At South Haven, on the immediate shore of Lake Michigan, the upland is mainly too heavy for the best growth of cauliflower. Mr. Sheffer says: (Mich. Ag. Rep. 1888, p. 287) "We have the advantage of cheap lands, cheap transportation to a boundless market, and a moist climate, all making celery and cauliflower desirable crops. For cauliflower, the proper soil is the first essential. If planted on uplands it will fail nine times out of ten, unless set so late as to head up just before winter. But it is better to grow it on low wet soils that can be ditched as far away as Philadelphia."

In Kent County, with which I am familiar, the cauliflower is successfully cultivated by many gardeners, but, as the air is drier, more care is required there in selecting the soil, the crop being usually grown on bottom lands favorably situated with regard to moisture, and containing an abundance of vegetable matter. It is occasionally grown on muck, but such land is not as reliable as that of a heavier character. On the light, sandy, and gravelly uplands, which abound in this county, the cultivation of the cauliflower is seldom attempted, and always fails, except in unusually wet seasons, although when such land is heavily manured, the cabbage may be grown successfully.

At Duluth, Minnesota, near the western end of Lake Superior, I have seen as fine cauliflowers growing as I ever saw anywhere. The soil was black loamy, upland.

Mr. J. S. Brocklehurst, of Oneota, in the same county, considers his locality unsurpassed for the cauliflower.

In Northern Wisconsin there is considerable territory which is excellent for cauliflower. In 1890, the first, second and third prizes offered by James Vick, for the best heads of Vick's Ideal were all awarded to growers in Eau Clare County, Wisconsin.

The recent introduction of very early varieties is likely to have an important result in extending the cultivation of the cauliflower, in the extreme Northern States and Canada, where the soil and climate are in many places peculiarly adapted to it, but where the seasons are so short that it has not heretofore been successfully grown.

Around Chicago much of the soil is unsurpassed for this vegetable, and large quantities of it are grown, but not enough to supply its local demand.

The most successful cultivators of this vegetable near Chicago are the market gardeners in the Holland settlement south of the city, and the Germans on the north. All are more successful with the late crop than with the early. One of the most successful of these growers sometimes sets his plants as late as the first of August, using seed direct from friends in Holland.

In Mahoning County, Ohio, which may be included, for convenience, in the Lake Region, Mr. Milton, who makes a specialty of the cauliflower, states that it is a good paying crop, but requires high cultivation, and if possible a moist soil. He states that he has tried all the varieties in cultivation, and finds a great difference in seed of the same variety from different growers. For the early crop he one year planted Henderson's Snowball, extra selected Early Erfurt, and Vick's Ideal, and found, owing to a drouth which set in just as the heads began to form, that the last variety was the only one which gave paying heads. For a late crop he generally uses Half-Early Paris, but has had good success with Algiers in a warm season. This variety must be started very early, however, in order to head before winter.

THE PRAIRIE REGION.

Prairie soil is usually well adapted to the cauliflower, and in favorable seasons a good crop is obtained, but such seasons are so little to be depended on in this region that cauliflower culture on a large scale is only profitable here under irrigation, or in restricted localities where the soil is naturally moist.

The gardeners around St. Louis have good success in growing cauliflower on the bottom land. Professor L. R. Taft says, "During two of the years I lived in Missouri it was very hot and dry and on the heavy clay soil of most of the state cauliflower, as a field crop, was a failure. I had good success, however, by planting one foot apart in cold frames from which lettuce had been taken; they were watered as required and during the hottest weather were protected to some extent by means of lath screens."

One disadvantage in this uncertainty of a crop in the West is its effect upon the market. A product which is rarely seen in the market brings a low price when abundant and fails to bring a high price in times of scarcity. Few people use it, and these do not become so accustomed to it as to be willing to pay a high price for it when it is scarce.

Mr. Riche, of Iowa, tells in a report of the Iowa Horticultural Society, how, in 1884, he overstocked the Dubuque market with 8000 heads. A Mr. Smith relates how, a few years previous, he was obliged to sell 4000 heads for a little over one cent per head; yet in this same market more familiar products often bring high prices. Another Iowa gardener grew a field of cauliflower by mistake, having purchased the seed for cabbage, and found himself unable to sell the crop at all!

In the irrigated districts of the West, cauliflower is grown to great perfection. One of the largest cauliflowers on record, four feet three inches in circumference, was grown in Colorado under irrigation in 1881. A moist atmosphere is less important than plenty of water at the root, especially at the time of heading, when it should be supplied, if possible, in small amount every day. The somewhat saline character of the soil in the dry regions also favors the growth of this crop whenever a sufficient supply of water is given.

At the Colorado experiment station sixteen varieties were grown under irrigation in 1888 (see table under Variety Tests), of which Henderson's Snowball and Extra Early Erfurt gave the best results. At the Arkansas station, the following year, out of twelve varieties these two were the only ones that produced heads. At the South Dakota station, Henderson's Snowball and Haskell's Favorite, a variety apparently identical with it, gave good results.

CAULIFLOWER IN THE SOUTH.

The cauliflower, as a market crop, is but little grown in the South, but there is no good reason why it should not become extensively cultivated there. The chief hindrances to its cultivation in the South have been the lack of high priced local markets, and the liability of the heads to heat during transportation to the North.

The most favorable localities for growing this vegetable in the South are near the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, especially near the mouths of rivers where there is an alluvial soil and a moist atmosphere. The cauliflower is better adapted than the cabbage to a warm climate, but heavier soil is required for it in the South than at the North.

W. F. Massey, of the North Carolina experiment station, says that fall-sown plants are the only ones worth growing in that latitude. The seed should be sown in September. The crop should head not later than March or April, as the heat is too great after April for good heads. By forcing, the plants may be headed in the frames in winter. More heat and protection are needed for this than in merely keeping over the plants. When the plants are approaching full size a light dressing of nitrate of soda raked into the soil is used to push them along and check any tendency to button. Lettuce is usually grown in the frames between the plants while small.

Dr. A. Oemler,[A] of Savannah, Georgia, says: "If this most delicate and most valuable member of the Brassica family, would 'carry' more safely at locations suitable for its cultivation, it would be one of the most important crops for the truck farmer. Although so situated, I have abandoned its culture, notwithstanding I have netted as high as $24.75 in New York per barrel for it, and the heads or 'curds' have sold at a gross average of thirty-seven cents each. Sometimes, however, it would continue to arrive in such bad order as not to be worth shipping. For the past two years its culture for the Northern market has been mainly confined to Florida. Coming so much earlier there, it is not exposed to heating in transit. The best varieties are Extra Early Dwarf Erfurt, the Snowball, and the very large growing Algiers. It should be marketable in March and April. The seed therefore should be sown in the latitude of Savannah about December first, under glass, and the plants transplanted about January tenth."

Dr. Charles Mohr, of Mobile, Alabama, writes: "From my own experience I judge that this vegetable does not succeed as well in the southern part of this state as in its central and more northern parts. I have seen it raised of good quality in the gardens of Montgomery, and in the greatest perfection in the highlands of north Alabama at an elevation of about 500 feet above the Gulf—at Cullman, in a somewhat light loamy soil, well supplied with stable manure. In that locality the seeds are sown by the end of February in a cold frame, to allow protection of the young plants from frost, and the plants are transferred to the open land by the middle of March. They arrive at their perfection during the first half of the month of May. Another sowing is made during the first week of March to furnish a crop during the early part of June. In that locality this vegetable is raised only to meet a very limited home demand. My informant at Montgomery, who raises only a supply for his own use, writes: 'I have raised cauliflower here with success for a series of years, some of the heads weighing six to seven pounds. The soil of my garden is a light sandy loam, requiring heavy manuring, and frequent irrigation of the plants toward the time of heading; it cannot be said to be exactly suited to this vegetable. I get my seed (the White Snowball) from Peter Henderson, of New York, sow in December in hot-bed, transplant as soon as large enough to a cold frame, and transplant as soon as danger of frost is over, say about the first part or middle of March, to the open ground, which has been well prepared and manured with stable manure. I cultivate the same as for cabbage, and the crop matures about the first of May.'

