location on a southern slope, protected by a fence or building on the
north and north-west. Set posts in the ground, nail two boards to these
parallel to each other, one about a foot in height, and the other
towards the south about four inches narrower; this will give the sashes
resting on them the right slope to shed the rain and receive as much
heat as possible from the sun. Have these boards at a distance apart
equal to the length of the sash, which may be any common window sash for
a small bed, while three and a half feet is the length of a common
gardener's sash. If common window sash is used cut channels in the
cross-bars to let the water run off. Dig the ground thoroughly (it is
best to cover it in the fall with litter, to keep the frost out) and
rake out all stones or clods; then slide in the sash and let it remain
closed for three or four days, that the soil may be warmed by the sun's
rays. The two end boards and the bottom board should rise as high as the
sash, to prevent the heat escaping, and the bottom board of a small
frame should have a strip nailed inside to rest the sash on. Next rake
in, thoroughly, guano, or phosphate, or finely pulverized hen manure,
and plant in rows four to six inches apart. As the season advances raise
the sashes an inch or two, in the middle of the day, and water freely,
at evening, with water that is nearly of the temperature of the earth in
the frame. As the heat of the season increases whitewash the glass, and
keep them more and more open until just before the plants are set in
open ground, then allow the glass to remain entirely off, both day and
night, unless there should be a cold rain. This will harden them so that
they will not be apt to be injured by the cabbage beetle, as well as
chilled and put back by the change. Should the plants be getting too
large before the season for transplanting, they should be checked by
root pruning,--drawing a sharp knife within a couple of inches of the
stalk. If it is desirable still further to check their growth, or harden
them, transplant into another cold frame, allowing each plant double the
distance it before occupied.
The structure and management of a hot-bed is much the same as that of a
cold frame, with the exception that the sashes are usually longer and
the back and front somewhat higher; being started earlier the requisite
temperature has to be kept up by artificial means, fermenting manure
being relied upon for the purpose; and the loss of this heat has to be
checked more carefully by straw matting, and, in the far North, by
shutters also. In constructing it, horse-manure, with plenty of litter,
and about a quarter its bulk in leaves, if attainable, all having been
well mixed together, is thrown into a pile, and left for a few days
until steam escapes, when the mass is again thrown over and left for two
or three days more, after which it is thrown into the pit (or it may be
placed directly on the surface) which is lined with boards, from
eighteen inches to two feet in depth, when it is beaten down with a fork
and trodden well together. The sashes are now put on and kept there
until heat is developed. The first intense heat must be allowed to pass
off, which will be in about three days after the high temperature is
reached. Now throw on six or eight inches of fine soil, in which mix
well rotted manure, free from all straw, or rake in, thoroughly,
superphosphate, or guano, at the rate of two thousand pounds to the
acre, and plant the seed as in cold frame. Harden the plants as directed
in preceding paragraph.
CAULIFLOWER, BROCCOLI, BRUSSELS-SPROUTS, KALE, AND SEA-KALE.
My treatise on the cabbage would hardly be complete without some
allusion to such prominent members of the Brassica family as the
cauliflower, broccoli, brussels-sprouts, and kale.
~Cauliflower.~ Wrote the great Dr. Johnson: "Of all the flowers of the
garden, give me the cauliflower." Whether from this we are to infer the
surpassing excellence of this member of the Brassica family, or that the
distinguished lexicographer meant emphatically to state his preference
of utility to beauty (perhaps our own Ben. Franklin took a leaf from
him), each reader must be his own judge; but be that as it may, it
remains true, beyond all controversy, that the cauliflower, in toothsome
excellence, stands at the head of the great family of which it is a
member. To be successful, and raise choice cauliflowers, is the height
of the ambition of the market gardener; and, with all his experience,
and with every facility at hand, he does not expect full success oftener
than three years in four. The cauliflower, like the strawberry, is
exceedingly sensitive to the presence or absence of sufficient water,
and success or failure with the crop may turn on its having a full
supply from the time they are half grown. The finest specimens raised in
Europe are grown in beds, which are kept well watered from the supply
which runs between them; and the most successful growers in the country
irrigate their crops during periods of drouth. Cauliflowers do best on
deep, rich, rather moist soils. In the way of food, they want the very
best, and plenty of it at that. The successful competitor, who won the
first prize at the great Bay State Fair, to the disgusted surprise of a
grower justly famous for his almost uniform success in winning the
laurels, whispered in my ear his secret: "R. manures very heavily in the
spring for his crop. I manure very heavily both fall and spring." In
manuring, therefore, do as well by them as by your heaviest crop of
large drumhead cabbage, using rich and well-rotted manure, broadcast,
with dissolved bone or ashes, or both, in the drill. Plough deep, and
work the land very thoroughly, two ploughings, with a harrowing between,
are better than one. Give plenty of room; three by three for the smaller
sorts, and three by three and a half for the later and larger. They need
the same cultivation, and, being subject to the same diseases and injury
from insect enemies, need the same protection as their cousins of the
cabbage tribe. In raising for the summer market, start in the cold
frame, or plant as early as the ground can be worked, that the plants
may get well started before the dry season, or the crop will be likely
to make such small heads "buttons" as to be practically a failure. For
late crop, plant seed in the hills where they are to grow, from the 20th
of May to the middle of June. The crop ripens somewhat irregularly. When
there is danger from frost, the later heads should be pulled and stored,
with both roots and leaves, being crowded, standing as they grew, into a
cold cellar or cold pit, when they will continue growing. As soon as the
heads begin to form, they should be protected from sunlight by either
half breaking off the outer leaves and bending them over them, or by
gathering these leaves loosely together and confining them loosely by
rough pegs, or by tying them together with a wisp of rye-straw.
