Cabbages and cauliflowers: how to grow them. A practical treatise, giving full details on every point, including keeping and marketing the crop

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CABBAGES

-AULIFLOWERS:

ie Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts and Kale

dai

How to grow them : How to raise wed: How to keep
_ them: : How to cook them: How to feed to stock

a practical treatise, giving full details on every point, sbahdin keeping
pene marketing the ee: How to originate new varieties

’ ‘JAMES J. H. GREGORY

- Original introducer of the Marblehead, Deep Head, eee, All Seasons,
and other Cabbages

t

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

(@- A new and enlarged edition, largely rewritten and
brought up to date, with all formulas priced. _&)

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 137 pages.

Price, by mail, 50 cents; in cloth covers, 60 cents.

CABBAGES »=® CAULIFLOWERS:
HOW TO GROW THEM.

A PRACTICAL TREATISE, GIVING FULL DETAILS ON EVERY POINT;

INCLUDING KEEPING AND MARKETING THE CROP.

REVISED EDITION.

BY

JAMES J. H. GREGORY,

AUTHOR OF WORKS ON SQUASH RAISING, ONION RAISING, ETC.. BTC.

‘

Wrinters
S. J. PARKHILL & Co., Boston, U. 8S. A.
” 1908

LIBRARY of CONGRESS|

Two Copies Received

NOV 30 1908
v.23, 196%

CLASS XX. No,
play era)
COP

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1889, by
JAMES J. H. GREGORY,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.
Copyright, 1908, by
JAMES J. H. GREGORY.

CONTENTS, \

PAGE
OBJECT OF THIS TREATISH............ Nore cttsis COD a 1
ihe ORTGING OFM CABBAGE eereusteate rian irene cokeiehes a) craia ae aerere cence l
VVSELACTIET AT. COVANS UA CEG art 8 ccpaved aoe rat Seek BL Seer CM yn te 2
SELECTING DHE TS OUG 1. nie erie aie SR A aD Seco 4
PRB EA RON GUTEE MOOI. ei eel terry e corsa es omiirde hae 5
TW E Tse | VIGAUNG TTR Be Auten eye eae erctrs lie sarin eg ae eet wr Pay See ne Re 6
TOWaTOn APP b Ye MiHTE OVEANU RE. .y-1 ae Patueice sro gecesi ee Ae ‘
MakinG THE HILLS AND PLANTING THE SEED..... pS ore 11
CARE OF THE YOUNG PULANTS........ Pe olen eer ee ets 16
PROTECTING THE PLANTS FROM THEIR ENEMIES........... 18
ure G REING a VWViOR MW preysaine 7 A ance oe eeNe! cy. a amen ee nee eee 22,
Cius or Stump Foor anp MaGoor....... Nickie as SAA SE 24
GARELOR THe GROWING = CROP! 2455-5 es oe eee ne 29
MAREE TING: MME © ROR to athe Men me cei.g. Meteo ea 30
KEEPING CABBAGES THROUGH THE WINTER............... 32
Havinc CARBAGE MAKE HEADS IN WINTER........ Bese i 39)
WEA RIM MIE SHOW) (GATS AG Eas clea c.cetiers citer Beek Res eae ae 41-62
SVAGWOME, GHATS SICH DEH Ste lee et Pere os act tae irc cuer ss Rue ene Seka 62-65
OPAERLVARTIEDINSEON CABGAGH), ccc seve dsc oe 65-69
CGB AGHEGREENG, ceeras salts. seashore, oe ents Se ee ee 69
CABTRAGE EE ORGS LOCK. stirs Chir rece tani teest casters at ay ees 71
RV AUISIINGy GUA03 1B AGES BIE Das op arn e-cesle tien reraban aucirena aN aa 15
ORIGINATING NEw VARIETIES OF CABBAGE............... ee
CooKInGy CABBAGH, SOUR-MROUT, BITC ust 2.0 1. eases ee: 8D
CABBAGESRUNDER AG LASSaase ete nia ae ee 81
Coup FRAME AND Hor-BEp............. AES iy Ne Ba PGR 33
JAULIFLOWER, Brocconr, Brussrus-Sprours, Kane ANnpb
Sia KOA eh ne ee teas fe on ee ee eve 85

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

OBJECT OF THIS TREATISE.

As a general, yet very thorough, response to in-
quiries from many of my customers about cabbage
raising, I have aimed in this treatise to tell them all
about the subject. The different inquiries made
from time to time have given me a pretty clear idea
of the many heads under which information is
wanted; and it has been my aim to give this with
the same thoroughness of detail as in my little work
on Squashes. I have endeavored to talk in a very
practical way, drawing from a large observation and
experience, and receiving, in describing varieties,
some valuable information from McIntosh’s work,
* The Book of the Garden.”

THE ORIGIN OF CABBAGE.

Botanists tell us that all of the Cabbage family,
which includes not only every variety of cabbage,
Red, White, and Savoy, but all the cauliflower, broc-
coli, kale, and brussels sprouts, had their origin in
the wild cabbage of Europe (Brassica oleracea), a
plant with green, wavy leaves, much resembling
charlock, found growing wild at Dover in England,
and other parts of Europe. This plant, says McIntosh,
is mostly confined to the sea-shore, and grows only on
chalky or calcareous soils.

yD CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

Thus through the wisdom of the Great Father of
us all, who occasionally in his great garden allows
vegetables to sport into a higher form of life, and
grants to some of these sports sufficient strength of
individuality to enable them to perpetuate them-
selves, and, at times, to blend their individuality with
that of other sports, we have the heading cabbage
in its numerous varieties, the creamy cauliflower,
the feathery kale, the curled savoy. On my own
erounds from a strain of seed that had been grown
isolated for years, there recently came a plant that
in its structure closely resembled Brussels Sprouts,
growing about two feet in height, with a small head
under each leaf. The cultivated cabbage was first
introduced into England by the Romans, and from
there nearly all the kinds cultivated in this country
were originally brought. ‘Those which we consider
as peculiarly American varieties, have only been
made so by years of careful improvement on the
original imported sorts. The characteristics of these
varieties will be given farther on.

WHAT A CABBAGE IS.

If we cut vertically through the middle of the head,
we shall find it made up of successive layers of leaves,
which grow smaller and smaller, almost ad infinitum.
Now, if we take a fruit bud from an apple-tree and
make a similar section of it, we shall find the same
structure. If we observe the development of the
two, as spring advances, we shall find another simi-
larity (the looser the head the closer will be the re-
semblance ),— the outer leaves of each will unwrap
and unfold, and a flower stem will push out from
each. Here we see that a cabbage is a bud, a seed

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 3

bud (as all fruit buds may be termed, the production
of seed being the primary object in nature, the fruit
enclosing it playing but a secondary part), the office
of the leaves being to cover, protect, and afterwards
nourish the young seed shoot. The outer leaves
which surround the head appear to have the same
office as the leaves which surround the growing fruit
bud, and that office closes with the first year, as does
that of the leaves surrounding fruit buds, when each
die and drop off. In my-locality the public must have
perceived more or less clearly the analogy between
the heads of cabbage and the buds of trees, for when
they speak of small heads they frequently call them
“buds.” That the close wrapped leaves which make
the cabbage head and surround the seed germ, situated
just in the middle of the head at the termination of
the stump, are necessary for its protection and nutri-
tion when young, is proved, I think, by the fact that
those cabbages, the heads of which are much decayed,
when set out for seed, no matter how sound the seed
germ may be at the end of the stump, never make so
large or healthy a seed shoot as those do the heads of
which are sound; as a rule, after pushing a feeble
growth, they die.

For this reason I believe that the office of the head
is similar to and as necessary as that of the leaves
which unwrap from around the blossom buds of our
fruit trees. It is true that the parallel cannot be
fully maintained, as the leaves which make up the
cabbage head do not to an equal degree unfold (par-
ticularly is this true of hard heads) ; yet they exhibit
a vitality of their own, which is seen in the deeper
ereen color the outer leaves soon attain, and the
change from tenderness to toughness in their struc-

4 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

ture: I think, therefore, that the degree of failure
in the parallel may be measured by the difference
between a higher and a lower form of organic life.

Some advocate the economy of cutting off a large
portion of the heads when cabbages are set out for
seed to use as food for stock. There is certainly a
ereat temptation, standing amid acres of large, solid,
heads in the early spring months, when green food
of all kinds is scarce, to cut and use such an immense
amount of rich food, which, to the inexperienced eye,
appears to be utterly wasted if left to decay, dry, and
fall to the ground; but, for the reason given above,
I have never done so. It is possible that large heads
may bear trimming to a degree without injury to the
seed crop; yet I should consider this an experiment,
and one to be tried with a good deal of caution.

SELECTING THE SOIL.

In some of the best cabbage-growing sections of
the country, until within a comparatively few years
it was the very general belief that cabbage would not
do well on upland. Accordingly the cabbage patch
would be found on the lowest tillage land of the farm.
No doubt, the lowest soil being the richer from a
eradual accumulation of the wash from the upland,
when manure was but sparingly used, cabbage would
thrive better there than elsewhere, —and not, as was
generally held, because that vegetable needed more
moisture than any other crop. Cabbage can be
raised with success on any good corn land, provided
such land is well manured; and there is no more loss
in seasons of drouth on such land than there is in
seasons of excessive moisture on the lower tillage
land of the farm. J wish I could preach a very loud

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 5

sermon to all my farmer friends on the great value of
liberal manuring to carry crops successfully through
the effects of a severe drouth. Crops on soil precisely
alike, with but a wall to separate them, will, in a very
dry season, present a striking difference, —the one
being in fine vigor, and the other “suffering from
drouth,” as the owner will tell you; but, in reality,
from want of food.

The smaller varieties of cabbage will thrive well
on either light or strong soil, but the largest drum-
heads do best on strong soil. For the Brassica
family, including cabbages, cauliflowers, turnips, ete.,
there is no soil so suitable as freshly turned sod,
provided the surface is well fined by the harrow;
it is well to have as stout a crop of clover or grass,
growing on this sod, when turned under, as possible,
and I incline to the belief that it would be a judicious
investment to start a thick growth of these by the
application of guano to the surface sufficiently long
before turning the sod to get an extra growth of the
clover or grass. If the soil be very sandy in char-
acter, I would advise that the variety planted be the
Winnigstadt, which, in my experience, is unexcelled
for making a hard head under almost any conditions,
however unpropitious. Should the soil be naturally
very wet it should be underdrained, or stump foot
will be very likely to appear, which is death to all
SUCCESS.

