Vegetables with Edible Leaves or Stems 91 



the seed should be sown in a coldframe shaded with plant- 

 cloth at midday during September and October. In 

 Florida, the seed may be sown as early as August, and in 

 South Texas in July. 



The soil should be raked off smoothly, and if it is not 

 already fertile, it should receive a liberal application of 

 commercial fertilizer. This should be worked in thor- 

 oughly and allowed to stand a week or ten days before the 

 seed is sown. Cottonseed meal or other vegetable matter 

 should not be used in the fall, as it propagates diseases 

 which destroy seedling cauliflowers. In winter this 

 form of fertilizer can be used in the coldframes with 

 safety. Cottonseed meal and other vegetable matter 

 should be composted and thoroughly rotted before using it 

 in the coldframes. The drills are made 3 or 4 inches apart 

 and I of an inch deep, and the seed sown by hand very 

 thinly. A seeder may be used with profit if one has niuch 

 seed to sow. The seed when sown should be covered with 

 about f of an inch of soil. 



The soil should be kept moist by frequent applications of 

 water, never using enough to soak the bed, and, on the other 

 hand, not allowing the soil to become dry. An open 

 seed-bed may be covered with sacking until the seeds 

 germinate. As soon as the seedlings appear, watering 

 may be less frequent and heavier. The surface of the soil 

 should be allowed to dry, so as to prevent damping-off. 

 If, at any time, it is noticed that some plants are falling 

 over, as if cut off, it is probably due to a fungus. An ap- 

 plication of air-slaked lime, dust, or dry sand will often be 

 found of advantage in this case. 



As soon as the plants begin to crowd in the rows, they 



