Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-12-08

Five years ago there were 5000 troops
In the Philippines today there are ISL.
In the island of Porto RICO We ha ave n an
our military establishment consists Oh seven
officers and 200 men, while five off1cers ana
131 men are guarding the legation at FeAih.
Caulifower Seed.
The worlds supply of caulifoWer SEED
comes from Denmark. Tunis and Algeria
and a small quantity from Italy, Hoiiano'
Belgium, Germany and France In the
last-named countries many farmers grow
a little-not more than five OF ten POUNDS
each. These small lots are collected py
seed dealers, who pay four or nVe ooliaus
pound for them. Selected snoWpaii cauI-
flower seed, however, brings as nlg Ma, as
$3.50 per ounce, and one or two other Nigh
grade varieties can command tneir own
price. The market gardeners OF Denmark
usually expect about pound OF SEED 70
every thirty plants. which means ABOUT
240 pounds to the acre IL they have good
crop, and selling at the average price o, i.
brings them about 81 200 an acre. In lSO5
the total number of plants In Denmark was
estimated to be $4,000. There are no ng-
ureS from Algeria, TuniS or any OF the Eu-
ropean countries except Denmark, but their
aggregate supply is about equal to that CT
the latter country, which makes the total
product of cauliflower seed for the entire
world about 900 pounds, valued at more
than half a million dollars. No other form
Of gardening produces such returns, al
though at the same time none requires SO
much care or is exposed to greater risks.
The people of the United States annually
consume about 1900 pounds of ordinary
seed and about $500 pounds Of the very
high grades. The former will average $50
and the latter $3.50 per pound wholesale,
making a total of about 100000 worth.
EXPERIMENTS in This Country.
The Department of Agriculture has been
experimenting for several years in hopes
of being able to produce our own cauli-
flower seed in this country. Repeated at
tempts have been made on Long Island, but
they have failed, on account of stem DIS
eases, for which no preventive or cure has
been found, though DR.. Townsend OF the
bureau of plant industry has been looking
for one with great patience Small amounts
of seed have been raised in Rhode Island,
but they did not pay. A newspaper para
graph published some time ago stated that
Charles Braslen of Santa Clara. Cal, had
a large area in plants and expected two
thousand pounds of seed this year. but
Secretary Wilson has not been able to con-
firm the statement. The only experiments
which have been both financially and bo-
tanically successful have occurred in
Whatcom county. the most northwesterly
county in the United States lying along
Puget sound, in the state of washington
There Mr.. c. T. Garfield Of Bellingham. Mr.
f1dBeTuorH oI AHdcoTteS anu MI. Iudi 81 Va
F'ida1go have been remarkably successful
Last year Mr.. Hagerdorn sold about six
hundred pounds and Mr.. Marsh between
three hundred and four hundred pounds at
$40 and s12 a pound. and they have con-
tracts with wholesale seed men to buy all
they can grew at that price. The climate
and the soil of that locality. according to
the experts of the Agricultural Department
bring out all there is in plant which is
essential for successful seed growing. The
demand for caulif1ower seed as I have
shown is comparatively limited, and it car
be supplied from Whatcom county in com
petition with Denmark without the slight
est difficulty If the farmers up there viii
have the patience to cultivate it, Other
seeds are produced equally well upon thai
soil. They do not require so much care
and trouble, and do not bring such large
returns