PREPARING THE SOIL.

Should the soil be a heavy clay, a deep fall plough-
ing is best, that the frosts of winter may disintegrate
it; and should the plan be to raise an early crop,
this end will be promoted by fall ploughing, on any
soil, as the land will thereby be made drier in early

6 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

spring. In New England the soil for cabbages
should be ploughed as deep as the subsoil, and the
larger drumheads should be planted only on the
deepest soil. If the season should prove a favorable
one, a good crop of cabbage may be grown on sod
broken up immediately after a crop of hay has been
taken from it, provided plenty of fine manure is
harrowed in. One great risk here is from the dry
weather that usually prevails at that season, prevent-
ing the prompt germination of the seed, or rooting
of the plants. It is prudent in such a case to have
a good stock of plants growing on moister land, that
such as die may be promptly replaced. It is wise to
plant the seed for these a week earlier than the main
crop, for when transplanted to fill the vacant places
it will take about a week for them to get well rooted.

The manure may be spread on the surface of either
sod or stubble land and ploughed under, or be spread
on the surface after ploughing and thoroughly
worked into the soil by the wheel harrow. On
ploughed sod I have found nothing so satisfactory
as the class of wheel harrows, which not oly cut the
manure up fine and work it well under, but by the
same operation cut and pulverize the turf until it
may be left not over an inch in thickness. To do
the work thus thoroughly requires a pair of stout -
horses. All large stones and large pieces of turf that
are torn up and brought to the surface should be
carted off before making the hills.

THE MANURE.

Any manure but hog manure for cabbage, — barn
manure, rotten kelp, night-soil, guano, fertilizers, wood

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 7

ashes, fish, glue waste, hen manure, slaughter-house
manure. I have used all of these, and found them
all good when rightly applied. If pure hog manure
is used it is apt to produce that corpulent enlarge-
ment of the roots known in different localities as
“stump foot,” ‘underground head,” “finger and
thumb”; but I have found barn manure on which
hogs have run, as many as two hogs to each animal,
excellent. The cabbage is the rankest of feeders,
and to perfect the larger sort a most liberal allowance
of the richest composts is required. To grow the
smaller varieties, either barn-yard manure, guano,
fertilizers, or wood ashes, if the soil be in good
condition, will answer; though the richer and more
abundant the manure the larger are the cabbages,
and the earlier the crop will mature.

To perfect the large varieties of Drumhead,— by
which I mean to make them grow to the greatest
size possible,— I want a strong compost of barn-yard
manure, with night-soil and muck or fish-waste, and,
if possible, rotten kelp. A compost into which
night-soil enters as a component is best made by first
covering a plot of ground, of easy access, with soil
or muck that has been exposed to a winter’s frost,
to the depth of about eighteen inches, raising around
this a! rim about three feet in height, and thick-
ness. Into this the night-soil is poured from carts
built for the purpose, until the receptacle is about
two thirds full. Barn manure is now added, being
dropped around and covering the outer rim, and, if
the supply is sufficient, on the top of the heap also,
on which it can be carted after cold weather sets
in. Early in spring, the entire mass should be
pitched over, thoroughly broken up with the bar and

8 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

pick where frozen, and the frozen masses thrown on
the surface. In pitching over the mass, work the
rim in towards the middle of the heap. After the
frozen lumps have thawed, give the heap another
pitching over, aiming to mix all the materials
thoroughly together, and make the entire mass as
fine as possible. A covering of sand, thrown over
the heap, before the last pitching, will help fine it.
To produce a good crop ot cabbages, with a com-
post of this quality, twelve cords will be required to
the acre. If the land is in good heart, by previous
high cultivation, or the soil is naturally very strong,
eight cords will give a fair crop of the small varie-
ties; while, with the same conditions, twelve cords
to the acre will be required to perfect the largest
variety grown, the Marblehead Mammoth Drumhead.

HOW TO APPLY THE MANURE.

The manure is sometimes applied wholly in the
hill, at other times partly broadcast and partly in the
hill. If the farmer desires to make the utmost use
of his manure for that season it will be best to put
most of it into the hill, particularly if his supply runs
rather short; but if he desires to leave his land in
good condition for next year’s crop he had better
use part of it broadcast. My own practice is to
use all my rich compost broadcast, and depend on
fertilizers, or hen manure in the hill. Let all guano,
if at all lumpy, like the Peruvian, be sifted, and let
all the hard lumps be reduced by pounding, until
the largest pieces shall not be larger than half a pea

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 9

before itis brought upon the ground. My land being
ready, the compost worked under and the rows
marked out, I select three trusty hands who can be
relied upon to follow faithfully my directions in
applying so dangerous manures as are fertilizers in
careless or ignorant hands; one takes a bucket of it,
and, if for large cabbage, drops as much as he can
readily close in his shut hand, where each hill is to
be; if for small sorts, then about half that quantity,
spreading it over a circle about a foot in diameter;
the second man follows with a pronged hoe, or, better
yet, a six-tined fork, with which he works the guano
well into the soil, first turning it three or four inches
under the surface, and then stirring the soil very
thoroughly with the hoe or fork. Unless the fertil-
izer is faithfully mixed up with the soil the seed
will not vegetate. Give the second man about an
hour the start, and then let the third man follow
with the seed. Of hen manure a heaping handful to
each hill, after it has been finely broken up, and, if
moist, mixing it slightly with dry earth. When
salt is used it should be used in connection with
manures, at the rate of from ten to fifteen bushels
to the acre, applied broadcast over the ground, or
thoroughly mixed with the manure before that is
appled; if dissolved in the manure, better yet.
Salt itself is not a manure. Its principal office is to
change other materials into plant food. Fish and glue
waste are exceedingly powerful manures, very rich
in ammonia, and, if used the first season, they should
be in compost. It is best to handle liver waste pre-
cisely like night-soil. This liver waste is the refuse re-
maining after the oil has been extracted from the livers
of fish. It is found only in seaport towns. ‘ Porgy

10 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

b

cheese,” or “chum,” the refuse, after pressing out
the oil from menhaden and halibut heads and some-
times sold extensively for manure, is best prepared
for use by composting it with muck or loam, layer
with layer, at the rate of a barrel to every foot and
a half, cord measure, of soil. As soon as it shows
some heat, turn it, and repeat the process, two or
three times, until it is well decomposed, when apply.
Another excellent way to use fish waste is to com-
post it with barn manure, in the open fields. It will
be best to have six inches of soil under the heap, and
not layer the fish with the lower half of the manure,
for it strikes down. Glue waste is a very coarse,
lumpy manure, and requires a great deal of severe
manipulation, if it is to be applied the first season.
A better way is to compost it with soil, layer with
layer, having each layer about a foot in thickness,
and so allow it to remain over until the next sea-
son, before using. This will decompose most of the
straw, and break down the hard, tough lumps. In
applying this to the crop, most of it had better be
used broadcast, as it is apt, at best, to be rather too
coarse and concentrated to be used liberally directly
in the hill. Slaughter-house manure should be
treated much like glue manure.

~ Mr. Proctor, of Beverly, has raised cabbage suc-
cessfully on strong clay soil, by spreading a compost
of muck containing fish waste, in which the fish is
well decomposed, at the rate of two tons of the fish
to an acre of land, after plowing, and then, having
made his furrows at the right distance apart, harrow-
ing the land thoroughly crossways with the furrows.
The result was, besides mixing the manure thor-

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 11

oughly with the soil, to land an extra proportion of it
in the furrows, which was equivalent to manuring in
the drill.

Cabbage can be raised on fertilizers alone, if
these are rich in nitrogen. I have raised some
crops in this way, but have been led to plough
in from four to six cords of good manure to the
acre, and then use from five hundred to a thousand
pounds of some good fertilizer in the hill. The rea-
son I prefer to use a portion of the cabbage food in
the form of manure, is, that I have noticed that when
the attempt is made to raise the larger drumhead
varieties on fertilizers only, the cabbages, just as the
heads are well formed, are apt to come nearly to a
standstill. I explain this on the supposition that they
exhaust most of the fertilizer, or some one of the in-
gredients that enter into it, during the earlier stage
of growth; perhaps from the fact that the food is in
so easily digestible condition, they use an over share
of it, and the fact that those fed on fertilizers only,
tend to grow longer stumped than usual, appears to
give weight to this opinion. Though any good fer-
tilizer is good for cabbage, yet I prefer those com-
pounded on the basis of an analysis of the composition
of the plants; they should contain the three ingre-
dients, nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid, in the
proportion of six, seven, five, taking them in the order
in which I have written them.

MAKING THE HILLS AND PLANTING THE
SEED.

The idea is quite prevalent that cabbages will not
head up well except the plants are started in beds,
and then transplanted into the hills where they are
to mature. This is an error, so far as it applies to

12 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

the Northern States, —the largest and most experi-
enced cultivators of cabbage in New England usually
dropping the seed directly where the plant is to stand,
unless they are first started under glass, or the piece
of land to be planted cannot be prepared in season to
enable the farmer to put his seed directly in the hill
and yet give the cabbage time sufficient to mature.
Where the climate is unpropitious, or the quantity of
manure applied is insufficient, it is possible that trans-
planting may promote heading. The advantages of
planting directly in the hill, are a saving of time,
avoiding the risks incidental to transplanting, and
having all the piece start alike; for, when trans-
planted, many die and have to be replaced, while
some hesitate much longer than others before start-
ing, thus making a want of uniformity in the matur-
ing of the crop. There is, also, this advantage, there
being several plants in each hill, the cut-worm has to
depredate pretty severely before he really injures the
piece; again, should the seed not vegetate in any of
the hills, every farmer will appreciate the advantage
of having healthy plants growing so near at hand that
they can be transferred to the vacant spaces with
their roots so undisturbed that their growth is hardly
checked. In addition to the labor of transplanting
saved by this plan, the great check that plants always
receive when so treated is prevented, and also the
extra risks that occur should a season of drouth fol-
low. It is the belief of some farmers, that plants
growing where the seed was planted are less liable to
be destroyed by the cut-worm than those that have
been transplanted. When planning to raise late cab-
bage on upland, I sow a portion of the seed on a moist
spot, or, in case a portion of the land is moist, I plant

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. iS

the hills on such land with an extra quantity of seed.
that I may have enough plants for the whole piece,
should the weather prove to be too dry for the seed
to vegetate on the dryer portions of it. It is wise
to sow these extra plants about a week earlier, for
they will be put back about a week by transplanting
them.

