7 MARCH 1941, Page 14

In the Garden There is a point at which an

interest in uncommon vegetables ceases to be practical ; but the wide interest shown by correspondents in pre- vious lists of them prompts me to give a final dozen. In addition to the asparagus pea there is also an asparagus bean—pods a yard long, but needing warm conditions for successful growth ; pe-tsai is a Chinesc cabbage of the Swiss Chard type ; golden thistle resembles salsify ; the lima-bean is a short-podded bean, said to be very good, which does well in a warm summer; skirret and alexanders, both of honourable English kitchen-garden descent, are members of the cow-parsley fannlY and also resemble salsify ; the sweet potato is the root of a climb- ing convolvulus which also needs a favourable summer for success ; the soya-bean can be used green or dried ; Poice-weef,. an annual raised from seed, resembles sweet-corn, is popular In America and has fans among epicures here; orache is a kind of spinach; cardoon, rampion and kohlrabi are all better known, though perhaps less known than they should be. Some of these might be tried in small quantities and are at any rate likely to be as valuabk