9 ^ 
SALAD PLANTS 
Salad plants consist uf leaves, roots, and fruits eaten 
raw or blanched, being cultivated in the dark by re- 
cognised methods. Others grow naturally, wrapping 
up their hearts with leaves which form compact heads, 
the inner parts of which are tender and crisp. Many 
of these esculents help to supply the human frame with 
elements which preserve health. On the Continent 
much attention is given to the cultivation of this class 
of vegetables. In England amateurs lack knowledge 
in producing the ingredients of the salad bowl, whicli 
we hasten to remedy. Everyone .should enjoy the 
pleasure of a salad several days a week, at all events 
during the summer season, with but trifling expense, 
it is a whole.some addition to more sul)stantial diet, 
rendering it grateful to the palate, and it is a pity that 
It is so rarely brought to table in an average household. 
We will enumerate a few of the almost unknown salad 
plants, with some notes on their cultivation. 
Amei'ica.n Land Cress may be sown at any 
time out of doors. It is a useful variety tasting some- 
thing like water cress. 
Price and 6 d. per packet. 
Beet. — Sff ii /o \ 3- 
OelGria.C (or turnip-rooted Celery) is a French 
variety, in which the stems form an irregular knob. 
It is becoming popular in this country, owiiigtothe 
more frequent cfmtact nowadays of the English pcojdc 
with continental dishes. Seeds should be sown in pans 
in March, and the plants set out in shallow trenches 
to mature. 
Price 3 d- and 6d. per packet. 
Chervil is used for seasoning soups and mixing 
in salads. It is grown from seed sown in .spring ancl 
in summer for successional crops. The soil should be 
rich and light, and the bed4j feet wide, with an alley 
on each side. Sow seed iir shallow drills across the 
bed, 9 inches apart, and rake over the surface. 
Sprinkle well with water in dry and warm weather. 
When the leaves have grown an inch or two, cut off 
for use as required. 
Price 3 d. and 6d. per packet. 
Chicory. — The majority of people know Chicory 
as an adulterant of Coffee, but few are aware of the 
part it plays in the salad bowl, to which it adds a 
pleasing flavour. Chicory is so easily grown and so 
237i *38. & 97i High Holborn, Lonccw.— 1907. 
useful, that it should receive more attention from 
amateurs who desire to grow salads. This plant is 
also sown in late spring in the open ground, and 
thinned out to about a foot apart to grow through the 
summer, well watered in dry weather. With thechange 
to a colder season, the leaves decay and nearly all dmp 
off. The roots are then lifted, and a few at a lime 
placed in boxes of rich sandy soil, leaving crown 
well above the surface. After a good watering these 
l)oxcs arc stood in a perfectly dark place, and in a few 
weeks, according to the heat, some nicely blanched 
leaves will be fit to gather. More roots, kept in a cool 
place until wanted for bringing along in heat, may 
he similarly treated. In exhibitions, Chicory may form 
part of a salad collection. The heads should be 9 
inches in length, blanched quite white and washed 
clean. It makes a good show laid in a tray or ha.sket, 
or on green parsley. 
Price 3d and 6 d. per packet. 
Whitloef is a distinct variety of Chicory, largely 
grown in the suburbs of Brussels, and chiefly noted 
for the quality of its leaves. 
Price 3d. and 6 d. per packet. 
Chives isa hardy perennial found in rocky pastures. 
It is grown in gardens for its leaves, as a substitute for 
early onions. Propagate by dividing the roots into 
clumps in spring and autumn and plant from 8 to 12 
inches apart. In order that the leaves be tender and 
.succulent they should be often cut. 
Plants i>rice 3 d. and 6 d. each. 
Cla.ry, used for flavouring soups. 
Price 3d and 6 d. per packet. 
Corn Salad or Lambs’ Lettuce.— 
This is a hardy annual, and in great demand as a salad 
plant on the Continent. In France it is preferred, 
admired, and relished in winter and spring instead of 
Lettuce, but it is not nearly .so highly appreciated in 
Britain as it deserves. But when Endive is scarce, 
(.‘orn Salad is of great service, and for early use should 
be sown in frames or in boxes and placed in slight 
heat. For summer use it may go on the border or in 
lines in a sunny .spot, amongst the ordinary low- 
growing vegetables. 
Price 3 d. and 6d. per packet. 
l'hotograf>lud /rom Nature and Co/>yrighied by J. C. ^ Co. 
