slices of from half an inch to an inch thick, with butter and sugar spread between the layers.

Some boil the stalks to a juice, which being strained through a colander, will keep for years, if well spiced and seasoned with sugar.

In England, large drying houses have been erected for the purpose of curing the roots of the Palmatum; but this business may be done in this country as it is done in China: by the heat of the sun. After the roots have been well washed, and the small fibres cut off, they are to be cut transversely into pieces about two inches thick, and dried on boards, turning them several times a day, in order to prevent the escape of the yellow juice, on which its medicinal qualities depend. In four or five days they may be strung upon strings, and suspended in a shady but airy and dry situation, and in two months afterward they will be fit for the market.

SALSIFY.

SALSIFIS OU CERCIFIS. Tragopogon porrifolius.

THIS plant grows spontaneously in the open fields of England, and is by some highly valued for its white edible root, and for the young shoots rising in the spring from plants a year old; these, when gathered while green and tender, are good to boil and eat in the same manner as Asparagus. Some have carried their fondness for this plant so far as to call it Vegetable Oyster. It requires the same kind of soil and management as Carrots and Parsnips.

The seed may be sown at any time in April and May, an inch deep, in drills twelve inches apart. When the plants are two or three inches high, they should be thinned to the distance of six inches from each other, and afterward hoed. The ground should be kept clean and loose round the plants, by repeated hoeing; in the autumn they will be fit for use. The roots

may be taken up late in autumn, and secured in moist sand from the air; or suffered to remain out, and dug up when wanted.

As the seed of Salsify do not all ripen uniformly, it should be sown moderately thick. To insure a regular crop, five or six pounds may be allowed for an acre of ground, or two ounces for every three perches.

The mode of cooking recommended by an American author is, "To cut the roots transversely into thin pieces; boil them in water, or milk and water; when boiled soft, mash them, and thicken the whole with flour to some degree of stiffness; then fry them in the fat of salt pork, or butter, they are a luxury."

In England the tops are considered excellent food when boiled tender, and served up with poached eggs and melted butter. They are by some considered salutary for persons inclined to consumption. Those afflicted with any symptoms indicating the approach of that complaint, cannot harm themselves by eating the tops, when they are to be got, which is in the month of April; and if the roots are eaten when attainable, they may, perhaps, answer a still better purpose, and even the liquor in which they are boiled may possess some of the most valuable properties of the plant.

THIS plant has long been raised in British gardens, for culinary purposes, and especially as an ingredient in soups, on account of its palatable and nourishing roots. Some boil and eat them like Carrots, &c.; in which case they should be deprived of their rind, and immersed in cold water for half an hour, or they will be bitter. They are raised precisely in the same manner as Salsify. If the seed be sown in

April, in a good deep soil, the roots will attain perfection in autumn, and continue good all the winter. They last from three to four years, according to the quality of the earth and the care bestowed upon them; but it is better to raise a few from seed every year.

THIS plant is found on the sea-shore, in the southern parts of England, where it grows spontaneously. As soon as it appears above ground, the inhabitants remove the pebbles or sand with which it is usually covered, to the depth of several inches, and cut off the young and tender leaves and stalks, as yet unexpanded and in a blanched state, close to the crown of the root; it is then in its greatest perfection. When the leaves are full grown, they become hard and bitter, and the plant is not eatable.

It is cultivated in private gardens, and for sale, in various parts of England. Cultivators have differed widely respecting the mode of treating this plant; many conceiving that stones, gravel, and sea sand are essential to its growth, have gone to the expense of providing them; but it has been discovered that it will grow much more luxuriantly in a rich sandy loam, where the roots can penetrate to a great depth.

The seed of Sea-Kale may be sown in October, or as early in the spring as the ground can be brought into good condition, in drills an inch and a half deep, and fourteen or sixteen inches asunder; the plants should afterward be thinned out to the distance of six or eight inches from each other in the rows, and kept clear of weeds by frequent hoeing through the summer. When the plants are a year old, every third row may be taken up, and also every other plant in each row, leaving them fourteen or sixteen inches apart; these

may be transplanted into good ground prepared as directed for Asparagus. Plant two rows in each bed, about eighteen inches apart; the best way is to make two drills three inches deep, and with a dibble set in the plants fifteen or sixteen inches from each other; when these drills are filled, the crowns of the plants will be covered nearly two inches, but they will soon push through the earth. The plants left in the seed-bed may form a permanent bed, which should be forked or dug between the rows; previous to this being done, lay on an inch or two of good rotten manure, and incorporate it with the earth around the plants.

Some make new plantations of the old roots, which should be cut up into pieces of about two inches in length, and planted in March or April, three or four inches deep, at the distance before directed for the plants.

At the approach of winter the leaves will die away, and disappear. The beds should then be thickly covered with dung, leaves, or sea-weed; this will not only protect the plants from frost, but will cause them to shoot up early in the spring. As soon as the frost is out of the ground, this may be taken off, or, if well rotted, it may be mixed up with the earth; the crowns of the plants should then be covered to the depth of ten or twelve inches for blanching.

Some blanch it by heaping on it sea sand; some common sand and gravel; and others with large garden pots, inverted and placed immediately over the plants. If these pots be covered up with fresh horse dung, it will forward the shoots in growth, and make them sweeter and more tender.

When your plants have been covered in either method three or four weeks, examine them, and if you find that the stalks have shot up three or four inches, you may begin cutting; should you wait till all the shoots are of considerable length, your crop will come in too much at once, for in this plant there is not that successsive growth which there is in Asparagus; you may continue cutting until you see the heads of flowers begin to form; and if at this time you uncover it

entirely, and let it proceed to that state in which Broccoli is usually cut, and use it as such, you will find it an excellent substitute; and this greatly enhances the value of the plant; as Broccoli does not stand our winter frosts, and can only be had when carefully protected, as recommended when treating of that vegetable; but Sea-Kale is sufficiently hardy to bear our winter frosts, without much injury. You are not to weaken the roots too much by over-cutting, for in that case it would injure their next year's bearing: some of the shoots should be allowed to grow, to carry on a proper vegetation, and strengthen and enlarge the roots. Great care should be taken in cutting, not to injure the crowns of the roots by cutting the shoots too close to them. Sea-Kale should be dressed soon after it is cut, as the goodness of the article greatly depends on its not being long exposed to the air.

If you choose to force Sea-Kale, dig a trench all round a small bed; about three feet wide, and thirty inches deep; fill it with hot dung, and as it sinks, raise it. This will make the plants grow; and if hand lights are set over them, it will accelerate their growth.

To have this rare vegetable in perfection, it should be cooked as soon as gathered. Let it be first soaked in water, seasoned with salt, for half an hour; then wash it in fresh water, and put it into the cooking utensil; keep it boiling briskly, skim clean, and let off steam. When the stalks are tender, which may be expected in from fifteen to twenty-five minutes, according to size and age, take it up, dish it, and serve it up with melted butter, gravy, and such condiments as are most agreeable to the palate.