76 
Practical  Hints  on  Vegetable  Farming. 
the  market  gardener,  unless  after  a very  severe  winter,  when 
it  stands  almost  alone  unscathed  among  the  brassica  tribe. 
Seed  may  be  sown  from  the  middle  to  the  end  of  April,  and 
the  crop  may  be  planted  in  July,  if  possible  ; later  planting 
necessarily  produces  imperfectly  grown  plants  and  a smaller 
crop.  The  soil  must  be  in  good  condition,  and  the  manures 
recommended  for  cabbage  are  also  suitable  for  this  crop. 
Broccoli. — The  Broccoli  is  a British  biennial  and  a hardy 
plant  in  its  uncultivated  state.  Many  crops  of  this  valuable 
vegetable  are  lost  nearly  every  winter,  mainly  because  they 
have  been  grown  too  luxuriantly  and  rendered  less  hardy  than 
is  their  nature. 
As  this  plant  is  grown  for  use  chiefly  during  winter  and 
spring,  and  so  must  bear  the  cold  and  inclemency  of  our 
winter,  we  .ought  to  adapt  our  cultural  treatment  to  the  pro- 
duction of  plants  that  are  fully  grown  and  hardy. 
We  usually  associate  “w’oodiness”  with  “hardiness”;  and 
“woodiness”  is  very  often — if  not  always — indicative  of  slow' 
growth.  Broccoli  plants  that  have  been  grown  slowly — other 
conditions  being  equal — are  nearly  always  more  “woody”  and 
hardier  than  others  not  so  grown.  How  is  this  maximum  size 
of  the  Broccoli  plant  to  be  obtained  combined  with  hardiness? 
Chiefly  by  allowing  a long  period  for  maximum  development 
in  conjunction  with  abundance  of  air  and  light. 
The  market  gardeners  around  Tamworth  and  Lichfield  excel 
in  the  annual  })roduction  of  abundant  crops  of  fine  Broccoli. 
Their  soil  is  mainly  gravelly,  on  a subsoil  of  gravel ; such  soil 
is  seldom  over-manured  or  too  rich  for  healthy  growth  in  the 
Broccoli  plant.  Here  then  we  have  the  key  to  succe.ss  in  the 
culture  of  the  plant,  and  I have  verified  it  in  other  })laces 
with  soil  as  poor,  but  of  a different  geological  formation.  The 
routine  of  culture  which  I adopt  and  recommend  is  briefly  as 
follows  : Sow'  Broccoli  seed  in  April  ; prick  out  the  plants  at 
the  end  of  May;  plant  out  at  the  end  of  June  during  damp 
weather  ; plant  upon  firm  and  rather  poor  soil ; plant  widely 
apart — thirty  to  thirty-six  inches  each  way  ; plant  in  an  exposed 
rather  than  in  a slieltered  position.  I have  received  testimony 
from  many  sources  in  the  county  of  Worcester  since  1891  as  to 
the  success  of  this  method. 
Brussels  Sprouts. — This  is  a hardy  biennial,  and  a useful 
and  ])rofitable  vegetable  to  cultivate.  It  is  easy  of  culture, 
continuous  in  bearing,  and  generally  profitable.  In  value  it 
may  be  worth  anything  betw'een  20/.  and  40/.  per  acre,  according 
