106 



THE GARDENER, 



[mar. 



that it should be dropped only where actually required. 

 " The third spring, several stalks may be gathered 

 from each plant, and the fourth spring the plantation 

 will be in full bearing. Excepting in the first spring 

 after sowing, no spring dressing is required till May, 

 after the crop has been gathered. The London mar- 

 ket gardeners plant the seakale in rows from four t> 

 six feet apart, and every autumn, after the leaves have 

 died down to the surface, they dig a trench between 

 the rows, and cover the plants with soil to the depth 

 of a foot. As the crop is gathered, the ridges so 

 formed are levelled down, and a crop planted between. 

 By this mode, the whole produce of the plant is ga- 

 thered at once, every part of it being completely 

 blanched and tender."* 



Make plantations of artichokes, which will grow 

 very well in a stiff soil properly managed, though a 

 rich friable loam will be far better for them, as for all 

 productions generally. Trench, or at least dig the 

 ground deeply ; then stretch your line, open holes 

 fifteen inches in diameter and twelve inches deep, 

 three feet apart ; put two well-rooted offsets into each 

 hole, with the tops above ground, and manure round 

 the roots ; then draw the line for the next row four 

 feet distant from the first, and proceed as before, dig- 

 ging good manure into the intervals. Plants put 

 down early this month will produce some heads at 

 the end of autumn. Dress the established plantations, 

 levelling the trenches, removing superfluous stools, 

 and blending the litter, which had been protecting the 

 plants, with the soil. 



Jerusalem artichokes, once planted, will take care 

 of themselves ; like potatoes, they have a disposition 

 to renew their growth from the tubers left in the 

 ground during the winter ; the best way of propagat- 



♦ Gardeners* Mag. 



