, every fort- 
night in spring, and every ten days in the heat 
of summer. = 
