116 THE CAULIFLOWER. 



place a very cool, moist climate is necessary to cure 

 [secure] seeds at all. That climate we have here 

 on our low flat islands lying in the mouth of the 

 Gulf of Georgia. We often have heavy fogs in the 

 night, and always dews equal to a light shower 

 every night all summer long. The first expense 

 attending the raising of cauliflower seed is quite 

 heavy. The soil must be a rich, warm loam facing 

 the south, and it will be all the better for having a 

 clay subsoil. We must have the land underdrained 

 once in twenty feet, the drains being three feet 

 deep, to give us a chance to work early in the 

 spring, and also to take off the surplus water when 

 we come to flood the land in July. 



"To prepare the land for the crop we start in Sep- 

 tember. After the fall rains have softened the soil, 

 plow, harrow, roll, harrow again, then replow and 

 work it again, until the soil is as fine as an onion 

 bed. Now we throw it into ridges, six feet apart, 

 and it is ready for work in early spring. For 

 manure we sow 2,000 pounds of superphosphate 

 and ground Sitka herring, equal parts of each, to 

 the acre. With two horses and a Planet, Jr , culti- 

 vator we work the ridges until they are nearly level. 

 By using two horses we straddle the ridge, and 

 save tramping it where our plants are to go. 



"To get the plants, we sow the seeds about Sep- 

 tember 1, in rather poor soil, giving them plenty 



