March 30. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
501 
asked. The demand fov them from neighbours and 
others far exceeds the supply ; nevertheless, something 
must be done; and as the weather, siuce the snow lett us 
early in January, has been all that could be wished lor, 
in the way of pulverizing and sweetening the ground, 
there is a fair prospect of the latter beiug in better order to 
receive plauts and seeds this spring than was the case last 
year and severalyears beforeit; consequently, the artifi¬ 
cial means sometimes adopted to make it suitable to the 
well-being of plants are the less necessary ; but suppos¬ 
ing a quantity of Cauliflower plants, in hand lights, 
(having moveable tops) to have been saved, and 
present a fair proportion alive aud healthy, no time 
must be lost in thinning them out so as to hasten them 
on. This is, to all appearance, an easy undertaking, 
and so far as the manual labour is concerned the opera¬ 
tion is quickly pertormed; but, then, is it always well 
done? Numerous instances attest the contrary; tor it 
does not always happen that sufficient care has been 
taken to inure them to bear the parching influence ot an 
east wind or frosty night, consequently, they are m a 
poor plight a day or two after being turned out; tor 
often eight or ten plants stand huddled together all the 
winter in a common hand-light, not more than twenty 
inches square, or so, and the latter part ot the time they 
make some growth, so as often to fill the space in a 
crowded manner with their foliage. Then the too anxious 
cultivator, wishing to have a tew fit tor use at the eai- 
liest possible day, is as careful in seeing them covered 
up at night, at this advanced season, as he was in mid¬ 
winter ; this state of things, so widely at variance with 
the nicely-balanced course ot Nature s operations, induces 
a degree of delicacy into their habit or constitution, 
whereby they are ill-prepared to meet the cold, chilly 
currents of air they must endure when planted out 
singly. This evil is, of course, much increased when 
sufficient care has not been taken in removing them , 
but it is at all times attended with a check. 
The best way to obviate the evil above noticed is to 
have the whole of the plants uncovered some days be¬ 
fore planting-out time, and the covering left oft'at nights 
too, unless on special occasions of severe frosts or other 
reasons, and the ground being ready to receive the new 
crop, they must be taken up with as large balls as they 
can be moved with, aud carried at once to their new 
abode, and then planted carefully ; and il it be a bright, 
sunny day, a flower-pot might be inverted ovei each, 01 
some other protection in that way. Observe, that in 
planting, due care must be taken that nothing but the 
best and finest earth comes in contact with the root 
the fine, mellow portion found at the top, after the ground 
has lain awhile exposed to the action ot the elements, is 
certainly the best. 
In addition to this, great care must be taken to get 
the plants up with as large an amount ot earth as pos- 
sible—a spadeful to each, when they are only to be re¬ 
moved a few yards, is not too much the hole being 
made to receive them beforehand; and if the hand- 
lights have been standing on ground where it is expected 
a portion of them will remain for good, it is necessary, 
iu the first place, to select some of the best to stand in 
each hill. This must be regulated by the size the hand- 
lights arc, the distance they are apart, and other consi¬ 
derations ; but, in a usual way, about three is as many 
as can with propriety be left, aud much ottener only two 
remain ; but so many objects regulate this that it must 
be guided by the wants of each case. Commonly, 
private families do not care so much tor a large Cauli¬ 
flower, preferring a small or medium-sized one instead, 
consequently, the plants may stand somewhat closer; 
but in whichever way the operation is performed, it is 
advisable, when the thinning is completed, or when part 
of it is done, to dig and dress the ground around those 
remaining, aud to replace the hand-lights again lor a 
time, if they be not wanted elsewhere. This will enable 
the plants to push on, and prevent them receiving that 
check which the withdrawal of their companions would 
effect. 
When Cauliflower plants have become too far forward 
early in winter, they very otten start up into a prema¬ 
ture head, or what by gardeners is called, “ buttoning.'’ 
This is caused by the seed beiug sown too early; for 
then the plants, endeavouring to keep pace with other 
of their brethren in the “Spring Brocoli” way, rush up 
into flower at the end of March, or soon after, present¬ 
ing heads, as the term implies, not much larger than a 
button ; this cannot well be prevented ; a good thinning, 
and culture in the way of encouraging a sturdy growth, 
will partly prevent it; but it is difficult to stop Cauli¬ 
flowers from “bolting,” in the south of England, 
which are the produce of seed sown before the last 
week in August; while most people wait until the first 
| of September. Whichever way it is, the last sown ones 
are generally most to be depended on; and a second 
crop that may be standing in a frame in some sunny 
place will often contain more good plauts than the ear¬ 
liest batch which have been more attended to during 
winter; and this second crop must have all the attention 
paid them now their worth deserves, and they will, doubt¬ 
less, repay it; for we hear of heavy losses in that way 
the past winter; aud the autumn was anything but a 
good one for raising seedling plants, &c. The heavy 
aud continuous rains had so cooled and soddened the 
earth that but really little warmth remained in it. How¬ 
ever, as the spring, so far, has been exactly the reverse, 
it behoves the careful cultivator to turn such a change 
to good account, and a few early-sown Cauliflowers, 
sheltered and forwarded by glass, or other protection, are 
doubtless going ou iu such a way as to give just reason 
to expect that the. regular succession and production of 
nice heads is not likely to be interrupted for some time 
yet; and as Cauliflowers, and their almost synonymous 
White Brocolis, form important features iu the general 
bill of fare for the year, the propriety of neglecting 
nothing that is calculated to command these necessaries 
need not be urged. J- Robson. 
CUCUMBER AND MELON TIT HEATED BY 
FLUES. 
“ As I wish to erect a small pit for growing Cucumbers 
and Melons without the annoyance of huge piles of 
dung, perhaps you will be good enough to inform me 
whether I may expect any success with a structure such 
as I have sketched ou the sheet annexed?—F. E. R., 
Oxon.” 
I think the plan, of which a drawing is on the next 
page, is worthy of prominent notice, not only as keeping 
us in mind of the old flues, but because the consideration 
of the subject may enable us to give a suitable reply to 
many enquirers, who, out of various inodes described, 
1 may thus be enabled to pick out what will suit their cir¬ 
cumstances best. 
1. I believe that the above plan would answer it the 
pit were suitably built, and the plants afterwards well- 
manured. I observe no striking error in the whole 
arrangement, though, so far as I am aware, the only 
novelty connected with it is the large pan ot galvanised 
iron set upon the top of the flues. I have had no ex¬ 
perience how long such a pan, from four to five inches 
deep, would last in the circumstances, but my impression 
is, that when finished, the whole affair would be more 
costly than a tank or hot-water pipes. There can be no 
question that such a pan would yield a requisite amount 
-of vapour. 
2. There is nothing very pleasing in the huge mounds 
I of dung, unless at Celery aud Cauliflower planting 
