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or at any rate given a trial, and will now enumerate a few. In the Parish 

 of Manchester, and probably other parts, I understand that a large number 

 of kinds of excellent vegetables are grown, but my remarks have special 

 reference to the hills of St. Andrew, with which I am more intimately 

 acquainted. 



Artichokes. — Procure offsets or suckers and plant in groups of three or 

 four, at least four feet apart in good, open, rather sandy soil, thoroughly 

 dug up and well manured. If planted early in the year these will produce 

 heads during the summer and autumn. When gathering the heads cut 

 the stems close to the ground and new suckers will be produced, and these, 

 if carefully thinned, will produce a late crop. The artichoke is a good 

 vegetable and much liked by many people, but is seldom to be obtained 

 here. 



Beet-root. — This is grown to a small extent, but in a very indifferent 

 manner. The seeds should be sown in drills 15 inches apart where the 

 crop is to grow, in a deep, well manured and well pulverized soil in the open. 

 The seedlings should be thinned as soon as large enough to be handled 

 to 8 or 9 inches apart. When ready for use the roots should be lifted very 

 carefully so as not to bruise or injure them, and the tops should be screwed 

 off, not cut. If at all injured they lose their colour and flavour in boiling. 

 There are numerous varieties of Beet, but probably the best for cultivation 

 here, where the soil during dry weather often becomes caked and hard, 

 are the turnip rooted sorts. 



Celery. — Sow the seeds thinly in a box of fine soil, and as soon as the 

 plants have made two or three leaves they should be pricked off into boxes 

 of light soil to which has been added some fine, rotten manure, and when 

 they are strong enough they may be planted out in the trenches. The 

 latter should be 4 feet apart, 18 inches deep and about 15 inches wide. In 

 the bottom of each, place a good layer of perfectly rotten manure, over this 

 spread a couple of inches of fine soil and put out the plants, in showery 

 weather if possible, but if not then the young plants should be well watered. 

 As the plants increase in size they should be earthed up with the soil from 

 between the trenches to blanch them. At each earthing up, the soil should 

 be pressed pretty firmly around each plant to exclude light and air and 

 ensure blanching, 



Cucumbers. — It is usual to soak the seeds in water for a few hours before 

 sowing ; this softens them and causes them to germinate quickly. It will 

 be found, too, that the good seeds sinks after a time and bad ones float and 

 are thus easily detected. Ridges or hills should be prepared and the seeds 

 planted not less than 4 feet apart. The roots should be top-dressed about 

 once a fortnight with good manure mixed with soil, and they should never 

 be allowed to suffer for Want of water. When the plants have made three 

 leaves they should be stopped. This will cause them to throw out side 

 shoots which should also be stopped, and the vines will soon spread in all 

 directions and cover the ground. Some long, dry grass should be laid 

 under the fruits to keep them clean. If the grower chooses to go to the 

 trouble of making a temporary arbour over which to train his plants, he 

 may expect to be rewarded with much handsomer and finer fruit. 



Leeks. — Sow the seed in a box in the month of January. If the seedlings 

 come up too thick, they should be thinned to about an inch apart, and 

 those that remain should be planted out in trenches when they are about 

 as thick as a goose quill. The trenches should be prepared in the same 

 way as for celery, but need not be so deep and only 9 to 12 inches wide 

 and about 18 inches apart, and the distance from plant to plant in the 

 trenches should be 9 or 10 inches. They should be earthed up in the same 

 way as celery to blanch them. 



