54 GARDENING FOR PROFIT. 



tions in the Southern States, of course, where these di- 

 rections would not apply, where the sowing would need 

 to be done as early, perhaps, as the 1st of December ; 

 and as it takes about two months from the time of sowing 

 until they are fit to plant in the field, plants sown the 

 1st of December in Southern States would be fit to set 

 out by February 1st. It will be understood that there 

 would be no necessity for sowing in hot-bed or green- 

 house in such a climate as Florida. The protection of 

 glass in an ordinary cold frame would give about the 

 same average of temperature there in the winter months 

 as we would have in the north by artificial heat. In 

 most of the Southern States, in my opinion, the protect- 

 ing cloth before alluded to would answer all the pur- 

 poses of glass sashes and even in the North, when mats 

 are used, "sashes" made of protecting cloth might be 

 used instead of glass. There is another and simpler 

 process of raising Cabbage plants ; that is, by sowing 

 the seed in the cold frames direct. This is done here 

 usually about the 15th of February or 1st of March, 

 in as warm and sheltered a place as can be found for 

 the frames. I saw one of my neighbors have a fine 

 lot grown in that way last year. He had taken a crop 

 of Head Lettuce out of his frames about the 15th of 

 February,, dug and raked the ground and sowed his 

 Cabbage seeds in rows about five inches apart, sowing- 

 enough to give about 1,500 plants under each three by six 

 sash. He matted up carefully, giving ventilation to the 

 sashes whenever the weather would permit, and about 

 the 1st of April he had fine plants, fit to go into the open 

 ground right from where they were sown ; not quite so 

 good, of course, as if they had been transplanted, but 

 still much better than the ordinary hot-bed plants, which 

 are generally too much drawn and too tender to stand 

 cold weather until quite late in the season. If care is 

 used to so cover up these cold frames when the plants 



