BROCCOLI. 



73 



roots should be taken up, the leaves cut off within a quarter of 

 an inch of the crown, the roots put to dry in the sun for a week 

 or more, and then put away in some dry place, or packed in 

 sand like carrots for winter use. Beets may be transplanted, 

 and will, in that way, get to a very good size, but they are apt 

 to be forked. They should remain in the seed bed till about 

 the size of a radish, such as we eat at the table, and be put in 

 immediately in very fine earth, and they will do very well, though 

 they will not be so smooth as those that are left to stand where 

 they are sowed. 



126. BROCCOLI. — There are two distinct species or kinds of 

 the broccoli ; the purple, and the white. There are, besides, a 

 sort that is of a hidmstone colour, and another that is greenish ; 

 but these only come from a mixture of the other two sorts. One 

 of which is white, or, rather, cream colour, not so w hite as a 

 cauliflower ; and the other is of a bright purple colour. Broccoli 

 is eaten from about the beginning of November, to about the 

 middle of April. The purple sort comes earliest : and the white 

 is not generally in much perfection until about the middle of 

 February. There is a purple sort which is called Cape broccoli, 

 which comes earlier, I believe, than any of the other purple, 

 this being a purple too. Gardeners talk of early broccoli seed, 

 and of late : and doubtless, by dint of great care in saving seed 

 from the earliest heads, the habit of early produce in the plants 

 may be produced ; but, while I do not think there is much in 

 this, it ought to be attended to when people go to purchase 

 seed. The time for sowing the purple broccoli is about the ' 

 beginning of April, if you wish to have it in the autumn and in 

 the beginning of w inter ; and, if you wish to have it in the 

 spring, the beginning of 3lay is a proper time to sow. Some- 

 thing, however, depends upon the goodness, as well as the earli- 

 ness, of the ground ; for, in good ground, especially if it be in a 

 warm situation, you may venture to sow either earlier or later 

 than the times here mentioned. The first week in May is quite 

 time enough to sow the w hite broccoli ; for, if sowed earlier, 

 it gets too much heat before the summer is over ; it begins to 

 form a head or flower before the frost comes: and, if the head 

 be only closely approaching towards outward appearance, sharp 

 frost w ill destroy it : it will rot ; and, as this sort of broccoli 

 never sends out sprouts from the side, you lose the produce 



