580 
THE TROPICAL 
AGEIGULTURIST. [March 1, 1094. 
cultivation afterwards, except a very light hoe to 
keep down the jungle, or even weeding is sufficient 
When the plants become a fiiir size they throw out a 
Bun:ber of suckers, or side shoots, and these should 
he taken ofi as soon as they appear leaving about 
two only on each plant for the next year's planting. 
Planting from suckers should be done in June. 
Break off the suckers carefully from the old plant 
and strip off the small bottom leaves until no more 
small roots are visible, a'd then plant ss stated 
before ; at least 75 per cent will fruit the following year. 
By leaving the old plants year after year the suckers 
fruit from them, but the fruits are never so large or 
BO good as when grown on their own roots. 
A few plants of Pepita should also find a place in 
the vegetable garden. They grow very freely in 
almost any soil, bat a good dressing of manure should 
be given as soon as the fruit is set. To obtain good, 
large fruit quite 50 per cent, of the fruits should be 
taken cff as soon as they set, and when the fruits 
are swelling, liberal supplies of manure-water add 
much to their size. A good manure-water is made 
by placing a bag, filled with either fheep or cow 
manure, in a large tub or barrel, and renewing it 
every six or eight days. If soot is obtainable, a good 
supply put in the same bag as the manure greatly 
helps the growth of most vegetables and fruits, 
ENGLISH VEGETABLES. 
English vegetables should be obtainable for six 
months of the year from November to April inclusive, 
and I propose to deal with the various kinds of these 
as far as possible alphabetically. I shall start with 
Asparagus, which is easily raised from seed and which 
should be sown thinly in beds four feet wide, raised 
four to six inches above the level of the surrounding 
soil. When the plants are well established, they 
should be thinned out to about eighteen inches apart. 
It takes two and a half or three years before one can 
expect to get good heads fit for table as plenty of 
manure is necessary. It is well worth the trouble ; 
however, for what is better than a good dish of aspara- 
gus ? Next come Artichokes which also take two years 
before being ready for the table. I have not tried 
Jerusalem artichokes here, but 1 have been successful 
with the globe variety. The plants are easily 
raised from seed and like a good rich soil, deeply 
trenched. They should be planted about five feet 
apart. 
BEANS. 
A good supply of Beans should be obtainable all the 
year. To get an early supply of the English varieties, 
sow the " Dwarf French " in boxes (empty kercsine 
oil cases are very suitable) in tlie bungalow verandah 
in September, and put the seedlings outside when the 
weather is favourable. In this way they will fruit 
rom the middle of October onwards. Regular sow- 
ngs should be made out of doors after the middle of 
October. Towards the end of October sow broad beans 
and scarlet runners. The former are rather difficult 
to grow as they do not set well and the latter 
also do not fruit freely, but as they have a much 
better flavour than French beans they are worth 
some trouble. I find that seed saved from direct 
European stock deteriorates rapidly. Native varie- 
ties of Beans should be sown iu March in order to 
keep up the supply. 
There are several very good native varieties which 
ehould have bamboos to cling to, as they are all 
climbing "jats." I might here remark that beans 
should be plucked when jouug and cooked whole so 
as to retain the flavour. 
Beet should be sown on well manured, deep trenched 
ground, in drills oae foot apirt, and thinned to six 
inches when the plants are laige enough, Great 
care should be used in lifting, as the breaking of 
the roots causes bleeding and loss of colour and 
flavour. Spinach-Beet should be grown along with 
the ordinary beet. The leaved are boiled the same 
as spinach and make an excellent dish,maob superior 
to the ordinary spinach. 
broccjli and cabbage. 
To obtain an early supply of broccoli seeds should 
be sown in boxes, in September, under shelter, and 
when the seedlings are large enough they should be 
transplanted into raised beds protected from the rain 
and kept fairly dry until the rains cease, when they 
can be planted out in ordinary be('B. Plant them 
in rows one and a half by two feet apart. To 
get them to head quickly, the ground should not 
have been hoed or trenched for at least six months 
previously, for when grown on newly trenched land 
they go chiefly to leaves and often fail to head at all. 
On the first appearance of the flower, water well with 
manure-water every second day, and they will soon be 
fit for use. 
Cabbages should be treated in the same way, but 
the early dwarf varieties should be planted some- 
what closer. I find that they treating them as above, 
smaller harder heads are obtained which, I think, 
are much nicer and keep much longer than large 
soft ones. After the heads are cut, the plants throw 
outside shoots which come on much later. A ftw 
plants of broccoli or kail should always be grown, 
as the young leaves are very nice in soup. Brussels 
Sprouts should be sown in October and the plants 
put out when large enough in rows two feet by two 
and a half. They like a strong soil, but are not 
ready for use until March and April, when most 
other greens are over. A large bed should be kept 
for carrots, for not only are they a most useful vege- 
table, but horses are very fond of them. To get a 
supply early, some of the dwarf kinds may be sown 
in bi xes and treated in the same way as beans ; but 
for the general crop, sow as soon as the heavy rains 
are over in drills one foot apart on well manured, deep 
trenched ground, and thin out the young plants 
gradually to six inches. A light sandy soil is most 
suitable, and they will keep till May, Should the 
rains come on early, lift them carefully and store in 
dry sand. 
Cauliflower requires similar treatment to broccoli, 
and by sowing early and late varieties together, a 
supply may be kept up for about four months. 
CELERY AND SALADS. 
To obtain an early supply of Celery, seed should be 
sown in boxes in the bungalow verandah in July, and 
when the seedlings appear, which will be in about 
three weeks, water should be given sparingly. It is 
much better to dip the box in a bath tub and let the 
water soak upwards than to water overhead, for at 
this time of the year they are very liable to damp ofl^. 
Transplant into other boxes when large enough, and 
plant out in the open in trenches (four feet apart) 
which have previously had a good supply of old manuie. 
Allow one foot between each plant, and as they grow 
up wrap paper round them and earth up about every 
fortnight. For cooking purposes, I generally plant a 
quantity of seedlings nine inches apart on a bed raised 
six inches, and when the heavy rains come the bed is 
protected by a kutoha roof, and in this way they last 
till July. The English varieties of Cucumbers, with 
the exception of the gherkin, are rather difficult to 
grow, but there are many native kinds which are very 
easily grown on ordinary raised beds. The Egg Plant 
or brinjal fruits when most of the native vegetables 
are over and before the English kinds are obtainable, 
and if for that reason only should have a place in the 
vegetable garden. Sow in July or August and plant 
out when ready one and a half feet apart. By cutting 
them down in August or September to about six inches 
make them fruit well the second year. A few plants 
of Endive should be grown for salad along with let- 
tuce, and when they are just about ready, place a 
board over Ihem to blanch them. Some of the native 
kinds of gourds, as well as vegetable marrows, should 
always be grown during the rains, for they are, I con- 
sider! the best vegetable obt&inable then. They 