Some of our best farmers drill their seed in with a
sowing machine, such as is used for onions, carrots,
and other vegetable crops. This is a very expeditious
way, and has the advantage of leaving the plants in
rows instead of bunches, as in the hill system, and
thus enables the hoe to do most of the work of thinning.
It has also this advantage: each plant being by itself
can be left much longer before thinning, and yet not
erow long in the stump, thus making it available for
transplanting, or for sale in the market, for a longer
period.

The usual way of preparing the hills is to strike out
furrows with a small, one-horse plough, as far apart
as the rows are to be. As it is very important that
the rows should be as straight as practicable, it is a
good plan to run back once in each furrow, particu-
larly on sod land where the plough will be apt to
catch in the turf and jump out of line. A manure
team follows, containing the dressing for the hills,
which has previously been pitched over and beaten
up until all the ingredients are fine and well mixed.
This team is so driven, if possible, as to avoid running
in the furrows. Two or three hands follow with forks
or shovels, pitching the manure into the furrows at
the distance apart that has been determined on for
the hills. How far apart these are to be will depend
on the varieties, from eighteen inches to four feet.

14 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

On land that has been very highly manured for a
series of years, cabbage can be planted nearer than on
land that has been under the plow but a few years.
For the distance apart for different varieties see
farther on. The manure is levelled with hoes, a little
soil is drawn over it, and a slight stamp with the
back of the hoe is given to level this soil, and, at the
same time, to mark the hill. The planter follows
with seed in a tin box, or any small vessel haying a
broad bottom, and taking a small pinch between the
thumb and forefinger he gives a slight scratch with
the remaining fingers of the same hand, and dropping
in about half a dozen seed covers them half an inch
deep with a sweep of the hand, and packs the earth
by a gentle pat with the open palm to keep the
moisture in the ground and thus promote the vegeta-
tion of the seed. With care a quarter of a pound of
seed will plant an acre, when dropped directly in the
hills; but half a pound is the common allowance, as
there is usually some waste from spilling, while most
laborers plant with a free hand.

The soil over the hills being very light and porous,
careless hands are apt to drop the seed too deep.
Care should be taken not to drop the seed all in one
spot, but to scatter them over a surface of two or
three inches square, that each plant may have room
to develop without crowding its neighbors.

If the seed is planted in a line instead of in a mass
the plants can be left longer before the final thinning
without danger of growing tall and weak.

If the seed is to be drilled in, it will be necessary
to scatter the manure all along the furrows, then
cover with a plough, roughly leveling with a rake.

Should the compost applied to the hills be very

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 15

concentrated, it will be apt to produce stump foot 5
it will, therefore, be safest in such cases to hollow
out the middle with the corner of the hoe, or draw
the hoe through and fill in with earth, that the
roots of the young plants may not come in direct
contact with the compost as soon as they begin to
push.

When rich fertilizers are used in the hills it
will be well to mark out the rows with a plough,
and then, where each hill is to be, fill in the soil level
to the surface with a hoe, before applying them. I
have, in a previous paragraph, given full instructions
how to apply these. Hen manure, if moist, should
be broken up very fine, and be mixed with some dry
earth to prevent it from again lumping together, and
the mixture applied in sufficient quantity to make an
equivalent of a heaping handful of pure hen manure
to each hill. Any liquid manure is excellent for
the cabbage crop; but it should be well diluted, or it
will be likely to produce stump foot.

Cabbage seed of almost all varieties are nearly
round in form, but are not so spherical as turnip
seed. I note, however, that seed of the Savoys are
nearly oval. In color they are light brown when
first gathered, but gradually turn dark brown if not
gathered too early. An ounce contains nearly ten
thousand seed, but should not be relied upon for
many over two thousand good plants, and these
are available for about as many hills only when
raised in beds and transplanted; when dropped
directly in the hills it will take not far from eight
ounces to plant an acre. Cabbage seed when
well cured and kept in close bags will retain their

16 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

vitality four or five years; old gardeners prefer seed
of all the cabbage family two or three years old.

When the plan is to raise the young plants in beds
to be transplanted, the ground selected for the beds
should be of rich soil ; this should be very thoroughly
dug, and the surface worked and raked very fine,
every stone and lump of earth being removed. Now
sprinkle the seed evenly over the bed and gently
rake in just under the surface, compacting the soil
by pressure with a board or plant in rows four inches
apart. As soon as the young plants appear sprinkle
them with air-slaked lime. Transplant when three
or four inches high, being very careful not to let the
plants get tall and weak.

For late cabbage, in the latitude of Boston, to
have cabbages ready for market about the first of
November, the Marblehead Mammoth should be
planted the 20th of May, other late drumheads
from June 1st to June 12th, provided the plants are
not to be transplanted; otherwise a week earlier.
In those localities where the growing season is later,
the seed should be planted proportionally later.

CARE OF THE YOUNG PLANTS.

In four or five days, if the weather is propitious,
the young plants will begin to break ground, pre-
senting at the surface two leaves, which together
make nearly a square, like the first leaves of turnips
or radishes. As soon as the third leaf is developed,
go over the piece, and boldly thin out the plants.
Wherever they are very thick, pull a mass of them
with the fingers and thumb, being careful to fill up
the hole made with fine earth. After the fourth leaf
is developed, go over the piece again and thin still
more; you need specially to guard against a slender,

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 17

weak growth, which will happen when the plants
are too crowded. In thinning, leave the short-
stumped plants, and leave them as far apart in the
hill as possible, that they may not shade each other,
or so interfere in growing as to make long stumps.
If there is any market for young plants, thousands
can be sold from an acre when the seed are planted
in the hill; but in doing this bear in mind that your
principal object is to raise cabbages, and to succeed
in this the young plants must on no account be
allowed to stand so long together in the hills as to
crowd each other, making a tall, weak, slender
growth,— getting “long-legged,” as the farmers call it.

If the manure in any of the hills is too strong, the
fact will be known by its effects on the plants, which
will be checked in their growth, and be of a darker
green color than the healthy plants. Gently pull
away the earth from the roots of such with the
fingers, and draw around fresh earth; or, what is as
well or better, transplant a healthy plant just on the
edge of the hill. When the plants are finger high
they are of a good size to transplant into such hills
as have missed, or to market. When transplanting,
select a rainy day, if possible, and do not begin until
sufficient rain has fallen to moisten the earth around
the roots, which will make it more likely to adhere
to them when taken up. If rain sufficient for the
purpose has not fallen, then water thoroughly before
transplanting. Take up the young plants by run-
ning the finger or a trowel under them; put these
into a flat basket or box, and in transplanting set
them fully to the same depth they originally grew,
pressing the earth a little about the roots.

If it is necessary to do the transplanting in a dry
spell, as usually happens, select the latter part of the
afternoon, if practicable, and, making holes with a

18 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

dibble, or any pointed stick an inch and a half in
diameter, fill these holes, a score or more at a time,
with water; and as soon as the water is about soaked
away, beginning with the hole first filled, set out your
plants. The evaporation of the moisture below the
roots will keep them moist until they get a hold.
Cabbage plants have great tenacity of life, and will
rally and grow when they appear to be dead; the
leaves may all die, and dry up like hay, but if the
stump stands erect and the unfolded leaf at the top
of the stump is alive, the plant will usually survive.
When the plants are quite large, they may be used
successfully by cutting or breaking off the larger
leaves. Some advocate wilting the plants before
transplanting, piling them in the cellar a few days
before setting them out, to toughen them and geta
new setting of fine roots; others challenge their vigor
by making it a rule to do all transplanting under the
heat of mid-day. I think there is not much of reason
in this latter course. The young plants can be set
out almost as fast as a man can walk, by holding the
roots close to one side of the hole made by the dibble,
and at the same moment pressing earth against them
with the other hand.

PROTECTING THE PLANTS FROM THEIR
ENEMIES.

As soon as they have broken through the soil, an
enemy awaits them in the small black insect com-
monly known as the cabbage or turnip fly, beetle, or
flea. This insect, though so small as to appear to
the eye as a black dot, is very voracious and surpris-
ingly active. He apparently feeds on the juice of
the young plant, perforating it with small holes the

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 19

size of a pin point. He is so active when disturbed
that his motions cannot be followed by the eye, and
his sense of danger is so keen that only by cautiously
approaching the plant can he be seen at all. The
delay of a single day in protecting the young plants
from his ravages will sometimes be the destruction
of nearly the entire piece. Wood ashes and air-slaked
lime, or plaster, sprinkled upon the plants while the
leaves are moist from either rain or dew, afford almost
complete protection. The lime, ashes or plaster
should be applied as soon as the plant can be seen,
for then, when they are in their tenderest condition,
the fly is most destructive. I am not certain that
the alkaline nature of these affords the protection, or
whether a mere covering by common dust might not
answer equally well. Should the covering be washed
off by rain, apply it anew immediately after the rair
has ceased, and so continue to keep the young plazis
covered until the third or fourth leaves are developed
when they will have become too tough to serve as
food for this insect enemy.

