At the turn of the year put the planks on edge by driving posts down in any rough way that will hold them firmly for a brief season, and then spread the leaves equally.  If there are not sufficient leaves to cover the bed for the requisite thickness, raise a good heap over each crown, and sprinkle a little earth to keep the heap together.  But a better mode of procedure is to have a sufficiency of Sea Kale pots with movable covers, or in place of these large flower-pots, or old boxes.  Put these over the crowns, and then heap the leaves over and around, and the preliminaries are completed.  A very early growth will be the result, and the quality will be finer than that of forced Sea Kale.  Uncover occasionally to see how the crop goes on, remembering that perfect darkness is needed to blanch it completely, and to produce a plump and delicate sample.  Cut close over, taking a small portion of the woody part of the crown, and when all the growth of a crown is taken, remove the pot or box, but leave a thin coat of leaves on the cut crown to protect it, as at the time of cutting Sea Kale keen east winds are prevalent, and it is unfair to the plants to expose them suddenly.  When the crop has been taken, remove the leaves and the planks, and dig in between the rows a thick coat of fat manure.  The growth will be too strong now for a stolen crop, and will so continue for many years.  After the crop has been secured, each crown will throw out a number of buds or shoots.  These should all be removed except two or three of the strongest, which will form the crowns for cutting in the following year.  At the same time take away any small blanched shoots that may have been left because they were too small or insignificant for table use.  This proceeding will prevent the production of flower-stems, which is injurious to the plant, and there never need be any fear that the crop will be diminished, because plenty of buds around the crowns, that do not show themselves in the first instance, will come forward in due time.

==Forcing.==—­It is so easy to force Sea Kale that the cultivator may safely be left to his own devices.  But it will be well, perhaps, to say that perfect darkness is requisite, and the temperature should not exceed 60 deg. at any time, this being the maximum figure.  A rise above 60 deg. will produce a thin or wiry sample.  It is sufficient to begin with a temperature of 45 deg., and to rise no higher than 55 deg., to insure a really creditable growth.  The market growers are not very particular as to temperature, but then they do not eat the crop, or know much of it after it has left their hands.  With the gardener in a domestic establishment the case is different; and we venture to advise young men—­to whom book advice is often valuable as entailing no obligations—­that Sea Kale slowly forced may be nearly as good as that grown under pots in the open without any heat at all; better it cannot be.  Any spare pits or odd places may be made use of for