356 VEGETABLE GARDENING 



the open without previous transplanting. The method is 

 not very satisfactory, because it does not result in the 

 strongest plants, and this necessarily delays maturity. 



(3) A popular and satisfactory method is to sow in 

 hotbeds or greenhouses, and to transplant, preferably to 

 flats, which may be kept in cold frames until the plants 

 are set in the open ground. The seed should be sown 

 8 to 10 weeks before the proper date for field planting, 

 the plants being handled in the same manner as cabbage. 

 If space will permit, it is an advantage to plant 2x2 

 inches apart in the flats rather than closer. To prevent 

 spindling, the seedlings should usually be pricked out in 

 three weeks from sowing. The soil for sowing and trans- 

 planting should abound in vegetable matter. Pure muck 

 is probably the best medium, but if this is not available 

 a compost of two parts of good soil, one of sand and one 

 of rotten manure will provide excellent conditions. Mice 

 are very fond of the tender seedlings. They are best 

 guarded against by the use of corn soaked with a solu- 

 tion of strychnine. The plants must be thoroughly har- 

 dened before setting in the field if there is danger of 

 hard freezing. 



494. Fertilizing. In the preparation of the soil grow- 

 ers should bear in mind that humus is an important con- 

 stituent and that stable manures can be used with good 

 effects. They help to secure the proper soil structure 

 as well as to add plant food. Rapid growth is essential 

 to crispness and high quality, and so there must be no 

 want of plant food in available forms. High-grade com- 

 plete fertilizers should be used at the rate of 1,000 pounds 

 to a ton to the acre, depending upon the previous treat- 

 ment of the land, and supplemented with dressings of 

 nitrate of soda, which can often be applied at the rate 

 of 150 pounds an acre at intervals of 10 days to two 

 weeks after the plants are well established, 



