HOW TO MAINTAIN A SUPPLY OF VEGETABLES. 



51 



Turnips. — A common vegetable, for which we have no good 

 substitute in culinary art, and of which a continuous supply is 

 always looked for. A little care and management easily secures 

 this. A succession of sowings from March to August, or even 

 later some seasons, will furnish a supply for eight or nine 

 months of the year, the remainder being furnished by carefully 

 stored roots. The " turnip fly " is often very destructive to this 

 crop in the young state. The best remedy I know is to give the 

 young plants a good dusting over with fresh lime immediately 

 they appear above ground. 



Rhubarb. — No vegetable we grow pays better for high culti- 

 vation than this, although in many gardens it receives a scant 

 allowance of either labour or manure. To have this really good 

 it should be grown in deeply trenched soil, and it can scarcely be 

 too heavily manured. The large massive crowns thus produced 

 are forced with the greatest ease in a Mushroom-house, or other 

 construction of a suitable nature and similar temperature ; or it 

 may be forced by placing Seakale-pots over the crowns, and then 

 covering them up with a mass of heated horse -litter and leaves. 

 In most cases it is the best plan to lift the crowns and force 

 them, making a new plantation every year to keep up the 

 supply. 



Potatoes. — For the earliest supply of these, pot cultivation is 

 best, as they can be moved into different houses as required. 

 To have new Potatoes in January the sets should be started in 

 an early Peach-house or vinery in September. For a supply in 

 March, start in December. Sand and leaf- soil is best for very 

 early crops. Early crops can also be secured under south walls, 

 and in any warm sheltered part of the garden. For main crops 

 in the garden they should always be allowed ample space between 

 the rows, and this must be decided by the height the variety 

 selected grows. 



Mushrooms. — To grow these good, horse-droppings are 

 required, which should be thrown up in a large heap and turned 

 over three or four times to allow the rank heat and steam to pass 

 off before making up the beds. These may be made in the form 

 of ridges in the open air, or in sheds, or in a regular Mushroom- 

 house ; but for a constant supply in summer nothing is equal to 

 underground cellars. The main points to secure success are 

 good spawn, the soil used to be free from lime, the material of the 



E 2 



