JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
December 8,1881. ] 
511 
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Alexandra Palace Chrysanthemum Show. 
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3rd Sunday in Advent. 
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Royal Horticultural Society—Fruit and Floral Committees at 
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[11 A.AI. 
SEASONABLE NOTES ON THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
HE general aspect of the vegetable garden is 
very different now from what it was in sum¬ 
mer, when fine rows of Peas and Kidney Beans 
ornamented many of the quarters and supplied 
choice and valuable dishes for the kitchen ; 
but although the season for such is past, there 
should still be no scarcity of good and useful 
vegetables. It is not so much great space as 
good management that secures this, and when every 
foot of ground is constantly kept filled with what is 
most wanted it is surprising what a quantity may be had from 
a moderate-sized garden in twelve months. To do this, how¬ 
ever, little will be accomplished by haphazard work. Some¬ 
times crops may happen to come in right, but as a rule they 
will not; and an over-abundant surplus of produce at one time 
and little or nothing at another will be the result. A system 
of cropping must be strictly followed. This is the best way to 
make kitchen-garden work easy and a constant supply of vege¬ 
tables a certainty. The weather may bring some crops in 
before they were expected, or it may retard others ; but there 
is generally something coming in, and there are many ways of 
overcoming such difficulties, well known to all who give the 
kitchen garden due attention. 
So far this autumn has been most favourable for vegetables. 
The practice must be bad indeed where there is a scarcity now. 
Veitch’s Autumn Giant Cauliflower is heading as well as it did 
in August and September, and Veitch’s Protecting Broccoli 
promises to be useful for a long time to come. Other Broccolis 
are very forward, and will come better in to time than they 
have done for some winters past if they do not receive a check ; 
and although there is no appearance of this now, it may come 
soon, and for this all should be prepared. It is the tender 
centre of the Broccoli which requires to be most protected, and 
when they are heeled over on their sides the large outside 
leaves cover and protect the hearts. When Broccolis are 
lifted and laid on their sides many of them often receive a 
check, and the heads often come small in consequence ; but 
their full size is not seriously interfered with if they are heeled 
over where they grow. This is done by taking a small spadeful 
of the soil from one side of the root and pressing the piant 
over on this side. Some of the roots may be broken in doing 
this, but many of them will not, and these will enable the 
heads to attain their full size. All the plants should be laid 
in one direction, and those with heads should have the leaves 
tied over the top if frost is expected. Taking them up and 
placing them in sheds should be the last plan, as they often 
shrivel there, and then flavour is lost. After this time large 
heads should not be desired ; small heads are more easily pro¬ 
tected, and most valued in the kitchen and dining-room. 
Our earliest-sown Brussels Sprouts have succeeded remark¬ 
ably ; but those sown very late, which we thought might 
come in late in spring, seem slow in swelling, and probably 
the} 7 may not be very satisfactory, so that I would advise all 
who wish to have fine sprouts now and for the next four 
months to sow early. February and March are, we find, the 
best months. Many of the large leaves on the stems are now 
withering, and they should be removed, as they are liable to 
make the sprouts decay. To avoid this w 7 e have taken all the 
side leaves from our plants, and the buttons and the little 
Cabbage-like growth at the top are all that remain. We 
always find this answers well, but the very latest or half-grown 
plants are not touched until spring. The new varieties of the 
vegetable which are being introduced do certainly produce 
much larger sprouts than the old varieties, but their size is 
their only recommendation, as they are not so neat on the table 
as the small marble-like knobs that were solely grown at one 
time. In flavour, too, the larger are not so good as the others. 
Their colour is mostly white, not green, and the large a e 
much more tender than the small. With us the new varieties 
have produced very large sprouts at the bottom, and they taper 
to the top, but the old Dalkeith variety has its stem covered 
with sprouts all of similar size, not crowded together, and we 
know from experience that this sort remains uninjured through 
all changes and extremities of weather. 
Winter Spinach, always so useful and easily grown, is making 
more growth now than we have seen it for some years, and care 
must be taken that it does not become crowded. The large 
outside leaves should be removed before they become yellow, 
and an open space must always be seen between the rows. 
Some of our most promising autumn-sown Cabbage were 
much injured by the great storm on October 14th, but after 
that we planted more, and the open weather has been so favour¬ 
able for them that they are quite as early as we desire to have 
them for cutting in April. Taken all the year round I know 7 
of no more useful green vegetable than Cabbage, and they are 
well worth that attention required to produce a constant supply. 
The plants we placed out last autumn and cut from in spring 
are still in the ground. The small heads we have had from 
them have been very numerous, and there are plenty of the 
stems with from six to a dozen heads now. They will all be 
left in the ground until Potato-planting time in the spring. 
Another favourite Cabbage crop is that sown in July, as the 
plants are now hearting as fine as we ever saw them in April 
or May, and if the weather remains mild young Cabbage of the 
finest possible quality will be cut at Christmas and the new 
year. Coleworts are often sown to come in at this time, but 
we do not consider them so good in flavour as the Cabbage. 
The extra rainfall we have lately had has not benefited the 
Parsnips. The crowns are decaying, and may continue to do 
so if they are not taken out of the ground. This is the be: t 
plan to adopt with part of the crop, and if they are stored in 
ashes or sand most of them will remain good. Savoys are, as 
usual, heading well, the hardiest being Green Globe, and the 
largest Drumhead, which is rather too coarse for the dining¬ 
room. Nearly all our w 7 inter Greens are planted between 
Potato rows, and at the present time there is hardly a square 
yard of unoccupied soil to be seen in five acres of ground. If 
the weather remains mild we shall have too many Greens, but 
No. 76.— Yon. III., Third Series. 
No. 1732.— Yol. LXVI., Old Series. 
