CULTURE OE SEA-CALE. 
169 
summer, and injured the plants for the two following summers; be¬ 
sides, by cutting them off, they throw up a numerous offspring, to 
select buds from for future growth. The following winter the plants 
are to be forced, and before the frosts commence, the beds are to be 
covered with a little long litter, to prevent the frost from penetrating 
the soil. About the middle of December, remove the litter from that 
portion you intend to force, and cover the beds as you did before, 
with the soil from the paths; then cover that two feet high or more, 
and also fill the paths with hot manure, so that the whole may be on 
a level, as shown at d, in Fig. 16. 
The following Directions are for the Third Year.— In about the 
fourth week, the heads will be fit to cut: to do which, remove the 
manure with a fork, then displace the soil with your hand in a very 
gentle manner, otherwise the leaves will be broken, for they are ex¬ 
tremely tender. Cut the heads off a little below the bottom leaf, and 
cover the roots again with soil and manure, to keep the frost from 
injuring them. In proportion to the number of beds, the period of 
forcing must be divided; but where they are numerous, and hot ma¬ 
nure is to be regularly had in abundance, it might be wheeled upon 
the beds and paths as it is made, which will give you a regularly 
weekly supply ; but where no manure is to be had, the plants are to 
be covered with the soil, and gathered, as before mentioned. The 
plants, beds, and paths, are to be managed exactly as they were di¬ 
rected to be during the preceding summer; but on no account suffer 
the beds to be raised even an inch above their original level, although 
the roots become much thicker. They are still to be cut through 
with the spade when they are too high, otherwise the beds will be 
spoiled. After the manure and soil are removed from the beds, du¬ 
ring the third spring, dig up every other plant, leaving the others 
two feet apart, and they will fully occupy the beds; each individual 
plant during the third summer will consist of many stems, and each 
of these will send up many suckers. To retain the whole, would not 
only weaken the plant, but would produce the sea-cale of diminutive 
growth ; therefore leave only four or five of the strongest to each 
stem, and remove the rest. Those retained will appropriate to them¬ 
selves the nourishment of those removed, and become larger in con¬ 
sequence. 
During the Fourth and future Years, the plants are to be mana¬ 
ged according to the directions given for the third; but should too 
many stems arise from the main root, they must be cut off. As soon 
as the plants cease to produce abundantly, new r beds are to be made; 
the seeds for which may be saved from the finest plants, by leaving 
their heads entirely uncovered. 
