WINTER VEGETABLES. 



81 



either a strong or dry heat ; give the roots the benefit of a gentle 

 hotbed, packing the roots closely on this and covering with not 

 less than three inches of fine rich soil. The top heat not exceed- 

 ing 55°, strong shoots will appear in less than three weeks, 

 and a fairly long succession may be had from a single batch, the 

 supply being kept up by means of successional batches introduced 

 into heat about every eighteen days. Asparagus lifted before the 

 frost usually experienced towards the end of December throw up 

 shoots very quickly, but in all probability the next batch will be 

 longer in moving owing to the check given to the abnormal 

 activity of the roots. 



Seakale is far more commonly forced than Asparagus, and in 

 this case it has become the fashion to prepare the requisite 

 number of roots for lifting and forcing — this being found much 

 the simplest and surest way of getting early, well-blanched pro- 

 duce. But much finer and, it may be, more succulent heads 

 can be had by forcing strong old clumps where they are grown ; 

 but this means a considerable amount of labour and much 

 watchful care — more especially to prevent injurious over-heating 

 of the material used for forcing. Short cuttings of strong side- 

 roots, saved when the crowns are being lifted for forcing, and 

 duly stored in sand or fine soil, and planted out after leaf-buds 

 and a few root-fibres have formed, will in the course of one 

 summer develop into fine stuff fit for lifting and forcing the 

 following autumn or winter. It is scarcely possible to prepare 

 too many of these for forcing, their great value having never 

 been more apparent than was the case this last winter. Fully 

 one acre is devoted to the preparation of Seakale in gardens 

 connected with some few large establishments that could be 

 named, and not a plant too many is grown. The plan of raising 

 Seakale from seed compares most unfavourably with that of 

 putting in cuttings, while the variety known as ' 'Lily White" 

 is infinitely to be preferred to the old purple-tipped form. Un- 

 fortunately the former is the least hardy of the two, and the 

 crowns left in the open ground till wanted ought to be either 

 moulded up or protected with litter. Seakale forces readily in 

 a Mushroom-house, or in any other darkened, well-heated place 

 the roots being buried in rich soil and kept uniformly moist. 

 If boxes or deep pots containing the roots are set on a flue or 

 on hot-water pipes, the first growths may be cut in less than 



