THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



273 



I find it hardy and very prolific, a sure 

 cropper, very attractive in color, being 

 a bright scarlet. But the leading fea- 

 ture of this new berry is its exquisite 

 flavor, possessed by no other variety I 

 know of. This berry I believe origi- 

 nated in Newburgh, N. Y., and is now 

 in the hands of a Mr. J. G. Buitow, 

 Fishkill, N. Y., of whom I bought my 

 stock. I shall plant it extensively 

 another season.— -P. A. M. Van Wyck, 

 «Vi Farm aiid Garden. 



CULTURE OF THE CAULIFLOWER. 



One of the most greatly prized, by 

 epicures, of all our vegetables is the 

 cauliflower, and by many amateur cul- 

 tivators it is one of the most ditiS.cult to 

 raise in perfection, particularly by those 

 who have not learned its special needs 

 by actual experience. Many a gardener, 

 who cannot tell why, grows this excel- 

 lent vegetable successfully ; and by 

 watching his manipulations, we are 

 enabled to study out a system which, 

 when followed, generally proves suc- 

 cessful. Every variety of plant has its 

 peculiar needs, and when those needs 

 are known, provided for and complied 

 with, it becomes a comparatively easy 

 task to gi*ow the plant successfully. I 

 am told that "in Erfurt cauliflowei-s 

 are grown in low muck lands, with 

 intervening ditches of water, and even 

 then, during dry weather, water from 

 the ditches is thrown over the plants." 

 Water, therefore, is one of the pecu- 

 liar needs of this plant ; but I have 

 known excellent cauliflowers grown in 

 this country on comparatively dry 

 sandy loams, and better ones on loams 

 of a more heavy and retentive charac- 

 ter. Water, and manure water, were 

 freely given the plants when once 

 established, and the soil was freely 

 stirred. 



This sort of culture, however well it 

 may serve for amateur and small gar- 



deners, is impracticable for market 

 gardeners, as a rule. In all cases we 

 must have plants that have good roots, 

 and plenty of them, and for this, time 

 must be given for them to grow. A 

 slow growth of top must therefore be 

 eiicoui-aged by starting the plants early 

 in a hot-bed, and transplanting, when 

 small, into other beds partly spent of 

 heat, and later into cold frames, wherp> 

 they may stand till time to trans]jlant 

 into the field. If properly hardened 

 off", they will stand as much frost as a 

 C'lbbage without injury, and we know 

 that by setting cabbages to the depth: 

 of most of the stems' length, they will 

 endure quite a degree of fi-ost. It is 

 important that the plants get estab- 

 lished, for an early crop, in the field or 

 permanent beds as soon in the spring 

 as possible, that they may have the 

 benefits of spring rains and cool 

 weather to mature before early summer 

 drouths and heat come on. All the 

 cabbage tribe requii-e a good degree of 

 moisture and cool weather to induce 

 them to head well. If the crop is 

 properly treated, the plants will mature 

 ready for market in mid- June, leaving 

 plenty of time to clear and pi^epare 

 the ground for second crops. 



Cauliflower should never be grown 

 on the same ground oftener than once 

 in a course of five or six crops, and. 

 less frequently where two or three crops> 

 are annually grown on the same soil. 

 An indispensable essential in the grow- 

 ing of good cauliflower is that manure 

 be liberally applied and the land thor- 

 oughly prepared. Thorough culture 

 must be the rule. Lime, superphos- 

 phate and guano, in conjunction with 

 farmyard manure, should be applieil 

 freely in proportion to the amount of 

 manure available. By pui-suing some 

 such course, splendid crops of this 

 most delicious of the cabbage family 

 may be gi'own annually. The catalogues 

 enumerate and describe a dozen or moie 



