BRUSSELS SPROUTS 51 



away from the sun. This can be done without entirely 

 uprooting them, by digging the earth away from the 

 roots (taking care not to injure them) on the northerly 

 side, bending them in that direction, and then covering 

 the whole of the stems with earth. The plants will 

 head in the spring. When grown for this purpose, 

 sowings should not be made before June. 



Storage of Broccoli is possible, by taking up the 

 plants with as much soil as possible and setting them 

 in a cellar or shed, or in a vacant frame, rather close 

 but not crowding. This keeps them fresher than by 

 hanging them head downward, which is also practiced. 



Diseases and pests. See Cauliflower. 



BRUSSELS SPROUTS (Brassica oleracea, var. gem- 

 mifera) are perhaps the most delicate, as they are among 

 the hardiest, of the cabbage family. The plant sends 

 up a leafy stalk, upon which, toward the end of the 

 summer, the sprouts appear in the axils of the leaves. 

 To allow them to develop, the leaves should then be 

 broken off. The sprouts are improved by frost, so that 

 the main crop is grown to mature in late September and 

 October. In mild climates the plants may stand in the 

 field all winter. Varieties are tall, half-dwarf, and 

 dwarf. The dwarf plant bears loose sprouts, closely 

 crowded along the stalk ; these are often entered by the 

 aphis, which it is then impossible to dislodge. The 

 taller plant, especially the tall or standard, bears com- 



