ALASKA vé 
while the heads are not large they are 
of good quality. Other varieties approach 
it closely, but none excel it. As a mat- 
ter of fact, it is not always the earliest 
variety. Others, even those so-called late, 
are sometimes earlier. Its value rests 
chiefly in the fact that it can be depended 
upon to head under nearly all circum- 
stances. Other varieties are less depend- 
able. 
Cauliflower 
“The cauliflower is at home in Alaska. 
It has larger, more crisp heads, and is 
better flavored here than it is when 
grown under a hot sun. It follows cab- 
bage in point of importance. It has one 
drawback, however, and that is that it is 
only & summer vegetable, whereas cab- 
bage can be kept all through the winter. 
It is grown exactly as we grow cabbage 
—raise the plants in boxes or in cold 
frames, transplant the seedlings into other 
boxes or cold frames four inches apart 
to give them room to develop well and 
to acquire a good root system. Trans- 
plant in the open ground two feet apart 
in the row, and the rows three feet apart. 
The transplanting is done as in the case 
of cabbages with a ball of earth so that 
the roots are disturbed as little as pos- 
sible; and they should not be set in the 
open until the latter part of May. Thus 
treated, and given a good garden soil, 
the cauliflower is one of the most sat- 
isfactory vegetables that can be grown. 
It is ready for the table earlier than 
cabbage. Market gardeners in the coast 
towns of Alaska have them sometimes 
for sale as early as July 4. Of course 
the earliness, as in all vegetables, de- 
pends very largely upon the nature of 
the season. When the spring is early and 
the summer warm they grow rapidly, 
and mature early; when the spring is 
late and the summer cloudy and rainy, 
as is often the case, they mature late. 
Only a few varieties are grown here, as 
listed below. The seed was sown March 
27 and the plants transferred to cold 
frames April 18. On May 27, 50 plants 
of each variety were set in the field. The 
date of maturity and the percentage of 
marketable heads of each variety are 
shown in the following table: 
Variety tests of cauliflower, 1912 
. Small Market- 
Variety heads able 
matured heads 
Per cent 
Denmark . . 1... 00 cess July 26 90 
Extra Early Dwarf Erfurt. July 18 92 
Extra Early Paris July 28 88 
Extra Early Snowball. July 20 90 
ut Edge. . . July 22 90 
Broccoli 
“Broccoli is similar to cauliflower. 
This vegetable has practically the same 
quality, matures later, and is not quite 
as sure to head. It should be treated 
in all respects like cauliflower. Some 
varieties are white, in which case they 
Closely resemble the cauliflower. Other 
varieties have purple heads. Three vari- 
eties were grown in the past season— 
Harly White, Early Purple Cap, and Mam- 
moth White. The seed was sown March 
27, the plants transplanted to cold frames 
April 18, and to the field May 27. Early 
White matured heads on August 1, 78 
per cent of which were marketable, and 
Mammoth White on August 20, of which 
76 per cent were marketable. Harly Pur- 
ple Cap did not mature any heads. 
Kale 
“Kale is a valuable vegetable, but un- 
fortunately not appreciated. It is par- 
ticularly well adapted to a cool, moist cli- 
mate like that of Alaska, and on the 
other hand kale grows but poorly under 
a hot sun or in dry weather. Now, since 
the majority of settlers in Alaska have 
come from the regions south of latitude 
49°, kale is but little grown. This may 
be the reason why it is not appreciated; 
and because it has been so little used 
in the states many housewives do not 
know how to prepare it for the table. 
The writer has received letters from peo- 
ple who have grown it and reported splen- 
did success in growing large vigorous 
plants, but they called it poor provender; 
they had tried to eat it raw as a salad. 
Kale must be boiled thoroughly and 
should be cooked preferably with salt 
pork or corn beef; when so prepared it 
will be found a very appetizing dish. 
“One of the chief merits of kale is 
that it is a winter vegetable. It can stand 