~Varieties.~ These are almost as numerous as in the cabbage family. I
find notes on some thirty-five varieties, tested from year to year, in
my experimental grounds. Most of them prove themselves to be but a
lottery, in this country of dry seasons, though in the moister climate
of the European localities, where they are at home, they are a success.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
The Half-Early Paris, or Demi-Dur, was for years the standard variety
raised in this country, and from this, by selection, favorite local
varieties were obtained; but, of late years, this has been, to a large
degree, superseded by several excellent sorts, of which the Extra-Early
Dwarf Erfurt was, doubtless the parent. Principal among these varieties
are the Snowball, the Sea-Foam, Vick's Ideal, and Berlin Dwarf. All of
these are early sorts and excellent strains. After testing them side by
side, I find that the best strain of the Snowball is not excelled by
either of them. Of the somewhat later ripening sorts, a variety which
originated in this country, called the "Long Island Beauty," gives me
great satisfaction, in its reliability for heading, and in the large
size of its heads; this, with the Algerian, as a larger late sort, will
give us a first-class series.
[Illustration]
Cauliflower seed is not raised, as yet, to any large extent in this
country, though some successful efforts have recently been made in this
direction. I have found that there is a remarkable difference between
varieties in the quantity of seed they will yield. From one variety I
have raised as high as sixty pounds of seed from a given number of
plants, while from two others, equally early, having the same number of
plants in each instance, and raised in the same location (an island in
the ocean), with precisely the same treatment in every way, I got, in
each case, less than a tablespoonful of seed, though the heads of some
of them grew to the enormous size of sixteen inches in diameter.
A fine cauliflower is the pet achievement of the market gardener. The
great aim is not to produce size only, "but the fine, white, creamy
color, compactness, and what is technically called curdy appearance,
from its resemblance to the curd of milk in its preparation for cheese.
When the flower begins to open, or when it is of a warty or frost-like
appearance, it is less esteemed. It should not be cut in summer above a
day before it is used." The cauliflower is served with milk and butter,
or it may become a component of soups, or be used as a pickle.
The ~Broccoli~ are closely allied to the cauliflower, the white
varieties bearing so close a resemblance that one of them, the
Walcheren, is by some classed indiscriminately with each. The chief
distinction between the two is in hardiness, the broccoli being much the
hardier.
Of Broccoli over forty varieties are named in foreign catalogues, of
which WALCHEREN is one of the very best. KNIGHT'S PROTECTING is an
exceedingly hardy dwarf sort. As a rule, the white varieties are
preferred to the purple kinds. Plant and treat as cauliflower.
Of ~Brussels-Sprouts~ (or bud-bearing cabbage) there are but two
varieties, the dwarf and the tall; the tall kind produces more buds,
while the dwarf is the hardier. The "sprouts" form on the stalks, and
are miniature heads of cabbage from the size of a pea to that of a
pigeon's egg. They are raised to but a limited extent in this country,
but in Europe they are grown on a large scale. The sprouts may be
cooked and served like cabbage, though oftentimes they are treated more
as a delicacy and served with butter or some rich sauce. The FEATHER
STEM SAVOY and DALMENY SPROUTS are considered as hybrids,
the one between the brussels-sprouts and Savoy, the other between it and
Drumhead Savoy. The soil for brussels-sprouts should not be so rich as
for cabbage, as the object is to grow them small and solid. Give the
same distance apart as for early cabbage, and the same manner of
cultivation. Break off the leaves at the sides a few at a time when the
sprouts begin to form and when they are ready to use cut them off with a
sharp knife.