"One of the most successful market gardeners and truck farmers in this vicinity [Mobile], says: 'We have cultivated cauliflower for a long series of years, but find it much less profitable than the raising of cabbage; first, on account of its tenderness, making it liable to be injured in transportation to distant markets, and second, by reason of repeated failure of the crop in consequence of the too early advent of spells of hot and dry weather at the opening of the warm season. We sow in November in cold frame, keep well thinned out under glass until about the 20th of January, then transplant to the open ground, cultivating well with frequent watering if the weather should be dry. If the months of April and May are dry and hot the crop results in a failure, from which, in our dry and thirsty soil, no irrigation will save it. In favorable seasons we have fine results, raising heads from ten to sixteen inches in diameter. In the perpetually damp and inexhaustibly fertile soil of the alluvial lands in the Mobile River delta (marshes drained by ditching) the cauliflower is raised in the greatest perfection, and is ready by Christmas time for the home market, bringing fancy prices. In such localities the early varieties, particularly the Early Paris, are used, the seed being sown in August. Outside of these marshes the early varieties are not grown, as they produce only small and meagre heads. Among the later varieties we find Algiers and Lenormand the best, buying the seed from Vilmorin in Paris.'"

Mr. J. N. Whitner, in his work on "Gardening in Florida," recommends Early Snowball, Extra Early Paris, and Extra Early Dwarf Erfurt. The seed is sown in boxes in autumn and protected from beating rains, and if sown before the middle of October the plants are also protected from the direct sun during the middle of the day. The main crop is planted out before the first of November, and harvested the following spring. In the northern portion of the state the plants are sometimes injured by the cold in winter. The crop is not yet extensively grown in that state. In regard to suitable soil, Mr. Whitner says:

"In this state almost every truck farmer has some low rich spot of bottom, lake or river margin suitable for the production of the cauliflower. It must, however, be well drained land, and no matter how fertile it may seem to be naturally, a liberal supply of manure will more certainly insure handsome flower heads."

Mr. Frotzer, a New Orleans seedsman, says of the cauliflower:

"This is one of the finest vegetables grown, and succeeds well in the vicinity of New Orleans. Large quantities are raised on the sea-coast in the neighborhood of Barataria Bay. The two Italian varieties are of excellent quality, growing to large size, and are considered hardier than the German and French varieties. I have had specimens brought to my store, raised from seed obtained from me, weighing sixteen pounds. The ground for planting cauliflower should be very rich. They thrive best in rich, sandy soil, and require plenty of moisture during the formation of the head. The Italian varieties should be sown from April till July; the latter month and June is the best time to sow the Early Giant. During August, September and October, the Lenormand, Half Early Paris and Erfurt can be sown. The Half Early Paris is very popular, but the other varieties are just as good. For spring crop the Italian kinds do not answer, but the Early French and German varieties can be sown at the end of December and during January, in a bed protected from frost, and may be transplanted into the open ground during February and as late as March. If we have a favorable season, and not too dry, they will be very fine; but if the heat sets in soon, the flowers will not attain the same size as those obtained from seeds sown in fall, and which head during December and January."

In the Texas Farm and Ranch, H. M. Stringfellow, of Hitchcock, Galveston County, gives an account of his success with American grown (Puget Sound) seed of Henderson's Snowball cauliflower. He says:

"After two years careful trial, I have found this seed every way superior to the original imported stock, good as that was, for our hot climate. The plants are much more robust, make equally as compact but larger heads, and what is most remarkable, they mature here fully two weeks or more ahead of the imported seed. Nearly every plant will make a marketable head, and they always sell for fully double as much as cabbage.

"These American seeds begin to head about the first of November, and are nearly all gone by Christmas, which gives ample time to get the crop off in any part of Texas.

"The cauliflower is emphatically a fall vegetable and seems to require for its perfect development a gradually decreasing temperature. The seed should be sowed from the first to the fifteenth of July, in a frame. Make the ground very rich, and if you use salt, which I consider almost an essential for this crop, turn it under deeply at the first plowing. In fact, salt and potash had better be deeply worked into the soil always, as it will not do for either to come in contact with the roots of a newly set plant.

"Until recently I have always thought that it would injure a plant to set it in soil to which cottonseed meal had been lately applied. But experiments made in the last few weeks prove that it is not only not injurious, but that cabbage plants grow off with wonderful vigor when the meal was applied the day before the plants were set.

"It will pay to subsoil for cauliflower, in order to give them all the moisture possible, though they will stand a drouth in the fall equally as well as a cabbage."

In this connection may be mentioned the following account of cauliflower growing at Durango, Mexico, sent to the Gardener's Chronicle in 1853: The writer says: "Of the culinary vegetables, none excel the cauliflower, which attains such a size that a single head measures 18 inches to 2 feet in diameter, and makes a donkey load. The gigantic cauliflower is not distinct from our European species, but is solely produced by a cultivation which necessity has dictated. Being one of the Northern vegetables that degenerate or bear no seed if not annually procured from Europe, it is propagated by cuttings. After the heads are gathered the stubs are allowed to throw out new shoots, which are again planted and have to grow two years, producing the second, the enormous heads."

The following from Woodrow's "Gardening in India," (4th edition, Bombay, 1888), contains many interesting points of suggestive value for the extreme South:

"Cauliflower, being a delicate plant, always needs great care and attention in its cultivation, but much less care is necessary in this country than in Europe. The soil most suitable is a rich friable loam, such as occurs in the black soil of the Duccan, the alluvial tracts in the basin of the Ganges or Nerbudda. Thorough working of the soil is necessary, and in stations where the market price of cauliflower is usually over four annas per head, as is the case in many parts of Southern India, the crop is well worth extra care in the preparation of the soil. This process should be begun shortly after the rains, when the soil is easily plowed or dug. It should then be turned up roughly to a depth of a foot or fifteen inches. A month later the clods should be broken with the mallet or clod crusher, and the plow put through the ground a second time. When the soil has weathered a few weeks, the scarifier or cultivator should be run over it once monthly until May. At that time good decayed cow dung or poudrette should be spread one inch deep, and any close growing crop which is not valuable, such as sunn, tag, chanamoo, or Crotolaria juncea, should be sown to keep down weeds and encourage the formation of nitric acid in the soil, which has been proved to be effected to a greater extent under a crop than on bare soil. During dry weather in August the crop should be pulled up and the ground plowed or dug and the crop buried in the trenches to act as green manure, and the land prepared for irrigation.

The seed-bed should be prepared by thorough digging and mixing about an inch in depth of old manure; wood ashes and decayed sweepings having a quantity of goat or sheep dung in it is well suited for the seed-bed at this season. Cow dung is apt to have the larva of the dung beetle in it—a very large caterpillar which destroys young plants by eating through the stem under ground. The bed having been thoroughly watered, the seed may be sown broadcast or in lines, and covered with a quarter of an inch of fine, dry, sandy soil, and shaded from bright sunshine. When the seedlings appear, gradually remove the shade. The most convenient form of bed is not more than four feet in width, the length being sufficient for the ground to be planted. One ounce of seed is sufficient for a bed fifty feet square, which will give sufficient plants for an acre if the seed is good. Sowing should be made once in ten days, from the middle of August till the end of September. If the garden has been neglected, or the district remarkable for the quantity of grubs that yearly come out in August, spread a considerable part of the garden with a thick coating of stable litter or dry leaves and burn it, prepare the seed bed in the middle of the burnt space, and soak two pounds of saltpetre in water for one hundred square feet, and water the bed with it for at least two weeks before sowing the seed. When the seedlings have acquired about five leaves, and the ground to plant is ready, lift the young plants gently on a cloudy day, and plant them out two and one-half feet apart each way. If bright sunshine comes out, shade the newly moved plants with broad leaves, and water them daily with the watering pot for a few days, besides irrigating sufficiently to keep the soil moist. Afterwards, hoeing, picking grubs and replacing the losses from the seed-bed must be attended to.

The selection of sorts is a serious matter in cauliflower culture, because many sorts grow only to leaves in some climates, and great loss has been met with by some people in consequence of getting the wrong variety. The variety known to English seedsmen as Large Asiatic, has established itself in the Northern Provinces, where a good head of cauliflower is procurable in December for one-half anna. In Bombay the same would cost ten times that sum. The seed of this variety is remarkably cheap in the districts it bears seed in. From Shajehanpore I bought large quantities at Rs. 2 per pound, while the price of seed from England was Rs. 2 per ounce. This sort is perfectly reliable when properly cultivated, but it is considered inferior in flavor and delicacy to English sorts, and its season is very short. It appears to run to seed when January comes, at whatever time it may have been sown, while English varieties come into use from the beginning of December to the end of February according to the date of sowing.

Among European varieties, success will generally be met with by sowing Early London and Walcheren. The different Giant and Mammoth varieties advertised in seedsmen's catalogues should be grown as extras, and if one is found to suit the soil and climate of a particular station, it may be grown more extensively afterwards; my experience with those varieties has not been happy."

THE PACIFIC COAST.

