VEGETABLE GARDENING 
35<5 
the open without previous transplanting. The method is 
not very satisfactory, because it does not result in the 
strongest plants, and this necessarily delays maturity. 
(3) A popular and satisfactory method is to sow in 
hotbeds or greenhouses, and to transplant, preferably to 
flats, which may be kept in cold frames until the plants 
are set in the open ground. The seed should be sown 
8 to 10 weeks before the proper date for field planting, 
the plants being handled in the same manner as cabbage. 
If space will permit, it is an advantage to plant 2x2 
inches apart in the flats rather than closer. To prevent 
spindling, the seedlings should usually be pricked out in 
three weeks from sowing. The soil for sowing and trans- 
planting should abound in vegetable matter. Pure muck 
is probably the best medium, but if this is not available 
a compost of two parts of good soil, one of sand and one 
of rotten manure will provide excellent conditions. Mice 
ai e very fond of the tender seedlings. Thev are best 
guarded against by the use of corn soaked with a solu- 
tion of strychnine. The plants must be thoroughly har- 
dened before setting in the field if there is danger of 
hard freezing. 
494. Fertilizing. — In the preparation of the soil grow- 
ers should bear in mind that humus is an important con- 
stituent and that stable manures can be used with good 
effects. They help to secure the proper soil structure 
as well as to add plant food. Rapid growth is essential 
to crispness and high quality, and so there must be no 
want of plant food in available forms. High-grade com- 
plete fertilizers should be used at the rate of 1,000 pounds 
to a ton to the acre, depending upon the previous treat- 
ment of the land, and supplemented with dressings of 
nitrate of soda, which can often be applied at the rate 
of 150 pounds an acre at intervals of 10 days to two 
weeks after the plants are well established. 
