The Culture Of Vegetables And Flowers From Seeds And Roots Part 7

Maize is a tender plant of great beauty that may be grown as a table vegetable, a forage plant, or a corn crop; but in the last-named capacity it is rarely profitable in this country, owing to the brevity of our summers. As an ornamental plant it is ent.i.tled to consideration, and the more so because, while adorning the garden with its n.o.ble outlines and splendid silken tufts, it will at the same time supply to the table the green cobs that are so much valued when cooked and served in the same manner as Asparagus.

There is a simple rough and ready way of growing Maize, the first step towards which is to prepare a deep rich soil, in a sunny and sheltered situation. Late in April or early in May dibble the seeds two inches deep, in rows two feet asunder and one foot apart in the rows. When the plants have made some progress, remove every other one, these thinnings to be destroyed or planted at discretion. Plants may also be started under gla.s.s by sowing seeds in gentle heat in April. p.r.i.c.k off into pots and gradually harden for transfer to the open. The crop will almost take care of itself when the weather is warm enough to suit it. But a deluge of water may be given during the hottest weather. In its native country, and indeed wherever Maize thoroughly thrives, it is dependent on frequent storms.

==MELON==

==Cuc.u.mis Melo==

The popularity of this cool and delicious fruit has in recent years been greatly enhanced by increased knowledge as to the best method of treating the plant, and also by the introduction of several varieties which are attractive in form and superb in flavour. It would shock a modern Melon eater to be advised to cook a Melon, and flavour it with vinegar and salt, as in the early days of English gardening. A good Melon of the present day does not even need the addition of sugar; the beauty, aroma, and flavour are such that it is not unusual for the epicure to push the luscious Pine aside in order to enjoy this cool, fresh, gratifying fruit that delights without cloying the palate. The newer varieties are remarkable alike for fruitfulness and high quality, and are somewhat hardier than the favourites of years gone by.

The Melon is grown in much the same way as the Cuc.u.mber, but it differs in requiring a firmer soil, a higher temperature, a much stronger light, less water, and more air. It may be said that no man should attempt to grow Melons until he has had some experience in growing Cuc.u.mbers. As regards this point, the hard and fast line is useless, but Cuc.u.mber-growing is certainly a good practical preparative for the higher walk wherein the Melon is found. But Cuc.u.mbers are grown advantageously all the winter through; Melons are not. The former are eaten green, and the latter are eaten ripe; this makes all the difference. Melons that are ripened between October and May are seldom worth the trouble bestowed upon them; therefore we shall say nothing about growing Melons in winter.

==The Frame Culture== may with advantage begin about the middle of March by the preparation of a good hot-bed. It is best to use a three-light frame, as the heat will be more constant than with one of smaller size.

There should be six loads of stuff laid up for the bed, and the turning should be sufficient to take out the fire, without materially reducing the fermenting power. Begin a fortnight in advance of making up the bed, and be careful at every stage to do things well, as advised for the cultivation of frame Cuc.u.mbers. The best soil for Melons is a firm, turfy loam, nine inches of which should be placed on top of the manure.

In a clay district, a certain amount of clay, disintegrated by frost, may be chopped over with turfy loam from an old pasture. If the soil is poor, decayed manure should be added, but the best possible Melons may be grown in a fertile loam without the aid of manures or stimulants of any kind. It is good practice to raise the plants in pots, and have them strong enough to plant out as soon as the newly-made beds have settled down to a steady temperature of about 80, but below 70 will be unsafe.

If plants cannot be prepared in advance, seed must be sown on the bed, and as a precaution against accidents and to permit of the removal of those which show any sign of weakness, a sufficient number of seeds should be sown to provide for contingencies.

As regards the bed, it may be made once and for all at the time of planting, a few days being allowed for warming the soil through. But we much prefer to begin with smallish hillocks, or with a thin sharp ridge raised so as almost to touch the lights, and to plant or sow on this ridge, which can be added to from time to time as the plants require more root room. The soil, coming fresh and fresh, sustains a vigorous and healthy root action. The high ridge favours the production of stout leaves, and the absorption by the soil of sun-heat is to the Melon of the first importance.

The practice of pruning Melons as if the plants were grown for fodder, and might be chopped at for supplies of herbage, must be heartily condemned. Melons should never be so crowded as to necessitate cutting out, except in a quite trivial manner. A free and vigorous plant is needed, and under skilful attention it will rarely happen that there is a single leaf anywhere that can be spared. We will propose a practical rule that we have followed in growing Melons for seed, of which a large crop of the most perfect fruits is absolutely needful to insure a fair return. The young plants are pinched when there are two rough leaves.

