VEGETABLES ALL THE YEAR ROUND FOR A PRIVATE FAMILY. 355 



next sowing, made on August 4, is ready. This lot has to be planted on a 

 south border, in the autumn, and covered with frames when severe 

 weather comes ; the frames are taken off as soon as severe frost is over in 

 spring. This sowing has to last until the middle of May, when the next 

 sowing, which was made the third week in August, is ready. These are 

 grown close to a south wall all the winter, without other protection. I 

 generally put a frame over those left in the seed-bed, and plant some on 

 the north side of a wall in spring ; they do not run to seed so early as 

 those by the south wall. But about the end of Jun6 the ' Brown Cos ' is 

 finished, and at this time 1 Alexandra Cos ' (a select form of the ' Paris 

 White '), which was sown on a mild hotbed the first week in February, is 

 ready for use. These were planted out when large enough, first under 

 handlights and then between the Celery trenches. The next two sowings 

 are made at intervals of a month, outside ; and the following ones, up 

 to July 12, at intervals of a fortnight, and a supply of Lettuces is thus 

 maintained throughout the year. 



Mushrooms (Agaricus campestris). — There is not much difficulty in 

 obtaining a good supply of Mushrooms if a few leading points are 

 observed. The spawn must be fresh, and good ; manure must be 

 obtained from stables where the horses are fed on corn, and have very 

 little green food ; it must be carefully prepared, by throwing it into a 

 heap of not more than one foot in thickness, and should be turned over 

 frequently until the strong heat has passed away ; it will then be ready 

 for making up into a bed in the mushroom-house. As soon as the heat 

 has declined to 85° after rising to the maximum, the spawn should be 

 inserted ; this must be broken into pieces, about the size of a hen's egg, 

 and placed about one foot apart each way, just under the surface of the 

 manure, and the whole beaten firm afterwards, and covered one inch deep 

 with a nice friable loam from a grass-field. The temperature of the 

 house should not go below 60" until the first Mushrooms are ready, when 

 it may be allowed to fall to 55° unless other beds are in progress. Beds 

 made up and treated thus should come into bearing in six weeks, and 

 will continue for a similar period, so that the question of a regular supply 

 depends upon making up succession beds; and for giving a supply in 

 June, July, and August a cool cellar is necessary, as the ordinary 

 mushroom- house is usually too warm during those months. 



Mustard (Sinapis alba) is used for salads, and may be had throughout 

 the year, if warm houses are available during the winter months, when it 

 requires a temperature of 60° to 65°. After January it may be sown on 

 ordinary hotbeds, and in April and afterwards it will succeed in the 

 open air. 



Onion (Allium Cepa). — I am not an admirer of very large Onions, the 

 growing of which has become almost a craze with some people. Roots 

 2 to 4 inches in diameter are far the most useful, and may be obtained 

 with a tithe of the labour required for 2 and 3 lb. roots. For the main 

 crop it is important that the ground should be dug up early in the 

 autumn, and a good supply of rich manure added. The seed should be 

 sown in February if the ground is in a suitable condition, the chief point 

 being a dry pulverised state of the soil, to ensure the covering of the seed 

 with the smallest portion of earth. It is also very important that the 



