CAULIFLOWER. 167 



Cauliflower Beckoned by many the best flower 

 of the garden is certainly the most delicate of 

 vegetable food. To have this crop the earliest that 

 your climate will admit of, the first care is the man- 

 agement of the young plants. Sow a quarter of an 

 ounce of seed, or twice that quantity, about the 

 middle of August, on a dry bed, the least likely to 

 be infected with snails. About the end of Sep- 

 tember, dibble the strongest of the plants close to 

 the foot of a south wall, where the fallen leaves of 

 the fruit trees will afford a considerable protection 

 from the frost. Mats or the like covering may be 

 serviceable in severe weather. But to make sure 

 of plants in the spring, it is well worthwhile to have 

 a small frame, say four feet square, with a sliding 

 glass top, and which may serve also for other things. 

 Set this frame upon earth, a little raised for the 

 sake of dryness, and dibble into it a hundred plants, 

 about the end of October. Keep the roof a little 

 open, except in very hard weather. This slight 

 attention is no task, as there is much pleasure in 

 seeing the fresh green leaves when all else is buried 

 under snow. In a severe storm, the frame besides 

 being close shut, may require a mat or other cover- 

 ing; but in few winters, at a medium elevation, is 

 such care necessary, it being found that, though 

 the soil be hard frozen about the plants, they never 

 die when so situated; and indeed it is rather quick 

 thawing, and frequent changes, than hard frost, 

 that prove destructive to most vegetables. 



About the end of March, when the weather is 



