CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 



17 



and hardy. If it is desired to avoid this second 

 transplanting, the plants, at the pricking out in 

 boxes, must be given abundant space, so as not to 

 crowd and draw up spindling, and the boxes must 

 be placed in cold frames for hardening off, for some 

 time before the plants are to be set out.* When 

 carefully managed, such hot-bed grown and hard- 

 ened plants will be as good every way as those 

 sown in the fall and wintered over in cold frames, 

 and they may be ready to set out as early, and 

 then the care and labor are concentrated within a 

 shorter time. 



Any forcing of the plants must be avoided by 

 keeping the temperature down within the proper 

 boundaries — not higher than above stated. By 

 such regulated, moderate growth, the plants will 

 be in proper condition for planting out about six 

 or seven weeks after the sowing of the seed. It is 

 advisable to moisten the ground before the plants 

 are pulled or, better, lifted, for transplanting, in 

 order to make the earth adhere to the roots. 



The plants grown in either of the above two 

 ways, if stocky and well hardened, as they should 

 be, may, or rather should, be planted out as soon 

 as the ground can be worked. If the plants be 



* This operation as here given is too elaborate for practical use in 

 this country. The seed should either be sown thinly, which can be 

 done by sowing drills to be thinned out in the row if it should come 

 up too thickly, and hardened by taking the sash off when large enough, 

 or they should be transplanted at once into the cold frames without 

 the use of the boxes. — Ed. 

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