96 VEGETABLE GROWING. 



oughly. In the matter of package, the customers are 

 not so particular because the product is usually re- 

 moved from it before it is sold to the retail dealers. 

 The barrel or box should not contain more than two 

 and one half bushels, to avoid bruising the lower 

 heads by the weight of the upper ones. For a distant 

 market, it is better to use a crate that will hold about 

 as much as a tomato-crate. 



The seed is imported from Europe ; only a small 

 quantity being grown in this country. It is quite dif- 

 ficult to grow the seed in the gardening districts of the 

 United States, as the heads have to be kept over- 

 winter and the seed grown the next summer. Fine 

 heads cannot be kept from rotting, so half matured 

 specimens have to be chosen. This degenerates the 

 kind in a few generations. 



Is not here a profitable employment for a small cap- 

 ital ? Our crop can be matured so the seed can grow 

 the same season. If a crop happened to be somewhat 

 late, it might be allowed to go to seed. With a de- 

 crease in the price of seed, there would be an increase 

 in consumption. As it is one of the most delicious 

 vegetables, there need be no fear of over production. 



VARIETIES. 



Early Erfurt, Snowball, and Extra Early Paris (see 

 Fig. 12), are good, and can be depended upon for a 

 crop. There are other varieties coming into common 

 use, but these three have the lead. 



The price of the seed is one great drawback on 

 cauliflower raising. 



FERTILIZER FORMULA. 



Available phosphoric acid. 7 per cent. 



Potash 8 per cent. 



Nitrogen 5 per cent. 



Use about 1,500 pounds of the above formula. For 

 table of ingredients to use per acre, refer to that topic 

 under cabbage. 



