Brussets Sprouts 1457 
competent person should go through the field to select the seed 
plants. Two rows can be examined at a time, and the plants as 
selected can be pulled and thrown between the rows. Later the 
plants from four rows can be thrown into one, and left to lie until 
the crop is harvested or freezing is threatened. The person select- 
ing the plants should have clearly in mind the ideal, and select only 
those which approach it much more closely than the average of 
the field. Among the most important characters to be sought are 
the following: 
1. Hard, firm, medium-sized sprouts. 
Close, compact arrangement around the stem, completely cov- 
ering it from the ground well up to the head. 
3. Medium height. Too tall a plant exposes the sprouts more 
to frost. 
4. Small head or rosette at top. 
5. Dark green color. Such plants are more resistant to frost. 
Storing the plants. When the advance of winter makes it nec- 
essary to protect the mother plants, they are trimmed by removing 
the lower leaves (the upper ones must be left to insure good 
growth the following season) and are placed in a shed, cellar or 
trench. Most growers now prefer a shed or barn, as cellars gener- 
ally prove too warm, and trenches do not admit of easy examina- 
tion, or the removal of decaying plants. The storage building 
must be sufficiently tight to prevent the plants freezing, for though 
a slightly frozen plant may produce a good seed stalk so long as 
the head of the plant is not frozen, its vitality is likely to be weak- 
ened, and the danger to the head itself is too great. On the other 
hand, it is very important to keep the plants from heating, for 
yellowing of leaves and decay quickly follow a mild temperature. 
Neither must the plants be allowed to grow. Ventilation must be 
provided for, and the doors and windows opened whenever the 
outside temperature is above freezing. 
The plants are best heeled-in in shallow trenches, setting a 
double row and leaving an interval of about ten inches between 
the double rows. This permits free circulation of air, and is 
much better than crowding all together in a compact mass, as 
when stacking to cover for the winter market. Occasionally a 
pail or two of water should be thrown over the plants to prevent 
too much drying of the soil. The plants should come out in the 
