58 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GARDEKTNG. 



with, manure in plenty. Especially is it necessary, 

 in connection with, these latter, to place sandy mate- 

 rial, old mortar ruhbish, or such lighteniag material, 

 near to the surface, so that the plants are more or 

 less embedded in it. If this be not done, and the 

 " stools," with their crowns, lie with an excess of 

 moisture envelojping them throughout the winter, 

 they are liable to canker and its attendant decay, one 

 of the greatest enemies the plant is subject to. 



Sea-kale is propagated both by means of seeds and 

 division of the growing roots. To raise it from 

 seeds, select a warm aspect and soil similar to that 

 recommended. As it is usual, and often most conve- 

 nient, to sow nursery beds whereon plants are to be 

 grown for ultimate transplanting on to the more per- 

 manent bed, the most convenient plan to follow is to 

 sow in drill-rows, for which pm'pose a generous and 

 free soil will generally suffice without such an amount 

 of preparation as is needful for permanent beds. 

 Draw shallow drill-rows with the corner of the hoe 

 one foot apart, and di-op the seeds, which are large, 

 therein in such manner as to insure germination and 

 plant-formation at distances of not more than eight 

 inches apart. The first week in the month of April 

 is the best date to do so. So soon as the young 

 plants are well through the soil, hoe carefully and 

 well between them, doing so periodically through- 

 out the summer months, so as to insm-e the soil being 

 loose and free around them. Liquid manm-e given 

 to them dming the month of July is a great aid to 

 free and fine growth. These young plants, having 

 remained in the ground through the winter months, 

 may be carefully taken up in the spring, and trans- 

 ferred into permanent plantations, at distances apart, 

 &c., in all ways similar to that recommended below 

 for bed-formation by means of direct seed- sowing. 

 Or they may be permitted to remain in the rows to 

 perfect a second summer's growth, aided by a nice 

 dressing of decomposed manm^e, occasional waterings 

 of liquid manure, deep hoeings, &c. By these means 

 they form nice crowns for forcing dm'iag the follow- 

 ing winter, and should be taken up carefully, and 

 transferred to such proper places to insure this as are 

 recommended below. 



To form permanent plantations by means of direct 

 seed-sowing, the site intended for permanent planta- 

 tion, having the soil trenched and prepared as re- 

 commended, should be carefully levelled and raked 

 over towards the end of the month of March. During 

 the fixst week in April mark out the whole space into 

 rows two feet asunder. Stretch the line along the 

 first row, and sow, at distances of two feet apart in 

 the rows, three pairs of seeds. These must be in- 

 serted at a uniform depth of two inches, in pairs 

 about seven inches apart, at angles with each other. 

 Again stretch the line across the ground for the 



second row, sowing in precisely the same way as for 

 the former triple pairs of seeds, bu.t in such manner 

 that the sowings in this row be sotsti at angles with 

 the sowings in the previous one. The third row, 

 being at angles with this latter, will occupy a similar 

 place transversely to what the fii'st-sown row does. 

 B;'- continuing thus the whole bed will be furnished 

 With separate " stools," at equal distances apart 

 throughout, giving to all the greatest possible 

 amount of space whereon to make repeated per- 

 manent summer growths. 



As, however, "Sea-kale pots" vary in dimensions 

 in different places, and sowing seeds in triples, as ad- 

 vised, is intended to form as many crowns as possible, 

 to place each pot over for forcing and for blanching, 

 it may be convenient to take the measui'ements of the 

 pots on hand, and to sow the seeds at angles apart in 

 such manner as to insure that the plants, when gi'own 

 in the future, can be properly covered by them, which 

 may vary the measui'ement given. 



\Vhen the young plants have formed, remove each 

 duplicate one in all instances where more than one 

 seed has genninated, giving all attention during the 

 following summers in regard- to hoeing, neatly forking 

 the surface of the ground over duiing the following 

 spring, &c. 



Propagation by means of di^-ision of the roots, a 

 method often followed by growers for market who 

 are anxious to make the most of things, is very 

 simple. When the main roots are dug up for forcing, 

 a system generally followed by them also, every por- 

 tion of broken root, from the size of dry straight- 

 stick maccaroni upwards, is preserved for this pur- 

 pose. These are cut into imiform lengths of about 

 five inches, and dibbled, or laid in di-ill-rows chopped 

 out for them, with the thick ends just level with 

 the surface of the soil, in such manner that they form 

 buds, grow, and ultimately, after a summer or two, 

 perfect crowns, which in turn are used for forcing. 



To make a plantation which shall give quicker re- 

 sults than by means of seed-sowing at angles, as 

 ad\dsed above, or by waiting to grow and perfect 

 the needful crowns for so doing in the home gar- 

 den, it is only necessary to prepare the bed, as ad- 

 \ised, during the winter months, and to purchase a 

 hundred or two crowns about the month of February 

 for planting therein. These are always obtainable 

 from seedsmen, and at a very reasonable rate, and are 

 fa r more economical than seed-buying, sowing, and 

 waiting the result. 



Preparing Sea- kale for use, whether this consist 

 of forcing, blanching, or retarding, is very simple, 

 though generally expressed imder the term "forcing" 

 only. The original practice was to grow the plants 

 in beds or plantations, as recommended above, to then 

 place pots over the crowns, covering them with stable 



