THE CULTURE OF VEGETABLES. 



479 



il only because of its colour. The roots are habitually 

 used in I he winter, and when properly cooked and 

 served with sauce have been termed vegetable oysters. 

 Seeds of both may be sown in shal ow drills thinly in 

 April. These drills should be about 1 3in. apart. When 

 the plants are a few inches in height they should be 

 thinned out to 4in. apart. The roots are about the size 

 round of a man's thumb, when well grown, and 6in. 

 long. They may be lifted in November and stored 

 in a cool place in dry sand, ready for use as needed 

 during l he winter. 

 Seakaie. --- The old style of culture of this valuable 

 winter vegetable consisted in planting roots in trebles, 

 and in clumps in some corner of I lie garden, and then in 

 future winters, after the leaves had died down, placing 

 large pots over the clumps, covering these up with long 

 manure and leaves, and thus causing the crowns to break 

 into growth a few weeks earlier than would be the case 

 il uncovered. The Kale so produced was very good, but 

 too commonly lasted of the manure. The rule now is to 

 start, where there is no root stock, by raising plants from 

 seed sown in drills, 2oin. apart, on good deep-worked 

 and well-manured soil. The sowing should be made 

 about the middle of April. When the seedlings are fully 

 up, they should be thinned out to loin, apart in the rows. 

 Once during the summer a light dressing of salt may be 

 sprinkled amongst the plants, and be well hoed in. Very 

 soon the soil is covered with strong leafage. This will 

 die away in the winter. The roots should then be care- 

 fully lifted, and have every side root hard trimmed from 

 them, laying these side roots all one way. The main 

 roots, with crowns attached, should then be laid in thickly 

 in soil where they can be obtained for blanching or 

 forcing as needed during the winter. The side roots 

 should then be made into cuttings of from 4m. to 5m. 

 long, the upper end to be cut level, the lower end 

 rather slanting, then all laid in thickly into soil lor the 

 winter, the tops just covered. In March, on ground that 

 has been well prepared, dibble these root cuttings out 

 into rows 2oin. apart and I2in. apart in the rows. Treat 

 them through the summer as 

 for seedlings, and thus will 

 result in the winter a fine 

 lot of young roots. These, 

 again, will give plenty of side 

 roots to make cuttings, and 

 so the process of production 

 goes on every year, w ith the 

 result that on but a lew rods 

 of ground set apart for Sea- 

 kale production several 

 hundreds of fine roots are 

 thus obtained, and every one 

 will produce a good crown, 

 and when blanched a nice 

 white head. Forcing may 

 begin with Seakaie in any 

 dark, warm place as soon as 

 roots are lifted, and may go 



on for several months. In 



that way a liberal supply of 



this delicious blanched vege- 

 table is furnished. Its great 



merit, apart from its own 



table excellence, is that it is 



thus provided in the winter 



when all other vegetables are 



scarce. A couple of rows, 



sufficiently wide apart, may, 



if desired, be left in the 



ground, and have a ridge of 



soil placed over the crowns, 



in which the growths can 



blanch ; but it is better to 



plant some of the trimmed 



roots for thai purpose in 



rows 3ft. apart. These then 



give the latest of cuttings. 



Shallots. l'liere are in cultivation two distinct forms 

 of these useful flavouring and pickling bulbs, the true old 

 Shallot and the Large Red or Russian Shallot. Both 

 need similar culture and both are similarly used. The 

 latter is, whilst much the larger, even resembling the 

 old Potato Onion in dimensions, the least pleasant in 

 flavour. The old Shallot has a very nice nutty flavour, 

 and where quality is preferred to size is much the better. 

 Of this old form there are both fawn-coloured and 

 yellowish white - skinned varieties, but the difference 

 otherwise is infinitesimal. Where the stocks and culture 

 are good many fine bulbs of these are produced, the 

 skins being silky, shiny, and handsome. Culture con- 

 sists in planting, either in the autumn or early 

 spring, scales, off-sets, or bulbs, by whichever name 

 they be locally termed, on well-prepared soil. 

 If it be well drained and porous, planting may be 

 done in October or November, but if the soil be close 

 and damp it is best to plant in March. Many persons, 

 however, plant in February. When the soil has been well 

 manured and deeply dug, and if at all clayey, some sand, 

 wood ashes, or old mortar refuse added, the off-sets 

 should be planted by setting out drills with a line I2in. 

 apart, then pressing the small bulbs into the drills 

 at 6in. apart, fixing them well into the soil. A little 

 sand or ashes may be placed over each bulb until growth 

 begins, when it should be partially removed. It is 

 needful to keep the soil well hoed and clean during the 

 season. The bulbs ripen usually about the end of July; 

 when they can be removed, cleaned off, stored in a 

 cool place, and the soil be replanted with some other crop. 

 Spinach. —Few vegetables give less trouble than Spinach, 

 which is so easily raised from seed, and needs 

 no transplanting. The earliest sowing of seed may be 

 made in March if desired, and then be followed by 

 others once every two or three weeks down to the end of 

 August, when the customary sowing for a winter supply 

 is made. Let the drills be I2in. apart, and shallow. 

 Seed should be sown thinly, and the plants thinned out 

 to bin. apart, for the summer, and loin, apart lor the 

 winter, supply. Let the soil 

 be in good condition and 

 deeply dug. The old dis- 

 tinctions of summer and 

 winter Spinach are absurd. 

 The best for the summer 

 sowings is the Longstander, 

 as when thinned the plants 

 give fine leafage and are 

 long in running off to 

 flower. The best winter 

 variety is the Victoria ; but 

 both are good for either 



season, 

 to the 

 autumn 

 leafage 

 March. 



Tomato, 



and much superior 

 old Flanders. The 

 sowing gives good 

 from October till 



The. 



TOMATO, PEERLESS. 



This nutri- 

 tious fruit or vegetable, 

 whichever one is pleased to 

 call it, needs no introduction. 

 A child knows the shining 

 red fruits that are offered in 

 dainty punnets at the larger 

 railway stations, and used in 

 many ways in the household. 

 Few fruits are so wholesome 

 as this, whether used raw or 

 cooked. Acres of glass have 

 been erected of late years 

 for the cultivation of Toma- 

 toes, especially in the sunny 

 Southern Counties and the 

 Channel Islands. The 

 fruit may be obtained over 

 a long period when the 

 plants are grown in the open 