The result is two side shoots. These are allowed to produce six or seven leaves, and are then pinched. After this, the plants are permitted to run, and there is no more pinching or pruning until the crop is visible.

Then the fruits that are to remain must be selected, and the shoots be pinched to one eye above each fruit, and only one fruit should remain on a shoot; the others must be removed a few at a time. All overgrowth must be guarded against, for crowded plants will be comparatively worthless.

It is not by rudely cutting out that crowding is to be prevented, but by timely pinching out every shoot that is likely to prove superfluous.

From first to last there must be a regular plant, and not a shoot should be allowed to grow that is not wanted. Cutting out may produce canker, and crowding results in sterility.

As the Melon is required to ripen its fruits, and the Cuc.u.mber is not, the treatment varies in view of this difference. It is not necessary to fertilise the female flowers of the Cuc.u.mber, but it is certainly desirable, if not absolutely necessary, to operate on those of the Melon to insure a crop. The early morning, when the leaves are dry and the sun is s.h.i.+ning, is the proper time for this task, which is described in a later paragraph. And the necessity for ripening the crop marks another difference of management, for Cuc.u.mbers may carry many fruits, and continue producing them until the plants are exhausted. But the production of Melons must be limited to about half a dozen on each plant, and good management requires that these should all ripen at the same time, or nearly so, fully exposed to the sun, and with plenty of ventilation.

The requisite supply of water is an important matter. The plant should never be dry at the root, and must have a light shower twice a day over the leaf.a.ge, but the moisture which is necessary for Cuc.u.mbers would be excessive for Melons. It is a golden rule to grow Melons liberally, keeping them st.u.r.dy by judicious air-giving, and to give them a little extra watering just as they are coming into flower. Then, as the flowers open, the watering at the root should be discontinued, and the syringe should be used in the evening only at shutting up. If discontinued entirely, red spider will appear, and the crop will be in jeopardy, for that pest can be kept at a distance only by careful regulation of atmospheric moisture.

Melons in frames do better spread out on the beds than when trained on trellises. When so grown, each fruit must be supported with a flat tile or an inverted flower-pot, and means must be taken, by pegs or otherwise, to prevent it from rolling off, for the twist of stem that ensues may check the fruit or cause it to fall. When the fruits are as large as the top joint of a man's thumb, watering may be resumed, and the syringe used twice a day until the fruit begins to change colour, when there must be a return to the dry system, but with care to avoid carrying it to a dangerous extreme.

==The Melon-house==, heated by hot water, is adapted to supply fruit earlier than is obtainable by frame culture, and is entirely superior to any frame or pit. It appears, however, that in Melon-houses red spider is more frequently seen than in frames heated by fermenting material; but this point rests on management, and there can be nothing more certain than that a reasonable employment of atmospheric humidity may be made effectual for preventing and removing this pest. For the convenient cultivation of the crop a lean-to or half-span is to be preferred. The width should not exceed twelve feet, and ten to twelve feet should be the utmost height of the roof. A service of pipes under the bed will be required; but as Melons are not grown in winter, the heating of a Melon-house is a simple affair, and, indeed, very much of the cultivation as the summer advances will be carried on by the aid of sun-heat only. The treatment of the plants in a house differs from the frame management, because a trellis is employed, and the plants are taken up the trellis without stopping until they nearly reach the top, when the points are pinched out to promote the growth of side shoots. In setting the fruit, the same principles prevail as in frame culture, and it is advisable to 'set' the whole crop at once; if two or three fruits obtain a good start, others that are set later will drop off. As the fruits swell, support must be afforded to prevent any undue strain on the vine, and this should be accomplished by nets specially made for the purpose, or by suspending small flat boards of half-inch deal with copper wires, each fruit resting on its board, until the cracking round the stem gives warning that the fruit should be cut and placed in the fruit room for a few days to complete the ripening for the table. In houses of the kind described Melons and Cuc.u.mbers are occasionally grown together. But although this may be done, and there are many cultivators expert in the business, the practice cannot be recommended, for s.h.i.+ps that sail near the wind will come to grief some day. The moisture and partial shade that suit the Cuc.u.mber do not suit the Melon, and it is a poor compromise to make one end of the house shady and moist, and the other end sunny and dry, to establish different conditions with one atmosphere. A gla.s.s part.i.tion pretty well disposes of the difficulty, because it is then possible to insure two atmospheres suitable for two different operations. (=See also pages 157, 175, and 184.=)

==The Pollination of Melons== is performed by plucking the mature male blooms, and after the removal of the petals, transferring the pollen of the male flower to the stigma of the female flower.

