ALASKA 



while the heads are not large they are 

 of good quality. Other varieties approach 

 it closely, but none excel it. As a mat- 

 ter of fact, it is not always the earliest 

 variety. Others, even those so-called late, 

 are sometimes earlier. Its value rests 

 chiefly in the fact that it can be depended 

 upon to head under nearly all circum- 

 stances. Other varieties are less depend- 

 able. 



Cauliflower 

 "The cauliflower is at home in Alaska. 

 It has larger, more crisp heads, and is 

 better flavored here than it is when 

 grown under a hot sun. It follows cab- 

 bage in point of importance. It has one 

 drawback, however, and that is that it is 

 only a summer vegetable, whereas cab- 

 bage can be kept all through the winter. 

 It is grown exactly as we grow cabbage 

 — raise the plants in boxes or in cold 

 frames, transplant the seedlings into other 

 boxes or cold frames four inches apart 

 to give them room to develop well and 

 to acquire a good root system. Trans- 

 plant in the open ground two feet apart 

 in the row, and the rows three feet apart. 

 The transplanting is done as in the case 

 of cabbages with a ball of earth so that 

 the roots are disturbed as little as pos- 

 sible; and they should not be set in the 

 open until the latter part of May. Thus 

 treated, and given a good garden soil, 

 the cauliflower is one of the most sat- 

 isfactory vegetables that can be grown. 

 It is ready for the table earlier than 

 cabbage. Market gardeners in the coast 

 towns of Alaska have them sometimes 

 for sale as early as .luly 4. Of course 

 the earliness, as in all vegetables, de- 

 pends very largely upon the nature of 

 the season. When the spring is early and 

 the summer warm they grow rapidly, 

 and mature early; when the spring is 

 late and the summer cloud.v and rainy, 

 as is often the case, they mature late. 

 Only a few varieties are grown here, as 

 listed below. The seed was sown March 

 27 and the plants transferred to cold 

 frames April 18. On May 27, 50 plants 

 of each variety were set in the field. The 

 date of maturity and the percentage of 

 marketable heads of each variety are 

 shown in the following table: 



Variety tests of cauliflower, 1912 



Broccoli 



"Broccoli is similar to cauliflower. 

 This vegetable has practically the same 

 quality, matures later, and is not quite 

 as sure to head. It should be treated 

 in all respects like cauliflower. Some 

 varieties are white, in which case they 

 closely resemble the cauliflower. Other 

 varieties have purple heads. Three vari- 

 eties were grown in the past season — 

 Early White, Early Purple Cap, and Mam- 

 moth White. The seed was sown March 

 27, the plants transplanted to cold frames 

 April 18, and to the field May 27. Early 

 White matured heads on August 1, 78 

 per cent of which were marketable, and 

 Mammoth White on August 20, of which 

 76 per cent were marketable. Early Pur- 

 ple Cap did not mature any heads. 



Kale 



"Kale is a valuable vegetable, but un- 

 fortunately not appreciated. It is par- 

 ticularly well adapted to a cool, moist cli- 

 mate like that of Alaska, and on the 

 other hand kale grows but poorly under 

 a hot sun or in dry weather. Now. since 

 the majority of settlers in Alaska have 

 come from the regions south of latitude 

 49°, kale is but little grown. This may 

 be the reason why it is not appreciated; 

 and because it has been so little used 

 in the states many housewives do not 

 know how to prepare it for the table. 

 The writer has received letters from peo- 

 ple who have grown it and reported splen- 

 did success in growing large vigorous 

 plants, but they called it poor provender; 

 they had tried to eat it raw as a salad. 

 Kale must be boiled thoroughly and 

 should be cooked preferably with salt 

 pork or corn beef; when so prepared it 

 will be found a very appetizing dish. 



"One of the chief merits of kale is 

 that it is a winter vegetable. It can stand 



