188 GARDENING FOE PLEASURE. 



inches of strong, well rotted, stable manure. The plants 

 may be either those from seed sown last fall and 

 wintered over in cold frames, or else started from 

 seeds sown in January or February, in a hot-bed or 

 greenhouse, and planted in small pots or boxes, so 

 as to make plants strong enough to be set out as 

 soon as the soil is fit to work, which in this latitude 

 is usually the lirst week in April. "We are often applied 

 to for cauliflower plants as late as May, but the chances 

 of their forming heads when planted in May, are slim 

 indeed. The surest way to secure the heading of cauli- 

 flowers is to use what are called hand-glasses, some of 

 which are described in the chapter on Implements. 

 These are usually made about two feet square, which 

 gives room enough for three or four plants of cauliflower, 

 until they are so far forwarded that the glass can be taken 

 off. When the hand-fflass is used, the cauliflowers may 

 be planted out in any warm border early in March and cov- 

 ered by them. This covering protects them from frosts 

 at night, and gives the necessary increase of temperature 

 for growth during the cold weeks of March and April ; 

 so that by the first week in May, if the cauliflower has 

 been properly hardened off by ventilating, (by tilting up 

 the hand-glasses on one side), they may be taken off 

 altogether, and then used to forward tomatoes, melons, 

 or cucumbers, at which date these may be started, if 

 under the protection of hand-glasses. If the weather is 

 dry, the cauliflowers will be much benefitted by being 

 thoroughly soaked with water twice or thrice a week ; 

 not a mere sprinkling, which is of no use, but a complete 

 drenching, so that the water will reach to the lowest 

 roots. Those planted later are set out and treated in the 

 same manner as cabbages. The two best varieties of 

 cauliflower we have found as yet, are the Dwarf Erfurt 

 and Early Paris. 



