232 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 



When the plants are two or three inches high, transplant 

 to another rich bed without any bottom heat, set the 

 plants three inches apart and keep covered as little as 

 possible in order to harden them. Be sure to keep both 

 seed beds always well moistened (not wet), with luke- 

 warm water. A little weak manure water occasionally is 

 very beneficial. 



When the plants are six or seven inches high, transplant 

 to open ground, on a cloudy day if possible, or just at 

 night, giving each plant a cup of water. The ground 

 should be prepared in the best possible manner and made 

 very rich with manure thoroughly decomposed. Horse, 

 cow, hog, and chicken manure mixed is good as any. Put 

 the plants three feet (or nearly so) apart, to give plenty 

 of room for cultivation, which should be done once a week 

 at least, twice is better, and hoe them often the more the 

 better, especially early in the morning when the ground 

 is wet with dew. Cauliflower must never stop growing or 

 the ground get dry; they must have an abundance of 

 moisture. Run the water down the rows every night if 

 the weather is pretty hot; however, cauliflower succeeds 

 best if fully matured before hot weather sets in, which 

 generally comes early in June. 



When they commence to head, gather the leaves to- 

 gether and tie loosely over the heads; this greatly facili- 

 tates blanching, and protects them from getting brown 

 and bitter from the effects of the hot sun. They should be 

 examined often, and cut while the head is close and com- 

 pact, as, after the head opens, it separates into branches, 

 gets coarse, tough, fibrous, strong flavored, and conse- 

 quently almost if not wholly worthless. 



A cauliflower would be an ungrateful thing if it did not 

 grow with Mr. Adams' treatment. But it will grow and 

 grow immensely. Fortunately, it is not necessary in all 

 places to do quite so much work, or field growth for ex- 

 port would languish. If the reader will discern the con- 

 ditions which Mr. Adams secures he will be profited, for 

 they underlie the success of the plant in all situations. 



