8 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
@ moderate degree of frost, and indeed 
its quality is improved by freezing 
slightly. In the coast regions it can, 
therefore, be left outdoors the entire win- 
ter and cut as needed. In very cold 
weather, a foot or more of snow is a pro- 
tecting blanket to the plants. 
“Treat kale exactly like cauliflower. 
The dwarf curled varieties are to be pre- 
ferred. The tall coarser varieties can be 
grown for cattle feed, the only objec- 
tion to this being that they will flavor 
the milk as do turnips, cabbage, and all 
other Crucifere. 
“Dwarf Scotch, Green Curled and Sibe- 
rian kale were sown in the open field 
May 27 and were ready for use September 
15 and 20, respectively, 96 and 94 per 
cent of the plants being marketable. 
Brussels sprouts sown March 27, trans- 
planted to cold frames April 18 and to 
the open field May 27, was mature Octo- 
ber 27, 90 per cent of the plants form- 
ing marketable heads. 
Brussels Sprouts 
“This is a vegetable that deserves to 
be more generally cultivated than is the 
case. It is really a variety of kale and 
is cultivated in exactly the same manner 
as kale and cauliflower, but the stalks 
grow taller than kale, and in the axil 
of each leaf is formed a small head, 
which is the portion used. These little 
heads properly cooked are most delicious. 
They are better flavored than either cab- 
bage or kale. In the coast region the 
plants can be left outdoors until mod- 
erately cold weather sets in. They are 
not quite as hardy as kale. But one 
variety was grown here the past season. 
It is listed above with the kale. 
Turnips 
“Hight varieties of turnips were grown 
here, each in a 50-foot row, with yields 
as follows: Petrowski, 150 pounds; 
White Milan, 140 pounds; No. 33682, 133 
pounds; No. 33684, 127 pounds; No. 
33683, 97 pounds; No. 33687, 46 pounds; 
No. 33685, 31 pounds; No. 33686, 18 
pounds. 
“The seed of those sorts designated by 
numbers were obtained from the Seed Di- 
vision of the Department of Agriculture. 
None of them appear to have any great 
merit. 
“The Petrowski is undoubtedly the best 
variety so far found for Alaska. It has 
not as yet been offered by seedsmen in 
this country. The seed which has been 
grown at the experiment stations and 
which has been distributed to all the cor- 
respondents of this office has been im- 
ported from Finland. It is a yellow, 
smooth, uniformly shaped turnip of de- 
licious quality. It grows well everywhere 
and as noted below it is not greatly sub- 
ject to the attacks of root maggots. About 
2,000 packages of this seed have been dis- 
tributed to settlers in Alaska, and all who 
have reported, speak in the highest terms 
of this variety. It is earnestly urged that 
all who have grown good turnips should 
save the best, wintering them free from 
frost with a view to planting them out 
for seed the following spring. Plant 
them early in rows three feet apart and 
two or three feet apart in the row. When 
the stems grow up they should each be 
tied to a stake. Gather the seed as soon 
as it matures. This variety is worthy 
of perpetuation. 
Root maggots.—These pests are quite 
prevalent in Alaska, and complaints of 
their ravages come to this office from 
all parts of the territory. 
They attack turnips, cabbage, cauli- 
flower, kale, and in fact all members of 
the Crucifere and other plants. 
The maggots are the larve of small 
flies somewhat resembling the house fly, 
which lay their eggs on the leaves near 
the base of the plant. When the eges 
hatch, the maggots wriggle into the 
ground and begin to feed on the roots 
near the surface. They grow rapidly and 
when numerous they soon suck the juice 
from the plant, causing decay to set in 
and the plant dies. Some varieties of 
plant are more susceptible to the ravages 
of this pest than others. The Petrowski 
turnip, for instance, is almost exempt, 
while other varieties of turnips grown 
alongside suffer badly. The reason for 
this fact is not fully known, and may 
be due to the habit of the plant, which 