==MERCURY==

==Chenopodium Bonus-Henricus==

This perfectly hardy vegetable, known also by the name of Good King Henry, is much grown in Lincolns.h.i.+re. The leaves are used in the same way as Spinach, and by earthing up the shoots they may be blanched as a subst.i.tute for Asparagus. Sow the seeds during April in drills twelve inches apart, and in due course thin the seedlings to one foot apart in the rows.

==MUSHROOM==

==Agaricus campestris==

The Mushroom has many friends among all cla.s.ses, few benevolent neutrals, and fewer still who are absolutely hostile to it as an article of food. Those who find, or imagine they find, that this delicacy does not agree with them, might possibly arrive at another conclusion were a different mode of preparation adopted, or were the consumption of it accompanied with a full persuasion that the Mushroom is not merely delicious in flavour, but thoroughly wholesome, rich in flesh-forming const.i.tuents, and, for a vegetable, possessed of more than the average proportion of fat-formers and minerals. These facts have been clearly established by chemical a.n.a.lysis, and may dispose of timid misgivings, always supposing the true edible Mushroom, =Agaricus campestris=, to be in question.

Hitherto the artificial production of Mushrooms has never been equal to the demand. Notwithstanding the enormous quant.i.ties sent to Covent Garden by the growers around London, many tons are imported from France, although it is generally admitted that they are neither so fine nor so rich in flavour as those produced in this country. If, however, the large centres of population are inadequately supplied, the scarcity of Mushrooms is more keenly felt in the provinces, except, perhaps, in certain favoured districts, where, after a few warm days in autumn, an abundant crop may be gathered from the neighbouring pastures. Then there is a brave show in the greengrocers' windows for a brief period, followed by entire dearth for weeks, and perhaps months. Obviously, therefore, the demand, large as it already is, might be immensely augmented by a commensurate supply. Yet it is not only possible but quite easy to grow Mushrooms for the greater part of the year in very small gardens, even when such gardens are entirely dest.i.tute of the appliances usually considered necessary for the higher flights of horticulture. The idea that Mushroom-growing is somewhat of a mystery, forbidden to all but the strictly initiated, has happily been dispelled.

If we examine the conditions under which Mushrooms grow freely in pastures, it is surprising how few and simple are the elements of success. The crop generally appears in September, when temperature is genial and fairly equable, with sufficient but not superabundant moisture. The artificial production of Mushrooms in the garden needs only reliable sp.a.w.n, a sweet fertile bed, and some means of maintaining a steady temperature under varying atmospheric conditions. When the principles of Mushroom culture are thoroughly mastered, they may be successfully applied in many different ways, and they render the practical work easy and tolerably certain.

==The Sp.a.w.n.==--Although the Mushroom may be grown from seed, it is seldom done except for strictly scientific purposes. The seeds are, however, largely disseminated by Nature, and, having found a suitable home, they germinate and produce an underground growth which at a hasty glance resembles mildew. It really consists of white gossamer-like films, which increase in number and distinctness as they develop, until they push their way towards the surface, and give rise to the growth above ground of the Mushroom. It follows that if we do not begin the cultivation with seeds or spores, we must resort to the white films or 'mycelium,' that the growth of the plant may begin in Nature's own way below ground. What is called 'Mushroom Sp.a.w.n' consists of certain materials from the stable and the field, mixed and prepared in such a manner as to favour the development of the mycelium of the Mushroom. When dried, the cakes have the appearance of an unburnt brick. The preparation of the sp.a.w.n, though a very simple matter, demands the skill and care of experienced operators. If the work is not well done, the sp.a.w.n will be of poor quality, and will yield a meagre crop, or perhaps fail to produce a single Mushroom. Whether the cakes or bricks are impregnated in the manner long practised in this country, or direct from the tissue of the Mushroom, the culture remains the same. Provided that the sp.a.w.n is good, it has but to be broken into lumps of a suitable size, and inserted in the bed, to impregnate the entire ma.s.s with the necessary white films.

