THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, February 10,1857. 323 
remedied is the purpose of the present chapter to show, 
as well as to point out a few of the means whereby the 
supply of Cauliflowers may be extended as far as pos¬ 
sible. 
In the first place, it is proper to insure the purity of 
the seed intended to be sown, for, like everything else, 
the Cauliflower is liable to degenerate; and, what is 
more, there is more difficulty in obtaining seed from 
this plant than from Turnips, or many others of the 
Cabbage tribe to which it is related. 1 believe we 
buyers are partly the cause of this and other articles 
being adulterated, for, being all anxious to buy at the 
cheapest market, the fair trader is obliged, though 
reluctantly, to meet the requirements of the time by 
making one ounce of Cauliflower seed into two or three, 
by mixing some seed of a similar size with it which has 
undergone some process that destroys its vitality. 
Whether this be so or not it is not necessary here to 
mention; certain it is that Cauliflower seeds do not 
produce so many plants for the seed sown as many 
other things. I would, therefore, advise the buyer not 
to begrudge a fair price. Cauliflower seed cannot be 
grown, in the majority of seasons, to retail with a profit 
at a less price than two shillings per ounce ; and more 
than that may be fairly asked for a genuine article. 
Good seed being obtained, the first sowing in the year 
is generally made under glass in some well-sheltered 
! sunny place, if on a slight hotbed so much the better. 
Observe that the glass must be removed very early, so 
as not to draw the plants, but some protection may be 
put on during the cold nights of early spring, and the 
plants planted out for good towards the end of April or 
May. These will be the second crop of the season, the 
first being from plants sown in autumn, and protected 
during winter under glass, or in some other way, as will 
be shown presently. Successional batches of seed may 
be sown at intervals until the end of June or beginning 
of July, after which it is not necessary to sow again 
until the end of August or 1st of September, which is 
for standing the winter as above. This is by far the 
most important of all the sowings, and the welfare of 
: the plants during winter and their coming into use in 
early summer are of great consequence to all who have to 
provide for the wants of a family. In a general way the 
I difficulty is thought nothing of in large gardens, where 
1 handglasses and other accommodation are plentiful; but 
with those of more limited means this is not so easily 
accomplished. The main object is to get a good supply 
of young plants, which is not by any means so easy a 
matter in September as in June. Sow in some old 
Melon or Cucumber bed, if any should be out of use; or, 
in default of that, sow in some place where a spare light 
or two can be placed over the bed for a few days to en¬ 
courage the germination, and that once effected, and the 
plants protected from the Turnip-fly by dustings with 
dry wood ashes, lime, or soot, or all three together, there 
is little difficulty in rearing them to the proper size, and 
where they are large enough to handle they may be 
planted into their winter quarters at once. 
If handlights are to be had they are certainly the best 
for being placed where the plants, or part of them, are 
expected to remain till they mature their growth. The 
earliest ones of the season are expected then; conse¬ 
quently an early situation, as a south border, is the best 
lor that purpose. About nine plants in an ordinary-sized 
handlight are sufficient; and after planting let the ground 
be made rather firm than loose by the loot pressing it. 
This, of course, must not be done if it is wet; but by this 
flattening the ground slugs and other enemies are less 
likely to find a lodging there, and when all danger 
from these marauders is over the ground can be 
easily stirred up again. This will be in early spring, 
when it is time to plant out all but those intended to 
remain for good. 
The treatment of Cauliflowers during winter ought 
never to be such as to render them delicate—a com¬ 
plete exposure on all occasions when the weather is not 
severe, unless in some very heavy, cold rains, when it may 
be advisable to cover them up, leaving, however, some side 
openings for air, and by the middle of March the plants 
will have attained that sturdy growth which is the best 
of all proofs of their hardihood. A thick fleshy leaf, 
with short footstalks, is what is wanted, and plants so 
reared will have this character, especially those in the 
handlight; the others, which we will suppose to be shel¬ 
tered in some frame, will also require the same abun¬ 
dance of air, and the result cannot fail to be satisfactory. 
In very stiff, cold soils, it is proper to dig in some 
good rotten manure where the plants are to be, as a 
cold, retentive soil, however useful it may be in pro¬ 
ducing summer and autumn crops, is at variance with 
their coming into early use. It is, therefore, prudent to 
let the plants remain longer in the nursery bed than is 
usual when a drier soil has to be dealt with; and the 
ground being fixed on for planting them, let good-sized 
holes be dug for each, and some light dung or other 
opening matter be dug into each hole, and the plants 
carefully removed, with a spadeful of soil ^attached to 
each; in this way their removal is less felt than it other¬ 
wise would be, and they quickly come into use. Even on 
light soils it is prudent to take up with a spade, pro¬ 
vided the removal be only a yard or two, as each one 
might be taken at once to the place allotted to it, and the 
removal be scarcely felt. A distance of not less than 
two feet each way ought to be allotted to them, and 
more if very large ones are wanted. 
Other crops of Cauliflowers may be all treated in the 
way common to summer plants of the Cabbage tribe. A 
good rich soil, resting on a rather cool bottom, is best 
for this season ; but, where one of a contrary kind has to 
be dealt with, endeavour to get a deep, healthy soil, 
which will allow this rather greedy feeder a sufficient 
amount of nourishment at a good depth from the sur¬ 
face, and where the summer’s sun is but little felt. 
Hungry, dry sands, or gravel, will not, however, do, as 
these substances are by no means relished by anything 
in the kitchen-garden way; but if the staple soil could 
be deepened by the admixture of substances of a con¬ 
trary kind, then there would be no difficulty in the case. 
It is, however, proper here to observe, that when the 
soil is indifferent it is better to give the plants more 
room laterally ; but even with that advantage it some¬ 
times happens that they cannot be prevented from grow¬ 
ing prematurely into head, and are therefore useless. 
On such soils planting them out while very young and 
mulching over their roots is a good practice ; and giving 
a good watering at times with manure water will stimu¬ 
late their growth, the other conditions being all the 
same. 
As has been said above, the crop for first general use 
ought to be sown about the 1st of September; the next 
crop under glass as early after the new year as possible; 
succeeding crops every ten days after the 1st of April, 
until the beginning of July, the last crop being those 
intended for late autumn or winter use, and may pos¬ 
sibly suffer much during that time; but these, as well as 
all others, ought to be favoured with one of the best and 
openest situations in the garden. Certainly a few of 
those intended for use during the dry weather of the Dog- 
days might be planted behind a north wall, and some of 
the seed beds might be there also in hot weather; yet 
the Cauliflower, in general, is more impatieut of shade 
than most things. J. Robson. 
