252 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



marked veins, and growing in pairs, placed cross-wise over one 

 another, and forming a rather dense rosette ; stem angular, entirely 

 herbaceous, forking several times, and bearing very small bluish 

 white flowers, in terminal clusters at the extremities of the 

 branches ; seed almost globular, slightly compressed, and gray in 

 colour. Their germinating power lasts for five years. This is one 

 of the commonest native plants, especially in cultivated ground, 

 and in some countries large quantities of it are gathered amongst 

 the growing crops of winter and spring wheat. The wild form, 

 however, is now seldom used for kitchen-garden culture, and is 

 only gathered where it is found growing naturally, having been 

 superseded in- cultivation by the improved kinds which we are 

 about to describe. 



Culture. — The seed is sown at the end of summer, or in 

 autumn, in any kind of soil, and the plant produces leaves from 

 October to spring, without requiring any attention or protection. 

 Generally, small thick-set plants are preferred to those of coarser 

 growth, the leaves of which become too large and long. Contrary 

 to what is experienced in the case of most other cultivated plants, 

 seeds of the Corn-salad sown the same year in which they ripened 

 do not germinate so soon or so well as those which are kept for a 

 year before they are sown. 



This plant is grown to some ex- 

 tent by the London market-gardeners. 

 The seed is sown for succession crops 

 from August to October, the result 

 being a supply from October till 

 spring. There are two kinds gro\vn 

 — the Round and the Regence ; the 

 former is considered the best for 

 winter use, but it runs to seed earlier 

 in spring than the latter kind, there- 

 fore the Regence is sown in October 

 for a supply after the Round kind 

 has run to seed. The land on which 

 the seed is sown is of a rich character, 

 and in many cases it is sow^n broad- 

 cast among w^inter Onions or some 

 similar crop for which the land has 

 been liberally manured and other- 

 wise well prepared. No more pre- 

 paration is needed beyond raking the 

 surface before and after the seed is 

 sown. In gathering, the plants are 

 pulled up by their roots, washed, and 

 sold in small punnets. Most growers 

 save their own seed. For this pur- 



pose a bed is specially prepared, 

 levelled, and made fine on the 

 surface, after which it is rolled 

 or otherwise pressed down firmly. 

 Good plants from the general sowing 

 are then selected and planted thickly, 

 and the bed is afterwards kept free 

 from weeds. In summer the seed 

 which ripens is allowed to fall on 

 the bed, after which the old plants 

 are pulled up and the seed is care- 

 fully swept off the hard surface 

 and placed in water to separate 

 it from the soil, w^hich ^nks to the 

 bottom. The seed is then dried 

 gradually in the sun and put in 

 bags in a dry place, and under 

 such conditions it will retain its 

 vitality perfectly for several years. 

 Corn-salad is not considered of 

 itself a paying crop, but when sown 

 amongst other crops it takes up but 

 little room, and therefore in such 

 cases may be considered to be fairly 

 remunerative. 



