94 
SEA-KALE. 
April, in a good deep soil, the roots will attain perfection m 
autumn, and continue good all the winteh They last from 
tnree to four years, according to the quality of the earth and 
tne care bestowed upon them ; but it is better to raise a few 
from seed every year. 
SEA-KALE. 
Chou marin. Crambe maritima . 
This plant is found on the sea-shore, in the southern part* 
of England, where it grows spontaneously. As soon as it 
appears above ground, the inhabitants remove the pebbles 
or sand with which it is usually covered, to the depth of sev- 
eral inches, and cut olf the young and tender leaves and 
stalks, as yet unexpanded and in a blanched state, close to 
the crown of the root ; it is then in its greatest perfection. 
When the leaves are full grown, they become hard and bit- 
ter, and the plant is not eatable. 
It is cultivated in private gardens, and for sale, in various 
parts of England. Cultivators have differed widely respect- 
ing the mode of treating this plant ; many conceiving that 
stones, gravel, and sea sand are essential to its growth, have 
gone to the expense of providing them ; but it has been dis- 
covered that it will grow much more luxuriantly in a rich 
sandy loam, where the roots can penetrate to a great depth. 
The seed of Sea-Kale may be sown in October, or as early 
in the spring as the ground can be brought into good condi- 
ti 3ii, in drills an inch and a half deep, and fourteen or six- 
teen inches asunder; the plants should afterward be thinned 
out to the distance of six or eight inches from each other in 
the rows, and kept clear of weeds by frequent hoeing through 
the summer. W T hen the plants are a year old, every third 
row may be taken up, and also every other plant in each 
row, leaving them fourteen or sixteen inches apart ; these 
