Vegetables with Edible Leaves or Stems 93 



must be set out, as otherwise they are liable to become too 

 large and a part of the crop to be worthless. 



Cultivation of cauliflower. 



The general care and cultivation is like that for early 

 cabbage. An application of nitrate of soda at the begin- 

 ning of heading is advantageous. When the heads 

 reach the size of a teacup, the leaves may be tied over them 

 to keep the heads white. This is not always necessary, 

 nor is the practice always followed. 



Cutting. 



After cauliflower has begun to head, it requires much 

 judgment to put it into the market properly. The field 

 must be picked over repeatedly and the matured heads 

 removed, or they will spoil. If the weather is warm, 

 they are liable to spot, and this makes them unfit for the 

 market. To examine a head, the leaves are parted to see 

 if the head is beginning to crack; if so, it should be re- 

 moved. In case the leaves have been tied over the head 

 to blanch it, they must be parted on the side. In cutting, 

 a good, strong knife, with a blade about eight inches long, 

 is needed. The stalk should be cut so as to leave about 

 two circles of leaves. If the product is first-class, it will 

 pay to cut the stalk below the leaves and cart the crop 

 to the packing-house. 



Crating cauliflower heads. 



Preparatory to crating cauliflowers, all but the inner 

 circle of leaves should be trimmed off, the stalks cut off 

 near the leaves, and wrapped in a thin, white paper. In 



