No. 4.] GARDEN SEEDS. 59 



the most damage to seed are heat and moisture, taken sep- 

 arately or in conjunction. 



Mr. H. M. Howard (of West Newton). This morning I 

 was asked what per cent of cauliflower should head under fav- 

 orable circumstances, and Mr. Hall, I believe, said it might 

 be 850 out of 1,000, and I believe Mr. Tracy after the meet- 

 ing was speaking to me of a case where he had known as high 

 as 950 out of 1,000. Now, I would like to know why it is 

 that so much cauliflower seed is put upon the market where 

 not over one-half will head, and how can we get more of that 

 where 95 per cent will head \ I, for one, would like to get 

 hold of it, and would be willing to pay more than double the 

 price per pound I now have to pay. 



Mr. Tracy. "What I said this morning was in speaking of 

 a field I saw recently while spending several days on the east 

 end of Long Island. As you go through the country there 

 you see a field of from one to five acres of cauliflower, as 

 often as you would in Michigan one to five acres of corn, ami 

 it is the main crop at this season of the year. I think there 

 were few fields all along the east end of Long Island that we 

 went into where they did not get as much as 85 per cent 

 merchantable heads, and the majority of them got over 90 

 per cent. The reason they get a better development there is 

 because of the peculiarities of that east end of Long Island 

 soil. It is a peculiar, exceedingly well-drained soil, which is 

 made quite fertile by a liberal application of manure, and, 

 having water on both sides of it, the atmospheric conditions 

 are exceedingly favorable. Acres after acres are grown, and 

 will be much more compact in growth than any I have ever 

 seen in the vicinity of Boston. A year or two ago I was look- 

 ing over the market gardens of Boston, and remarked, " I 

 don't see how you can produce any cauliflower here at all ; the 

 plants are too large." Most all reputable seedsmen get their 

 cauliflower seed from the same sources, so there isn't a great 

 difference in the quality of the seed ; but I think there is a 

 great difference in the local conditions which develop the 

 crop. 



Mr. Ross. Is that also true in regard to celery ? 



