16 



CULINARY OR KITCHEN GARDEN. 



be produced, must vary widely according 

 to locality, commercial demand, and the 

 habits of the people, considered wholly 

 apart from theoretical provisions. One 

 point in theory which should agree with 

 practice is this, that in no case is it pos- 

 sible to expect more organic matter, and 

 particularly more azotised organic mat- 

 ter, than the excess of the same matter 

 contained in the manure which is con- 

 sumed in course of the rotation. By 

 acting upon another presumption, the 

 productiveness of the soil would be in- 

 fallibly lessened. Hence it may be in- 

 ferred how closely the study of rotations 

 is connected with that of the exhaustion 

 of the soil." 



Such is a brief epitome of the two lead- 

 ing theories — hypotheses, perhaps, more 

 properly they should be called. The 

 practical deductions to be drawn from 

 them differ little, and add as little to 

 what observing cultivators have long been 

 taught by experience — namely, that crops, 

 the plants of which have a close affinity 

 to each other, belong to the same natural 

 order, or resemble each other in structure 

 or habit, should not follow each other in 

 cultivation. Cruciferous plants — that is, 

 the cabbage, kale, or turnip tribe — should 

 be followed by those of the leguminous 

 order, or the pea and bean tribe, and vice 

 versa. Deep-rooting plants, like the beet, 

 carrot, parsnip, &c, should be followed 

 by such as spinach, lettuce, &c, and 

 vice versa. Again, plants which have been 

 grown for their fruit, such as seed- 

 cabbage, and even pease, beans, scar- 

 let runners, although the three latter 

 do not remain to ripen their seeds, 

 take more from the soil than cabbage, 

 celery, or spinach, which are grown for 

 their leaves alone. Perennial plants, such 

 as sea-kale, asparagus, globe artichoke, 

 &c, should never succeed each other, but 

 should be succeeded by onions, leeks, or 

 other annual crops of short duration, of 

 essentially different characters. Indeed, 

 no two exhausting crops should succeed 

 each other, but rather the least exhaust- 

 ing, such as lettuce, endive, <fcc, should 

 be succeeded by cabbage or the like. 



The following excellent article on rota- 

 tion cropping appeared in "The Gar- 

 deners' Chronicle," and deserves the 

 special attention of every cultivator, 

 whether the field of his operations be 



large or small. " Rotation crops consist 

 of those most required for culinary pur- 

 poses, such as pease, beans, French beans, 

 broccoli, cabbage, turnip, carrots, parsnip, 

 beet, onions, savoys, spinach (winter), 

 and winter greens, celery, cauliflower, 

 leeks. Pease and beans should be sown 

 from February to June." In Scotland 

 we sow on till the beginning of August, 

 as our moist mild climate is more favour- 

 able for producing crops during Septem- 

 ber, October, November, and we have 

 had them occasionally up to nearly Christ- 

 mas, seasons when pease have hitherto 

 been almost unknown in the neighbour- 

 hood of London, where the drought and 

 heat prevent their natural development. 

 The London Horticultural Society have 

 this season taken up this matter, and we 

 believe that, by counteracting the effects 

 of heat and drought, both of which are 

 pretty much under the control of the 

 cultivator, green pease will soon be seen 

 in Covent Garden market on Lord 

 Mayor's Day, as they are now on the 1st 

 of June. " The first crop of pease will be 

 clear for early broccoli in the end of 

 June, and for the other seasons until 

 September, for later broccoli, savoys, 

 borecole, Brussels sprouts, collards or 

 coleworts, and spring cabbage. This 

 crop should have a slight crop of manure. 

 Broccoli ground will be cleared of early 

 sorts by winter" — in Scotland, say the 

 end of November — " and should be ridged 

 up all winter for a crop of carrots, which 

 should be sown as early as possible. The 

 later broccoli, colewort, sprouts, &c, 

 will make way by April or the beginning 

 of May for beet, parsnip, scorzonera, 

 and salsify. Carrots, beet, and parsnips 

 will be clear in the beginning of Novem- 

 ber, when the ground must be again 

 ridged up for winter, and have a good 

 coat of dung ready for cauliflowers, onions, 

 garlic, and shallots, the two latter being 

 planted in November, and also the prin- 

 cipal crop of turnips sown in the end of 

 March and April. Cauliflower, onions, 

 and turnips will be clear from July to 

 September ; the cauliflower, shallots, &c, 

 in July, for autumn spinach and endive; 

 the onions for winter spinach, and the 

 turnips for spring onions, winter lettuce, 

 and other secondary crops. Spinach, 

 endive, - and spring onions will be clear 

 by the end of May for savoys, winter 