A new enemy much dreaded by all cabbage raisers
will begin to make his appearance about the time the
flea disappears, known as the cut-worm. This worm
is of a dusky brown color, with a dark colored head,
and varies in size up to about two inches in length.
He burrows in the ground just below the surface, is
slow of motion, and does his mischievous work at
night, gnawing off the young plants close at the sur-
face of the ground. This enemy is hard to battle
with. If the patch be small, these worms can be
scratched out of their hiding places by pulling the
earth carefully away the following morning for a few
inches around the stump of the plant destroyed, when

20 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

the rascals will usually be found half coiled together.
Dropping a little wood ashes around the plants close to
the stumps is one of the best of remedies; its alkaline
properties burning his nose I presume. A tunnel of
paper put around the stump but not touching it, and
sunk just below the surface, is recommended as effi-
eacious; and from the habits of the worm I should
think it would prove so. Perpendicular holes four
inches deep and an inch in diameter is said to catch
and hold them as effectively as do the pit falls of
Africa the wild animals. Late planted cabbage will
suffer little or none from this pest, as he disappears
about the middle of June. Some seasons they are
remarkably numerous, making it necessary to replant
portions of the cabbage patch several times over. I
have heard of as many as twenty being dug at ‘dif
ferent times the same season out of one cabbage hill.
The farmer who tilled that patch earned his dollars.
When the cabbage has a stump the size of a pipe stem
it is beyond the destructive ravages of the cut-worm,
and should it escape stump foot has usually quite a
period of growth free from the attacks of enemies.
Should the season prove unpropitious and the plant
be checked in its growth, it will be apt to become
“lousy,” as the farmers term it, referring to its con-
dition when attacked by a small green insect known
as aphidee, which preys upon it in myriads ; when this
is the case the leaves lose their bright green, turn of
a bluish cast, the leaf stocks lose somewhat of their
supporting powers, the leaves curl up into irregular
shapes, and the lower layer turns black and drops off,
while the ground under the plant appears covered
with the casts or bodies of the insects as with a white
powder. When in this condition the plants are in a
very bad way.

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. ral

Considering the circumstances under which this
insect appears, usually in a very dry season, I hold
that it is rather the product than the cause of dis-
ease, as with the bark louse on our apple-trees ; as a
remedy I advocate sprinkling the plants with air-
slaked lime, watering, if possible, and a frequent and
thorough stirring of the soil with the cultivator and
hoe. The better the opportunities the cabbage have
to develop themselves through high manuring, suffi-
cient moisture, good drainage, and thorough cultiva-
tion, the less liable they are to be “lousy.” As the
season advances there will sometimes be found
patches eaten out of the leaves, leaving nothing but
the skeleton of leaf veins; an examination will show
a band of caterpillars of a light green color at work,
who feed in a compact mass, oftentimes a square,
with as much regularity as though under the best of
military discipline. The readiest way to dispose of
them is to break off the leaf and crush them under
foot. The common large red caterpillar occasionally
preys on the plants, eating large holes in the leaves,
especially about the head. When the cabbage plot
is bordered by grass land, in seasons when grass-
hoppers are plenty, they will frequently destroy the
outer rows, puncturing the leaves with small holes,
and feeding on them until little besides their skele-
tons remain. In isolated locations rabbits and other
vegetable feeders sometimes commit depredations.
The snare and the shot-gun are the remedy for these.

Other insects that prey upon the cabbage tribe, in
their caterpillar state, are the cabbage moth, white-
line, brown-eyed moth, large white garden butterfly,
white and green veined butterfly. All of these pro-
duce caterpillars, which can be destroyed either by

22, CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWEBRS.

application of air-slaked lime, or by removing the
leaves infested and crushing the intruders under
foot. The cabbage-fly, father-long-legs, the melli-
pedes, the blue cabbage-fly, brassy cabbage-flea, and
two or three other insect enemies are mentioned by
McIntosh as infesting the cabbage fields of England ;
also three species of fungi known as white rust, mil-
dew, and cylindrosporium concentricum; these last
are destroyed by the sprinkling of air-slaked lime
on the leaves. In this country, along the sea coast
of the northern section, in open-ground cultivation,
there is comparatively but little injury done by these
marauders, which are the cause of so much annoyance
and loss to our English cousins.

THE GREEN WORM.

A new and troublesome enemy to the cabbage
tribe which has made its appearance within a few
years, and spread rapidly over a large section of the
country, is a green worm, Anthomia brassice. ‘This
pest infests the cabbage tribe at all stages of its
growth; it is believed to have been introduced into
this country from Europe, by the way of Canada,
where it was probably brought in a lot of cabbage.
It is the caterpillar of a white butterfly with black
spots on its wings. In Europe, this butterfly is
preyed on by two or more parasites, which keep it
somewhat in check; but its remarkably rapid in-
crease in this country, causing a wail of lamentation
to rise in a single season from the cabbage growers
over areas of tens of thousands of square miles,
proved that when it first appeared it had reached
this country without its attendant parasites.

Besides this green worm, there are found in Europe

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. on

four varieties of butterfly variously marked, the
caterpillars from all of which make great havoc
among the cabbage tribe.

The most effective destroyer of this, and about
every other insect pest, is what is known as the
“Kerosene Emulsion.” This is made by churning
common kerosene with milk or soap until it is diffused
through the liquid.

Take one quart of kerosene oil and pour it into a
pint of hot water in which an ounce of common soap
has been dissolved; churn this briskly while hot (a
force pump is excellent for this), and, when well
mixed, which will be in a few minutes, it will be of a
creamy consistency ; mix one quart to ten or twelve
of cold water, and spray or sprinkle it over the
plants with a force-pump syringe or a whisk broom.

Another remedy is pyrethrum. Use that which is
fresh; either blowing it on in a dry state with a
bellows, wherever the worm appears, or using it
diluted, at the rate of a tablespoonful to two gallons
of water; applying as with the kerosene emulsion.

To protect the cabbage plant from its various enemies, our experi-
mental stations make some excellent suggestions :—

For Green Worm, Looper Worm, Web Moth, and all other
insect enemies that work above ground, apply when vines are dry a
fine spray of arsenate of lead (it can be procured from any large
dealer in fertilizers), using five pounds to fifty gallons of water. Prob-
ably more than one application will be needed, as there may be four
or five generations of the green worm during the season.

For Root Magot discs of tarred paper (cost $2.00 per 1,006 by ex-
press) may be used around the plant when setting.

For Cut Worm drop by each plant a little ball of mash, made
from one pound of paris green to 60 pounds of bran, with molasses
enough to sweeten. A piece of shingle laid near the plant will be
likely to attract them beneath it. Collect and kill.

24 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

CLUB OR STUMP FOOT AND. MAGGOT.

The great dread of every cabbage grower is a
disease of the branching roots, producing a bunchy,
eland-like enlargement, known in different localities
under the name of club foot, stump foot, underground
head, finger and thumb. The result is a check in
the ascent of the sap, which causes a defective vital-
ity. There are two theories as to the origin of club
foot; one that it is a disease caused by poor soil,
bad cultivation, and unsuitable manures; the other
that the injury is done by an insect enemy, Curculio
contractus. It is held by some that the maggots at
the root are the progeny of the cabbage flea. This
I doubt. This insect, “ piercing the skin of the root,
deposits its eggs in the holes, lives during a time on
the sap of the plant, and then escapes and buries
itself for a time in the soil.”

Tf the wart, or gland-like excrescence, is seen while
transplanting, throw all such plants away, unless your
supply is short; in such case, carefully trim off all
the diseased portions with a sharp knife. If the dis-
ease is in the growing crop, it will be made evident
by the drooping of the leaves under the mid-day sun,
leaves of diseased plants drooping more than those of
healthy ones, while they will usually have a bluer
cast. Should this disease show itself, set the culti-
vator going immediately, and follow with the hoe,
drawing up fresh earth around the plants, which will
encourage them to form new fibrous roots; should
they do this freely, the plants will be saved, as the
attacks of the insect are usually confined to the coarse,
branching roots. Should the disease prevail as late
as when the plants have reached half their growth,

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 25

the chances are decidedly against raising a paying
crop.

When the land planted is too wet, or the manure
in the hill is too strong, this dreaded disease is liable
to be found on any soil; but it is most likely to mani-
fest itself on soils that have been previously cropped
with cabbage, turnip, or some other member of the
Brassica family.

Farmers find that, as a rule, it 7s not safe to follow
cabbage, ruta baga, or any of the Brassica family, with
cabbage, unless three or four years have intervened be-
tween the crops; and I have known an instance in
growing the Marblehead Mammoth, where, though
five years had intervened, that portion of the piece
occupied by the previous crop could be distinctly
marked off by the presence of club-foot.

Singular as it may appear, old gardens are an ex-
ception to this rule. While it is next to impossible
to raise, in old gardens, a fair turnip, free from club-
foot, cabbages may be raised year after year on the
same soil with impunity, or, at least, with but trifling
injury from that disease. This seems to prove, con-
trary to English authority, that club-foot in the turnip
tribe is the effect of a different cause from the same
disease in the cabbage family.

There is another position taken by Stephens in his
“Book of the Farm,” which facts seem to disprove.
He puts forth the theory that “all such diseases arise
from poverty of the soil, either from want of manure
when the soil is naturally poor, or rendered effete by
over-cropping.” There is a farm on a neck of land
belonging to this town (Marblehead, Mass.), which
has peculiar advantages for collecting sea kelp and
sea moss, and these manures are there used most lib-

26 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

erally, particularly in the cultivation of cabbage, from
eight to twelve cords of rotten kelp, which is stronger
than barn manure, and more suitable food for cab-
bage, being used to the acre. A few years ago, on a
change of tenants, the new incumbent heavily ma-
nured a piece for cabbage, and planted it; but, as the
season advanced, stump-foot developed in every cab-
bage on one side of the piece, while all the remainder
were healthy. Upon inquiry, he learned that, by
mistake, he had overlapped the cabbage plot of last
season just so far as the stump-foot extended. In this
instance, it could not have been that the cabbage suf-
fered for want of food; for, not only was the piece
heavily manured that year and the year previous, but
it had been liberally manured through a series of
years, and, to a large extent, with the manure which,
of all others, the cabbage tribe delight in, rotten kelp
and sea mosses. I have known other instances where
soil, naturally quite strong, and kept heavily manured
for a series of years, has shown stump-foot when cab-
bage were planted, with intervals of two and three
years between. My theory is, that the mere presence
of the cabbage causes stump-foot on succeeding crops
grown on the same soil. This is proved by the fact
that where a piece of land in grass, close adjoining a
piece of growing cabbage, had been used for stripping
them for market, when this was broken up the next sea-
son and planted to cabbage, stump-foot appeared only
on that portion where the waste leaves fell the year
previous. I have another instance to the same point,
told me by an observing farmer, that, on a piece of
sod land, on which he run his cultivator the year pre-
vious, when turning his horse every time he had eul-
tivated a row, he had stump-footed cabbage the next

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. a

season just as far as that cultivator went, dragging,
of course, a few leaves and a little earth from the
cabbage piece with it. Still, though the mere pres-
ence of cabbage causes stump-foot, it is a fact, that,
under certain conditions, cabbage can be grown on
the same piece of land year after year successfully,
with but very little trouble from stump-foot. In this
town (Marblehead), though, as I have stated, we
cannot, on our farms, follow cabbage with cabbage,
even with the highest of manuring and cultivation,
yet in the gardens of the town, on the same kind of
soil (and our soil is green stone and syenite, not natu-
rally containing lime), there are instances where cab-
bage has been successfully followed by cabbage, on
the same spot, for a quarter of a century and more.
In the garden of an aged citizen of this town, cab-
bages have been raised on the same spot of land for
over half a century.

