§ 
O^J ON GROWING PARSLEY FOR THE WINTER. 173 \^ 
site being chosen in some sheltered open part of the garden, the stones and a quantity of good friable (^ 
sandy loam, T\-ith some brick rubbish or rubble, should be collected together. The rock-work must be 
determined according to taste and reqtdrcments, in respect to form and size, but there is no use in 
ha^'ing it too large. Perhaps the oval form is the most convenient for building such a structui-e, and 
if the base is five feet long, a pile may be raised with a sm-face extensive enough to grow a srrfficient 
supply for an ordinary family. The stones used in formhig the fir-st tier, or layer, may be about eight 
inches high, and kept closely together ; a quantity of soil should be worked in at the back and sides so 
as to keep them together, while the centre may be filled with ordinary brick, or sand-stone rubbish. 
When the fii-st layer is completed a portion of soil should be laid over the stones at the sides, and a 
number of plants of Parsley taken carefully up from the bed m wliieh they have been growing, should 
be planted as regularly as possible in all the holes and crevices, their roots being spread out iu the 
soil, and theii- stems and leaves kept inclined outwards at the margin. Having fixed the plants pro- 
perly, proceed to erect a second tier in the same way, and so on, with the others till the t^tIe is raised 
to the height desired. But with the subsequent tiers keep the stones fom- or five inches nearer the 
centre all round, and about an inch or so apart. Every stone should be placed du-ectly over the point 
which forms the junction of those immediately below it ; and every additional tier which is raised 
must be kept three or four inches nearer the centre than the one preceding it ; so that when the whole 
structure is completed, an rmagmary 
section of it would appear thus. In ^ "^X-^ 
this arrangement of the several tiers, t—'^'^f^''-" \ -» 
the plants will not come directly over t^ Vf - ^ , 
another, and the soil will not be washed ■< ^ 
down from the interstices by rain. If, r^ -f * 
at the time of biuldins the rock-work. - L ^^ 
the weather is dry, the soil about the / 1 ^^ -l '-Vl ' 
plants must be well soaked with water ; ^ — ^"l V 
but this must be done by limited sup- l(li^' 
plies repeated several times, for if much / " _ ^"-^ '\ 
water is poured on at once, a portion L___._^ ^^__ _i .^ " - J — i— 
of the soU will run down. To prevent 
the action of di'enching rains from having the same efifeet, it wiU be necessary to provide the winter 
covering at once. A number of stout ash sticks must be driven into the ground about twelve inches 
from the bottom of the rock-work, and attached by a good strong coi'd, so near one another that they 
may form an open arching figm-e at the top ; and so placed that at any point they may be twelve or 
eighteen inches clear of the plants. A covering of oil-cloth or common canvas should be pro\dded and 
kept in readiness to protect the mound from heavy falls of rain until the soil has become consolidated 
roimd the sides. This covering wiU also be available dui'ing intense fi'ost, when it must be carefuUy 
laid over the whole frame of sticks, and removed whenever the weather is mUd and open. In eight 
or nine weeks the pile will have become covered with strong healthy plants, which besides affording a 
continual supply, wUl form an agreeable object both in summer and winter. It may be urged that by 
this plan of gi'owiug Parsley, the roots are liable to become dry in summer, but in admitting the pro- 
bability of such a cu'cumstance, we must bear in mind that if the plants could be kept from growing too 
vigorously during the summer months, they would be in the best condition for preservation during 
ft'ost. Now the dr-ought of a hot summer would have the effect of retarding them, and conserving 
their energy until the time when their growth was most 
desirable. Besides, any extreme dryness could be very easily 
prevented by timely applications of water. 
In a recent number of the Revue Ilorticule, I observe 
a notice of a Dutch method of grooving Pai'sley dm'ing 
winter. The practice is to sow the seed in !March so that 
the plants may be vigorous enough for removal by the end 
of September, when they are planted in large pots, some- 
what similar in form to what is used in England for blanch- 
mg Sea Kale, or, perhaps, rather hke the annexed figure. 
This vase is open at the top, and perforated with large 
y . -y^j^y^^^m^^^^^^^si^ — holes aU round. In September it is filled with soil, and the ^o 
(^ plants are inserted in it at the holes, their stems and leaves /S^ 
being kept outwards. This vase may be made to any size, and as ornamental as taste may determine. S- 
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