THE COTTAGE GAEDENEK. 
November 25. 
produced under natural conditions. This difference, no 
doubt, arises from tlie more complete exclusion of the 
light and air in the former than is often done in the 
latter case, as well as in the more timely service it 
i renders at Christmas tlian it could in iff ay. Leaving, 
I however, a part to furnish fine strong lieads in the 
natural way when spring sets in, let us see what can be 
! done to have some at Christmas, or before, as well as 
the remainder of the winter and early spring months. 
Now, to accomplish this no time must be lost; in fact, 
when this paper reaches the mass of south country 
readers who have large quantities of this to supply, 
I some progress in the way of hastening it will have been 
j made. Leaving these parties to follow out the practice 
■ which their experience has taught them to be most 
successful, the less-experienced would do well to look 
over his beds, and after noting down their capabilities 
and general qualifications, he will see at once which is 
best to force on the ground it occupies, and which ought 
to be taken up and hurried into use in some other 
medium. If the instructions given last year have been 
carried out there will be a certain breadth of roots pre¬ 
pared expressly for the latter purpose, which ought to 
be carefully looked to now, as they present the readiest, 
quickest, and most economical mode of obtaining early 
Kale. Supposing, therefore, that a quantity of seed had 
been sown early in spring on some well-prepared piece 
of ground, had been afterwards thinned, ground-stirred, 
and every other attention paid to it calculated to en¬ 
courage its growth, it will by this time have attained 
a root equal in size with that of most ordinary carrots, 
and, of course, have formed its buds (which are, in the 
first year, only one to a plant,) with a degree of strength 
and plumpness without which it is useless to think of 
a successful issue, or, ratlier, it is impossible to obtain 
fine, strong heads, except from plants which-have accu¬ 
mulated a lai'ge amount of vital energy in their embryo 
buds. There may be cases in which the latter produces 
only a weak, sickly after-growth; and in all cases the 
forced is below the natural strength in that i-espect, and, 
in some instances, goes so far as to present us with a 
sickly, weak growth from a bud apparently set with consi¬ 
derable vigour; but this anomaly is easily accounted for; 
the sacrifice it has been called on to make is such as some 
plants would not live under—let alone flourish. The 
period of rest so necessary to all vegetation is denied 
this altogether; and an amount of stimulating heat 
applied to this with a view to forward its utility—nay, 
oven to drive or hurry it on to the utmost of its speed ; 
it is, therefore, no wonder that it sometimes becomes 
sickly, and not unfrequently refuses to grow altogether ; 
it is, therefore, imperative on all those who wish to have 
this production as early as possible, and in good condi¬ 
tion, to give it all the advantages that can tend to that 
result, and, of course, avoid all those evils having a 
contrai'y tendency. 
Now it is well known that a considerable sacrifice 
has to be made in all produce hastened to a prema- 
I turo ripeness ; and this sacrifice, like many others, 
dift'ers in the degree of forcible means used; a short 
pei'iod of rest, followed by a gentle heat, gradually 
applied, is more likely to result in a successful issue, 
than an application of a moist heat applied to jflants 
whose summer growth has hardly yet ripened. The 
weary traveller does not like to be roused again into 
action ere he has retired to rest at all; neither does 
vegetation, even of the most robust kind, of which Sea- 
kale is a very good example, as a less hardy plant would 
' be killed outright with onc-half of the ill-treatment this 
is often subjected to. Yet this one has its point of 
endurance, beyond which it is impossible to go with¬ 
out endangering its existence. Now these dangers are 
more numerous in the early part of the season than later 
1 on; the same amount of trial and hardship that would 
produce excellent Kale in February, would either kill 
plants in December, or only produce a sickly growth at 
that untoward season. Yet Sea-kale is wanted at both 
these seasons. Greater care must, therefore, be exer¬ 
cised in the earlier crops, and the plants may bo coaxed 
into producing fair, good, average-sized heads, when j 
everything is supplied them necessary to their wants, ^ 
and stimulation applied no further than is consistent j 
with their well-doing. In this respect much judgment 
is required ; the plant which, if left until March, could 
and would endure almost any amount of heat, lan¬ 
guishes and dies now, when subjected to only mode¬ 
rate changes of temperature; it must, therefore, be 
reduced so low, as only to forward vegetation by those 
gradual means to which alone it is susceptible at 
this season. The best way to accomplish this, is to 
have the jjlants in a medium, over which a perfect com¬ 
mand of heat may be attained. When forcing by fire- 
beat is going on in another department, there is often 
i some odd corner contiguous to the fire-place where a deep 
I box or two might be placed, to be filled with the roots 
of this plant, then to be afterwards covered with another 
box inverted over them, and some means taken to keep 
the atmosphere they are growing in as moist as possible. 
A mushroom-house is also a very appropriate place 
for early Kale, where a shelf or bin may be filled with 
the roots, placed a few inches apart, and flne soil run in 
amongst them, with an inch or so of sand or coal-ashes 
at top. One or two waterings with tepid manure-water 
will be of service after they have started growth, or even 
before, if the plant be at all subjected to the drying 
efl’ects of fire-heat; but either in this case or any other 
where the plants are so treated, a certain amount of 
moisture must surround the young shoots, or they will 
be tough, and not good. Now, if this he difficult to 
command at all times, it would be bettor to cover the 
plants slightly with a something to which moisture may 
be applied when necessary; moss or litter dipped in 
hot-water, to which a little salt has been added to kill 
all insects, will do very well; or it may be that a cover¬ 
ing of coal-ashes may be applied, which may be put on 
so gradually as only to keep the shoots covered as they 
advance into growth ; this, of course, will be best known 
by occasional examinations, and, with ordinary care, 
this way Sea-kale of good quality has been produced 
i under circumstances of a very homely and makeshift 
kind, which every one is obliged to adopt in something . 
1 or other. And if the amateur, whose means arc only 
limited, be anxious to have Sea-kale at his Christmas 
dinner, he may certainly accomplish this yet by the 
means noted above, or he may even produce it by the 
oi’dinary method of covering it up on the ground where 
growing with gentle heating material, of which leaves are 
the best, and the result in the latter case will he eqirally 
good as the former, only not so quick ; and when any 
other heating material than leaves is used, much un¬ 
certainty exists as to its overheating, and other contin¬ 
gencies which it is difficult to guard against. The 
only counter-benefits of the plan is, the little injury its 
roots derive, comjiared with those that are taken iqi and 
unavoidably mutilated; but the latter should be done 
as carefully as jmssible, in order to give the plant every 
encouragement compatible with the circumstances of 
its case. Plants, or, rather roots, carelessly taken up, 
half-broken and otherwise mutilated or deprived of one- 
half their supplying feeders to the crown of the ]tlaut, 
can hardly be expected to produce heads of any conse¬ 
quence. Wo, therefore, strongly urge on the amateur 
to take especial care of this; and in putting them into 
their forcing quarters not to crowd and injure them to 
an unreasonable extent, otherwise the produce cannot 
be expected to be satisfactory. 
Although I have not mentioned Bhuharh in this 
article, yet it may bo subjected to a similar mode of j 
