92 PlOTOBIAL PBAOTIOAL VEGETABLE GBOWING. 



Chapter T5 — Cauliflou)ers» 



Theoretioally, the Cauliflower should be one of the easiest vege- 

 tables to grow that the garden contains ; practically, it is one of the 

 most difiicult. 



A plot of ground, a spade, a heap of manure, a tub of water, a 

 packet of seed — what more is wanted ? In theory, nothing ; in 

 practice, a great deal. 



The Cauliflower has very pronounced likes and dislikes with regard 

 to soil, and they often take a somewhat peculiar form. Thus, the 

 famous soil of the Swanley district, which produces splendid Straw- 

 berries, becomes Cauliflower sick in a year or two, while on the stony 

 hill at Kingsdown, a few miles away, huge crops of Cauliflowers are 

 cut year after year. What is more, finer heads are harvested in the 

 fields than can be got from the garden. 



This goes to prove that all cultivators cannot grow Cauliflowers 

 equally well, yet there are certain points well worth attention. In 

 the first place, the Cauliflower is very fond of moisture. A dry, 

 hungry soil is death to it. In the second place, it enjoys substantial 

 fare, so that there is every encouragement to liberally feed the soil. 

 Thirdly, it likes to go with a swing from start to finish of its career, 

 so that checks should be avoided. 



Many people do not care for summer Cauliflowers ; those who do 

 may sow under glass in January, and the plants resulting should 

 head in June or July. Everybody, however, likes Cauliflowers in 

 autumn ; and during October and November, when Peas and Beans 

 are nearly or quite over, they are invariably very welcome. They 

 can be got by sowing in a frame in March, or outdoors in April. It 

 is good to have a few sturdy plants about 6 inches long ready to 

 put out in May, and another batch ready to go out about the middle 

 of June. 



All seedsmen now have a strain of small Cauliflowers which they 

 call Extra Early Forcing, or some such name. It varies with the 

 seedsman in some slight degree, but not much, as a rule. Nor do the 

 Cauliflowers vary much either. Nearly all these give heads of similar 

 type— about as large as a cricket ball, fine grained, and milk white. 



To come a little later than these. Early London or Snowball may 

 be chosen, then a little later still come Daniels' King, Eclipse, and 

 Suttons' Magnum Bonum, and for the latest crop we have Veitch's 

 Autumn Giant, and others of its type. 



See sowing tables for depth and distance, and chapters on insects 

 and manures for other cultural points. 



