516 
when Sea-Kale pushes naturally, the average 
temperature of the air and that of the earth 
very nearly correspond. In commencing to 
force we may raise the bottom-heat 5°, or to 47° 
the first week, to 50° the second week, and then 
increase it by 1° a week till produce fit for cut- 
ting is obtained, which will be in the course of 
six or seven weeks from the commencement of 
the process. 
The time to commence forcing depends on 
the period at which produce will be required. 
If this should be the third week in December, 
from plants forced in the open ground, they 
must be cleared of decaying 
leaves in the end of October, 
and the soil about the crowns 
forked over and made fine. 
A portion of the plants may 
be covered to the depth of 
several inches with light soil, 
sand, or coal ashes, and a suc- 
cession to those which are not 
so treated will by this means 
be secured. The others should be covered with 
Sea-Kale pots (fig. 1283), or large garden pots, 
Fig. 1283.—Sea-Kale Pot. 
and over these must be laid a covering of stable | 
manure, or, preferably, a mixture of manure and 
leaves. 
Taking the Crop.—The blanched sprouts should 
be cut when they are from 3 to 6 inches in- 
length, and whilst crisp, stiff, and compact; 
they should not be left till they are drawn up 
so as to bend or hang down. 
material used for excluding the light should be 
carefully removed so as to expose the stem of 
the sprout, and the latter should be cut a little 
below the base of the petioles, and just enough 
to keep these attached. After the crop has 
been taken the plants should be exposed and 
the shoots thinned to 3 or 4 crowns on each 
plant. 
The soil or other 
To save Seeds.—Select some strong plants, and | 
allow them to take their natural growth, with- | 
. R ° —_ | 
out cutting off the crowns, or blanching. When | 
the seeds are ripe, collect the pods, dry them, 
and put them into open canvas bags. The seeds 
keep best in the pods. 
Varieties.—Formerly there was only one form, | 
the Purple-tipped, but we now have the Lily 
White variety of this. In some respects the 
latter is a great acquisition, inasmuch as it re- 
quires less blanching, the tips being creamy- | 
white, while the flavour is also more delicate | 
than is the case with the old form. Unfortu- 
nately the Lily White is less hardy, and the 
crowns should either be protected from frosts 
| apart. 
THE GARDENER’S ASSISTANT. 
where grown, or else be early lifted and stored 
for use as required. 
Shallot (Allium ascalonicum).—A hardy per- 
ennial, native of Palestine, near Ascalon; hence 
the specific name. The bulbs, which are milder 
in flavour, and do not possess such an offensive 
odour as those of Garlic, are used in a raw state 
for flavouring steaks and chops; they are also 
boiled in soups, stews, and some other dishes, 
and are excellent when pickled. 
The Shallot requires the same treatment as 
Garlic. In recently manured and damp ground 
it is liable to be attacked by the maggot and a 
kind of mould; and in any case it is well, in 
planting, to leave the points of the bulbs a little 
above the surface. A small plantation may be 
made from the middle of October to the middle 
of November, in order to produce bulbs in June 
and July, but the principal crop should not be 
planted till February or the beginning of March. 
When the roots have taken good hold of the 
ground, it is a good practice to remove the 
earth from about the bulbs, so as to leave them 
wholly out of the ground. In July or August, 
when the leaves turn yellow, the bulbs should 
be taken up, and, after having been dried in 
the sun for several days, they should be placed 
in nets, or tied up in ropes like Onions, and, 
hung up in a dry airy room from which frost is 
excluded. 
The varieties are :— 
Common.—Leaves small, in close tufts, about a foot in 
length. Bulbs long-oval or conical, reddish-yellow. Early 
and long-keeping. It seldom runs to seed. 
Grosse Echalotte d’ Alencon.—Bulbs of the same shape 
and colour as those of the Jersey Shallot, but larger and 
later in forming; the leaves are longer and more glaucous. 
The largest kind, but it does not keep well. 
Jersey or Russian.—Leaves short, very glaucous. Bulbs 
round, small-necked, yellowish-red. The earliest kind, 
but apt to run to seed when planted in autumn. 
Skirret (Siam Sisarum).—A perennial, native 
of China and Japan. The root, which is the 
part used, is composed of several prongs about 
the thickness of a finger. They are boiled, and 
served in the same way as Salsafy and Scor- 
zonera. The plant is little cultivated. It suc- 
ceeds best in a free, rich, deep soil, and in an 
open situation. Jt is generally raised from 
seeds, but may also be propagated by side 
shoots in spring. Seeds should bé sown about 
the end of March or in April, in drills 1 foot 
In dry weather the bed should be 
watered, and when the young plants are about 
2 inches high they may be thinned out to 6 
