44 



FARMERS' R E G I S T E 11 



[No. 1 



they should be taken outofthe ground in Novem- 

 ber, and put under a hedge or other sheltered place, 

 buried up to the middle of the cabbage, and in the 

 spring they will begin to sprout and produce their 

 seed. It the season should be dry, they should be 

 assisted with moisture, and the stems should be 

 supported. When the pods begin to be brown, 

 cut off the extreme part of every branch or shoot. 

 When your seeds are ripe they should be cut off and 

 thrashed out, when dry, and put into bags. By 

 planting the several sorts of cabbages together, as 

 white and red, &c. there is a commixture of the 

 effluvia of each, and each are vitiated, which is 

 the reason, Miller imagines, why seed so soon de- 

 generates in gardens, as gardeners are either neg- 

 ligent or unskilful in this particular, too generally. 



Cauliflowers must be sown critically to a 

 day, or else there is no dependence on the success 

 of them. I cannot, nor do I find any one else ca- 

 pable of assigning a good reason for this, but the 

 experience of this country, as well as England, 

 verifies the proposition. We must theretore re- 

 ceive this fact as we do many others, rest ourselves 

 satisfied that the thing certainly exists, though the 

 mode of existence is an impenetrable secret to us. 

 Miller says, that lor spring cauliflowers the seed 

 should be sown on the tenth or twellih of Au- 

 gust; but in Virginia the twelfth day of Septem- 

 ber is the proper time, which is much the same as 

 in England, allowing lor the difierence of climate, 

 the ratio ofwhich ought to be a month sooner in the 

 spring, and the same later in the liill; our summer 

 months being so intensely hot in this place, they 

 should continue until the 20th of October, where 

 they are to remain all the wmter protected from 

 the inclemency of the weather; and towards the 

 latter end of February, the plants shouldbe drawn, 

 and planted in a good spot of ground tor a crop, 

 about three leet and a half asunder, Miller says; 

 but I think six much better, on account of the earth 

 it takea to hill them up when rampant. Garden- 

 ers are divided with regard to the manner of 

 preserving them in winter and after they are 



planted out in February. Glasses are generally 



mentioned in the books of gardening, as most pro- 

 per; but latter experience seems to contradict this 



position, because they make the plant spindle, 



which is to be feared and guarded against in cauli- 

 flowers, as they have a natural tendency towards 



luxuriancy; and therefore it is said that boxes, pyra- 



midically formed, answer the purpose much better, 



for they equally protect the plants from frost, afford 



them full room to germinate, and at the same time 



do not draw them to such an inordinate length as 



glasses are apt to do, even with the best manage- 

 ment. In order to have cauliflowers in the lali, 



you should sow your seed on the twelfth day of 



April, and transplant them into beds to restrain 



their growth, and in July fix them out to stand. 



As they grow they should be hilled up, otherwise, 



when they head, the winds will be apt to injure I light warm soil, and should never be dunged with 



them. A rich light soil is what they delight in long dung, nay it is thought best to dung the 



they grew, hilled them up with the best mould. 

 This method answered the purpose of transplan- 

 tation, for the clay repressed the growth of the 

 plant, and the warmth ol' the dung afforded them 

 just heat enough to live by, as they might without 

 it perish for want of nourishment. I have found my- 

 self this method succeed the best. Virgin mould is 

 preferable to every other sort. The gardeners near 

 London have wholly abandoned the practice of 

 watering their caulifiower plants in the summer, as 

 a thing very injurious to them; and Mr. Miller co- 

 incides in opinion with them. Radishes or spinach 

 sown among the cauliflowers, so as not to interfere 

 with them, will preserve them from the fly, being 

 a more agreeable food to that destructive animal. 

 When your cauliflowers begin to flower, the inner 

 leaves should be broke over them, otherwise the 

 sun will soil their snowy color; and as they spread, 

 the larger leaves should be served in the same 

 manner. Some pin the outer leaves with a stick; 

 hut this is a malpractice, because it often binds th'. 

 flower, so that it cannot grow to that size it otherwise 

 might do. In November, when you have appre- 

 hensions as to the approach of intense frosts, take 

 your cauliflowers up by the roots, in a morning, 

 with as much mould as you can, and put them in 

 the ground, in a hole dug about two feet below the 

 surface, well sheltered by straw or thatching, as 

 near one another as you please, and cut them as 

 you have occasion. They may be preserved in 

 this manner the greatest part of the winter, though 

 they acquire an earthy taste from their confined 

 situation. They are not so delicaie in the winter, 

 or iiill,as they are in JMay; notwithstanding in May 

 they are in the midst of other ele<rancies, and stand 

 without any rival in the fidl. 'J'hat face must be 

 lair indeed that shines amongst a multitude of 

 beauties, which too often eclipse one another. 

 When you meet with a cauliflower whose curd is 

 hard and white, and free from frothiness about the 

 edges, let it stand for seed; and as theflowerbranch- 

 es,"remove the leaves from off it, and fix three pret- 

 ty strong stalks at equal angles about it, sur- 

 rounded with pack-thread in order to support the 

 branches, which might be otherwise broke by the 

 wind. When the seed are ripe cut the pods off 

 and dry them, and rub them out as you do cabbage 

 seed. I have been told that seeds cannot be raised 

 in this country, but I believe the contrary may be 

 proved by a proper culture. 



Carrots, Davcus, (from daio, gr. to burn, from 

 the hot taste.) are of two sorts, the orange and 

 white, the former being generally used, though 

 the latter is much the sweetest kind. To have 

 them fine in the spring, sow them in drills about two 

 feet distance, for the convenience of weeding them, 

 about the latter end of August; and when they 

 appear, draw them, so as to keep them about four 

 inches asunder, and in February sow again for the 

 summer, and in April for the fall. They choose a 



most. Col. Turner, of King George, who was 

 eminent lor cauliflowers, had a method peculiar to 

 himself, for some years, of managing them, which 

 succeeded beyond any other. He dug trenches 

 about a foot and a half wide, quite down to the clay. 

 With this, he mixed with a spade some long dung, 

 into which he put his plants about five feet asun- 

 der, when they were fit to be transplanted; and as 



ground the year before; for when they touch dung 

 or meet with obstruction, they fork immediately. 

 The seed should be rubbed before sown, to get rid 

 of the husk to which they adhere. It should be 

 sown in a calm day, as the seeds are very light and 

 easily blown away. They should be trod down 

 when sown, and raked smoothly over. When your 

 carrots appear heady above ground, they should 



