60 



EARLY CABBAGE 



two inches apart. In order to get all the plants a uniform distance 

 apart, we use a spacing board. This consists of a one-half inch board 

 large enough to cover the entire flat, with one-half inch holes bored the 

 desired distance apart. The board is placed over the flat and a handy 

 boy punches the holes with three-eighths inch iron dibber. With a 

 little practice, the kid becomes mighty expert at the business. Other 

 children then place plants in the holes, and a careful man shoves a 

 little dirt with a pointed peg around the roots to fasten them. They 

 are then watered and placed in the greenhouse. When the room is 

 needed, the first lot is shifted to cold frames. 



A little practical experience is necessary in order to grow good 

 plants. It is hard to say, without being on the job, just when to venti- 

 late, or how much water to apply, and watering and ventilating are 

 the two most important points in plant raising. As a rule, the 

 beginner is liable to coddle his plants too much, and, as a result, his 

 plants are liable to damp off on account of insufficient ventilation or 

 too much water. The soil used should be of a loose, porous nature to 

 allow perfect drainage. If the soil is inclined to be too heavy, it will 

 be greatly improved by the addition of fine ashes (anthracite). The 

 soil should be rather dry and not packed very tightly in the flats. 

 The temperature in the house should not go above fifty degrees at 

 night. 



The greatest loss in plant raising is due to the "damping off" 

 fungus. This disease usually attacks the young plants in the seedling 

 box, causing the stem of the plant to turn black and rot off. It is 

 due to too much heat, lack of ventilation, to heavy watering, cloudy 

 weather, or the use of old soil. This trouble can be almost entirely 

 eliminated by careful attention to watering and ventilation. Loosen- 

 ing the soil slightly between the rows of seedlings is also very bene- 

 ficial. We have had practically no trouble in this regard since using 

 sterilized soil. The soil can be sterilized either with steam or with a 

 solution of formaline, two pounds to fifty gallons of water. It will 

 take about two gallons of the solution to sterilize a cubic foot of soil. 



The plants in the cold frames should be ventilated every day, 

 the amount of ventilation depending upon the age of the plants and 

 the condition of the weather. During warm days the sash are re- 

 moved and the plants gradually hardened, to stand a temperature of 

 at least twenty degrees. A well developed plant will be short and 

 stocky, having five or six leaves of a reddish hue and an abundance of 

 fibrous roots. The soil for greenhouse purposes should be prepared at 

 least a year in advance. Where sods are obtainable it is a good plan 



