II2 : CAULIFLOWER. 
gave the earliest and evidently the best results. The 
plants had been somewhat checked late in their history 
by very dark weather and possibly by some inattention 
in management, and many of the heads began to ‘“‘but- 
ton,’’ or to break into irregular portions, with a tendency 
to go to seed. The house was needed for other experi- 
ments, and on January 20 the plants were all removed. 
At this time nearly three-fourths of the crop had matured 
sufficiently to give marketable heads, although many of 
the heads were small. Winter cauliflowers, in common 
with all forced crops, should be harvested when small, 
for products of medium or even small size sell for nearly 
or quite as much as large ones in winter, and the cost of 
raising them is much less. A head 4 inches across is 
large enough for January sales, and many of the heads 
which we sold were considerably smaller than this. These 
heads sold readily at our door for 20 cents apiece. 
January 25, a second crop of cauliflowers was set in 
the beds, comprising Early Snowball and Dwarf Erfurt. 
Seeds for this crop were sown in flats October 21. On 
November 5 the plants were transplanted to other flats, 
and on December 16 shifted to 3-inch pots, where they 
remained until set in the bed. On April 8, the plants 
had reached the size shown in the photograph in Fig. 36 
(page 110). At this time they completely covered the 
ground, and choked out lettuce which had been placed 
between them. About the 20th of March, heads were 
found to be forming in the Early Snowball. In the 
former experiment, Erfurt gave the first heads. A week 
later than this, Snowball had heads 3 to 4 inches in 
diameter, while Erfurt showed none. The first heads 
were sold on the 29th of March, about five and one-third 
months from the time of sowing. It will be observed 
that the time between sowing and harvest is greater in 
the second crop than in the first. This is because the 
plants were wholly grown. in the dark and short days 
of midwinter. It should be added, also, that the climate - 
