56 THE CAULIFLOWER. 



comes on. To this end the earliest varieties are 

 chosen, and they are set as early as possible in 

 the spring, and pushed rapidly forward, as stated, 

 by using protection if necessary, and by high 

 manuring. It is an advantage to set the early 

 plants between ridges, as is done with early 

 cabbage. The ridges hold the sun and keep off the 

 cold winds, and the furrows between carry off the 

 surface water. The plants are best set upon the 

 south or east side of the ridges, near the base. A 

 good furrow with an ordinary plow forms a suffi- 

 cient ridge. 



Formerly it was thought necessary to start the 

 plants in the fall, but since the newer early sorts 

 have been produced, this is being abandoned. Fall 

 sowing has never been as successful in the Northern 

 United States as in England, and the failures to 

 grow cauliflowers successfully in this country have 

 often resulted from adhering to the methods em- 

 ployed in the Old World. Plants started in 

 hot-beds in February, and properly hardened off, 

 receive but little check when set out, and make a 

 better growth than those which have been wintered 

 over. 



In the latitude of Virginia and Maryland, winter- 

 ing over the young plants may be resorted to, and 

 for gardeners in that latitude the methods adopted 

 in England will be well worth studying, even if 



