TREATMENT OF CAULIFLOWER. Ill 



under both crops that I shall dismiss it at once from this 

 account. The plants were later than those in the solid 

 bed, and never equaled them in size and percentage of 

 good heads ; and they were conspicuously lacking in uni- 

 formity. So few good heads formed that the bed did 

 not return the labor expended upon it. 



Seeds for the first crop were sown in boxes on August 

 24. The plants, having been once transplanted, were set 

 in the beds October 4 and 5, about 16 inches apart each 

 way. Three varieties were used, Extra Early Dwarf 

 Erfurt, Gilt-Edge Snowball and Early Snowball. 



The plants were watered two or three times a week, 

 as occasion demanded, and the ground was frequently 

 stirred with a hand weeder. An abundance of air was 

 given during the day, a row of small ventilators along the 

 peak of the house being thrown open even in sharp 

 weather if the sun was bright and there was little air stir- 

 ring. From 60 to 70 during the day and about 50 at 

 night were considered to be the ideal temperatures, 

 although in very bright days the mercury might register 

 80 for a time and the night temperature several times 

 sank below 40. There was a tendency for the plants to 

 damp off soon after they were set, but care in not water- 

 ing too much (particularly close about the plant) and in giv- 

 ing an abundance of fresh air seemed to keep the trouble 

 in check ; and new plants were set into the vacancies. 

 We were obliged to contend with two other enemies, the 

 green-fly or aphis, and the common green cabbage 

 worm. The aphis is readily kept in check by tobacco 

 smudge. The first cabbage worms were noticed Novem- 

 ber 21, and for a couple of weeks they had to be care- 

 fully picked. The boxes of young plants had stood out 

 of doors during September, and it is probable that eggs 

 were laid upon the plants at that time. 



The first week in December, heads were beginning to 

 form. The first heads were sold January 13, four and a- 

 half months from the sowing of the seed. The Erfurt 



