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A BIG TOMATO HOUSE. 



THE CULTURE OF VEGETABLES. 

 By Edwin Beckett. 



THIS most practical branch of gardening appears at length to be receiving proper 

 attention, and few other departments of horticulture can show a greater 

 advance than the culture of vegetables. No doubt immense improvements 

 have been made in the system of cultivation all through Her Majesty's long 

 reign, especially during recent years, on account of the more scientific methods adopted to 

 bring many of our best vegetables to a high state of perfection. This satisfactory state 

 of affairs has taken some time to perfect, and may be attributed to the painstaking 

 efforts of many of England's best gardeners. 



Vegetables Past and Present. 



I propose to say a few words about the principal vegetables in detail, for the purpose 

 of comparison between past and present, and as an instance of recent development let us 

 select, first, the Pea. 



In any well-ordered kitchen garden the supply of this welcome esculent may now be 

 spread over several months, from the late spring until the early autumn, and during this 

 period the produce is of high quality. Such fine sorts as Early Morn, Duke of Albany, 

 Daisy, The Prior, and others equally good, each of them producing Peas of large size, in 

 pods of great length, prove conclusively the value of cultivating the choicest varieties. 

 While referring to this matter, it is always well to bear in mind that as much labour, 

 space, time, and expense are needed to cultivate an indifferent crop as to produce a fine 

 one. Many of the high-class varieties are of a desirable habit of growth, combined with 

 their free-bearing qualities. Flavour too — really an essential quality — characterises the 

 majority of the newer introductions. As a further encouragement to grow good varieties, 