Fine early cauliflowers are grown in California under irrigation, and marketed as far east as Chicago. Oregon and Washington include a large area adapted to cauliflower growing, and this favorable territory extends northward into Alaska. The cool, moist climate of the Upper Pacific coast resembles that of England, where cauliflowers are so extensively grown.

There are few good markets yet in this region, but the rapid growth of the cities which exist affords promise of a large future demand for this vegetable, which is likely to come into more general use as it becomes better known.

Professor E. R. Lake, of the Oregon experiment station, states that some parts of the Oregon coast are well adapted to the cauliflower, but that other interests and lack of transportation facilities have thus far prevented its cultivation for market, the bulk of the crop sold there coming from California. He adds that the Chinese in the vicinity of Portland cultivate this vegetable, but that their peculiar methods are not yet understood.

Some ten years ago experiments were begun by one of our seedsmen in raising cauliflower and cabbage seed on the alluvial tide lands on the shore of Puget Sound. These lands, after being diked and drained, proved to be remarkably well adapted to the growth of the cauliflower and its seed. Others have since engaged in growing these seeds in the same region, and the business is assuming large proportions. An account of this enterprise may be found in the chapter on Seed.

FOOTNOTES:

[A] Dr. Oemler is the author of an excellent work entitled "Truck Farming in the South." His farm is on Wilmington Island, in the mouth of the Savannah River.



CHAPTER VI.

INSECT AND FUNGUS ENEMIES.

The insect enemies of the cauliflower are the same as those which attack the cabbage and other related plants. The four here mentioned require to be specially guarded against. In preparing these notes I am indebted to Mr. L. O. Howard, of the Department of Agriculture, at Washington, for essential aid.

FLEA BEETLE (Phyllotrea striolata, Fabr).—This insect, also known as the "ground flea" or "Jack," seldom attacks the plants except while growing in the open ground, and is most troublesome in warm, sheltered situations. A safe preventive, therefore, is to grow the plants in beds or frames elevated about three feet from the ground. The objection to this method, aside from the extra labor involved, is the necessity of almost daily attention to see that the soil does not dry out. A supply of water must be conveniently at hand if this method is used, and it is desirable also, to prevent the beds drying out too quickly, to have the earth at least eight inches deep. In hot-beds this insect is seldom troublesome, being probably repelled by the fumes from the manure used. When the seed is sown in the open ground, as practised by many large growers, an extra quantity should be used to ensure against almost certain loss of some of the plants by the flea beetle. The soil should be rich and fine, so that the plants will pass the critical stage as quickly as possible. Sowing radish seeds with the cauliflower is practised by some, as this seed costs but little, and the radishes, coming up first, are attacked by the fleas, which, to some extent, saves the cauliflowers. When the fleas appear, almost any kind of dust will keep them in check somewhat. Lime and ashes are used, but plaster, which adheres to the leaves better, seems equally good. I have had good success with rancid fish oil, mixed as thoroughly as possible with water and sprayed upon the plants. An emulsion made of the oil, in the same manner as hereafter described for kerosene, would enable it to be used to better advantage. A decoction of tobacco, or fine tobacco dust, are standard remedies for this insect.

CUT WORMS.—Cauliflower plants being fully twice as valuable as cabbage plants, and it being of more importance to have them started at the proper time, it is necessary to give greater care to protect them from cut worms. Absolutely clean land contains no cut worms, but such land is seldom used on which to plant cauliflower. Sod land, which is generally used, is nearly always full of cut worms. A multitude of remedies have been proposed for this pest, but few of them are of much value. The worms are most abundant and destructive in the latitude of New York during the month of May. Fortunately, cauliflowers are usually set out either earlier than this, for the early crop, so that they become well established and out of reach before their depredations seriously begin, or else, for the late crop, they are set toward the last of June, after the worms have begun to pupate, and are no longer troublesome. Until recently, digging and killing the worms by hand seemed to be almost the only practical remedy. Of late years, trapping the worms under bunches of grass or cabbage leaves, scattered over the ground preparatory to setting the plants, has been successfully resorted to. An improvement upon this method, recommended by the Entomologist of the United States Department of Agriculture, is now in use, and gives excellent satisfaction. It consists in poisoning with Paris green the leaves used to trap the worms, so that there is no need to collect and kill the worms by hand. A good way to do this is to spray with Paris green, in the usual way, a patch of young clover, then cut it and scatter it in small bunches over the cauliflower field a day or two before setting the plants. For the protection of a few plants in the garden, an effectual preventive against cut worms is to surround the stem with a cylinder of paper or tin. This need not touch the plant. One should expect to lose some plants, however, by cut worms, and be prepared with good plants to fill the vacancies.

CABBAGE MAGGOT (Anthomya brassicae, Bouche)—Dr. J. A. Lintner, State Entomologist of New York, says of this insect: "This is probably the most injurious species of the Anthomyiidae, as its distribution is very extensive, both in Europe and America, and it has shown at times such capacity for multiplication as to cause the entire destruction of cabbage crops. It commences its attack upon the young plants while yet in the seed-bed and continues to infest them, in several successive broods, until they are taken up in the autumn. The larvae operate by consuming the rootlets of young plants, and by excoriating the surface and eating into the rind of older ones, or even penetrating into the interior of the root. When they abound to the extent of seriously burrowing the stalk the decay of the root frequently follows in wet seasons, and entire fields are thus destroyed."

The same insect attacks the turnip, cauliflower, and probably other plants. A closely related species is very injurious to the radish. The presence of the insect most frequently becomes manifest upon the cauliflower about two weeks after the plants are set out, and is recognized by the plants ceasing to grow, and wilting or assuming a bluish appearance. Such plants should be at once removed, together with the earth immediately surrounding the root, and fresh plants which have been held in reserve set in their places. The only satisfactory remedies are preventive ones. The seed-bed should be composed of soil taken from the woods, or at least from some place where no cabbages or similar plants have been grown. But the most important precaution is to avoid growing the crop year after year upon the same ground, especially after the insect has made its appearance.

The following remedy, given by Francis Brill, in his pamphlet on "Cauliflowers," is worthy of careful trial. Mr. Brill says: "The ravages of the root maggot have made the growing of early cauliflower, and even early cabbages in many sections, almost an impossibility, but there is a remedy, when the maggot has attacked the roots of the plants, which may be known by a tendency of the leaves to wilt and droop in the heat of the day, very much the same as when affected by club root. Dissolve Muriate of Potash (analyzing 45 per cent. actual potash) in water in the proportion of one tablespoonful to the gallon; or double the quantity of Kainit or common potash salts (13 per cent. actual potash). Apply this directly to the roots, about one gill to each plant, whether seemingly affected or not, for the maggot will have done much harm before the plant will show it, repeating the application as occasion may seem to require. In sections where these maggots have been prevalent it will be well to make a solution of half the above strength, and when the plants are nicely started apply in the same manner as a preventive. Care and judgment must be used not to overdo the matter, thereby killing the plants as well as the maggots. Experiment a little at first."

H. A. March, of Washington, says: "The best thing that I have found for the maggot is a poor grade of sulphur, sulphur before being purified, that smells very strong. Sprinkled over the plants it seems to drive the fly away."

CABBAGE WORM (Pieris rapae, Koch).—The imported cabbage worm, now known all over the country, is the most troublesome enemy which attacks either the cabbage or cauliflower, and the most difficult one with which to deal. It seldom wholly destroys the crop, and is generally a little less destructive after a few years than it is at first, being kept in check by its natural enemies. It never disappears, however, and its numbers cannot be materially diminished for any length of time by artificial means. Among the partial remedies in use are the following:

1. Catch the butterflies with a net when they first appear in spring, before they have laid their eggs. This may keep the insect in check for a year or two when it first makes its appearance, as the butterflies are comparatively slow fliers, and may be caught without much difficulty by a spry boy, especially in the morning when the air is damp.

2. Early in the season keep the young plants excluded from the butterflies, and the whole place free from everything else of the cabbage tribe, except one or more patches of rutabagas or rape, on which the butterflies will lay their eggs. This piece is to be then plowed under.

3. Hand pick the worms from the plants after they are set out, for the first one or two hoeings, or until the worms become very numerous.

4. Spray with kerosene emulsion, made by using two gallons of kerosene, one-half pound of common or whale oil soap, and one gallon of water. Dissolve the soap in the water, and add it, boiling hot, to the kerosene; then churn, while at least warm, for five or ten minutes, by means of a force pump and spraying nozzle, until the mixture loses its oiliness and becomes like butter. When used, dilute one part of the emulsion with about fifteen of water, and spray it upon the plants by means of a force pump and spraying nozzle. This emulsion is also excellent for the cabbage louse and many other insects. In the report of the United States Department of Agriculture for 1883 may be found a description and figure of a suitable spraying apparatus.