These will take their time to collect from the soil the alkalies and phosphates of which Mushrooms princ.i.p.ally consist, and this part of their work being done, the fruits of their labours will be displayed above ground in the elegant and sweet-smelling fungus that few human appet.i.tes can resist when it is placed upon the table in the way that it deserves. Experts can readily form an opinion as to whether a cake of Mushroom sp.a.w.n is or is not in a fit state for planting, and it will be a safe proceeding for the amateur to buy from a Firm which has a large and constant sale; otherwise, sp.a.w.n may be purchased which was originally well made and properly impregnated, but has lost its vitality through long keeping.

==Soil.==--As to soil, it is well known that in a favourable autumn Mushrooms abound in old rich pastures, and those who have command of turf cut from a field of this character have only to stack the sods gra.s.s side downwards for a year or two, and they will be in possession of first-cla.s.s material for Mushroom beds either in the open or under cover. But small gardens, particularly in towns, have no such bank to honour their drafts, and for these it becomes a question of buying a load or two of turfy loam, or of making the soil of the garden answer, perhaps with a preliminary enrichment by artificial manure. In the general interests of the garden, the money for a limited quant.i.ty of good loam would probably be well spent, independently of the question of Mushrooms. No great bulk is necessary to cover a moderate-sized Mushroom bed, but the quality of the soil will certainly have an influence on the number and character of the Mushrooms. As a proof of the exhaustive nature of the fungus, it almost invariably happens that when the soil is used a second time it tends to diminish the size and lower the quality of the crop.

==Manure.==--In the management of the manure two essentials must be borne in mind. Not only is nourishment for the plant required, but warmth also. Probably a large proportion of the failures to grow Mushrooms might, if all the facts were known, be traced to some defect in the manure employed, or to some fault in its preparation. It must be rich in the properties which encourage and support the development of Mushrooms, absolutely free from the least objectionable odour, for the plant is most fastidious in its demand for sweetness, although it can dispense with light; and there must remain in the manure when made into a bed a sufficient reserve of fermentation to insure prolonged heat, no matter what the temperature of the atmosphere may be. Of course, the duration of the heat will depend very much on the care with which it is conserved by suitable covering and management. These requirements, formidable as they may seem, can be insured with extreme ease; indeed, the work is apparently far more difficult and complicated on paper than it proves to be in practice.

==Preparation of the Bed.==--The manure should come from stables occupied by horses in good health, fed exclusively on hard food. The most suitable store is the floor of a dry shed, or under some protection which will prevent the loss of vital forces. Ammonia, for example, is readily dissipated in the atmosphere or washed away by rain. The manure should neither be allowed to become dust dry, nor to waste its power in premature fermentation. Operations may be commenced with three or four loads. A smaller quant.i.ty increases the difficulty of maintaining the requisite temperature when fermentation begins to flag. The first procedure is to make the manure into a high oblong heap well trodden down. If the stuff be somewhat dry, a sprinkling of water over every layer will be necessary. In a few days fermentation will make the heap hot all through, and then it must be taken to pieces and remade, putting all the outside portions into the interior, with the object of insuring equal fermentation of the entire bulk. This process will have to be repeated several times at intervals of three or four days until the manure has not only been fermented but sweetened. When ready it will be of a dark colour, soft, damp enough to be cohesive under pressure, but not sufficiently damp to part with any of its moisture, and almost odourless; at all events the odour will not be objectionable, but may be suggestive of Mushrooms. Make a long bed, having a base about four feet wide, and sides sloping to a ridge like the roof of a house, with this difference--the narrow part of the ridge is useless, and the top should, therefore, be rounded off when about a foot across. Some growers prefer a circular bed of six or eight feet diameter at the bottom and tapering towards a point, after the shape of a military tent; but here again the point will be worthless, and the bed may terminate abruptly. Either the long bed or the round heap answers admirably. Tread the manure down compactly, and for the sake of appearances endeavour to finish it off in a workmanlike manner. During the first few days there will be a considerable rise in the temperature, which will gradually subside, and when the plunging thermometer shows that it has settled down to a comfortable condition of about 80 the bed must be sp.a.w.ned. Experienced men can determine by the sense of touch when the temperature is right, but the inexperienced should rely entirely on the thermometer. The question will arise as to the period of the year when operations should be commenced. Well, the experts who grow Mushrooms in the open ground for market gather crops almost the year round; but a beginner will do wisely to start under the most favourable natural conditions, and these will be found about midsummer, because the bed will commence bearing before winter creates difficulty as to temperature.

