CHAPTER XII. 



FRENCH GARDEN. PREPARING PLANTS FOR 

 EARLY CROPS. 



Routine of Wintering Plants Cauliflower Cos and Forcing Cab- 

 bage Lettuce Hardy Cos and Cabbage Lettuce Lettuce Mildew and 

 the Preference for Cloches Protecting the Plants from Frost How 

 Mats should be Laid so as to Resist Strong Winds. 



'"PHE equipment and preliminary preparation of our French 

 1 garden are now completed, and we have arrived at the 

 month of September. This is, for practical purposes, the 

 beginning of the French gardeners' year, as in that month 

 active operations are commenced by raising Cauliflower and 

 Lettuce plants to provide a supply for the earliest crops of 

 the following spring. Instructions for the preparation of seed- 

 beds, sowing, and transplanting, will be found in Chapter XVI, 

 to which the reader is referred. The seedlings are transferred 

 to cold-beds, where they are enabled to pass safely through the 

 rigours of winter under the protection of frames or cloches, 

 which in periods of severe cold are covered by straw mats. 

 There is no particular difficulty in successfully raising and 

 wintering plants suitable for forcing, but care and attention to 

 details must be continually exercised. The beds, both for 

 sowing and transplanting, must be in proper condition and the 

 dates of these operations duly observed. Overcrowding must 

 never be permitted. Diseased, weak, or doubtful plants must 

 be rigidly excluded, and all faded or decayed leaves removed 

 as soon as seen. The plants must be grown as hardily as 

 possible and whilst being protected from sharp frosts must not 

 be allowed to suffer long from want of daylight through any 

 protective covering being left over them too long. Finally, 

 their quarters should be kept rather dry, as excessive damp is 

 more dangerous to their well-being than cold. 



Cauliflower. The first sowing of cauliflower is made on or 

 about the 14th of September, and another, as a precautionary 

 measure to guard against failure, on the 20th. For these 



