PRACTICAL STUDY OF GARDENING 209 



form of poles and brush or wire netting respectively. 

 Except in a region where native timber is abundant it 

 may be inconvenient or expensive to provide these sup- 

 ports, to say nothing of the labor of preparing and in- 

 stalling them. Therefore, it may be advisable in some 

 cases to resort to the use of dwarf varieties exclusively. 



Other crops demanding special handling are cauli- 

 flower, leeks, celery and endive, all of which require 

 blanching to develop a satisfactory, edible product In 

 the case of the cauliflower, the head must be protected 

 from the sun by tying the leaves or otherwise securing 

 them over the top. Endive likewise is blanched by tying 

 up the outer leaves so that the inner portion of the plant 

 will be protected from the sun. With both these crops, 

 the blanching plants must be closely watched, so that they 

 may be used when they have reached the right stage of 

 development. Leeks and celery are usually blanched by 

 hilling up with earth, though an early crop of celery is 

 sometimes blanched by means of boards placed edgewise 

 along the row. When earth is used, care must be ex- 

 ercised to avoid getting dirt down in the "hearts" of the 

 plants, and repeated bankings are necessary. This is a 

 somewhat laborious process unless a person is equipped 

 with special tools, and at best there is much labor and 

 expense involved in the production of a good crop of 

 celery. 



The labor of growing some crops is enhanced by the 

 necessity of transplanting. The crops usually trans- 

 planted are cabbage, cauliflower, celery, eggplant, pepper, 

 sweet potato and tomato; and an early crop of any of 

 these sorts cannot be secured without it, for the seed must 

 be started in hot-beds long before the weather is suitable 

 for planting these crops in the open. The making and 

 care of hot-beds in which plants are usually started en- 

 tails considerable labor, as well as the process of trans- 

 planting. Late crops of cabbage and tomatoes are some- 