5. Pyrethrum, one ounce to four gallons of water; or, better still, mixed one part with about twenty parts of flour and applied while the dew is on, is an effectual remedy.

6. Hot water, at 130 deg. Fah., will kill the cabbage worms and not injure the leaves. Boiling water, placed in sprinkling cans and taken directly to the field, will be about the right temperature by the time it can be applied. Experiments with a few plants may be needed to enable one to get just the right temperature to kill the worms and not injure the plants.

7. Take half a pound of London purple to thirty pounds of finely pulverized dust of any kind, the finer and drier the better; mix thoroughly, passing all through a meal sieve. Dash a small pinch into the heart of the plant, so that it will settle as dust on all the leaves. Repeat after every rain. Half a pound will serve for one application over forty acres. Store any that remains in a very dry place until again wanted.

8. Professor Gillette, of Colorado, finds the best remedy to be Paris green, thoroughly mixed, one ounce with six pounds of flour, and dusted lightly over the plants while the dew is on.

FUNGUS DISEASES.

There are several parasitic fungi which are more or less destructive to the cauliflower at different stages of its growth. The principal diseases of the cauliflower due to fungi are the following:

STEM ROT.—This is an old disease, which attacks the cauliflower, cabbage and other vegetables in wet seasons. It has received various other names, such as "consumption," "humid gangrene," etc. Professor Comes,[B] who has studied this disease in Italy, believes it to be the same as the "humid gangrene" which occurs in Germany, and which is there attributed to the parasitic attack of the fungus known as Pleospora Napi. He finds this and other fungi present, but does not himself consider them the direct cause of the disease, which he attributes solely to the abundance of manure and moisture in the soil, and an excess of water in the plant, at a time when it is subject to sudden changes of temperature. Beyond a doubt, however, the real cause of the disease is the presence of one or more fungi, whose development is favored by the damp weather. The subject requires further study.

In this country this disease has been reported from Michigan, New York, Maryland and Florida. On Long Island, in 1889,[C] the cauliflower crop was almost entirely destroyed by this disease, which was attributed to the heavy rains at the time the plants were heading. Some fields were a total loss, and from the best fields many of the heads spoiled before they reached the market.

No satisfactory remedy is known for the disease. The avoidance of damp soils and locations would be of some benefit, but is hardly practicable with the cauliflower. Wide planting is practiced on Long Island in order to diminish the tendency to the disease. It undoubtedly has this effect to some extent, by permitting a more free circulation of the air, thus drying up the moisture on the plants and thereby lessening the opportunity for the germination of the spores. The increased distance may also diminish the chance of the spread of the spores from plant to plant. When this disease appears upon the early crop in hot-beds or cold frames it may be kept somewhat in check by giving as much air as possible, and taking care not to apply water to the leaves.

DAMPING OFF.—This is usually due to a species of Pythium (a fungus closely related to that which causes the potato rot), which attacks the young plants soon after they germinate. The remedy is, to give the plants plenty of air until their stems become strong enough to resist its attacks. An additional precaution sometimes employed is to grow the plants in pans or small boxes and water them only by setting these in a tank of water of nearly the same depth, allowing the water to soak into the soil, but not touch the plants. The disease is seldom troublesome on plants grown thinly in the open air. If it makes its appearance, water thoroughly, but not too often, and sprinkle dry sand over the seed-bed among the plants.[D]

BLACK LEG OR MILDEW.—This is a disease which attacks the stems of young plants which are being wintered over. It is undoubtedly due to one or more species of parasitic fungi, but I do not find that the subject has been studied. Doubtless the rupture of the bark by alternate freezing and thawing gives the fungi an opportunity to attack the plant. The disease is prevented and kept in check by keeping the seed-bed dry. An occasional dressing of sand, lime, wood-ashes or rubbish of any kind, is useful.

FOOTNOTES:

[B] Bull. Soc. Bot. France, 1886 (Rev. Bib., p. 128). La cancrena del Cavolo Fiore (La gangrene humide du Chou-fleur) par M. le Professor O. Comes (Atti del R. Instituto del incorraggiamento alle Scienzie naturali.—Estratta dal Vol. IV, 3a serie, degli Atti Academici, 1885). [The Humid Gangrene of the Cauliflower.]

"A disease which attacks the crops of cauliflower around Resina and at Torre del Greco, near Naples. The roots of the diseased plants remain sound, or at least appear so, but the subterranean parts of the stem are more or less seriously affected; the bark is disorganized, the wood situated beneath it more or less decomposed, and the pith destroyed for a variable length. Upon microscopic examination the vessels are found filled with gum. M. Comes recognizes in this disease all the symptoms of the affection which has been designated under the name humid gangrene. He thinks that it is the same disease which, by German authors, is attributed to the parasitism of Pleospora Napi, Fuckel, or to its conidiferous form, sporidesmium excitosum, Kuehn. But he considers the presence of these parasites as an accessory phenomenon, as well as that of Cladosporium and Macrosporium Brassicae. In his opinion the true cause of the alteration of the cauliflower is the humid gangrene, that is to say, a gummy degeneration and putrid fermentation of the tissues, caused by the abundance of manure in the soil and the excess of water in the plant at a time when it is subject to sudden changes of temperature.

"This disease is not confined to cauliflowers; it is common in all garden vegetables, and is of the same nature as that which attacks tomatoes and which was described by this author in the same journal in 1884." [This disease is also mentioned by Victor Paquet, in his "Plantes Potagers" (London, 1846, p. 243), where it is attributed to stagnant moisture].

[C] Country Gentleman, 1889, p. 769, (from the Port Jefferson Times, Sept. 27):

"Close upon the heels of a partial failure of the potato crop through rotting comes the news from various points on Eastern Long Island that the cauliflower crop has almost totally failed through the same cause. In Manorville the crop has not sufficiently developed in some of the fields to warrant picking, and in Mattituck and east of that place the rotting will result in an almost total loss. In a few cases there is not yet any indication of rot, but the farmers are afraid to tie the plants up lest rotting ensue.

"In East Moriches, Orient, and the near vicinity, the yield will not be of sufficient value to pay for plowing the ground, not to speak of the other expenses which have been entailed. Through the Hamptons careful observations failed to reveal scarcely a single successful crop.

"Last Saturday Henry T. Osborn, of East Moriches, tied up 2,000 heads and on Monday he cut enough to fill 30 barrels. He let them lie in his barn over night, and the next day not a barrel of them was fit for shipment to market.

"George Cooper, of Mattituck, planted seven acres of cauliflower which he thinks will prove a total loss. And so on the reports come from many East End farmers. The recent heavy rains are generally assigned as the cause of the failure."

[D] A series of articles upon "damping off" may be found in the American Garden for 1889, pp. 347-9.



CHAPTER VII.

CAULIFLOWER SEED.

With no vegetable is it more important to have good seed than with the cauliflower, and in none is there a greater tendency to deteriorate. On this account less dependence is to be placed upon named varieties than in some other cultivated plants, and greater need is required to secure carefully selected strains. Owing to peculiarities of soil, climate and season, and the different degrees of care given by the different growers, seeds of the same variety may be better from one source than from another. On this account, when a variety is found adapted to one's needs it is well to use the same variety, and obtain it from the same source year after year.

Cauliflower seed is mostly grown in Europe, chiefly in Holland and Germany, to some extent in Italy and France, and less in England. One variety, the Large Asiatic, seeds abundantly in Northern India. There are a few localities where the seed is successfully grown in the United States.

In Europe the dwarf early varieties are chiefly grown in the north, and the large late varieties at the south. In the south the seed is most easily grown, and southern seed brings the lowest price.

McIntosh states that cauliflower seed seldom ripens in Scotland. In England, as I have said, it is grown to a limited extent, but not so much as that of broccoli. The seed plants are there selected in June, at the time of heading, and allowed to stand until the seed matures. Mr. Dean states that his Early Snowball produces in warm, early seasons better seed in England than anywhere else. Loudon, in his "Encyclopaedia of Gardening" (5th Ed., 1827) quotes Neill, as saying that "Until the time of the French Revolution, quantities of English cauliflower were regularly sent to Holland and the low countries, and even France depended on us for cauliflower seed. Even now English seed is preferred to any other."

A later English writer states that the English prefer Dutch seed and the Dutch English seed.

Most of the seed now used in England, as well as nearly all of that sold in this country comes from Holland, France and Germany. The climate, especially of Holland and North Germany, is particularly favorable for the production of fine strains of seed, especially of the dwarf early varieties.

