120 THE CAULIFLOWEE. 



"The expense and trouble are not over yet. The 

 seed is ripening about the time our rainy season 

 sets in, and we don't see the sun once a week on 

 an average, so that our seed must all be dried by 

 fire heat. Our dry- houses are 30 x 20 feet, and 

 18 feet high with 2x6 inch joists running across 

 the houses in tiers, on which we hang the seeds 

 for drying. A brick furnace is built in the middle 

 of the house, with the fine running through the 

 roof. 



" We usiaally make three cuttings. As soon as the 

 pods on the center stalks begin to turn yellow, and 

 the seed a light brown, we make our first cutting. 

 From one to three plants are put in a pile and tied 

 with binding twine. The bundles are taken to the 

 dry- house on wheelbarrows, made with racks on 

 purpose for carrying the seeds. A cloth is spread 

 over the rack to catch any shelling seeds. A man 

 carries about 100 bunches at a load and passes 

 them up to a man in the house who hangs them on 

 nails driven for the purpose. The seed is allowed 

 to hang a few days to thoroughly ripen before 

 firing up. We aim to keep the heat in the top of 

 the house at about 80^ until the seed and stalks 

 are dry. 



"The bundles are now taken down and laid upon 

 a cloth where they are crushed by walking on them. 

 Grain sacks are then filled with the stalks and pods 



