THE PRAIRIE REGION. 77 



duct which is rarely seen in the market brings a 

 low price when abundant and fails to bring a high 

 price in times of scarcity. Few people use it, and 

 these do not become so accustomed to it as to be 

 willing to pay a high price for it when it is scarce. 



Mr. Riche, of Iowa, tells in a report of the Iowa 

 Horticultural Society, how, in 1884, he overstocked 

 the Dubuque market with 8000 heads. A Mr. 

 Smith relates how, a few years previous, he was 

 obliged to sell 4000 heads for a little over one cent 

 per head; yet in this same market more familiar 

 products often bring high prices. Another Iowa 

 gardener grew a field of cauliflower by mistake, 

 having purchased the seed for cabbage, and fonnd 

 himself unable to sell the crop at all ! 



In the irrigated districts of the West, cauliflower 

 is grown to great perfection. One of the largest 

 cauliflowers on record, four feet three inches in 

 circumference, was grown in Colorado under irri- 

 gation in 1881. A moist atmosphere is less impor- 

 tant than plenty of water at the root, especially at 

 the time of heading, when it should be supplied, if 

 possible, in small amount every day. The some- 

 what saline character of the soil in the dry regions 

 also favors the growth of this crop whenever a suf- 

 ficient supply of water is given. 



At the Colorado experiment station sixteen var- 

 ieties were grown under irrigation in 1888 (see 



