ON THE CULTIVATION OF SEA-KALE. 



157 



for striking cuttings, it should be somewhat finer, so that it may run compactly 

 together, and thus exclude the air ; it should not, however, become hard and 

 crusted upon the surface. Sand of a whitish colour is most generally used, but 

 the colour is of no consequence, provided it be free from any admixture of iron. 

 Such are the principal materials commonly used by gardeners for potting plants. 



Peat and loam, with a portion of sand, is used for many kinds of Cape and 

 New Holland plants : peat mixed with sand, for the different species of Erica, 

 Epacris, and other plants from various countries having very fine fibrous roots i 

 when bog-earth is used for this purpose instead of heath-mould, it requires a greater 

 quantity of sand. Leaf-mould is sometimes used as a substitute for peat, or is 

 occasionally mixed with it. 



Rotted clung and leaf-mould mixed with loam is used for balsams, cockscombs, 

 pelargoniums, and other strong-rooted plants. In whatever proportions they are 

 mixed, the soil ought to be chopped up with the spade, but not sifted fine, unless 

 for plants in small pots. 



Particular attention should be paid to getting all the soils well sweetened by 

 frequent turning before they are used, and also to using them rather dry. How- 

 ever good the soils may be, if these points be not attended to the plants will not 

 grow kindly. When grubs, wireworms, and other insects which are injurious to 

 roots, are found in soils, they may be readily destroyed by spreading the soil 

 about two inches thick upon a walk or other place with a hard bottom, in dry 

 weather in summer, and frequently turning it until it becomes tolerably dry ; as 

 no insect that burrows in the ground can survive long after it is deprived of 

 moisture by exposure to the heat of the sun. 



Drainers are also requisite for putting into the bottoms of the pots, without 

 which many kinds of plants cannot be grown successfully. A supply may be 

 readily obtained by saving all broken pots and breaking them into small pieces, 

 varying from the size of peas to that of beans, according to the size of the pots 

 for which they are wanted. 



ON THE CULTIVATION OF SEA-KALE. 



BY DAVID CAMERON, A.L.S., Botanic Garden, Edgbaston. 



Sea-kale being a vegetable of general cultivation, various methods of forcing 

 it have been recommended and practised, with a view to obtain it in the greatest 

 perfection. Where it is not wanted for use before the middle of February, or 

 beginning of March, the simplest, and perhaps the best and most economical 

 method, is by covering it with leaves. The leaves should be collected together 

 on a dry day, as soon as they have dropped off in sufficient quantities, which is 

 generally about the beginning of November. The sea-kale being planted in rows 

 in one of the quarters of the garden (so as to admit of a square at least twenty 

 feet each way being covered at once), the leaves being trimmed off, and the 