The cause of stump foot cannot, therefore, be
found in the poverty of the soil, either from want of
manure or its having been rendered effete from over
cropping. It is evident that by long cultivation
soils gradually have diffused through them some-
thing that proves inimical to the disease that pro-
duces stump foot. I will suggest as probable that
the protection is afforded by the presence of some
alkali that old gardens are constantly acquiring
through house waste which is always finding its way
there, particularly the slops from the sink, which
abound in potash. This is rendered further probable
from the fact given by Mr. Peter Henderson, that,
on soils in this vicinity, naturally abounding in lime,
cabbage can be raised year following year with
almost immunity from stump foot. He ascribes this

28 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWEBS.

to the effects of lime in the soil derived from marine
shells, and recommends that lime from bones be used
to secure the same protection; but the lime that
enters into the composition of marine shells is for the
most part carbonate of lime, whereas the greater
portion of that which enters into the composition
of bones is phosphate of lime. Common air-slaked
lime is almost pure carbonate of lime, and hence
comes nearer to the composition of marine shells
than lime from bones, and, being much cheaper,
would appear to be preferable.

An able farmer told me that by using wood ashes
liberally he could follow with cabbage the next sea-
son on the same piece. One experiment of my own
in this direction did not prove successful, where
ashes at the rate of two hundred bushels to the acre
were used; and I have an impression that I have
read of a like want of success after quite liberal
applications of lime. In amore recent experiment,
on a gravelly loam on one of my seed farms in Mid-
dleton, Mass., where two hundred bushels of un-
leached ashes were used per acre, three-fourths
broadcast, I have had complete success, raising as
good a crop as I ever grew the second year on the
same land, without a single stump foot on half an
acre. Still, it remains evident, I think, that nature
prevents stump foot by the diffusing of alkalies
through the soil, and I mistrust that the reason why
we sometimes fail with the same remedies is that we
have them mixed, rather than intimately combined,
with the particles of soil.

The roots of young plants are sometimes attacked
by a maggot, though there is no club root present.
A remedy for this is said to be in the pouring of a

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 29

little of bisulphide of carbon within a few inches of
the diseased plant. I have never tried it, but know
that there is no better insecticide.

As I have stated under another head, an attack of
club foot is almost sure to follow the use of pure
hog manure, whether it be used broadcast or in the
hill. About ten years ago I ventured to use hog
manure nearly pure, spread broadcast and ploughed
in. Stump foot soon showed itself. I cultivated
and hoed the cabbage thoroughly ; then, as they still
appeared sickly, I had the entire piece thoroughly
dug over with a six-tined fork, pushing it as deep
or deeper into the soil than the plough had gone, to
bring up the manure to the surface ; but all was of
no use; I lost the entire crop. Yet, on another occa-
sion, stable manure on which hogs had been kept at
the rate of two hogs to each animal, gave me one
of the finest lots of cabbage I ever raised.

CARE OF THE GROWING CROP.

As soon as the young plants are large enough to be
seen with the naked eye, in with the cultivator and
go and return once in each row, being careful not to
have any lumps of earth cover the plants. Follow
the cultivator immediately with the hoe, loosening the
soil about the hills. The old rule with farmers is to
cultivate and hoe cabbage three times during their
erowth, and it isa rule that works very well where
the crop is in good growing condition; but if the
manure is deficient, the soil bakes, or the plants show
signs of disease, then cultivate and hoe once or twice
extra. ‘ Hoe cabbage when wet,” is another farmer’s
axiom. In a small garden patch the soil may be
stirred among the plants as often as may be con-

30 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

venient : it can do no harm; cabbages relish tending,
though it is not necessary to do this every day, as
one enthusiastic cultivator evidently thought, who
declared that, by hoeing his cabbages every morning, ~
he had succeeded in raising capital heads.

If a season of drouth occurs when the cabbages
have begun to head, the heads will harden prema-
turely ; and then should a heavy rain fall, they will
start to make a new growth, and the consequence
will be many of them will split. Split or bursted
cabbage are a source of great loss to the farmer, and
this should be carefully guarded against by going fre-
quently over the piece when the heads are setting,
and starting every cabbage that appears to be about
mature. A stout-pronged potato hoe applied just
under the leaves, and a pull given sufficient to start
the roots on one side, will accomplish what is needed.
If cabbage that have once been started seem still
inclined to burst, start the roots on the other side.
Instead of a hoe they may be pushed over with the
foot, or with the hand. Frequently, heads that are
thus started will grow to double the size they had
attained when about to burst. There is a marked dif-
ference in this habit in different varieties of cabbage.

MARKETING THE CROP.

When preparing for market cabbages that have been
kept over winter, particularly if they are marketed
late in the season, the edges of the leaves of some of
the heads will be found to be more or less decayed ;
do not strip such leaves off, but with a sharp knife
cut clean off the decayed edges. The earlier the

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 31

variety the sooner it needs to be marketed, for, as a
rule, cabbages push their shoots in the spring in the
order of their earliness. If they have not been suffi-
ciently protected from the cold the stumps will often
rot off close to the head, and sometimes the rot will
include the part of the stump that enters the head. If
the watery-looking portion of the stump can be cut
clean out the head is salable ; otherwise it will be apt
to have an unpleasant flavor when cooked. As a rule,
cabbages for marketing should be trimmed into as
compact a form as possible; the heads should be cut
off close to the stump, leaving two or three spare
leaves to protect them. They may be brought out
of the piece in bushel baskets, and be piled on the
wagon as high as a hay stack, being kept in place
by a stout canvas sheet tied closely down. In the
markets of Boston, in the fall of the year, they are
usually sold at a price agreed upon by the hundred
head; this will vary not only with the size and quality
of the cabbage, but with the season, the crop, and the
quality in market on that particular day. Within a
few years I have known the range of price for the
Stone Mason or Fottler cabbage, equal in size and
quality, to be from $3 to $17 per hundred ; for the
Marblehead Mammoth from $6 to #25 per hundred.
Cabbages brought to market in the spring are usually
sold by weight or by the barrel, at from $1 to $4 per
hundred pounds.

The earliest cabbages carried to market sometimes
bring extraordinary prices; and this has created a
keen competition among market gardeners, each
striving to produce the earliest, a difference of a week
in marketing oftentimes making a difference of one
half in the profits of the crop. Capt. Wyman, who

32 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWEBS.

half in the profits of the crop. As a rule, it is the
very early and the very late cabbages that sell most
profitably. Should the market for very late cabbages
prove a poor one, the farmer is not compelled to sell
them, no matter at what sacrifice, as would be the
case a month earlier; he can pit them, and so keep
them over to the early spring market, which is almost
always a profitable one. In marketing in spring it
should be the aim to make sale before the crops of
spring greens become plenty, or the Florida-grown
crop reaches the market, as these replace the cabbage
on many tables. By starting cabbage in hot-beds a
crop of celery or squashes may follow them the same
season.

KEEPING CABBAGES THROUGH THE WINTER.

In the comparatively mild climate of England,
where there are but few days in the winter months
that the ground remains frozen to any depth, the hardy
cabbage grows all seasons of the year, and turnips
left during winter standing in the ground are fed to
sheep by yarding them over the different portions of
the field. With the same impunity, in the southern
portion of our own country, the cabbages are left unpro-
tected during the winter months ; and, in the warmer
portions of the South they are principally a winter
crop. As we advance farther North, we find that the
degree of protection needed is afforded by running
the plough along each side of the rows, turning the
earth against them, and dropping a little litter on top
of the heads. As we advance still farther northward,
we find sufficient protection given by but little more
than a rough roof of boards thrown over the heads,

©

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

after removing the cabbages to a sheltered spot and
setting them in the ground as near together as they
will stand without being in contact, with the tops of
the heads just level with the surface.

In the latitude of central New England, cabbages
are not secure from injury from frost with less than a
foot of earth thrown over the heads. In mild winters
a covering of half that depth will be sufficient; but
as we have no prophets to foretell our mild winters,
a foot of earth is safer than six inches. Where eel-
grass can be procured along the sea coast, or there
is straw or coarse hay to spare, the better plan is to
cover with about six inches of earth, and when this
is frozen sufficiently hard to bear a man’s weight
(which is usually about Thanksgiving time), to
scatter over it the eel-grass, forest leaves, straw, or
coarse hay, to the depth of another six inches. Eel-
grass, which grows on the sandy flats under the ocean
along the coast, is preferred to any other covering as
it lays light and keeps in dead air which is a non-
conductor of heat. Forest leaves are next in value;
but snow and water are apt to get among these and
freezing solid destroy most of their protecting value.
When I use forest leaves, I cover them with coarse
hay, and add branches of trees to prevent its being
blownaway. In keeping cabbages through the winter,
three general facts should be borne in mind, viz.:
that repeated freezing and thawing will cause them
to rot; that excessive moisture or warmth will also
cause rot; while a dry air, such as is found in most
cellars, will abstract moisture from the leaves, injure
the flavor of the cabbage, and cause some of the heads
to wilt, and the harder heads to waste. In the Middle
States we have mostly to fear the wet of winter, and

34 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

the plan for keeping for that section should, therefore,
have particularly in view protection from moisture,
while in the Northern States wé have to fear the cold
of winter, and, consequently, our plan must there
have specially in view protection from cold.

