202 THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. [March. 
In November cover your beds with a thick coat of rotten dung or 
leaves, this at the same time that it protects your plants from 
frost, will bring them forwarder, and add to their luxuriance; about 
the middle of March in the middle states, it will be necessary to 
cover your plants for blanching, the readiest mode of doing which, 
is to draw the earth up with a hoe over the crown of the root, so 
that each plant shall be covered to the depth of ten or twelve inches; 
some blanch it by heaping on it sea sand; some common sand and 
pebbles, and others with large garden pots inverted, and placed im- 
mediately over the plants, stopping up the holes at the bottoms, 
and this last is the neatest and cleanest mode. 
The finest or at least the largest Sea Kale, is that which is produced 
from seedling plants the first year of their flowering, as the great 
produce of the plant then centres in one flowering stem; afterwards 
the crown of the root ramifying into many heads, a greater number 
of stalks are produced, which are more slender but not less delicate. 
When your plants have been covered in either method, three, 
four, or five weeks, according to the early or late period of covering, 
examine them, and if you find that the stalks have shot up three or 
four inches, you may begin cutting; should you wait till all the 
shoots are of a considerable length, your crop will come in too much 
at once, for in this plant there is not that succession of growth 
which there is in Asparagus; you may continue cutting till you see 
the head of flowers begin to form, and if at this time you uncover 
it entirely, and let it proceed to that state in which Brocoli is usu- 
ally cut, and use it as such, you will find it an excellent substitute, 
and this greatly enhances the value of the plant, as Brocoli does not 
stand our winter frost, and can only be had when carefully protected 
as directed in November, but this plant is sufficiently hardy to bear 
our severest frost, without much injury. You are not to weaken 
the roots too much by over cutting, for in that case you would in- 
jure their next year's bearing; they are to be indulged, as you do 
asparagus with several uncut shoots, to grow up during summer, 
to carry on a proper vegetation, to strengthen and enlarge the roots. 
Such as are partial to this plant may force it in any of the winter 
or early spring months, nothing more being necessary than to place 
over each plant a large garden pot, as in one of the modes of blanch- 
ing already recommended, and cover the pots with a sufficient quan- 
tity of hot horse dung, the heat of the dung brings forward the plant, 
while the pot keeps it from coming in contact therewith; and as 
the growth of the plant is by this means greatly accelerated, it is of 
course rendered more tender, as well as sweeter. 
These plants may also be forced in frames as directed in January 
and February for asparagus, observing to take up such plants for 
this purpose as are sure to flower; trimming their side roots and 
shortening their long tap-roots to the length of nine or ten inches, 
or twelve in very large plants, and placing them in a frame on a 
hot-bed, and in a suitable depth of earth, at the distance of four to 
six inches asunder; as the plants used thus, will be rendered of 
little or no value; where this practice is used, it will be necessary 
to have a regular succession of plants for the purpose. 
