II. Winter Cauliflowers. 



There is probably no vegetable which is capable of profitable forcing 

 in America concerning which so little has been written in reference to 

 its treatment under glass as cauliflowers. It is true that the literature 

 of vegetable forcing is very meagre in this country, and it is therefore 

 little wonder that the cauliflower, which is scarcely known as a winter 

 crop outside the establishments of wealthy persons who employ 

 gardeners, should have received so little attention from writers. Our 

 own experience in the forcing of cauliflowers for winter use extends 

 over only three winters with four crops; but inasmuch as the first crop 

 was a failure and the last Avere very successful, the narrative may pos- 

 sess some value. It should be said here that in speaking of the forcing 

 of cauliflowers I refer to the practice of growing them under glass to 

 maturity in the cold months, and not to the much commoner practice 

 of growing them to a large size under frames or sash-covered houses and 

 stripping the sash off upon the approach of warm weather and allowing 

 them to mature without cover. Our first crop was attempted in the 

 winter of 1890-91. Ihe seeds were sown in " flats " or shallow boxes, 

 and the young plants were transplanted into pots. When the plants 

 Avere eight or ten inches high they had been shifted to S-incli pots, and 

 knowing that the cauliflower delights in a low temperature, the pots 

 were set upon the ground in a cool lean-to house, where the tem- 

 perature often went below 40°. The floor of this house was cold and 

 wet, and it was soon evident that the plants were suffering. They were 

 removed, therefore, into an intermediate temperature. Growth soon 

 began again and small heads began to form before the plants had 

 reached the proper size. These heads, however, soon split or " buttoned " 

 and none of them were merchantable. The lesson was evident. The 

 plants had been checked, and under the sudden stimulus of a new 

 growth the premature heads were ruptured. The experiment was 

 repeated the following winter in a small way, the attempt being made 

 to keep the plants in a uniform condition of vigor and growth through- 

 out their life time. This attempt was successful, and it lead to two 

 larger experiments of the past winter. In this second trial, the plants 