McIntosh ("Book of the Garden," 1855, Vol. II, p. 116) says: "Our best cauliflower seed is imported from Holland, and for its quality we have much greater reason to thank the better climate than the growers, who are not over particular in the matter, as Dutch cauliflower seed is sure to sell."

The Mediterranean varieties are generally large, and require for the most part too long a season to be popular and successful in this country. As dwarf varieties have been produced, the cultivation of this vegetable in Europe has extended farther north. As already stated, when the cauliflower was first cultivated in France the island of Cyprus was the only place where it was known to seed, and for a time the plant was known in England under the name of Cyprus Colewort.

Although most of the seed used in the United States is still imported, American grown seed appears to give good satisfaction and is moderate in price. Professor W. J. Green, of the Ohio experiment station, who tested Puget Sound seed in 1889, reported as follows: "The most remarkable examples [of the superiority of Northern grown seed] are found in the Puget Sound cabbage and cauliflower seed, which show great vitality and consequent vigor in growth of plant. We have received numerous samples grown in that region by H. A. March and A. G. Tillinghast, brother of Isaac Tillinghast, the seedsman. These seeds were very large, full of vitality, and the plants uncommonly vigorous. At transplanting time the plants were nearly twice the height of others of the same variety, while the difference in color was very marked. This robust habit continued to manifest itself during a greater part of the season, but as maturity approached, the variation was less and less marked, until at last the others had caught up, and there was no perceptible difference." No change in time of maturity or habit of growth was noticed.

Mr. Brill, of Long Island, states that to secure seed there it is best to winter over the partially headed plants in a cold frame or cellar, and set them out early in the spring. The summers are so warm there, however, that except in particularly favorable seasons but little seed forms. Several excellent early varieties have originated on Long Island, and there is reason to believe that hot, changeable climates, though unprofitable for the growing of seed, are particularly favorable for the production and maintenance of early sorts able to head in hot weather.

It is perhaps for this reason that England, Denmark, and Central Germany have produced more early varieties than Holland, France and Italy. The dry calcareous soil of some parts of England appears to be particularly favorable to the production of early varieties.

In the vicinity of Boston, cauliflower seed has been grown to some extent, especially the variety known as Boston Market, which was formerly very popular there. James J. H. Gregory writes me under date of March 3d, 1891, that he raised 60 pounds of seed of the Boston Market from 500 plants, where from the same number of plants of the Snowball and Extra Early Erfurt, grown under precisely the same conditions, he obtained less than a great spoonful. The seed was raised on an island used expressly for that purpose.

It is a custom in England and Holland, where the season is too short for the seed to ripen perfectly, to diminish the number of seed-stalks on a plant by cutting out the centre of the head. The flower-stalks require to be supported by stakes, and when the seed is nearly mature, to be guarded from birds. A plaster cat is recommended as a good scare-crow, especially if its position is changed every few days, so that the birds will continue to think that it is alive.

Cauliflower seed, as is well known, is smaller and inferior in appearance to cabbage seed, and always contains a considerable proportion, which is shrunken and worthless. This poor seed is removed from the crop as much as possible before it is sold. This shrunken condition arises from the fact that a large share of the flowers fail to set, and many of the pods only partly fill. Shrunken seed is no indication of inferiority of variety, in fact rather otherwise, for the most compact heads, being the most deformed from a structural point of view, give the least amount of good seed. Still, it is not necessarily true that the highest priced seed is always the best and most economical to use. A new variety, until it becomes well established, requires rigid selection, and this so reduces the amount produced that a high price can be obtained for all that is grown. An older variety, on the other hand, which has become so well established, and comes so true that nearly every head is perfect and will furnish good seed, can be supplied at a cheaper rate and may for a given purpose be equally good. As a rule it may be said that the newest and highest priced seeds are too expensive to use on a large scale, and the cheapest seeds are inferior in quality. One should not judge of the value of a variety wholly by the price at which its seed is sold. Most of the high priced varieties are dwarf kinds, which are becoming more and more popular in this country, but which produce comparatively little seed.

Our varieties of cauliflowers have all been developed by means of selection. Desirable features have either been acquired by gradual selection through successive generations in a given locality; or some sudden variation has been preserved and perpetuated. Climate, as already stated, has had much to do in developing certain peculiarities. The varieties of Italy, France, Holland and Germany have in each case certain features common among themselves which can only be accounted for by the influence of the particular climate in which they are grown. It is, therefore, useless to attempt to maintain these characters wholly unchanged in other climates. Hardiness, earliness, certainty of heading, protection of the head by leaves, and shortness of stem, can all be increased by selection, but, as they are all likewise influenced by climate, the selection is more effective in some climates than in others. The varieties of the south of Europe are as a whole characterized by a long period of growth, tall stems, great vigor and hardiness, and by having the leaves inclined to grow upright and protect the head.

The cauliflower crosses readily with the cabbage and other varieties and species of the genus Brassica. It does not usually flower at the same time, however, as other members of the genus, so the difficulty is not usually great in keeping it pure.

In France the cauliflower has been crossed artificially with cabbage, turnip and rutabaga, in the attempt to obtain varieties of greater hardiness. Numerous peculiar forms were the result of these crosses, some of which were good cauliflowers, said to be of increased hardiness, but none of them have found their way into general cultivation. One of these, owing to a cross with the turnip, acquired the flavor of that vegetable. A full account of these crosses may be found in the Revue Horticole for 1880.

The following remarks, by Mr. A. Dean, of England, on a case of apparent crossing in the cabbage tribe will be read with interest:

"A very pretty conical-headed plant of a Colewort was allowed to run to seed, but nothing else of the same family was known to be in flower for a distance of at least several hundred yards. The produce was saved and sown, and has been furnishing food for the table during the past winter, but what a progeny! Some were reproductions of the seed parent, but larger, and proved very handsome early cabbages; others were very fair Coleworts; others bad examples of Cottager's Purple Kale, others Green Kale, while others resembled sprouting Broccoli, both green and purple. One plant was an example of the once popular Dalmany sprouts, and there were many other plants that admitted of no classification. It is probable that bees, which travel long distances, had somewhere found some sprouting in Broccoli flower and had brought pollen from those to the Colewort plant in question."

Spontaneous variation has given a number of curious forms of cauliflower, including one with several heads in the place of one, and another in which the head is flattened sidewise, like the garden cockscomb. These forms have not been cultivated.

Cauliflower seed contains on an average about 7,000 seeds to the ounce, of which about one-half usually germinate, a much smaller per cent. than in cabbage. Long Island growers estimate two ounces of seed to the acre as a safe amount for the small varieties and an ounce and a half for the late varieties.

It was formerly a common belief, especially in England, that old seed would be most likely to produce good heads. There is little evidence to support this belief, and just as little ground for the more recent belief held by some that old seed is particularly liable to produce loose worthless heads. Like all other seed cauliflower seed ought to be as fresh as possible; fresh seed always germinates best and gives the most vigorous plants. Seed two or three years old, however, is generally satisfactory, and it will often grow successfully at double that age.

"CAULIFLOWER SEED GROWING ON PUGET SOUND."

By H. A. March, Fidalgo Island, Puget Sound, Washington, in Rural New Yorker, 1888.

"I am told by very good authority that cauliflower seeds had never been grown in the United States as a field crop to any extent until we made a success of it here on Puget Sound. In the first place a very cool, moist climate is necessary to cure [secure] seeds at all. That climate we have here on our low flat islands lying in the mouth of the Gulf of Georgia. We often have heavy fogs in the night, and always dews equal to a light shower every night all summer long. The first expense attending the raising of cauliflower seed is quite heavy. The soil must be a rich, warm loam facing the south, and it will be all the better for having a clay subsoil. We must have the land underdrained once in twenty feet, the drains being three feet deep, to give us a chance to work early in the spring, and also to take off the surplus water when we come to flood the land in July.

"To prepare the land for the crop we start in September. After the fall rains have softened the soil, plow, harrow, roll, harrow again, then replow and work it again, until the soil is as fine as an onion bed. Now we throw it into ridges, six feet apart, and it is ready for work in early spring. For manure we sow 2,000 pounds of superphosphate and ground Sitka herring, equal parts of each, to the acre. With two horses and a Planet, Jr., cultivator we work the ridges until they are nearly level. By using two horses we straddle the ridge, and save tramping it where our plants are to go.

