Mid-Season Vegetables 



grown exclusively for pickling; this is a mistake 

 for there is no vegetable more delicate and tooth- 

 some than this; it outclasses cabbage and when 

 fried in batter or breaded with egg and cracker 

 crumbs, it affords a most excellent substitute for 

 meat, indeed, it is really more acceptable when 

 no meat dish accompanies it ; for this reason — its 

 desirability as a table vegetable — special pains 

 should be taken to produce early heads, by start- 

 ing in hotbeds, transplanting into cold frames, 

 fertilizing with nitrate and giving special atten- 

 tion to thorough cultivation throughout its grow- 

 ing period. If water can be supplied, a thor- 

 ough drenching of the roots once or twice a week, 

 followed by a cultivation the following morning 

 to restore the dust-mulch, will be of much benefit. 

 The green cabbage worm is sometimes very 

 troublesome on the heads and leaves of cauH- 

 flowers and one should watch for the presence of 

 the white cabbage butterfly as this will indicate 

 whether one may expect an attack of caterpillars. 

 If once the worms have become established spray- 

 ing with hot water of from 130° to 140° will ex- 



137 



