ENDIVE.
Chicorium endivia.
Endive is a hardy annual, said to be a native of China and Japan. When fully developed, it is from four to six feet in height. The leaves are smooth, and lobed and cut upon the borders more or less deeply, according to the variety; the flowers are usually of a blue color, and rest closely in the axils of the leaves; the seeds are small, long, angular, and of a grayish color; their germinative properties are retained for ten years; nearly twenty-five thousand are contained in an ounce.
Soil.—All of the varieties thrive well in any good, mellow garden soil. Where there is a choice of situations, select one in which the plants will be the least exposed to the effects of drought and heat.
Propagation.—The plants can be raised only from seed. This may be sown where the plants are to remain; or it may be sown broadcast, or in close drills in a nursery-bed for transplanting. If sown where the plants are to remain, sow thinly in shallow drills a foot apart for the smaller, curled varieties, and fifteen inches for the larger, broad-leaved sorts. Thin out the plants to a foot asunder as soon as they are large enough to handle, and keep the ground about them, as well as between the rows, loose, and free from weeds, by repeated hoeings. If required, the plants taken out in thinning may be reset in rows at the same distances apart.
If sown in a nursery-bed, transplant when the young plants have eight or ten leaves; setting them at the distances before directed. This should be done at morning or evening; and the plants should afterwards be watered and shaded for a few days, until they are well established.
The first sowing may be made as early in spring as the weather will permit; and a sowing may be made a month or six weeks after, for a succession: but as it is for use late in autumn, or during the winter and spring, that Endive is most required, the later sowings are the most important. These are usually made towards the end of July.
Blanching.—Before using, the plants must be blanched; which is performed in various ways. The common method is as follows: When the root-leaves have nearly attained their full size, they are taken when entirely dry, gathered together into a conical form, or point, at the top, and tied together with matting, or any other soft, fibrous material; by which means, the large, outer leaves are made to blanch the more tender ones towards the heart of the plant.
After being tied in this manner, the plants are sometimes blanched by earthing, as practised with Celery or Cardoons. This process is recommended for dry and warm seasons: but in cold, wet weather, they are liable to decay at the heart; and blanching-pots, or, in the absence of these, common flower-pots, inverted over the plants, will be found a safe and effectual means of rendering them white, crisp, and mild flavored.