When storing for winter, select a dry day, if pos-
sible, sufficiently long after rainy weather to have
the leaves free of water, — otherwise they will spout
it on to you, and make you the wettest and muddiest
scarecrow ever seen off a farm,—then strip all the
outer leaves from the head but the two last rows,
which are needed to protect it. This may be readily
done by drawing in these two rows toward the head
with the left hand, while a blow is struck against
the remaining leaves with the fist of the right hand.
Next pull up the cabbages, which, if they are of
the largest varieties, may be expeditiously done by
a potato hoe. If they are not intended for seed
purposes, stand the heads down and stumps up until
the earth on the roots is somewhat dry, when it can
be mostly removed by sharp blows against the stump
given with a stout stick. In loading do not bruise
the heads. Select the place for keeping them ina
dry, level location, and, if in the North, a southern
exposure, where no water can stand and there can
be no wash. To make the pit, run the plough along
from two to four furrows, and throw out the soil
with the shovel to the requisite depth, which may
be from six to ten inches; now, if the design is to
roof over the pit, the cabbages may be put in as
thickly as they will stand; if the heads are solid
they may be either head up or stump up, and two
layers deep; but if the heads are soft, then heads up
and one deep, and not crowded very close, that they

Tt

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWEBRS. oo

may have room to make heads during the winter.
Having excavated an area twelve by six feet, set a
couple of posts in the ground midway at each end,
projecting about five feet above the surface 3, connect
the two by a joist secured firmly to the top of each,
and against this, extending to the eround just out-
side the pit, lay slabs, boards or poles, and cover the
roof that will be thus formed with six inches of straw
or old hay, and, if in the North, throw six or eight
inches of earth over this. Leave one end open for
entrance and to air the pit, closing the other end
with straw or hay. In the North close both ends,
opening one of them occasionally in mild weather.
When cabbages are pitted on a large scale this
system of roofing is too costly and too cumbersome.
A few thousand may be kept in a cool root cellar, by
putting one layer heads down, and standing another
layer heads up between these. Within a few years
farmers in the vicinity of Lowell, Mass., have pre-
served their cabbages over winter, on a large scale,
by a new method, with results that have been very
satisfactory. They cut off that portion of the stump
which contains the root; strip off most of the outer
leaves, and then pile the cabbages in piles, six or
eight feet high, in double rows, with boards to keep
them apart, in cool cellars, which are built half out
of ground. The temperature of these, by the judi-
cious opening and closing of windows, is kept as
nearly as possibly at the freezing point. The com-
mon practice in the North, when many thousands
are to be stored for winter and spring sales, is to
select a southern exposure having the protection of
a fence or wall, if practicable, and, turning furrows
with the plough, throw out the earth with shovels, to

56 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

the depth of about six inches ; the cabbages, stripped
as before described, are then stored closely together, °
and straw or coarse hay is thrown over them to the
depth of a foot or eighteen inches. Protected thus
they are accessible for market at any time during
the winter. If the design is to keep them over till
spring, the covering may be first six inches of earth,
to be followed, as cold increases, with six inches of
straw, litter, or eel-grass. This latter is my own prac-
tice, with the addition of leaving a ridge of earth be-
tween every three or four rows, to act as a support
and keep the cabbages from falling over. I am, also,
careful to bring the cabbages to the pit as soon as
pulled, with the earth among the roots as little dis-
turbed as possible ; and, should the roots appear to be
dry, to throw a little earth over them after the cab-
bages are set in the |trench. The few loose leaves
remaining will prevent the earth from sifting down
between the heads, and the air chambers thus made
answer a capital purpose in keeping out the cold, as
air is one of the best non-conductors of heat. It is
said that muck-soil, when well drained, is an excellent
one to bury cabbage in, as its antiseptic properties
preserve them from decay. If the object is to pre-
serve the cabbage for market purposes only, the heads
may be buried in the same position in which they
erew, or they may be inverted, the stump having no
value in itself; but if for seed purposes, they must be
buried head up, as, whatever injures the stump, spoils
the whole cabbage for that object. I store between
ten and fifty thousand heads annually to raise seed
from, and carry them through till planting time with
a degree of success varying from a loss, for seed pur-
poses, of from one-half to thirty-three per cent. of the

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 3T

number buried: but, if handled early in spring, many
that would be worthless for seed purposes, could be
profitably marketed. A few years since, I buried a
lot with a depth varying from one to four feet, and
found, on uncovering them in the spring, that all had
kept, and apparently equally well. In the winter of
1868, excessively cold weather came very early and
unexpectedly, before my cabbage plot had yeceived
its full covering of litter. The consequence was, the
frost penetrated so deep that it froze through the
heads into the stumps, and, when spring came, a large
portion of them came out spoiled for seed purposes,
though most of them sold readily in the market. A
cabbage is rendered worthless for seed when the frost
strikes through the stump where it joins the head,
and though, to the unpractised eye, all may appear
right, yet, if the heart of the stump has a water-soaked
appearance on being cut into, it will almost uniformly
decay just below the head in the course of afew weeks
after having been planted out. If there is a proba-
bility that the stumps have been frozen through,
examine the plot early, and, if it proves so, sell the
cabbages for eating purposes, no matter how sound
and handsome the heads look ; if you delay until time
for planting out the cabbage for seed, meanwhile
much waste will occur. I once lost heavily in Mar-
blehead Mammoth cabbage by having them buried on
a hill-side with a gentle slope. In the course of the
winter they fell over on their sides, which let down
the soil from above, and, closing the air-chambers
between them, brought the huge heads into a mass,
and the result was, a large proportion of them rotted
badly. At another time, I lost a whole plot by bury-
ing them in soil between ledges of rock, which kept

38 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

the ground very wet when spring opened; the conse-
quence was, every cabbage rotted. If the heads are
frozen more than two or three leaves deep before they
are pitted they will not come out so handsome in the
spring; but cabbages are very hardy, and they readily
rally from a little freezing, either in the open ground
or after they are buried, though it is best, when they
are frozen in the open ground, to let them remain
there until the frost comes out before removing them,
if it can be done without too much risk of freezing
still deeper, as they handle better then, for, being
tougher, the leaves are not so easily broken. If the
soil is frozen to any depth before the cabbages are
removed, the roots will be likely to be injured in the
pulling, a matter of no consequence if the cabbages
are intended for market, but of some importance if
they are for seed raising. Large cabbages are more
easily pulled by giving them a little twist; if for seed
purposes, this should be avoided, as it injures the
stump. <A small lot, that are to be used within a
month, can be kept hung up by the stump in the
cellar of a dwelling-house ; they will keep in this way
until spring; but the outer leaves will dry and turn
yellow, the heads shrink some in size, and be apt to
lose in quality. Some practise putting clean chopped
straw in the bottom of a box or barrel, wetting it, and
covering with heads trimmed ready for cooking, add-
ing again wet straw and a layer of heads, so alter-
nating until the barrel or box is filled, after which it
is headed up and kept in a cool place, at, or a little
below, the freezing point. No doubt this is an excel-
lent way to preserve a small lot, as it has the two
essentials to success, keeping them cool and moist.
Instead of burying them in an upright position,

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 39

after a deep furrow has been made the cabbages are
sometimes laid on their sides two deep, with their
roots at’ the bottom of the furrow, and covered with
earth in this position. Where the winter climate is
so mild that a shallow covering will be sufficient
protection, this method saves much labor.

HAVING CABBAGE MAKE HEADS IN WINTER.

When a piece of drumhead has been planted very
late (sometimes they are planted on ground broken
up after a crop of hay has been taken from it the
same season), there will be a per cent. of the plants
when the growing season is over that have not
headed. With care almost all of these can be made
to head during the winter. A few years ago I selected
my seed heads from a large piece and then sold the
first “pick” of what remained at ten cents a head,
the second at eight cents, and so down until all
were taken for which purchasers were willing to give
one cent each. Of course, after such a thorough
selling out as this, there was not much in the shape
of a head left. I now had what remained pulled up
and carted away, doubtful whether to feed them to
the cows or to set them out to head up during
winter. As they were very healthy plants in the
full vigor of growth, having rudimentary heads just
gathering in, I determined to set them out. I hada
pit dug deep enough to bring the tops of the heads,
when the plants were stood upright as they grew,
just above the surface of the ground; I then stood
the cabbages in without breaking off any of the
leaves, keeping the roots well covered with earth,
having the plants far enough apart not to crowd
each other very much, though so near as to press

40 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

somewhat together the two outer circles of leaves.
They were allowed to remain in this condition until
it was cold enough to freeze the ground an inch in
thickness, when a covering of coarse hay was thrown
over them a couple of inches thick, and, as the
cold increased in intensity, this covering was in-
creased to ten or twelve inches in thickness, the
additions being made at two or three intervals. In
the spring I uncovered the lot, and found that nearly
every plant had headed up. I sold the heads for
four cents a pound; and these refuse cabbages aver-
aged me about ten cents a head, which was the price
my best heads brought me in the fall. I have seen
thousands of cabbages in one lot, the refuse of several
acres that had been planted on sod land broken up
the same season a crop of hay had been taken from
it, made to head by this course, and sold in the
spring for $1.80 per barrel. When there is a large
lot of such cabbages the most economical way to
plant them will be in furrows made by the plough.
Most of the bedding used in covering them, if it be
as coarse as it ought to be to admit as much air as
possible while it should not mat down on the cab-
bages, will, with care in drying, be again available
for covering another season, or remain suitable for
bedding purposes. These ‘ winter-headed” cab-
bages, as they are called in the market, are not so
solid and have more shrinkage to them than those
headed in the open ground; hence they will not
bear transportation as well, neither will they keep as
long when exposed, to the air. The effect of winter-
ing cabbage by burying in the soil is to make them
exceedingly tender for table use. We never raise
seed from these winter heading cabbages.

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 41

VARIETIES OF CABBAGE.

If a piece of land is planted with seed crossed from
two heads of cabbage the product will bear a strik-
ing resemblance to the two parent cabbages, with a
third variety which will combine the characteristics
of these two, yet the resemblance will be somewhat
modified at times by a little more manure, a little
higher culture, a little better location, and the addi-
tion of an individuality that particular vegetables
occasionally take upon themselves which we desig-
nate by the word “sport.” The “ sports” when
they occur are fixed and perpetuated with remarka-
ble readiness in the cabbage family, as is proved by
a great number of varieties in cultivation, which are
the numerous progeny of one ancestor. The cata-
logues of the English and French seedsmen contain
long lists of varieties, many of which (and this is
especially true of the early kinds) are either the
same variety under a different name or are different
“strains ” of the same variety produced by the care-
ful sélections of prominent market gardeners through
a series of years.