"To get the plants, we sow the seeds about September 1, in rather poor soil, giving them plenty of room; the rows being a foot apart and the seeds sown thinly in the rows. This gives us stocky and hardy plants, which, we think, are less liable to damp off when transplanted. About November 1 we transplant the plants into cold frames, six inches apart each way, as we wish to keep them growing a little all winter. The glasses are kept on at night and through heavy rains. In case of a cold snap, we cover the glasses with mats; but that is not often necessary, for we seldom have a temperature colder than 16 deg. above zero. Everything depends on good plants and an early start in the spring, for we raise two crops the same season, and an early frost on our unripe seed is sure to ruin the crop. Now, to set the plants out and make them grow from the start, a line is stretched along one of these flat ridges, a boy goes along, and with a three-foot marker marks the spots for the plants; a man follows with a hoe and makes a hole, about the size of a quart dish, to receive each plant. During the winter we have gathered up 200 or 300 tomato and oyster cans, melted off the tops and bottoms, leaving tubes about five inches long by three or four across. Now, armed with a light wheelbarrow with a wooden tray, containing from 50 to 75 of these cans, we go to the cold-frame (having well soaked it with water the night before); take a can, set it right down over the plant; press the can into the soil about two inches, and, with a light shove to one side, lift the plant without disturbing the roots; fill our tray and start for the field; run the barrow between two rows and set a can and plant in each of the holes just made. A boy follows with a watering pot containing warm water, and pours a gill into each tube, which softens the soil so that the tubes can be lifted right out, leaving the plant standing in the hole. We brush a little dirt around the plant, and firm it with the blade of the hoe.

"Now we have our plants set, and not one ever wilts in the hottest spring day. In two or three days the cultivator is started and kept a going once a week until the heads begin to form. We hand-hoe three or four times, besides fighting insects. The cabbage maggot is our worst enemy.

"When the flowers commence to bloom out or form heads, is the most particular time. A man who thoroughly understands what a perfect cauliflower is, must now go through the field every two or three days and examine every head, and if there is any sign of its growing in quarters, or if a leaf is growing through the head, or if there is any looseness in its growth, the heads are staked and cut for market. For, as like produces like, it will never do to get seed from an inferior head, especially in the case of cauliflowers; for the seeds from these are more apt to run wild than any seed I ever grew. We usually set a Fottler cabbage in the place from which the poor plant has been cut, and it makes a fine head by fall.

"By the middle of June we have the field clear of all inferior heads, and their places filled with late cabbages. About this time all the heads saved for seed are 'sponging out' preparing to throw their seed-stalks. Now is our time to help them. On the upper side of the field, we have wooden water tanks, each holding about 20,000 gallons of warm water. The water is run into the tanks in the middle of the day through flat open troughs, which heat it up to about 70 deg. Fah. It is taken through canvas hose over the field, and the soil is soaked to the subsoil. Now our underdrains come into play, for all of the surplus water is drained off in about three days, and we can start the cultivator. We cultivate close up to the plants. If we break the leaves off it doesn't matter, for they fall off anyway as soon as the seed stalks start. This watering gives the plants new life and they start off for a second crop, or become biennials the first year. The watering and cultivation are kept up once in 10 days until the seed-stalks are so large that they cannot be run through without breaking the plants. The seed ripens from the middle of September to the last of October, according to how good a start was made in the spring.

"The expense and trouble are not over yet. The seed is ripening about the time our rainy season sets in, and we don't see the sun once a week on an average, so that our seed must all be dried by fire heat. Our dry-houses are 30 x 20 feet, and 18 feet high with 2 x 6 inch joists running across the houses in tiers, on which we hang the seeds for drying. A brick furnace is built in the middle of the house, with the flue running through the roof.

"We usually make three cuttings. As soon as the pods on the center stalks begin to turn yellow, and the seed a light brown, we make our first cutting. From one to three plants are put in a pile and tied with binding twine. The bundles are taken to the dry-house on wheelbarrows, made with racks on purpose for carrying the seeds. A cloth is spread over the rack to catch any shelling seeds. A man carries about 100 bunches at a load and passes them up to a man in the house who hangs them on nails driven for the purpose. The seed is allowed to hang a few days to thoroughly ripen before firing up. We aim to keep the heat in the top of the house at about 80 deg. until the seed and stalks are dry.

"The bundles are now taken down and laid upon a cloth where they are crushed by walking on them. Grain sacks are then filled with the stalks and pods as full as they will tie up, and the contents are thrashed in the sacks with a flail. The seed is then sifted from the stalks and taken to the fanning-mill, and after putting it through the mill two or three times, we set the boys to rolling it. For this purpose we have a board two and a half feet long by one foot wide, with thin strips nailed on the sides to keep the seeds from rolling off. A boy sits down on a cloth with a pan of seed by his side, and holds one end of the board in his lap, while the other end rests on the cloth. He puts a handful of seed on the top end of the board and gently shakes it. All of the sound plump seeds run off on to the cloth, while the shriveled seeds, bits of stalk, dirt, weed seeds, etc., remain on the board. A smart Indian boy will clean ten pounds a day, at a cost of 50 cents and his board. Now the seed is sacked in double cotton sacks, holding about ten pounds each, and is ready for market."

In a subsequent paper the same writer said, in answer to inquiries upon the subject, that the cauliflower and cabbage readily mixed, but that there was little danger of their doing so in his locality, as the cabbage was nearly out of flower before the cauliflower began to blossom. To make the matter certain, however, boys were sent to every neighboring cabbage patch to clip off all straggling late blossoms that remained. Only one variety of cauliflower, or strains of one variety, is grown by him for seed in any one year.

The following letter from the same writer explains itself:

"FIDALGO, Washington, April 3, 1891.

"MR. A. A. CROZIER, Ann Arbor, Mich.

"Dear Sir:—Your letter of inquiry received. In answer would say, I am the original cauliflower raiser in the Puget Sound country. In 1882 I discovered that by wintering the plants over in cold-frame, and keeping them growing all winter, those that were transplanted without wilting would form heads, and then throw seed-stalks in time to form seed before frost, if they were continually wet with tepid water after heading. The first seed that was put on the market was sold by Francis Brill, Riverhead, L. I. Since then I have furnished some of the largest firms in the country with seed, and the seed has given perfect satisfaction. There is a secret in raising good seed that I don't care to give away. Several of my neighbors have tried to raise the seed, and I believe some of it has been put on the market, but it has proved inferior for the want of skill in knowing which heads to seed from, as all heads will not do to seed from, even though they may appear perfect to an inexperienced eye. It's skilled labor that produces No. 1 seed.

"I enclose you my circular, with reports from growers and dealers, also quite a few from the experiment stations. I have a large number that I have not printed, as they came too late for this year. The business has grown from a few pounds in 1882 to nearly 300 pounds in 1890. I think in the near future, that Puget Sound will grow all of the cauliflower seed that will be grown in the country. Cabbage seed is also grown to a large extent. I raised about two tons last year, and there probably will be ten tons raised on Puget Sound the coming summer.

"Cabbage and cauliflower are grown to a considerable extent both in Oregon and Washington, though California sends our first to this market.

"You ask me for an account of my Early Perfection or "No. 9." It was a sport or a "stray seed," found among some Erfurt Earliest Dwarf imported seed, and being the first in the field to form a head by over a week, I naturally saved it for "stock seed," and as it propagated itself perfectly, and was perfection itself, I named it Early Perfection. I am not aware of another by the name of Perfection on the market—never saw it in the seedmen's catalogues. Early Padilla and Early Long Island Beauty, by Brill, are the same; they originated with me, are a selection from Erfurt Large, and are early and large.

"All of Tillinghast's Puget Sound cauliflower seed has been grown by me. I have also grown all that Francis Brill has put on the market.

"D. M. Ferry & Co.'s Early Puritan originated with me, from a sport of Henderson's Snowball. I sold them the stock for two years.

"Yours Truly,

H. A. MARCH."



CHAPTER VIII.

VARIETIES.

The varieties of cauliflower differ among themselves less than those of most other vegetables, and their characters are less firmly fixed. Their tendency to degenerate, especially under unfavorable conditions, and the readiness with which they may be improved by selection, has given rise within recent years to numerous so called varieties, some of them but slightly differing from those from which they originated. These have frequently received the names of the seedsmen who first sent them out. Many of these seedmen's varieties have dropped out of cultivation, as well as other varieties which have appeared from time to time, but which have not possessed sufficient distinctive merit. Some varieties, from not having been kept up to their original standard, have reverted to those from which they sprang, or become so like them that their names have come to be regarded as synonyms.

