November, igii 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



261 



Exhibit af Ottawi Branch of the Ontario Vegetable Growtri' AiiccialicB at Ccatrai Canada Fxhibitioo, Ottawa 



Screening Cabbage Seed Beds 



I 



EXPERIMENTS have been con- 

 ducted for four years by the Gen- 

 eva, New York, Experiment Sta- 

 tion, in the use of cheese cloth for the 

 protection of cabbage seed-beds against 

 insect injuries. The results of the ex- 

 periments are set out in Bulletin 334. 

 The bulletin says in part : 



The experience of farmers during the 

 past four years, has shown conclusively 

 that the use of tight frames, covered 

 with cheesecloth, will entirely prevent 

 injury by the cabbage-maggot. The use 

 of certain grades of cheesecloth will help 

 to prevent injury by the flea-beetle. 

 Plants raised under cloth grow fafeter 

 during most seasons and attain the size 

 desired for transplanting about ten days 

 or two weeks sooner than plants grown 

 in open beds. The extra cost of screen- 

 ing plants in these trial seed-beds by 

 ten different growers, ranged from six 

 to twenty cents per thousand plants. 

 These figures are based on very conser- 

 vative estimates of the number of plants 

 produced, with full allowance for the 

 various items of expense. In the opin- 

 ion of many of the growers who have 

 u.sed screens for several years, the extra 

 cost of the cheesecloth is more than met 

 by the saving in seed. 



The plants grown under screens have 

 good roots so that they start quickly 

 when transplanted, while plants grown 

 in the open are liable to suffer a varying 

 amount of root injury, even in years 

 when there is only a mild infestation of 

 maggots. In addition some cabbage 

 growers prefer to screen their beds be- 

 cause they may obtain sets earlier than 

 can be grown in open beds. Usually 



the cabbages that are set early are the 

 first harvested, and it happens frequently 

 that the first sales in the fall bring a 

 better price than the regular crop. 



The screened plants are more tender 

 than those not screened, but experience 

 has shown that by removing the cover 

 a week or ten days before transplanting 

 the seedlings become sufficiently hard- 

 ened so that there is very little difference 

 in the growth of the .sets in the field. 



SCREENING SUGGESTIONS 



The seed-bed should be located on a 

 fertile, well-drained soil, where there can 

 be no accumulation of water or washing 

 under the frame by rains. It is also de- 

 sirable to locate the bed on land known 

 to be free from v.eeds, anc* injurious in- 

 sects such as wire worms and white 

 grubs. The ground should certainly be 

 free from the disease known as club- 

 root. The soil should be thoroughly cul- 

 tivated so that it is in good physical 

 condition at seeding time. It is custom- 

 ary to apply liberal amounts of high- 

 grade commercial fertilizer. The .seed 

 should be drilled rather thickly, in rows 

 six or eight inches apart. 



When the early varieties of cabbage 

 are to be grown, the seed should be 

 planted during the first part of May, or 

 even earlier, whereas such varieties as 

 Danish should be planted about May 15. 

 Before the seed is drilled, the crrners 

 of the bed should be staked, so that the 

 frame can be built and the cheesecloth 

 applied before the plants come up. This 

 is important as the cloth prevents the 

 soil from baking and conserves the 

 moisture ; also if the screeing is delayed 

 until after the plants come up, the plants 



are subject to injury by the flea-beetle.. 

 Six-inch boards will serve for the frame, 

 though some growers u.se eight and ten- 

 inch boards with satisfaction. 



The cloth should not sag and rest on 

 the plants. This may be prevented by 

 stretching several lengths of wire from 

 end to end of the bed. The wires 

 should not be more than four or five feet 

 apart. The wire can be supported on 

 stakes to which it is held by staples. It 

 is preferable that galvanized wire and 

 staples be used as rusty wire wears holes 

 in the cloth at the point of contact. All 

 openings under the frame, due to un- 

 evenness in the soil, should be filled by 

 banking the earth against the boards. 

 To harden the plants so that they will 

 not wilt beyond recovery when set in 

 the field, the cheesecloth should be re- 

 moved a week or ten days before trans- 

 painting. 



It is well to examine the soil about the 

 plants at intervals of .several days after 

 they have been uncovered to ascertain 

 if eggs are being deposited. If the 

 eggs are numerous the plants should be 

 transplanted as soon as possible, the 

 earth being shaken from the roots, which 

 will dislodge most of the eggs or young 

 maggots. When the plants have reach- 

 ed a desirable size they should be trans- 

 planted, as they are liable to grow too 

 long and spindling. 



Keeping Tomatoes for Seed 



What is the method of keeping- tomatoes 

 for seed and also the best way of preserv- 

 ingf the seeds during- the winter? — R. C, 

 Montreal West, Que. 



To keep tomato seed all that is neces- 

 sary is to have it perfectly dry to start 

 with and keep it in a dry place and not 

 within reach of mice. To secure the 

 seed, select typical, well-ripened ."speci- 

 mens and crush them up by placing the 

 mass in a dish to undergo fermentation. 

 This will take from two to three days, 

 depending upon the temperature and the 

 ripeness of the seed. The riper the seed 

 and the higher the temperature the 

 quicker the fermentation. This process 

 is necessary in order to easily separate 

 pulp from .seed. It is well to stir the 

 mass two or three times during fermen- 

 tation. After this the seed may be thor- 

 oughly washed through a sieve, and 

 after all of the pulp mass is removed 

 they are thoroughly dried in the sun. — 

 Prof. W. S. Blair, Macdonald College. 

 Que. 



A good roothouse can be made by dig- 

 ging a cellar four feet deep and con- 

 structing over it a house well roofed with 

 cedar. Around the sides, bank with 

 earth about two and a half feet deep, 

 using sods as the first tier, next to the 

 wood. Keep the house dark, but venti- 

 late every twelve feet. — Jas. Guthrie, 

 Dixie, Ont. 



