£40 



THK PRACTICAL GARDENER. 



[Oct. 



frames have been used, and those in the open borders lost A 

 small sowing of the hardier kinds may be made in a sheltered 

 spot : should they come up and stand the winter, they will be 

 extremely useful in spring, affording a crop between those 

 which have M'ithstood the weather, and those which are to be 

 sown for the earliest spring-crops. 



In preserving lettuce, or any other crop, through the winter, 

 it is a particular point in the management, that they be kept 

 completely clear of weeds, dead leaves, and every thing that 

 would induce a state of damp or decay. Coal-ashes have 

 been found useful when s]irinkled between the plants to about 

 the thickness of three-quarters of an inch, these having a 

 tendency to absorb moisture, render the air round the plants 

 less humid, and tend also to keep off the slugs in autumn. 

 We have tried pulverized chalk for a similar purpose, without 

 observing much difference in the effect. 



BLANCHING ENDIVE. 



As the plants of endive attain their full size, they should 

 be blanched, in which state only can they appear at table as 

 an ingredient in salads. However, for some culinary pur- 

 poses, they are often used without being blanched. Many 

 are the ways by which gardeners whiten or blanch endive ; 

 the most primitive probably was merely tying up the leaves 

 with pieces of bass, this is still often practised, and answers 

 the purpose in proportion to the attention that is paid to the 

 process. Others cover the whole plant while growing with a 

 slate or tile, and many cover them in rows by placing two 

 boards edgeways, so as to meet at their top. Some, after 

 tying their leaves up, cover them nearly over with mould, sand, 

 saw-dust, &c. ; while some cover them with inverted flower- 

 pots, having the holes in their bottoms stopped ; this is an 

 expeditious and commodious method, as the plants are kept 

 dry, and the progress of the blanching can be easily examined. 

 But the most effectual and better way is to have blanching- 

 pots for the purpose. These pots are made similar to those 

 used for blanching sea-kale, but only a foot in diameter, and 

 six or eight inches high, having a knob at their top, by which 



