CAULIFLOWER. 73 



worst possible season of the year. As a general rule cau- 

 liflowers do not succeed well on old land, and much of 

 the land hereabouts is new, and but very little of it in- 

 deed has ever been used for cabbages or anything of this 

 nature. But, beyond a doubt, it is the humid, saline at- 

 mosphere of this section, which makes the cultivation of 

 this vegetable a success. Protracted drouths are here al- 

 most unknown, and even during the temporary absence of 

 rain in the summer months, the air does not seem so dry 

 and withering, so to speak, as in sections more remote 

 from the ocean, the Sound, and the great salt-water bays 

 by which we are surrounded. 



Soil and Preparation. Cauliflowers require a deep, 

 strong, and rich soil to be grown in perfection, and that 

 which has been recently broken up, or at least upon which 

 no cabbages, turnips, nor anything of this nature has been 

 grown, or has been for some time seeded down, is prefer- 

 able to land long tilled. The soil should be prepared and 

 the crop cultivated as directed for early cabbages. The 

 early dwarf varieties may be set thirty by eighteen inches, 

 but the leading growers here seem to think they will not 

 blight so readily when planted wide, and recommend set- 

 ting the early sorts three feet and the late ones four feet 

 apart each way. They, however, do not sow until spring, 

 and if the plants are kept over in cold-frames, and trans- 

 planted early, as they should be, the dwarf kinds can be 

 set out at the first-named distance. The great drawback 

 to the successful cultivation of this vegetable in most 

 parts of our country, is undoubtedly the heat and drouth 

 of our summers, hence it is best to plant very early to get 

 ahead of the heat, or otherwise at such time as will bring 

 the heading after the intense heat is past. To accomplish 

 the first, sow in the fall and keep the plants over winter 

 as directed in the chapter on cold-frames, and treat after- 

 wards the same as directed for early cabbage. The seed 

 of the late varieties may not be sown until near the first 

 4 