~Kale.~ Sea-kale, or sea-cabbage, is a native of the sea coast of
England, growing in the sand and pebbles of the sea-shore. It is a
perennial, perfectly hardy, withstanding the coldest winters of New
England. The blossoms, though bearing a general resemblance to those of
other members of the cabbage family, are yet quite unique in appearance,
and I think worthy of a place in the flower garden. It is propagated
both by seed and by cuttings of the roots, having the rows three feet
apart, and the plants three feet apart in the rows. It is difficult to
get the seeds to vegetate. Plant seed in April and May. The ground
should be richly manured, and deeply and thoroughly worked. It is
blanched before using. In cooking it it requires to be very thoroughly
boiled, after which it is served up in melted butter and toasted bread.
The sea-kale is highly prized in England; but thus far its cultivation
in this country has been very limited.
The ~Borecole~, or common kale, is of the cabbage family, but is
characterized by not heading like the cabbage or producing eatable
flowers like the cauliflower and broccoli. The varieties are very
numerous, some of them growing very large and coarse, suitable only as
food for stock; others are exceedingly finely curled, and excellent for
table use; while others in their color and structure are highly
ornamental. They are annual, biennial, and perennial. They do not
require so strong a soil or such high manuring as other varieties of the
cabbage family.
The varieties are almost endless; some of the best in cultivation for
table use are the DWARF SCOTCH, DWARF GREEN CURLED or GERMAN GREENS,
TALL GREEN CURLED, PURPLE BORECOLE, and the variegated kales. The crown
of the plant is used as greens, or as an ingredient in soups. The kales
are very hardy, and the dwarf varieties, with but little protection, can
be kept in the North well into the winter in the open ground. Plant and
cultivate like Savoy cabbage.
The variegated sorts, with their fine curled leaves of a rich purple,
green, red, white, or yellow color, are very pleasing in their effects,
and form a striking and attractive feature when planted in clumps in the
flower garden, particularly is this so because their extreme hardiness
leaves them in full vigor after the cold has destroyed all other
plants--some of the richest colors are developed along the veins of the
uppermost leaves after the plant has nearly finished its growth for the
season. The JERSEY COW KALE grows to from three to six feet in
height and yields a great body of green food for stock; have the rows
about three feet apart, and the plants two to three feet distant in the
rows. In several instances my customers have written me that this kale
raised for stock feed has given them great satisfaction.
The THOUSAND-HEADED KALE is a tall variety sending out numerous
side shoots, whence the name.
* * * * *
SQUASHES:
HOW TO GROW THEM.
PRICE, 30 CENTS, BY MAIL.
This treatise is amply illustrated, and gives full particulars on every
point, including keeping and marketing the crop.
* * * * *
FERTILIZERS:
WHERE THE MATERIALS COME FROM; HOW TO GET THEM IN THE CHEAPEST FORM; HOW
TO MAKE OUR OWN FERTILIZERS.
In this work there will be found many valuable tables, with many
suggestions, and much information on the purchase of materials, the
combining of them, and the use of the fertilizers made from them. I
believe it will give a good return to any of my customers, for his
outlay. The treatise makes a book of 116 pages.
PRICE, BY MAIL, 40 CENTS.
CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS:
_HOW TO GROW THEM_.
A PRACTICAL TREATISE, GIVING FULL DETAILS ON EVERY POINT, INCLUDING
KEEPING AND MARKETING THE CROP.
BY
JAMES J. H. GREGORY, AUTHOR OF WORKS ON SQUASH RAISING, ONION RAISING,
ETC., ETC.
BOSTON: CASHMAN, KEATING & CO., PRINTERS, 1889.
* * * * *
ONION RAISING:
WHAT KINDS TO RAISE
AND
THE WAY TO RAISE THEM.
BY
JAMES J. H. GREGORY,
SEED GROWER AND DEALER,
MARBLEHEAD, MASS.
This work has been warmly recommended by some of the best authorities in
the country, and has gone through fourteen editions. It gives the
minutest details, from selecting the ground and preparing the soil, up
to gathering and marketing the crop. Illustrated with thirteen
engravings of Onions, Sowing Machines, and Weeding Machines.
~PRICE, BY MAIL, 30 CENTS.~
* * * * *
A NEW TREATISE.
CARROTS, MANGOLD WURTZELS
AND
SUGAR BEETS.
WHAT KIND TO RAISE:
How to Grow Them
AND
How to Feed Them.
This treatise presents, in minutest detail, every step of progress, from
planting the seed to the matured crop.
BY
JAMES J. H. GREGORY,
MARBLEHEAD, MASS.
PRICE, BY MAIL, 30 CENTS.