68 CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 



site temperature lias to be kept up by artificial meaiss, 

 fermenting manure peing relied upon for the purpose, 

 and the loss of this heat has to be checked more care- 

 fully by straw matting, and in the far North by shutters 

 also. In constructing it horse manure with plenty of 

 litter and about a quarter its bulk in leaves, if attaina- 

 ble, all having been well mixed together, is thrown into 

 a pile, and left for a few days until steam escapes, when 

 the mass is again thrown over and left for two or three 

 days more, after which it is thrown into the pit (or it 

 may be placed directly on the surface) which is lined 

 with boards, from eighteen inches to two feet in depth, 

 when it is beaten down with a fork and trodden well to- 

 gether. The sashes are now put on and kept there until 

 heat is developed. The first intense heat must be al- 

 lowed to pass off, which will be in about three days after 

 the high temperature is reached. Now throw on six or 

 eight inches of fine soil in which mix well rotted ma- 

 nure free from all straw, or rake in thoroughly Super- 

 phosphate or Guano, at the rate of two thousand pounds 

 to the acre and plant the seed as in Cold Frame. Hard- 

 en the plants as directed in preceding paragraph. 



CAULIFLOWER, BROCCOLI, BRUSSELS SPROUTS, 

 KALE, AXD SEA KALE. 



My treatise on 'the cabbage would hardly be complete 

 without some allusion to such prominent members of 

 the Brassica family as the cauliflower, broccoli, brussels 

 sprouts, and kale. These in the selection and prepara- 

 tion of the soil, manure, and cultivation require for the 

 most part the same treatment as cabbage. In Europe 

 there has been far more progress made in the cultiva- 

 tion and use of these vegetables than with us in Ameri- 