Nevertheless, all such names have been brought together in the following catalogue, and all the obtainable information given concerning the varieties which they represent. The testimony given is sometimes contradictory, either from want of proper observation on the part of the writers quoted, or from differences in the seeds sold under the same name. This is necessarily somewhat confusing to one who is looking up the merits of a variety, but it will form a better basis for judgment than would a mere descriptive list, without reference to dates or authorities. It is practically impossible to make a satisfactory classification which will include all the varieties, and they have therefore been arranged here in alphabetical order, as being most convenient for reference. Nearly all of the most popular varieties have, however, characters sufficiently distinct so that they can be easily recognized. Some have short stems, others long; some are early, others late; some have upright leaves, others drooping; their color varies from grassy to bluish green; the heads vary from snow-white to cream-colored, and in two or three varieties classed with the cauliflowers they are reddish or purple, as in some of the broccolis. The form of the head varies from flat to conical.

Most of our varieties have come from a few stocks whose characters, as well as those of their descendants, seem to have been largely determined by the locality in which they originated or have long been grown. The Algiers, Paris and Erfurt groups are examples. In each of these groups there is a series of varieties, differing mainly in size and earliness. In the Erfurt group the production of early varieties has been carried farthest, owing doubtless to the character of the climate, as well as the greater skill employed in their selection. The early varieties, particularly of this group, are characterized by having comparatively small, narrow and upright leaves, and a rather short stem. A partial list of varieties, arranged in the order of earliness, follows the catalogue.

ADVANCE, see Laing's Early Advance.

ALABASTER.—Introduced to the general public by Johnson Stokes in 1890. In their catalogue for that year these seedsmen say: "Our Early Alabaster was originally a sport from the finest German strain of the selected Dwarf Erfurt, one extra fine head appearing some ten days in advance of any other in the crop of one of the largest and most expert cauliflower growers on Long Island in 1881. The seed of this was carefully saved by him, and from it our stock has been brought up."

The seed of this variety has all been grown on Long Island, and it was all taken by Long Island gardeners until 1889, at which time there were said to be hundreds of acres of it in cultivation in Suffolk County, where it originated. [See Frontispiece.]

ALGIERS, (Probably includes Large Algiers and Large Late Algiers).—Vilmorin, in 1883, described Algiers as follows: "Extremely vigorous, stronger and better developed than the Giant Naples, [Veitch's Autumn Giant]; leaves very large, undulate, almost curly, of a very deep and reflective glaucous green; stem large and strong, rather tall; head remarkably large, fine and white. In habit of growth it approaches the Half Early Paris, but in time of maturity it agrees with the varieties of Holland and England. It is especially adapted to open-air culture in a warm climate."

M. May, of France, placed it in 1880 just before Giant Naples in maturity, with a little shorter stem and little less ample foliage. He said: "Late, but of gigantic size; leaves large, long and numerous, of a glaucous green, and surrounding well the head, which becomes as large as those of our native varieties, and is snow-white and exceedingly fine. Specially suited to warm climates. In our country it may be sown in September, and gathered the following August."

Rawson, a seedsman of New York, said in 1886: "A large and very popular late variety, and one of the very best for the market. This variety is largely grown for the New York market. It is one of the largest in cultivation, and always sure to head." Frotzer, of New Orleans, describes it as a French variety of the same season as Lenormand Short-stem, but a surer producer, having taken the place there of other second-early kinds since its introduction. At the Ohio experiment station it proved unsuited to the climate. A writer in the American Agriculturist for 1889 stated that this variety was formerly largely grown in Suffolk County, Long Island, but that for the past two or three seasons it had done poorly, and would not be grown in the future. Its large size required the plants to be set four feet apart.

ALLEAUME (Early Alleaume, Dwarf Alleaume).—This variety, originated by an intelligent market gardener of Paris; was, according to the originator, one of the best for cultivation under frames. Cultivated there in the open ground, that is to say, sown in June and planted out in July, it has given remarkably good results. It is a little below medium height, and has a very short stem. Its oblong leaves are of a light grayish green. The head is of medium size, very white, fine grained, of first quality, and early. It is a variety of great promise. This is the statement of the editor of Revue Horticole in 1884. In 1888, Mr. Sutton, of England, calls it a distinct, dwarf, compact, French variety, having creamy-white heads, and coming in after Sutton's Favorite. In 1890, Vilmorin quotes it as a very early dwarf, short-stemmed variety, especially good for forcing.

In 1885, W. A. Burpee offered an "Extra Early Alleaume," which he described as "stem very short, leaves long, entire or very little lobated, of a grayish-green color, forming a close protection to the head, which is large, fine grained and pure white." This is probably the same variety as above.

ALMA (Waite's Alma).—Hackett sells this as a new English variety of large size, firm, and surpassing in excellence the Walcheren. There was, however, a variety named Alma, probably the same, growing at Paris in 1857 (see Jour. Cent. Soc. Hort. France, 1857, p. 422). In 1865 Waite's Alma was considered by some to be merely the Early London, and by others to be the same as Walcheren; at least, seeds of these two varieties had been sent out for it.

AMERICAN.—Seed of a very early variety bearing this name was sent by William Ingell, of Oswego County, New York, to the editor of the Country Gentleman, in 1861. Mr. Ingell, who named the variety, does not state whether he grew the seed or not. In 1889, Bailey's "Annals of Horticulture" contained the name "American," with American Beauty as synonym.

ANCIENT LENORMAND, see Lenormand.

ASIATIC (Early Asiatic, Large Asiatic, Large Late Asiatic, Dur d'Angleterre).—These seem to be substantially one variety, the terms "early" and "late" being in this, as in some other cases, applied by different seedsmen to the same variety, when, as in this case, it is of intermediate season. Since the introduction of such extremely early sorts as the Extra Early Erfurt, this and other mid-season varieties are more often called "late." The Asiatic seems to have originated from the Early London, of which it is regarded as merely a stronger growing and later variety. The first mention I find of it is in Hovey's Magazine, in 1845, where Large Asiatic and Walcheren are called the two most noted varieties. In 1849 the same magazine states that it was sent out by the London Horticultural Society. In 1850 a writer in the Gardener's Chronicle mentions this and Walcheren as his two favorite varieties. In 1854, J. D. Browne describes the Large, Late Asiatic in the report of the United States Department of Agriculture as larger and taller than Early London.

In 1855 this variety is mentioned in the American edition of "Neill's Gardener's Companion" as having recently come much into use. As this edition was taken from the fourth Edinburgh edition, the actual date here referred to was probably much earlier. Three other varieties, scarcely differing in character, are mentioned—the Early, Late and Reddish-stalked. The Large Asiatic is now extensively grown in Northern India, where it seeds freely, but has a short season, and is not considered as delicate or fine in flavor as the ordinary English varieties.

AUTUMN GIANT, see Veitch's Autumn Giant.

BALTIC GIANT.—In Burpee's "How to Grow Cabbages and Cauliflowers" (1888), Mr. J. Pedersen, of Denmark, gives the following account of this variety: "A new variety of large, late cauliflower, originated in these northern regions, and which I propose to name Baltic Giant, is very hardy, of robust growth, and produces very large and solid dazzling white flower-heads. A friend of mine writes from the Baltic island of Bornholm that in mild seasons he has left this splendid late variety in the open ground as late as Christmas, only protected by a leaf or two bent over the heads." The variety is being tested in this country by W. A. Burpee & Co.

BERLIN DWARF.—Rawson says: "In earliness, size and quality it resembles the Snowball." Gregory, in 1890, makes the same statement.

BEST OF ALL.—An early variety mentioned in Gardening Illustrated, 1885, p. 438.

BLACK SICILY (Large Black, Dwarf Early Violet Broccoli).—Vilmorin says: "In growth and appearance this variety somewhat resembles Algiers. Stem rather tall, leaves very large, broad and much crumpled, almost curly; differs from all other cauliflowers in the color of its head, which is violet, and with a grain much coarser than in other varieties, while it is sufficiently close, solid and large. Not very late; always grown in the open air, and ready to commence cutting in September." Mentioned in Bon Jardinier, in 1859, as one of the three principal Broccolis, with which it is generally and properly classed.

BOSTON MARKET (Improved Early Paris).—This variety, which has now gone out of existence, was formerly extensively cultivated around Boston, where it originated by continued selection from the Early Paris. In the American Journal of Horticulture, for 1869, p. 92, is a figure and description.

BURPEE'S BEST EARLY.—An improved type of Dwarf Erfurt, named and introduced by W. A. Burpee & Co. in 1886, after, as they say, sixteen years selection by one grower. It is said to be of dwarf, compact growth, with a short stalk, and large, solid, nearly globular heads, very early and certain to head.

The Dingee & Conrad Company sell the same variety.

