•98 



KICHARD FEOTSCHEE'S ALMANAC AND GARDEN MANUAL 



them in a piece of clotli, and place in a 



cool spot— under the cistern, or, if con- 

 venient, in an ice box. Keep the cloth 

 moist, and in two or three days the 

 seeds \Yill sprout. Then sow them ; best 

 to do so in the evening, and give a 

 .watering. 



. If the seed is sown without being 

 sprouted, ants will be likely to carry it 

 away before it can germinate, and the 

 seedsman be blamed for selling seeds 

 that did not grow. This sprouting has 

 to be done from May to September, 

 depending upon the weather. Should 

 the weather be moist and cool in the 

 fall, it can be dispensed with. Some 

 sow late Cabbage for winter crop in this 

 month, saying the plants are easier 



raised during this than the two following 

 months. I consider this month too soon ; 

 plants will become too hard and long- 

 legged before they can be planted out. 

 This is the last month to sow the Late 

 Italian Cauliflower; towards the end 

 the Early Italian Giant Cauliflower can 

 be sown. Some cultivators transplant 

 them, when large enough, at once into 

 the open ground; others plant them 

 first into flowerpots and transplant 

 them into the ground later. If trans- 

 planted at this time, they will require 

 to be shaded for a few days, till they 

 commence to grow. 



I Sow Tomatoes for late crop during the 



{ latter part of this month. 



JULY 



Plant Pole Beans ; also, Bush Beans, 

 towards the end of the month. Sow 

 Tomatoes in the early part for the last 

 crop. Some corn for roasting ears may 

 still be planted. Cucumbers can be 

 planted for pickling. Early Giant Cau- 

 ;Iiflower can be sown. Sow Endive. Let- 

 'tiice, Yellow and White Sum mer Radish. 

 Where the ground is new, some Turnips 

 and Ruta Bagas can be sown. Cabbage 

 should be commenced with after the 

 loth of this month ; Superior Elat Dutch, 

 Improved Drumhead, St. Denis, or 

 Bonheuil and Brunswick are the leading 

 kinds. It is hard to say which is the 

 best time to sow, as our seasons differ so 

 much— some seasons we get frost early, 

 other seasons not before -January. Cab- 

 bage is most easily hurt by frost when 

 it is half grown ; when the plants are 

 small, or when they are headed up, frost 

 does not hurt much. It is always good 

 to make two or three sowings. As a 

 general thing, plants raised from seeds 

 sown in July and August, give the most 

 satisfaction ; they are almost certain to 

 head. September, in my experience, is 

 the most ticklish month ; as the seed 

 sown in that month is generally only 

 half grown when we have some frosts, 

 and therefore, more liable to be hurt. 

 But there are exceptions. Some years 

 ago the seed sown in September turned 

 out best. Seed sown at the end of Oc- 

 tober and during November generally 



give good results. November is the 

 proper month to sow for shipping. The 

 surest way to sow is in a cold frame, to 

 protect the plants from frosts which 

 sometimes occur in December and Jan- 

 uary. January, and the early part of 

 February, is early enough to set out. 

 Brunswick and Excelsior are the earli- 

 est of the large growing kinds, and it 

 should be sown in July and August, so 

 that it may be headed up when the cold 

 comes, as it is more tender than the Flat 

 Dutch and Drumhead. The same may 

 be said in regard to the St. Denis. All 

 cabbages require strong, good soil ; but 

 these two varieties particularly. Bruns- 

 wick makes also a very good spring 

 cabbage when sown at the end of Octo- 

 ber. The standard varieties, the Supe- 

 rior Flat Dutch and Improved Drum- 

 head, should be sown at the end of this 

 month and during next. It is better to 

 sow plenty of seeds than to be short of 

 plants. I would prefer one hundred 

 plants raised in July and August, to four 

 times that amount raised in September. 

 It is very hard to protect the young 

 plants from ravages of the fly. Strong 

 tobacco water is as good as anything 

 else for this purpose, or tobacco stems 

 cut fine and scattered over the ground 

 will keep them off to some extent. As 

 the plants have to be watered, the 

 smell of the tobacco will drive the flies 

 awav. 