==Sp.a.w.ning and After-management.==--Break each cake of sp.a.w.n into eight or ten pieces, and force every piece gently a little way into the manure at regular intervals of six to nine inches all over the bed, closing the manure over and round each piece of sp.a.w.n. The practice of inserting sp.a.w.n by means of the dibber is to be strongly condemned, for it leaves smooth, hollow s.p.a.ces which arrest the mycelium; and very small pieces of sp.a.w.n should be avoided because they generally result in small Mushrooms. Immediately the sp.a.w.ning is completed, a thick and even covering of clean straw or litter of some kind should be laid over the bed, secured from wind by canvas, mats, hurdles, or in some other way.

From good sp.a.w.n the films of mycelium will begin to extend within a week. In the contrary case an examination of the pieces will show that they have become darker than when put into the bed, which means that they have perished. Then the question will arise as to whether the bed or the sp.a.w.n is at fault, and the former must either be sp.a.w.ned again or broken up. Supposing the sp.a.w.n to show signs of vitality, the time has come for covering the bed with a layer of rather moist soil, pressed lightly but firmly on to the manure with the spade or fork, so that the earth will not slip down. At once restore the covering of litter, &c., and wait patiently for about seven or eight weeks for the crop.

Meanwhile the plunging thermometer ought to be consulted daily. Until the Mushrooms appear the instrument should not indicate less than 60, and while in bearing not less than 55. Experience proves that the most violent alternations of temperature may be combated by regulating the thickness of the covering. Although it may possibly be necessary to resort to eighteen inches of litter or more during hard frost or the prevalence of a cutting east wind, a much thinner covering will suffice in milder weather.

Should the temperature of the bed, through inexperience in the management of it, sink below the point at which Mushrooms can grow, we advise the exercise of a little patience. We have known several instances of beds made in autumn producing no crop at the expected time, but which have borne fairly in the following spring or summer. But in the event of the first effort failing outright there is no great loss.

The manure, which is the most costly item, will still be available for the garden, and an observant man will pretty well understand in what respect he must amend his course of procedure.

==Water.==--Moisture is of great consequence, for a dry Mushroom bed will soon be barren also; but whenever water is given it must be applied tepid and from a fine rose. To slop cold water over a Mushroom bed is about as reasonable a procedure as putting ice into hot soup. Water is best administered in the afternoon of a genial day, and should be sufficient to saturate the bed. Immediately it is done the covering of litter and canvas must be promptly restored to prevent the temperature from being seriously lowered by rapid evaporation. A couple of stakes driven from the crown to the bottom of the bed at the time of making up the heap are useful as indicators of moisture, and may occasionally be drawn out and examined.

==In gathering the crop,== only a small portion of the bed should be uncovered at a time. This should be the rule at all seasons, and the strict observance of it will prevent a mistake in cold weather, for then, if the bed is carelessly uncovered and much chilled, the crop will come to an end, when perhaps it would, if properly handled, be at high tide and full of profit. Another rule should be enforced, to this effect, that every Mushroom must be taken out complete, and if the root does not come with the stem, it must be dug out with a knife. Any trifling with this rule will prove a costly mistake. The stem of a Mushroom, if left in the ground, will produce nothing at all. But it may attract flies, and it certainly will interfere with the movements of the mycelium at that particular spot, and actually prevent the production of any more Mushrooms. The old pract.i.tioners were accustomed to leave the stem in the ground, and they were content with about one-third of the crop now produced on beds that are, perhaps, not better made than were theirs. But they had a notion about the powers of the root which increased knowledge of the subject has shown to be fallacious.

==In Pastures.==--As already indicated, Mushrooms are often to be found in abundance in well-stocked pastures during the late summer months, and where favourable conditions exist it is an excellent plan to insert pieces of sp.a.w.n two inches deep in the turf in June and July.

