September 19. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
459 
intended alterations and improvements are completed, 
there will bo few, if any places that will surpass it. 
T. Appleby. 
ENDIVE FOR WINTER SALAD. 
The improvement in the varieties and culture of 
winter Lettuce, has, in a great measure, driven this 
salad herb into disrepute, or, rather, it has been driven to 
find a place in some less favoured situation than the one 
it formerly held. Sheltered gardens, in the south of 
England, in which Lettuce will stand the winter when 
of a good useful size, seldom have so much Endive in 
them as they used to have some twenty or thirty years 
ago, unless it be in some of those cases where it is 
grown for some particular purpose; while in cold, late, 
or exposed situations, where the prospect of carrying 
Lettuces through the winter is very uncertain, Endive 
is planted to as great an extent as ever. It stands most 
winters, when in a small or half-grown state; yet it also 
keeps well when in that full-grown condition which 
makes it (it for table. It can then be taken up aud 
stowed away in a cool, dry place without much detriment 
to its quality. This is one of its most useful features; 
for it does not only furnish our tables with a nice 
looking Salad at all times during the winter, but it may 
be carried right through until spring; in fact, up to the 
period when Lettuce may be looked for again; for, 
after all that has been said in its favour, it is, at least, 
only a substitute for the more popular Lettuce. 
To have a eonstaut supply of Endive, seed must be 
sown every ten days, from the first of June to the 
middle of August; the latter sowing may, however, be 
omitted, when there is a chance of Lettuce standing 
that was sown at that time. 
Like many other garden vegetables, this plant delights j 
in a deep, rich, loamy soil, not wet, certainly, but 
sufficiently deep aud moist to ensure its thriving well 
during the warm month of September, when that month 
is so. The planting-out may be accomplished at any 
time, whenever the pdauts are sufficiently large for the 
purpose, and the weather favourable. 
There are two distinct kinds, each divided into minor 
varieties; but these are not so prominently different as 
the former; for Batavian and Green-curled Endive 
have little resemblance to each other; the last-named 
being certainly most grown, it being capable of blanch¬ 
ing, so as to present the most showy feature at table. | 
Nevertheless, the other one is also useful, and, being j 
more hardy, is of great service in the spring, so that 
both kinds are grown, generally, by all those who 
require winter salading. One thing, however, must be 
borne in mind,—both these plants require attention 
in the way of blanching at the proper time, and as 
good a pilau as any is to cover each plant with the pan 
of a flowcr-piot. Pan-tiles are not bad things that way, 
and even commoner articles arc sometimes made use of, 
the object being to seclude the interior of the plant 
from air, light, aud wet, at the same time taking care that 
the process is not continued too long, otherwise, the vital 
! powers of the pdant fall a prey to the ordeal it has to 
I undergo, and decay and destruction are the result; it is, 
] therefore, prudent only to cover up a sufficient quantity 
l for the use of the time being; and to continue doing so 
from time to time, and in about a fortnight it will be fit 
for use; in fact, it will be ready sooner than that in 
spring, when the fine weather accelerates its growth ; 
but in mid-winter, when the plant is all but in a 
dormant state, a longer period is wanted to enable the 
blanching or bleaching purpose to become pierfect. 
Endive is often grown on ground that has previously 
had a crop of Peas, Beans, or Potatoes, any of which 
crops it prefers to follow rather than any of the Cabbage 
tribe; but whichever it is, a good dunging is wanted, 
otherwise the greedy appetite of the pdant is not satisfied, 
and a corresponding want of crispness is the consequence. 
This, however, is not alone the result of the ground 
being too poor, but may arise from the blanching 
process being delayed, and, probably, the admission of 
a greater quantity of light into the centre of the pdant 
than is consistent with the quick bleaching purpose in 
view, while, at the same time, the plant being allowed 
to feed on the atmospdiere, it struggles to maintain that 
colour which all natural objects of the vegetable world, 
more or less, strive to attain ; this accession of light, 
and of water, must, therefore, bo arrested, and the plant 
promptly covered up as above. At the same time, en¬ 
deavour to have the plant in as dry a condition as 
possible at the time of covering up. 
Supposing there is a sufficient quautity of such plants 
ready blanched by the middle of December, and things 
seem to betoken hard weather, it is then advisable to 
take up a quautity with good balls, aud lay them in 
some dry, airy place, as a back shed, or out-house, 
i Very little light is required, as it would be better to 
j leave the covering pan on still. Sand is a very good 
; thing to pdunge them in, as it is less liable to encourage 
decay than soil, and, as will easily be seen, the growing 
j period is over before they come here, except so far as the 
: blanching is concerned, which can hardly be called a 
j healthy growth, since it is evidently the first process of 
! that dissolution which ends in the death of a plant, 
; which process is either hastened or retarded as the 
blanching is performed quickly or slowly. The latter is 
' most commonly the case in mid-winter, when the vital 
action of the plant is so sluggish. 
Although, at the time I write, nothing in the way of 
blanching Endive is needed, yet it is time that a good 
breadth should be planted; and, believing it to be a 
particularly wholesome article in the salad way, it is 
advisable for all wbo have not grown it to commence 
doing so at once, and procure a few plants from some 
one having them to spare. In a mild autumn it 
continues to grow very late, and the Batavian kind will 
endure very severe winter, but is certainly better when 
the cold is not so severe. For the kind wanted in early 
spring, a south border is usually allotted ; but this is not 
absolutely necessary for all; in fact, the mere winter 
crop is, perhaps, better for not being planted so, ouly it 
is prudent that the position chosen be an open, airy one, 
where the plant will have a fair chance to get dry every 
fine day. In all other respects there is nothing particular 
required, and the plant will grow aud thrive in most 
situations, when a sufficient stimulant has been applied 
to its roots; but, as has been observed in a former 
chapter, this is not so necessary with the winter-standing 
crop as with the autumn-growing one. J. Robson. 
HARDY BORDER PLANTS. 
GALEGA. 
This genus belongs to the natural order of Leguminous 
plants. 
Galega officinalis, commonly called Goat’s-Rue, is a 
native of Spain, and Was introduced into this country in the 
year 1508. This plant forms one of the most ornamental 
bushy bunches that we can have in our borders. It is a 
strong and free grower. Its fleshy roots are long and taper¬ 
ing, but the plant is by no means a spreader; and once 
well planted it might stand and form a very compact orna¬ 
ment in the same spot in the borders for several years ; 
care must be taken, however, not to injure its roots at the 
times when the borders are being dressed off, and any 
soil or situation suits it. Its height depends upon the rich¬ 
ness of the soil and the situation it is planted in, varying 
from two-and-half to even four feet, flowering equally freely 
in either case. Its blossoms are of the most lively light 