At the Ohio experiment station in 1889, this variety was regarded as probably the same as Large Erfurt, rather large, and a few days later than Early [Extra Early] Erfurt, but quite as good in other respects. At the Colorado station, in 1888, "Burpee's Earliest" was noted for its large leaves and white, compact heads. It headed ten days later than Henderson's Snowball.

CARRARA ROCK.—An extra selected strain of Erfurt, said by Wm. Elliott & Sons, of New York, to be the earliest and surest variety to head.

CARTER'S DEFIANCE (Early Defiance).—Gregory considers this a fine variety for forcing or very early use.

CARTER'S DWARF MAMMOTH.—An early variety, coming in just after Carter's Defiance. Plant dwarf, head very large, perfect in form and of fine color.

CARTER'S EXTRA EARLY AUTUMN GIANT.—A variety said, in 1889, to have large, close, white heads, both flower and leaf being less coarse than those of Autumn Giant.

CARTER'S MT. BLANC, see Mt. Blanc.

CHALON PERFECTION. A variety mentioned in Gardener's Monthly, in 1886. Said to be as white as snow, almost as smooth as ivory, and to make good heads in soil of moderate fertility. Probably the same as Early Dwarf Chalon, which see.

CHAPEL (Chapel's Cream).—Catalogued in Bailey's "Annals of Horticulture," in 1889.

CLARK'S CHAMPION.—An imported English variety mentioned in Vick's Magazine for 1887, p. 52, as being a little later than Snowball and Vick's Ideal.

CYPRUS.—Said by Wolfner and Weisz, of Vienna, in 1888, to be a beautiful early sort. It is an old Holland variety.

DANISH SNOWBALL.—Offered by Vaughn, in 1891, who says he has tested it for two seasons, and finds it a good, extra early sort.

DEAN'S EARLY SNOWBALL.—This, the oldest, and for a long time the most popular of the Snowball varieties, has now been displaced in this country by Henderson's Snowball and other early sorts. It is often said to be earlier than Early Dwarf Erfurt, but at the Chiswick trials, in 1876, it did not prove to be so. A writer in the Garden, for 1880, places it third on the list of early varieties, placing Carter's Extra Early Defiance first, and Veitch's Extra Early second. It appears to be fully as dwarf as the earliest Erfurts, and to have a little larger head. It has been said, even by the introducer, to be the English duplicate of the Early Dwarf Erfurt, but there is no doubt of its distinctness from that variety, as was afterwards recognized. There was another German variety, however, name not given, at the Chiswick trials referred to, which was reported to be identical with Dean's Snowball. Mr. Dean says: "The Snowball may be told by one unfailing test, viz.: when the heads begin to burst into flower, they become suffused with a pretty purple tint."

This variety was introduced into England in 1871, by Mr. A. Dean, from Denmark, where it was largely cultivated. It is still one of the best early varieties, especially for hot weather and light soils. Mr. Dean states that it is about the only variety of which seed can be grown in England, and he considers English-grown seed of this variety the best.

DICKSON'S ECLIPSE, see Eclipse.

DREER'S EARLIEST SNOWSTORM.—Henry A. Dreer, in 1890, says in his catalogue: "The earliest and best of all for forcing. It is dwarf, with short outer leaves, and can be planted two feet apart each way; always sure to make large, fine heads earlier than any other, and is the market-gardener's favorite. This variety must be kept growing constantly, as it will not stand a check at any period of its growth." In 1891, he writes that this variety is a strain of Extra Early Erfurt, the seed of which is grown at Erfurt, Germany.

At the New York experiment station, in 1888, it produced heads fit for use eighteen days later than Henderson's Early Snowball, and Earliest Dwarf Erfurt.

DWARF ERFURT (Extra Early Erfurt, Early Dwarf Erfurt, Extra Early Dwarf Erfurt).—These names all refer to practically the same variety, which is usually sold in this country under the name of Extra Early Dwarf Erfurt, and is now the most popular early variety grown. It is similar in habit to its parent, the Early Erfurt, but more dwarf, and the leaves smaller and more upright, allowing the plants to be set closer together. The heads are close and well formed, but do not remain solid long, owing largely to the hot weather in which they are generally formed. The best seed comes from Erfurt, Germany, but as the variety rapidly deteriorates, there is great difference between the selected and ordinary stocks.

Johnson & Stokes say, in their catalogue for 1890, that their extra selected Early Dwarf Erfurt is distinct from the Early Dwarf Erfurt. Burpee calls his Extra Early Dwarf Erfurt "the finest of all early cauliflowers." He, as well as some other seedsmen, sell different qualities, "extra selected," "true," numbers "one" and "two," etc. French-grown seed sells for about half the price of German seed.

At the Chiswick trials, in 1876, where all known varieties were grown, the Early Dwarf Erfurt proved to be the earliest variety grown. It is best grown as a summer variety, being rather tender for a late crop, though sometimes used.

M. May, in the Revue Horticole, for 1880, describes this variety as follows: "Early Dwarf Erfurt. Very early, with light-colored, short, upright, spoon-shaped leaves, which surround the head well, but do not cover it. The head is well rounded, very regular, of remarkable whiteness, and very fine and close. It readily attains a diameter of fifteen to twenty centimeters [about five to seven inches]. This variety is especially adapted to forcing, as its small size permits it to be readily cultivated under glass. The best times for sowing it appear to be at the beginning of spring and the end of summer. One may also sow it in September to obtain a crop in April and May."

Mr. J. Pedersen, of Denmark, speaks as follows of this variety in Burpee's work on "Cabbages and Cauliflowers:" "The success with cauliflowers depends greatly upon the right choice of varieties. This year, for instance, we have in this country suffered from drouth to an extent not known of for the last score of years, and yet I have seen a surprisingly grand field of cauliflowers, of an improved strain of the Early Dwarf Erfurt variety, grown in a stiff clayey soil, very dry in the surface, not in the best state of cultivation, and without any artificial watering whatever. The roots of the plants were 'puddled' when planted out; that was all. I do not believe that seven per cent., perhaps not five, of said field of thirty or forty thousand plants failed to make fine, large, solid, beautifully white and typical heads. Other varieties have either utterly failed, or made stunted, imperfectly developed heads."

At the New York experiment station, in 1882, the Extra Early Dwarf Erfurt was slightly earlier than the Early Dwarf Erfurt, and produced double the proportion of good heads.

The Ohio experiment station, in 1889, reported as follows: "The varieties or strains most highly recommended are Early Puritan, Early Padilla, Long Island Beauty, Early Sea Foam, Early Snowball and Vick's Ideal. These all appear to be nearly identical with Early [Extra Early] Erfurt, and may be considered as strains of that variety."

As the Dwarf, or Extra Early, Erfurt has furnished a large share of the varieties now popular in this country, the following list of Erfurt varieties will be useful for reference. The first three are in the order of earliness; the others (descended from Dwarf Erfurt,) being alphabetical:

Early Erfurt Mammoth. EARLY ERFURT. Dwarf Erfurt. Alabaster (Johnson & Stokes). Berlin Dwarf. Best Early (Burpee). Carrara Rock. Gilt Edge (Thorburn). Ideal (Vick). Imperial. Lackawanna (Tillinghast). La Crosse Favorite (Salzer). Landreth's First. Long Island Beauty (Brill). Model (Northrup). Padilla (Tillinghast). Prize (Maule)? Puritan (Ferry). Sea Foam (Rawson). Small-Leaved Erfurt. Snowball (Faust). Snowball (Henderson). Snowball (Thorburn). Snowstorm (Dreer). Snowstorm (Pearce)?

EARLY.—At the New York experiment station in 1888, a variety called "Early," from the English Specialty & Novelty Seed Co., was the only one among nine varieties which failed to head. The Early London White is sometimes known as "Early."

EARLY ALLEAUME, see Alleaume.

EARLY DEFIANCE (Sutton), see Carter's Early Defiance.

EARLY DUKE.—Mentioned as one of the best four early varieties for Central France in the Annales de la Societe d' Horticulture de l' Allier for 1852. See Lefevre.

EARLY DUTCH.—An old variety, described by Vilmorin as follows: "A large hardy variety, suitable for field cultivation. Stem long and rather slender; leaves elongated, but very large, of a grayish green, somewhat undulated. This is one of the varieties in which the side of the leaf is bare at the base for a considerable distance. The head is hard and solid, yet very large. It is a half-late variety. In its original country it does better than the French varieties and it is cultivated on a grand scale around Leyden. Large quantities are shipped to England, where it is found in the London markets, together with cauliflowers from the coasts of France, and especially Great Britain. The name Dwarf Holland, which is given to this variety in Germany, can only be explained by comparison with other Holland varieties. In comparison with the French varieties it is tall."