THE AMATEUR’S KITCHEN GARDEN. 
105 
chalk, old mortar, and broken bricks of the size of one’s fist, 
then a little moss is laid on, and finally a good body of rich 
soil is heaped up, and made firm by pressure, so as to have 
a convex shape. Very small cuttings of the cress are then 
dibbled in all over the soil, about three inches apart, and the 
pot is then stood in a pan of water, two or three inches depth 
of water being sufficient. In case such suitable pans are not 
available, common fifteen-inch seed pans answer admirably. 
These should have a layer of broken chalk or old mortar, and 
a good body of rich soil heaped up to a convex surface, and 
when planted be placed in pans of water. In hot weather it 
is desirable to put the newly-planted pots and pans in a cool 
shady place for a few days, but as soon as growth commences 
they should be removed into a place where they will be fully 
exposed to the sunshine, for a first-class sample cannot be 
grown in the shade. 
It may occur to you that the rough lumps of chalk and 
old mortar may be dispensed with, but they are really es- 
sential to first-class production. So, again, it may be , c uggested 
that to plunge the pans to the rim, or even deeper, will be for 
the advantage of the plant ; but a better growth is obtained 
by a depth of two or three inches than by complete immer- 
sion. The deep pot is better than the shallow pan, and the 
soil should be good enough for fuschias or pot roses ; say, 
cucumber bed, or something of that sort. It matters not 
how rough it is, and to mix sand with it is to waste time and 
material. 
A fifteen-inch pot will supply at one cutting lialf-a-peck of 
first-rate cresses in the height of the growing season. Three 
full gatherings are the utmost that can be taken from the pan 
in the summer, and as soon as the growth becomes wiry it 
should be knocked out and replanted. The same hard stuff 
may be used again and again, but the soil must be fresh, and 
the smallest cuttings usually make the best growth. The 
managenent will of course vary somewhat with the seasons. 
In the summer the growth is so rapid that you may gather 
in a fortnight from the time the pots are started, but as the 
heat declines the growth, of course, is less rapid. The latest 
date to plant for frame culture during the winter is the last 
week of October. 
Radishes are sown in almost every month of the year, and 
the routine culture depends entirely on the requirements of 