Every season I experiment with foreign and
American varieties of cabbage to learn the charac-
teristics of the different kinds, their comparative
earliness, size, shape, and hardness of head, length of
stump, and such other facts as would prove of value
to market gardeners. There is one fact that every
careful experimenter soon learns, that one season
will not teach all that can be known relative to a
variety, and that a number of specimens of each kind
must be raised to enable one to make a fair compari-
son. It is amusing to read the dicta which appear

42, CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

in the agricultural press from those who have made
but a single experiment with some vegetable ; they
proclaim more after a single trial than a cautious
experimenter would dare to declare after years spent
in careful observation. The year 1869 I raised over
sixty varieties of cabbage, importing nearly complete
suites of those advertised by the leading English and
French seed houses, and collecting the principal kinds
raised in this country. In the year 1888, I grew
eighty-five different varieties and strains of cabbages
jand cauliflowers. I do not propose describing all
these in this treatise or their comparative merits ; of
some of them I have yet something to learn, but I
will endeavor to introduce with my description such
notes as I think will prove of value to my fellow
farmers and market gardeners.

I will here say in general of the class of early
cabbages, that most of them have elongated heads
between ovoid and conical in form. They appear to
lack in this country the sweetness and tenderness
that characterize some varieties of our drumhead,
and, consequently, in the North when the drumhead
enters the market there is but a limited call for
them.

It may be well here to note a fundamental dis-
tinction between the drumhead cabbage of England
and those of this country, In England the drum-
head class are almost wholly raised to feed to stock.
I venture the conjecture that owing in part, or prin-
cipally, to the fact European gardeners have never
had the motive, they,consequently, have never devel-
oped the full capacity of the drumhead as exampled
by the fine varieties raised in this country. The
securing of sorts reliable for heading being with them

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 43

a matter of secondary consideration, seed is raised
from stumps or any refuse heads that may be stand-
ing when spring comes round. For this reason
English drumhead cabbage seed is better suited to
raise a mass of leaves than heads, and always disap-
points our American farmers who buy it because it
is cheap with the expectation of raising cabbage for
market. English-grown drumhead cabbage ‘seed is
utterly worthless for use in this country except to
raise greens or collards.

The following are foreign varieties that are ac-
cepted in this country as standards, and for years
have been more or less extensively cultivated. In
my experience as a seed dealer, the Sugar Loaf,
Early York and Oxheart are losing ground in the
farming community, the Early Jersey Wakefield
having, to a large extent, replaced them.

Early York. Heads nearly ovoid, rather soft,
with few waste leaves surrounding them, which are
of a bright green color. Reliable for heading. Stump
rather short. “Plant two feet by eighteen inches.
This cabbage has been cultivated in England over a
hundred years. LITTLE PIxiz, with me, is earlier
than Early York, as reliable for heading, heads much
harder, and is of better flavor; the heads do not grow
quite as large.

Early Oxheart. Heads nearly egg-shaped, small,
hard, few waste leaves, stumps short. <A little later
than Early York. Have the rows two feet apart,
and the plants eighteen inches apart in the row.

Early Winnigstadt (a German cabbage). Heads
nearly conical in shape, having usually a twist of leaf

44 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

at the top; larger than Oxheart, are harder than any
of the early oblong heading cabbages; stumps mid-
dling short; matures about ten days later than
Early York. The Winnigstadt is remarkably reliable
for heading, being not excelled in this respect, when
the seed has been raised with care, by any cabbage
grown. It is a capital sort for early market outside
our large cities, where the very early kinds are not
so eagerly craved. It is so reliable for heading that
it will often make fine heads where other sorts fail ;
and I would advise all who have not succeeded in
their efforts to grow cabbage to try this before giving
up their attempts. It is raised by some for winter
use, and where the Drumheads are not so successfully
raised, I would advise my farmer friends to try the
Winnigstadt, as the heads are so hard that they keep
without much waste. Have rows two feet apart, and
plant twenty inches to two feet apart in the rows.

Red Drumhead. It is very difficult to raise seed
from this cabbage in this country. I am acquainted
with five trials, made in as many different years, two
of which I made myself, and all were nearly utter
failures, the yield, when the hardest heads were
selected, being at about the rate of two great spoon-
fuls of seed from every twenty cabbages. French
seed-growers are more successful, otherwise this seed
would have to sell at a far higher figure in the market
than any other sort.

The Little Pixie has much to recommend it, in
earliness, quality, reliability for heading, and hard-

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 45

ness of the head; earlier than Early York, though
somewhat smaller.

Among those that deserve to be heartily welcomed
and grow in favor are the Earty Utm Savoy (for
engraving and description of which see under head
of Savoy), and the St. DENNIS DRUMHEAD, a late,
short-stumped sort, setting a large, round, very solid
head, as large, but harder, than Premium Flat Dutch.
The leaves are of a bluish-green, and thicker than
those of most varieties of Drumhead. Our brethren
in Canada think highly of this cabbage, and if we
want to try a new Drumhead I will speak a good
word for this one.

Early Schweinfurt, or Schweinfurt Quintal, is an
excellent early Drumhead for family use ; the heads
range in size from ten to eighteen inches in diameter,
varying with the conditions of cultivation more than
any other cabbage I am acquainted with. They are
flattish round, weigh from three to nine pounds when
well grown, are very symmetrical in shape, standing
apart from the surrounding leaves. They are not
solid, though they have the finished appearance that
solidity gives ; they are remarkably tender, as though
blanched, and of very fine flavor. It is among the
earliest of Drumheads, maturing at about the same
time as the Early Winnigstadt. As an early Drum-
head for the family garden it has no superior; and
where the market is near, and does not insist that a
cabbage head must be hard to be good, it has proved
a very profitable market sort.

The following are either already standard Ameri-
can varieties of cabbage, or such as are likely soon

46 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

to become so; very possibly there are two or three
other varieties or strains that deserve to be included
in the list. I give all that have proved to be first
class in my locality: EARLY WAKEFIELD, EARLY
SuMMER, ALL SEASONS, Harp HEADING, SUCCES—
SION, WARREN, VANDERGAW, NEWARK FLAT
DutcH, PREMIuM FLAT DutcH, STONE—MASOoN,
LARGE LATE DRUMHEAD, MARBLEHEAD MAMMOTH
DRUMHEAD, ForTrTLER’s DRUMHEAD, BERGEN
DRUMHEAD, DRUMHEAD SAvoy and AMERICAN
GREEN GLOBE SAvoy, AVERY, VOLGA, TwiIss,
GLORY OF ENKHUISON, HousER, DEEP Heap,
DANISH WINTER BALL HEAD, HOLLANDER, SURE
Heap and Souip Emperor. All of these varieties,
as I have previously stated, are but improvements of
foreign kinds ; but they are so far improved, through
years of careful selection and cultivation, that, as a
rule, they appear quite distinct from the originals
when grown side by side with them, and this dis-
tinction is more or less recognized, in both English
and American catalogues, by the adjective ‘“ Ameri-
can” or “ English” being added after varieties bear-
ing the same name. ,

Early Wakefield, sometimes called Early Jersey
Wakefield. Heads mostly nearly conical in shape,
but sometimes nearly round, of good size for early,
very reliable for heading; stumps short. A very
popular early cabbage in the markets of Boston and
New York. Plant two and a half feet by two feet.
There are two strains of this cabbage, one a little
later and larger than the other.

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 47

Charleston Wakefield, or Early Wyman. Capt.
Wyman, of Cambridge, was doubtless the originator.

Like Early Wake-
field, the heads are
usually somewhat
conical, but some-
times nearly round;
in structure they are
compact. In earli-
ness it ranks about
with the Early
Wakefield, and
making heads of
double the size, it has a high value as an early cab-
bage. Capt. Wyman had entire control of this cab-
bage for many years, and consequently held Boston
market in his own hands, to the chagrin of his

fellow market-gardeners, raising some seasons as
many as thirty thousand heads. Have the rows
from two to two and a half feet apart, and the
plants from twenty to twenty-four inches apart in
the row. Crane’s Early is a cross between the Wyman
and Wakefield, intermediate in size and earliness.

48 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

Premium Flat Dutch. Large, late variety; heads
either round or flat on the top (varying with differ-
ent strains) ; rather hard; color bluish green; leaves
around heads rather numerous; towards the close of

the season the edge of some of the exterior leaves
and the top of the heads assume a purple cast.
The edges of the exterior leaves and of the two or
three that make the outside of the head are quite
ruffled, so that when grown side by side with Stone-
Mason this distinction between the habit of growth
of the two varieties is noticeable at quite a distance.
Stumps short; reliable for heading. Have the rows
three feet apart, and the plants from two and a half
to three feet apart in the rows. This cabbage is
very widely cultivated, and in many respects is an
excellent sort to raise for late marketing. There are
several strains of it catalogued by different seedsmen
under various names, such as Sure Head, etc.

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 49

Stone-Mason. An improvement on the Mason,
which cabbage was selected by Mr. John Mason, of
Marblehead, from a number
of varieties of cabbage that
came from a lot of seed
purchased and planted as
Savoys. Mr. John Stone
afterwards improved upon
the Mason cabbage by in-
creasing the size of the
heads, and I therefore gave
his name to the new variety. Different growers
differ in their standard of a Stone-Mason cabbage in
earliness and lateness, and in the size, form and
hardness of the head. But all these varieties agree
in the characteristics of being very reliable for head-
ing, in having heads which are large, very hard,
very tender, rich and sweet, short stumps and few
waste leaves. The color of the leaves varies from a
bluish green to a pea-green, and the structure from
nearly smooth to much blistered. In their color and
blistering some specimens have almost a Savoy cast.
The heads of the best varieties of Stone-Mason range
in weight from six to twenty-five pounds, the differ-
ence turning mostly on soil, manure and cultivation.

The Stone-Mason is an earlier cabbage than Pre-
mium Flat Dutch, has fewer waste leaves, and side
by side, under high cultivation, grows to an equal or
larger size, while it makes heads that are decidedly
harder and sweeter. These cabbages are equally
reliable for heading. I am inclined to the opinion
that under poor cultivation the Premium Flat Dutch
will do somewhat better than the Stone-Mason. I re-
gret that of late years this fine variety has some seasons
shown a tendency to rot at the stump while growing.

