MUSTARD. 



259 



England since 1576. The stem is two or three feet high, 

 few leaved, branched at the top. The flowers are yellow 

 and syngenesions. 



Culture. — It is raised from seed which must be sown 

 yearly. The soil like that for most root crops, must be 

 mellow, deep, and fertile. Soav in February or early in 

 March, in drills ten inches apart and half an inch deep. 

 When the young plants are two inches high, thin them to 

 six or eight inches in the drill. Keep the soil mellow and 

 free from weeds as they advance in growth. In short, 

 cultivate exactly like salsify. Give water in dry weather. 

 The roots will be fit to use in August, and may remain in 

 the ground to be dug as wanted. 



To Save Seed. — Let some old plants remain in the 

 spring, which will shoot up tall stems, and produce ripe 

 seed. 



Use. — The roots are agreeable to the taste and nutritive, 

 b\it before use, the bitter outer rind must be scraped off. 

 It is then boiled and used like salsify or carrots. The 

 roots continue good all winter. The plant is too similar 

 to salsify to render its cultivation an object where that is 

 grown. 



Sinapis — ^Mustard. 



There are two species of sinapis cultivated, the Alba, 

 usually employed in salads, and the Nigra of which the 

 seed furnishes the well known condiment. 



The soil for mustard should be a good moist loam, but 

 for a Avinter crop it may be more dry. White mustard 

 may be sown any time of the year for a salad in the same 

 manner as cress, which see. It must be used when the 

 seed-leaf is just expanded, for if it gets into the rough 

 leaf it is fit for nothing but greens. For use, cut them 

 off with a sharp knife. They should be used soon after 



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