==Turf Pits.==--The facility with which Mushrooms may be raised under simple methods is ill.u.s.trated by the practice of growing them inside the turf walls of cool pits. In the country turf walls are common, and they offer the advantage of growing Mushrooms in addition to the purpose they usually serve. After determining the size of the pit, and accurately marking it on the ground, cut the turf into narrow strips, say three or four inches wide, and of exactly eighteen inches length. The strips should be closely laid, gra.s.s side downwards, across the width of the walls--not longitudinally--except at the corners, where the layers should cross each other. The front and back walls to be rather above the required height, because the turf always scales down a little, and the two ends must gradually rise from front to back. The top layer may be right side up, when it will keep green for a long time. As the work proceeds insert lumps of sp.a.w.n at intervals in every layer, about three or four inches from the inside edge. A wooden frame will be requisite on the top to carry the gla.s.s lights. This structure makes a useful cool pit and a Mushroom bed from which supplies may sometimes be gathered for years. In the summer it will be necessary to keep the walls moist by means of the syringe, or they will cease bearing.

==Indoor Beds.==--Mushrooms may be grown almost anywhere, evenly in a cellar, or on the wall of a warm stable, provided only that the mode of procedure is in a reasonable degree adapted to the requirements of the fungus. Ordinary pits and frames are also serviceable, and many gardeners obtain good crops in autumn by the simple process of inserting a few lumps of sp.a.w.n in a Cuc.u.mber or Melon bed while the plants are still in bearing. Between sp.a.w.ning and cropping a period of six or eight weeks usually elapses, so that if the plan just mentioned be adopted, the sp.a.w.n should be introduced in the height of summer, both to insure it a warm bed and to allow time for the crop to mature before the season runs out. Sheds and outhouses not only afford shelter and s.p.a.ce for beds on the floor, but the walls can be fitted with shelves on which Mushrooms may be plentifully grown. In all cases the shelves should be two feet apart vertically, and each shelf should have a ledge nine inches deep. The walls of a house may be quickly and cheaply fitted with woodwork for the purpose, but brick is so much better than wood that whenever it is possible to employ brick it should have the preference.

As regards the ledges, they should be of stout planking in any case, and should not be fixed, because of the necessity for clearing the shelves and renewing the soil periodically. The details of cultivation are the same within doors as without, but the roof gives valuable protection, and helps to maintain the beds at a suitable temperature.

==A proper Mushroom-house== for production during winter should be heated with hot water, and have an opaque roof. There is nothing so good for the crop as a roof of thatch, but there are many objections to it, and usually slate is employed. A double roof will pay for its extra cost by promoting an equable temperature. A few side lights fitted with shutters are necessary, as there should be a good light for working purposes; but the crop does not need light, and a more steady temperature can be maintained in a dark house than in one which has several windows. The most convenient dimensions for a Mushroom-house are: length, twenty-five feet; width, twelve feet; height at sides, six feet, to allow of a bed on the floor, and a shelf four feet above it; the ridge rising sufficiently for head room, and to shoot off water. There will be room for a central path of four feet, and a bed of four feet on each side. An earth or tile floor and a slate or stone shelf will, with one four-inch flow and return pipe, complete the arrangements. The less wood and the less concrete the better; there is nothing like porous red tiles for the floor and stone for the shelves, with loose planks on edge to keep up the soil, a few uprights being sufficient to hold them in their places.

==Temperatures== at every point are of great importance. The bed should be near 80 when the sp.a.w.n is inserted. The air temperature requisite to the rising crop is 60 to 65, which is the usual temperature of the season when Mushrooms appear in pastures. While the bed is bearing a temperature of 55 will suffice, but at any point below this minimum production will be slow and may come to a stop. When giving water, take care that it is at a temperature rather above than below that of the bed.

==MUSTARD==

==Sinapis alba, and S. nigra==

Mustard is much valued as a pungent salad, and for mixing in the bowl it may take the place of Water Cress when the latter is not at command.

Mustard is often sown with Cress, but it is bad practice, for the two plants do not grow at the same pace, and there is nothing gained by mixing them. The proper sort for salading is the common White Mustard, but Brown Mustard may be used for the purpose. Rape is employed for market work, but should be shunned in the garden. As the crop is cut in the seed leaf, it is necessary to sow often, but the frequency must be regulated by the demand. Supplies may be kept up through the winter by sowing in shallow boxes, which can be put into vineries, forcing pits, and other odd places. Boxes answer admirably, as they can be placed on the pipes if needful; they favour the complete cutting of a crop without remainders, and this is of importance in the case of a salad that runs out of use quickly and is so easily produced. From Lady Day to Michaelmas Mustard may be sown on the open border with other saladings, but as the summer advances a shady place must be found for it.

==ONION==

==Allium Cepa==