ENDIVE. 



105 



CZse.— This is a piaiit of some rep^ute in medicine. It is 

 said to strengthen the stomach and promote perspiration. 

 An infusion of the rocts, sweetened with honey, is useful in 

 booping cough. If liberallj taken, they are diuretic, 

 and said to be of great service in removing visceral obstruc- 

 tions. A decoction of this plant has been employed by 

 farmers for the cure oi scab in sheep ; and externally ap- 

 plied for removing disorders of the skin. The fresh roots 

 beaten in a morttirj Vv itii new butter, and applied externally, 

 are said to cure the itch, scald h^aci, &e, 



ENDIVE. — Cklwdicm endlvia. — The endive is a hardy 

 annuaij a native of China and Japan, and introduced into 

 Great Britain in 1548. The varieties are 



Green curled leaves, [ Vs'liile Diuisd leaves, | Eroad-leaved Batavian. 



Estimate of sorts. — ^'All the sorts are eligible for culture; 

 but allot, principally, the green c>arled for the main crops 

 of autumn and winter endive, this being of the most stocky, 

 full growth, and hardieijt to stand severe weather. As to 

 the others, allot a smaller porticL^ of the white curled for 

 tiarly summer and autumn use : of the broad-leaved kind, 

 provide a moderate crop for autumn, till November or De- 

 cember ; being by some esteemed preferable for stews and 

 soups, though not inueh used in sale'ds^^^ 



Propagatimi.- — Ail the varieties are raised from seed, of 

 %vhieh, for a seed-bed four feet by ten in length, half an 

 ounce is sufficient. 



Times of sowing. — " The proper seasons are, May, for a 

 mnaller early crop ; and pniicipaliy June and July to the 

 beginning of August; for full and successive crops, all autumn 

 and winter, till the folio vviiig spring. For, if sown earlier 

 inan the middle of iJay, or beginning of June, they will 

 mostly run to stalk the same sessGii, before attaining mature, 

 useful growth. If any are required for early young sumxmer 

 endive, sow only a small portion of the white curled in 

 April or May, as the plants will soon run to seed. In the 

 middle, or towards the end of May, you may begin sowdng 

 moderately of the different sorts ; but do not sow fully tiL 

 nearly the middle of June, that the plants may stand with- 

 out running to seed the same year. About the twelfth anis 

 twenty-fifth of that month, also at the beginning and middle 

 of July, sovv the main and successive crops, for autumn and 

 winter; and a finer, smaller sowdng about the beginning of 

 August, for late supplies in the end of winter and followdn^ 

 spring. 



CuJiuj-e in tJie seed-befL — " Sow each sort separately in 



