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.
The Half-Early Paris.
Extra-Early Dwarf Erfurt.
Long Island Beauty.
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from this, by selection, favorite local varieties were obtained; but, of late years, this has been, to a large degree, superseded by several excellent sorts, of which the Extra-Early Dwarf Erfurt was, doubtless the parent.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.
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.