66 THE VEGETABLE CULTIVATOR. 



mas crop, which for many years the author grew 

 remarkably line, the seed of the late sort of cauli- 

 flower (if it can be had), should be sown on a light 

 rich spot of ground, on or about the 24th of May, 

 attention being paid to shade and moisture, which 

 at this season of the year are very necessary. When 

 the plants are sufficiently up, they should be thinned 

 to the distance of an inch apart, and in a fortnight 

 afterwards to full three inches : they are thus to re- 

 main kept clear of weeds, and watered occasionally, 

 until they are finally planted out, which, on an 

 average, will be about the third week in July, in 

 the same manner as directed for the former crops. 

 They begin to show heads towards the end of 

 October, and continue a great part of December, 

 or sometimes, in mild weather, till after Christmas. 

 Such late flowers as have not perfected their heads 

 may, on the approach of frost or other bad weather, 

 be taken up and housed. The cauliflower is so 

 great a favourite with most persons, that many 

 ways have been devised for preserving as long as 

 possible such as have begun to flower. For this pur- 

 pose the author has practised the following method 

 with great success. On the appearance of frosty 

 weather, he had the plants taken carefully up in a 

 dry day, with as much earth as would adhere to their 

 roots, and carried into any sort of dry shed, pre- 

 viously prepared on the floor or ground with eight or 

 ten inches thick of moist sand or light earth : they 

 were then planted so as nearly to touch each other, 

 and regulated according to their different growth. In 

 this situation they remained, and most of them pro- 

 duced tolerably fine heads before and after Christ- 



