656 



PRACTICE OF GARDENING. 



Part III. 



and succession crops for autumn and winter ; and a finer smaller sowing about the beginning of August, 

 for late supplies in the end of winter and following spring. 



3982. Culture in the seed-bed. Sow each sort separately in beds of rich mellow earth, in an open situ- 

 ation ; scattering the seeds thinly, and rake in the seed. When the plants are up an inch or two in growth, 

 thin them moderately, where in clusters, that they may have room to grow stronger and stocky for trans- 

 planting. But if a portion are sown in soil of sufficient depth, and thinned to the distances mentioned 

 under transplanting, instead of being moved, they may be expected to yield heads of the finest kind, under 

 the same culture as is given to the others. 



S983. Transj)lantmg, As the plants attain a sufficient growth, being from four to six 

 inches high, or in a month or five weeks from the time of sowing, proceed to transplant 

 the successive crops. The ground should be light and rich on a dry sub-soil. Dig it a 

 full spit deep ; set in shallow trenches, or drills the depth of a hoe, endive blanches with 

 less trouble than if inserted on a level surface. The lines may be fifteen inches asunder ; 

 the plants ten or twelve inches distant in the line. Drawing the strongest first, plant out 

 portions from June till October ; but the principal removals will fall in August ; in 

 which months three different plantings may be made for succession ; also for a general 

 winter crop, at the beginning of September. While the plants are in hand, trim the ex- 

 tremities of the leaves, and shorten the top roots a little. Water at planting ; and moder- 

 ately afterwards once in two days, if the weather be dry, till the plants take root. At the 

 end of September, and in October, likewise plant some in a warm dry border, to stand 

 the winter more effectually. Also, in the last fortnight of October or beginning of 

 November, it would be proper to insert some stout plants thickly on a bank of dry light 

 soil, raised a foot or two behind, sloping to the south. Thus they will remain drier in 

 winter, and will be preserved more securely from rotting in that season. The bed might 

 be also defended in severe weather with frames and glasses, or with ah occasional awning 

 of mats or sail-cloth. 



3984. Grange, of Kingsland, transplants in October, on sloping banks, at the base of hedges or walls ; or 

 if these are not to be had, he forms banks with a slope of 45 degrees facing the south. The width of the 

 face of the bank measures five feet ; along it he places four rows of pantiles stuck more than half way into 

 the earth with the convex side to the sun. A plant of endive is then placed opposite the concave side of 

 each tile, the latter serving to keep its leaves dry. In winter these banks are covered with dippings of 

 hedges or straw to keep them dry, and to exclude the frost. 



398.'5. Blanching. As the transplanted crops advance to full growth, stocky and full in the heart, some 

 should have the leaves tied up every week or fortnight, to blanch or whiten, and to render them tender, 

 crisp, and mild-tasted. Perform tliis in dry days ; and in winter, when the weather is dry without frost. 

 Using strings of fresh bass, or small osier twigs, tie the leaves regularly together a little above the middle, 

 moderately close. If the soil be light and dry, earth them up half way ; but if moist, merely tie them. 

 The two curled sorts, if neatly earthed up, will branch pretty well without being tied. The Batavian, from 

 its loftier, looser growth, in every case hearts and blanches better with a bandage. The blanching will be 

 completed sometimes in a week, when the weather is hot and dry ; at others, it may take a fortnight or 

 three weeks ; after which the endive should be taken up for use, or it will soon rot, in six days or less, 

 especially if much rain fall. To save the trouble of tying, this esculent is also occasionally blanched by 

 setting up flat tiles or boards on each side of the plants, which, resting against other in an angular form, 

 and confined with earth, exclude the light. Further, endive may be blanched under garden-pots, or 

 blanching-pots, in the manner of sea-kale. In the heat of summer and autumn, tying up is best ; but in 

 wet or cold weather, to cover the plants preserves while it blanches them. 



3986. Occasional shelter. At the approach of severe frost, cover some thickly with straw-litter. Also 

 plunge a portion into a raised bank of light dry earth, under a glass-case, or covered shed, open to the 

 south. Protect with litter in rigorous weather ; but uncover, and give plenty of air on mildxlays. 



3987. To save seed. " Allot some of the strongest old plants in February or March, if any remain ; other- 

 wise, sow seed in March or April, and transplant or thin the plants to twelve or fifteen inches' distance. 

 They will shoot, and the seed ripen in autumn." 



SuBSECT. 3. Succory, or Wild Endive. — Cichorium Intybus, L. {Eng. Bot. 539.) Syrin 

 genesia Folygamia ^qualis, L. and Cichoracece, J. Chicoree Sauvage, Fr. j Gemeine 

 Cichorie, Ger. ; and Cicoria, Ital. 



S988. The succory, or chiccory, is a hardy perennial not uncommon in calcareous wastes 

 and by road sides. The whole plant greatly resembles the common broad-leaved endive ; 

 the leaves are runcinated ; the stem rises from two to four and five feet high, producing 

 blue flowers from June to August. The plant is but little cultivated in gardens in this 

 country, though it is in much repute on the continent, and especially in Italy. It has 

 been grown in the fields, in France and England, as a fodder for cattle, when coming into 

 flower ; and is at present much cultivated in Holland and Flanders, for the roots, which 

 are dried, and ground, and used on almost every part of the continent, partly along with, 

 and partly as a substitute for coffee, by those who cannot afford to use that article 

 genuine : but Miller and other English authors on horticulture do not notice it as an 

 article for the garden. 



3989. Use. The leaves are blanched and used as those of endive, or during winter* 

 forced in the dark, and so blanched. In this state it is the Barbe de Capucin of the 

 French. It is also sown thick in frames, and in the open air, and when it has produced 

 two rough leaves, cut as a small salad. When lettuce or garden-endive is scarce, chic- 

 cory can always be commanded as salading by those who possess any of the most 

 ordinary means of forcing. The roots cut in pieces, dried and ground, afford a powder, 

 which Dr. Howison (Caled. Hort. Mem. iv. 132.) thinks preferable to that of coffee ; and 

 Dr. Duncan {Disc, to Caled. H. S. 1820) is of opinion that the plant might be cultivated 

 with great national advantages, as a substitute for that exotic berry. About Bruges, the 



