In 1884, the following twenty varieties were grown. The seeds were sown in a green-house March 5 and 6, and the plants set out May 2. It appears from the table that some of the varieties called "late," formed heads earlier than others called "early." The Lenormand Extra Large was the earliest, forming its first head in 149 days, the Lackawanna heading a day later. None of the heads were extra large:
| VARIETY. | First head in days. | Plants survived. | No. of heads. |
| Dwarf Erfurt | 182 | 4 | 4 |
| Early Dutch or Early London | 180 | 5 | 4 |
| Early Dwarf Surprise | 175 | 6 | 6 |
| Eclipse | 162 | 7 | 6 |
| Half-Early Large White French | 190 | 9 | 6 |
| Half-Early Paris | 197 | 8 | 7 |
| Imperial | 160 | 8 | 8 |
| Lackawanna | 150 | 9 | 8 |
| Large Algiers | 189 | 6 | 3 |
| Large Late Asiatic | 156 | 4 | 4 |
| Large Late Stadtholder | - | 8 | 3 |
| Late Giant Italian | 154 | 8 | 8 |
| Late Paris | 170 | 4 | 3 |
| Lenormand's Extra Large | 149 | 7 | 6 |
| Lenormand's Short-Stemmed | 161 | 8 | 6 |
| Paris Extra Early | 154 | 6 | 6 |
| Sea Foam | 182 | 3 | 2 |
| Veitch's Autumn Giant | 182 | 6 | 3 |
| Very Dwarf Alleaume | 189 | 8 | 6 |
| Walcheren | 182 | 6 | 4 |
In 1885 the following varieties were planted in the green-house March 30, and sixteen plants of each, with a few exceptions, transplanted to the garden May 4. The plants of Algiers and Le Maitre Pied Court were transplanted May 20, and those of the Wonderful May 21. The plants were set in rows three and one-half feet apart, and eighteen inches apart in the rows. Many were destroyed by various causes, and though the places were twice reset there were many vacancies.
As will be seen, Henderson's Early Snowball (from Henderson in 1885) was the earliest, forming the first head July 8, or ninety-seven days from sowing the seed. The heads also were rather above the average in size. Extra selected Dwarf Erfurt was the second in earliness and every plant headed.
A notable fact brought out by this table is the effect of the early planting on the late and half-early varieties. It might be supposed, as these varieties require a long season, that this early planting would give the best results, enabling them to attain their full development. But it appears that it caused many of the plants to head prematurely when small, while it greatly prolonged the season of the variety.
The following early varieties were tested in 1888. The seeds were all sown May 10, and the plants set out June 23, two by three and one-half feet. All the varieties headed well, except one called "Early," from the English Specialty and Novelty Seed Co., which formed no heads.
| Variety. | Seeds from. | No. of plants. | No. of heads. | Fit for table use. |
| Dreer's E'st Snowstorm | Dreer. | 11 | 8 | Sept. 24 |
| Earliest Dwarf Erfurt | Vaughn. | 9 | 5 | Sept. 6 |
| Extra E. Dwarf Erfurt | Tillinghast. | 9 | 4 | Sept. 29 |
| Gilt-edge Snowball | Thorburn. | 12 | 10 | Aug. 25 |
| Henderson's E. Snowb'l | Henderson. | 12 | 8 | Sept. 6 |
| Long Island Beauty | Tillinghast. | 11 | 8 | Sept. 14 |
| Long Island Beauty | Bragg. | 12 | 11 | Aug. 25 |
| New Early Padilla | Tillinghast. | 11 | 8 | Aug. 29 |
At the same station, in 1889, the following varieties were tested. The seed was sown in frames April 23, and the plants set out June 22. The Early Erfurt and Early Snowball were from seed grown by H. A. March, of Fidalgo, Washington.
| Variety. | Seeds from. | No. of plants. | Fit for table use. | Number of heads. | Average diameter. |
| Inches | |||||
| Early Puritan | Ferry. | 20 | Aug. 21 | 13 | 5½ |
| Early Erfurt | March. | 20 | Aug. 22 | 19 | 8½ |
| Snowball | March. | 20 | Aug. 24 | 20 | 7½ |
| Vick's Ideal | Vick. | 20 | Aug. 30 | 20 | 7 |