45 8 



THE CENTURY BOOK OF GARDENING. 



be provided for, thus good and wholesome vegetables may always be gathered, and the 

 vegetable garden put to its fullest use. Gardeners frequently make the mistake of not 

 commencing sufficiently early with many of the best vegetables, and in consequence the results 

 are poor. Failures are often recorded through this cause with Celery, Parsnips, Autumn 

 Cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts, Leeks, and Onions. If representatives of the foregoing are 

 to be obtained, agreeable both to the palate and the eye, it is important that they be taken 

 in hand much earlier than is the general rule. A long season of growth does not necessarily 

 result in a vegetable becoming coarse and inedible ; but, on the contrary, it should be properly 

 matured and in prime condition for the kitchen. Visitors to our leading horticultural 

 exhibitions must have seen the marvellous displays made by some of the best vegetable 

 gardeners of the United Kingdom, and it will almost always be found that deep cultivation, 

 together with an early sowing (in many cases under glass), has largely contributed to the 

 successful result. Onions and Leeks, for instance, are often raised under glass in the early 

 days of January, and after they have attained sufficient size pricked off into boxes or small 

 pots, and grown on successively until they are ultimately planted out in quarters specially 

 prepared for them. By following this mode of culture, these vegetables attain enormous 

 proportions, and, in the case 

 of Onions, bear favourable 

 comparison to those grown in 

 the South-West of Europe 



A longer season of 

 growth with Leeks ensures 

 better bleaching, and the 

 same remark' also applies to 

 Celery. Tap-rooted subjects, 

 such as Carrots and Parsnips, 

 may be grown to perfection 

 with little more than ordi- 

 nary pains. Holes should be 

 made with a crow bar in the 

 soil to the depth of 3ft. or 

 4ft, and these are afterwards 

 filled in with finely-sifted soil, 

 such as that from the potting 

 shed. When this has been 

 firm, seeds are sown on the 



POT A TOE, UP-TO-DA IE. 



worked down into the holes and rendered sufficiently 

 surface, only a few in each hole, and in the end, when 

 the seedlings appear, the best individual plant is retained and the others removed. 

 When the crop has matured, almost every individual root will produce the vegetable 

 in its best form, free from blemish, and in excellent condition for culinary purposes. 

 Some may urge, and with much truth, that this method of culture invokes considerable 

 work" and time, but surely when vegetable growers find that failures under this system 

 are unknown they will adopt the plan. Very little seed is necessary when proper 

 regard is paid to its sowing. The costly novelties may be acquired, and a good crop 

 result from the first season's sowing, when seeds are sown thinly, and thus novelties may- 

 be more readily tried than if they were subjected to the system of culture so general in this 

 country. Too often, unfortunately, Celery, Brussels Sprouts, Autumn Cauliflowers, and 

 other equally valuable vegetables are not planted far enough apart to ensure proper 

 development. It is important to allow plenty of space between each plant and the rows. 



MANURE. — The manure to be used must be determined by the nature of the land. 

 Heavy soil with a clay subsoil should always, if possible, be well dressed with stable manure, 

 which should be used in as green a state as possible, and the straw ought not to be taken from 



