314 GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



Christmas. Its cultivation is exactly similar in all re- 

 spects to that of Broccoli, except that it may be planted 

 closer, say from one and a half to two feet apart. 



CAULIFLOWER (Brassica oleracca var.). 



There is quite an ambition among amateur gardeners 

 to raise early Cauliflower; but as the conditions necessary 

 to success with this are not quite so easy to command as 

 with most other vegetables, probably not one in three 

 who try it succeed. In England, and most places on 

 the Continent of Europe, it is the most valued of all 

 vegetables, and is grown there nearly as easily as early 

 Cabbages. But it must be remembered that the temper- 

 ature there is on the average ten degrees lower at the 

 time it matures (June) than with us ; besides, their 

 atmosphere is much more humid, two conditions essen- 

 tial to its best development. I will briefly state how 

 early Cauliflowers can be most successfully grown here. 

 First, the soil must be well broken and pulverized by 

 spading or plowing to at least a foot in depth, mixing 

 through it a layer of three or four inches of strong, well- 

 rotted stable manure. The plants may be either those 

 from seed sown last fall and wintered over in cold frames, 

 or else started from seeds sown in January or February, 

 in a hot-bed or greenhouse, and planted in small pots or 

 boxes, so as to make plants strong enough to be set out 

 as soon as the soil is fit to work, which in this latitude is 

 usually the first week in April. We are often applied to 

 for Cauliflower plants as late as the end of May, but the 

 chances of their forming heads when planted late in May 

 are slim indeed. 



The surest way to secure the heading of Cauliflowers 

 is to use what are called hand-glasses, some of which are 

 described in the chapter on "Implements." These are 

 usually made about two feet square, which gives room 



