338 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
September 
rows of cabbage, as well as one more colewort between 
every two cabbage plants in the row, which will 
afford a good succession of young greens throughout 
the winter and early spring months. 
Early Cauliflowers. —The end of September and 
the first week in October will be found a good time 
for sowing this vegetable, if not already done, on a 
gentle bottom-beat. Let abundance of air be given 
both day and night as soon as the plants are up, 
taking off the lights entirely whenever the weather 
permits, and letting them be well tilted on both sides 
in rainy or foggy weather, so that a free current 
of air may be admitted. Stir the earth well about 
the plants, and occasionally, on a fine day, sift care¬ 
fully a little dry dust amongst them. When they 
have made two rough leaves, prick the plants out 
into small pots or on a well-prepared soil, under 
glass, which should be close to the leaves. The 
plants need not have more space allowed than two 
inches apart from each other, and after they have re¬ 
mained some time, and have become strong and 
sturdy, a portion of them may be potted into suitable 
sized pots, and the remainder pricked out—some 
under glass, if it can be spared, and the rest under 
a dry wall, or on sloping banks, by which manage¬ 
ment a good supply and succession of cauliflowers 
may be secured from the middle of April until Mid¬ 
summer, more particularly if the potted plants get 
timely shifts, and are turned out in seasonable time 
on a well-prepared warm border in early spring, and 
are also supplied occasionally with liberal soakings 
of liquid manure. 
Routine Work. —Proceed carefully with the earth¬ 
ing up of celery, as well as cardoons, a few at a time, 
in order to secure the requisite supply. Continue 
to plant out endive in succession, and secure some 
of the earlier planted by placing them in open 
sheds, pits, or frames, in order to blanch them and 
protect them from rains and frosty mornings: the 
latter are often very destructive to endive when it 
has just about made its growth. The curled and 
close-growing kind is also very liable to be injured by 
the rains at this season of the year. Leeks should 
be well siu’face-stirred and supplied with liquid ma¬ 
nure, and some of the most forward earthed up. Let¬ 
tuce plants sown last month should be pricked out, and 
another sowing now made, inside a frame well sloped 
to the south, and on a rather poor but healthy soil close 
to the glass, for the glass is apt to draw them up if 
placed too high above the plants. Potatoes which 
are quite ripe, and ready for stoi’ing, should be taken 
up and sorted; storing those intended for culinary 
purposes by themselves, and the middling-sized tu¬ 
bers which are to be stored for seed by themselves; 
whilst the chats, or small refuse, as well as the di¬ 
seased ones, if any there be, may be put by for boil¬ 
ing up for the pig; but the diseased part of the 
tubers shoidd of course be cut out at once. With 
Us the potato crops are this year abundant, large, 
and of the first quality, perfectly free from disease, 
which has not been the case with us for some years 
past. As soon as the ground is cleared, it should be 
at once dug. 
Potatoes that have been stored away, either for 
culinary purposes or seed, should be looked over to 
see that there are no diseased tubers among them ; 
although this is work for rainy days no time should 
be lost in removing the diseased and rotten potatoes. 
I was called in to look at a quantity (about 20 or 
more sacks) which were stored away, to all appear¬ 
ance sound, in an old dry cellar, in the last week of 
August and first week of September; but now several 
diseased are to be found among them, and, occasion¬ 
ally, a rotten one or two. I advised them to be all 
looked over and the diseased taken away. I have 
about the same quantity of potatoes under my care, 
but have not seen a single specimen of diseased 
potato among them. I think and believe we were 
too quick for the disease to reach the tubers. Our 
earliest, which are Looker's Oxonian, and our latest, 
which are York Regents, were both very stemmy 
kinds, amongst which we saw slight symptoms of 
disease in the haum. In the other two sorts we 
grow, the Herefordshire early purples and the Forty¬ 
fold, we saw no disease even in the stems, but we 
found them all ripe enough to take up by the middle 
of August, and we then stored them away, as fine in 
quality as I ever saw, both in the heap for size 
and at the table for quality. They were nearly all 
autumn-planted, and those which were not planted 
in autumn were planted in February. 
James Barnes and W. 
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 
ALLOTMENT GARDENING FOR OCTOBER, 
We have now arrived at that period when, the 
growing principle being about to cease in most crops, 
means must be taken, and mischances anticipated and 
provided against, in order to preserve those valuable 
keeping or store roots which the cottager has secured 
by the sweat of his brow, and on which his winter’s 
welfare principally depends. Now may the indus¬ 
trious cottager who has made the most of his over¬ 
hours (and who has enqiloyed mind as well as body 
in laying down sound plans, and economising the 
material at his command,) cast a satisfactory and re¬ 
joicing eye over his rows or beds of Swedish turnips, 
mangold-wurtzel, and carrots; and, with an honest 
exultation, feel proud that he has not passed so much 
valuable time lounging about lanes or roads, or, what 
is far worse, wasting his health and his substance in 
the degrading beer-shop. Not that we would debar 
the cottager from a moderate quantity of wholesome 
beer; we merely mean, that by perseverance in the 
culture of his plot of ground, coupled with general 
habits of economy, he will soon spare a few shillings 
to purchase a tub of beer, if necessary; or, if not 
having to provide for a large family, to brew his own. 
To commence our monthly advice, then, we may 
merely remark that the two great points during the 
rest of the autumn, on which the allotment holder 
must direct his attention steadily, are, first, the hous¬ 
ing or storing his roots, as well as collecting and 
economising their trimmings; and, secondly, to get 
as much of the ground as possible dug deep, and 
thrown into ridges for a winter’s fallow. 
Potatoes. —That tenable complaint, so generally 
known as “ The Potato Disease,” has again appeared, 
but not, at present, to the extent that it had done by 
this time in former years; sufficiently so, however, 
to be very alarming, for who can tell but that next 
year it may again resume its old and virulent cha¬ 
racter, or even worse? Therefore, we most empha¬ 
tically say to all, Let no supineness nor habits of 
neglect attach to the preservation of the seed. Let 
every one feel persuaded that some evil effects, either 
present or prospective, follow abuse, although such 
may appear to be trifling. Because the potato has 
been endowed by our gracious Creator with extraor¬ 
dinary vital powers in order to meet extraordinary 
