e
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