Brussels Speouts 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 he 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. 

 INTeither 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 



