CAULIFLOWER 187 



or root cellar, gardeners often profit by placing the better table 

 varieties in cold storage for a short time. 



Varieties. There is as great a difference in varieties of carrots 

 as there is in garden beets. Some sorts have a small proportion of 

 pith, or wood, to the thickness of the bark, while in others the ratio 

 seems to be reversed. The value of the root for table purposes de- 

 pends upon this proportion, a thick bark and small core giving 

 the highest quality of root. The age of the root, as well as the man- 

 ner of growth, is an important factor ; a young root that has been 

 quickly grown is of finer quality than an old, slowly grown root. 



The yield of carrots ranges from 250 to 800 bushels per acre, 

 depending upon the soil and cultural conditions as well as upon 

 the variety grown. The price also fluctuates from a few cents to 

 a dollar or more per bushel. 



CAULIFLOWER 



Cauliflower is the most delicate and refined of the plants of the 

 cabbage family, and, from the gardener's standpoint, the most val- 

 uable. It is not so hardy as cabbage and is more exacting as to its 

 soil and cultural requirements. With the exception of celery no 

 crop is so closely restricted by the limitations of soil and climate 

 as cauliflower. 



Botany. Cauliflower is known to the botanical world as a variety 

 of cabbage, Brassica oleracea, var. botrytis D.C. Although a de- 

 rivative of the cabbage, it differs from it in conformation and struc- 

 ture. The edible portion, called the curd, or head, is composed of 

 the thickened flower stems, which have changed in size and appear- 

 ance under cultivation into a homogeneous curdlike mass. In good 

 strains of cauliflower the curd is very compact and free from leaves 

 or elongated segments, as shown in figure 66. Inferior strains of 

 seed, and sometimes bad handling, will result in segmented, leafy, 

 or " ricy," curds. 



Distribution. Cauliflower does not thrive well in hot, dry sec- 

 tions. Its commercial cultivation is therefore confined to the more 

 humid coast sections of the United States and to the coolest sea- 

 sons of the year. The best results are secured from an autumn or 

 an early spring crop. Cauliflower is grown as a field crop for both 