50 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

Until the introduction of Fottler’s Drumhead it
was the standard drumhead cabbage in the markets
of Boston and other large cities of the North. Have
the rows three feet apart, and the plants from twe
to three feet apart in the row.

Large Late Drumhead. Heads large, round,
sometimes flattened at the top, close and firm; loose
leaves numerous ; stems short; reliable for heading,
hardy, and a good keeper. The name “ Large Late
Drumhead” includes varieties raised by several
seedsmen in this country, all of which resemble each
other in the above characteristics, and differ in but
minor points. Have rows three feet apart, and
plants from two and a half to three feet apart in the
row.

Marblehead Mammoth Drumhead. This is the
largest of the cabbage family, having sometimes been
grown to weigh over ninety pounds to the plant. It
originated in Marblehead, Mass., being produced by
Mr. Alley, probably from the Mason, by years of
high cultivation and careful selection of seed stock.
I introduced this cabbage and the Stone Mason to
the general public many years ago, and it has been
pretty thoroughly disseminated throughout the United
States. Heads varying in shape between hemispheri-
cal and spherical, with but few waste leaves surround-
ing them; size very large, varying from fifteen to
twenty inches in diameter, and, in some specimens,
they have grown to the extraordinary dimensions
of twenty-four inches. In good soil, and with the
highest culture, this variety has attained an average
weight of thirty pounds by the acre. Quality, when
well grown, remarkably sweet and tender, as would
be inferred from the rapidity of its growth. Culti-

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 51

vate in rows four feet apart, and allow four feet
between the plants in the rows. Sixty tons of this
variety have been raised from a single acre.

American Green Glazed. Heads loose, though
rather large, with a great body of waste leaves sur-
rounding them ; quality poor; late ; stump long.
This cabbage was readily distinguished among all
the varieties in my experimental plot by the deep,
rich green of the leaves, with their bright lustre as
though varnished. It is grown somewhat extensively
in the South, as it is believed not to be so lable to
injury from insects as other varieties. Plant two and
a half feet apart each way. I would advise my
Southern friends to try the merits of other kinds
before adopting this poor affair. I know, through
my correspondence, that the Mammoth has done
well as far South as Louisiana and Cuba, and the
Fottler, in many sections of the South, has given
great satisfaction.

Fottler’s Early Drumhead. Several years ago a
Boston seedsman
imported a lot of
cabbage seed from
Europe, under the
name of Early
Brunswick Short
Stemmed. It prov-
ed to be a large
heading and very
early Drumhead.
The heads were
from eight to eigh-
teen inches in dia-
meter nearly flat,

52 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

hard, sweet, and tender in quality; few waste
leaves; stump short. In earliness it was about a
fortnight ahead of the Stone-Mason. It was so much
liked by the market gardeners that the next season
he ordered a larger quantity ; but the second importa-
tion, though ordered and sent under the same name,
proved to be a different and inferior kind, and the
same result followed one or two other importations.
The two gardeners who received seed of the first

VANGERGAW CABBAGE.

importation brought to market a fine, large Drum-
head, ten days or a fortnight ahead of their fellows.
The seed of the true stock was eagerly bought up by
the Boston market gardeners, most of it at five dol-
lars an ounce. After an extensive trial on a large
scale by the market farmers around Boston, and by
farmers in various parts of the United States, Fottler’s

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 53

Cabbage has given great satisfaction, and become a
universal favorite, and when once known it, and
especially the improved strain of it, known as Deep
Head, is fast replacing some of the old varieties of
Drumhead. Very reliable for heading.

VANDERGAW CABBAGE.

This new Long Island Cabbage must be classed as
A No. 1 for the midsummer and late market. It is
as sure to head as the Succession, and has some ex-
cellent characteristics In common.

It makes large, green heads, hard, tender, and
crisp. This is an acquisition.

THE WARREN CABBAGE.

This first-class cabbage is closely allied to, but
an improvement on, the old Mason cabbage of
many years ago. It makes a head deep, round and

54 CABBAGES AND GAULIFLOWERS.

very hard, the outer leaves wrapping it over very
handsomely. In reliability for heading no cabbage
surpasses it; a field of them when in their prime is as
pretty a sight as a cabbage man would wish to see.
It comes in as early as some strains of Fottler, and a
little earlier than others. A capital sort to succeed
the All-Seasons. The heads being very thick through,
and nearly round, make it an excellent sort to carry
through the winter, as it “peels” well, as cabbage
growers say. Ten inches in diameter, in size it is
just about right for profitable marketing. <A capital
sort, exceedingly popular among marketmen in this
vicinity.

EARLY BLEICHFELD CABBAGE.

————— SS

I find the Bleichfeld to be among the earliest of
the large, hard-heading Drumheads, maturing earlier
than the Fottler’s Brunswick. The heads are large,
very solid, tender when cooked, and of excellent

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWEBRS. 55

flavor. The color is a lighter green than most varie-
ties, and it is as reliable for heading as any cabbage
IT have ever grown. The above engraving I have had
made from a photograph of a specimen grown on

my grounds.

ALL-SEASONS CABBAGE.

This cabbage is the result of a cross made by a
Long Island gardener between the Flat Dutch and
a variety of Drumhead. The result is a remarkably
large, early Drumhead, that matures close in time
with the Early Summer, while it is from one third to
one half larger. It is an excellent variety either as
an early or late sort; the roundness of the head,
leaving a thick, solid cabbage, should it become neces-
sary, as is often the case with those marketed in the
spring, to peal off the outer layer of leaves. Heads
large in size, solid and tender, and rich flavored when

56 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

cooked. It has verified the prophecy I made when
sending it out and become a standard variety in many
localities. Its popularity is increasing from year to
year.

GREGORY’S HARD-HEADING CABBAGE.

Heads grow to a good market size, are more globu-
lar than Flat Dutch, and, as might be presumed, of
great weight in proportion to their size. The color
is a peculiar green, rather more of an olive than most
kinds of cabbage; about a fortnight later than Flat

Dutch. For late fall, winter and spring sales plant
3 by 3 the first of June.

EARLY DEEP-HEAD CABBAGE.

This is a valuable improvement on the Fottler,
made by years of careful selection and high cultiva-
tion by Mr. Alley, of Marblehead, a famous cabbage-
grower, who, as the name indicates, has produced a

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 57

EARLY DEEP-HEAD CABBAGE,

deeper, rounder heading variety than the original
Fottler, thus making what that was not, an excellent
sort for winter and spring marketing. It has all the
excellent traits of its parent in reliability for making
large, handsome heads.

Bergen Drumhead. Heads round, rather flat on
the top, solid; leaves stout, thick and rather numer-
ous ; stump short. With me, under same cultivation,
‘t is later than Stone-Mason. It is tender and of
good flavor. A popular sort in many sections, par-

ticularly in the markets of New York City. Have
the plants three feet apart each way.

The Avery Cabbage is a variety made by selection
from the Fottler by the farmers of Essex County,
Mass., a county famous for the many choice varieties
that have originated there. It closely resembles the
Stone-Mason in the shape and size of its head and in

58 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

reliability for heading. I have seen a field of about
two acres of this variety when every plant bore a
good marketable head. It matures about with the
Stone-Mason, and, being so inclined to rot at the
stump, has largely replaced it in the region where it
originated.

Twiss Cabbage. This is a variety of the Warren,
originated in the vicinity of Lowell, Mass., by the
farmer whose name it bears. It differs from the
Warren in being a little earlier, while the head is
rather more spherical. Its habit of growth is some-
what peculiar, rising above the head so that until
mature the appearance suggests a failure in heading ;
but when these projecting leaves are removed a
round, symmetrical head is seen.

‘©Glory of Enkhuisen.’? This is a cabbage which
has come to us from across the water. It is a re-
markably early sort for a Drumhead, being but a few
days later than the Jersey Wakefield. ‘The heads

are round as a ball, very solid, growing on a very
short stump. Some of our customers have been
fairly captivated by its merits, having adopted it as
their earliest Drumhead.

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 59

‘‘Volga.”? This, ds the name would imply, is a
Russian cabbage, and has one peculiarity that it
brings to us from a colder latitude than ours, Wizis 1b
cannot always be relied upon to give satisfaction
if planted earlier than the latter part of June, as it
will not always give satisfaction when maturing in
the heat of summer. Were it not for this character-
istic, the Volga would be decidedly the largest of all
the varieties of early Drumheads. When planted the

latter part of June in the latitude of Massachusetts,
it gives us the largest of all Drumheads planted on
the same date. Some have made the objection that
it does not cut as neatly from the stump as other
Drumheads, but all agree on its remarkable earliness
(being but a few days later than Jersey Wakefield)
and the great size and solidity of the heads.

The ‘*Houser’? Cabbage. This variety, which
bears the name of its originator, comes to us from
the West, It is of the Flat Dutch strain, but is a

60 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

THB “* HousEeR’”’? CABBAGE.
fortnight later than any of its type. As will be seen,
the heads are as round as a ball, and about as hard.
The heads are not as liable to split as other varieties.
The stump extends but about 2} inches into the
head. The leaves are as free from mid-ribs and
creases as are to be found in most varieties, which
contributes towards its tenderness when cooked. The
heads are not quite as shiny when growing as are
some other Drumheads, but when “peeled” are all
right. A test made by the professor in charge at the
Canadian Experimental Station of the Houser with
many other varieties —a test carried through two
seasons — demonstrated the very valuable fact that
the Houser was freer from blight than any of the
other varieties.

Danish Winter Ball Head. The Danish and Hol-
lander cabbages, under yarious names, have become

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 61

exceedingly popular in our late winter and spring
markets, for the good reason that the imported varie-
ties have been bringing from fifty cents to a dollar
more per barrel than the best of our native sorts.
This is because of the remarkable hardness of the
heads. All are very reliable for heading if planted
early on strong, well-manured land. In the latitude
of Central Massachusetts they should be planted the
first week in June.

The Solid Emperor. All the various strains of
these foreign late cabbages are characterized by
stumps longer than those of our native sorts. All

are very reliable for heading if planted on strong,

well-manured land. In the latitude of Central Massa-
chusetts they should be planted the first week in
June. We find no one variety equal to the Solid
Emperor.

The Hollander. The Hollander is one of the best
of those hard-heading foreign varieties which have
been imported into our markets after spring is well
advanced. We find that in this country as fine heads

62 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

can be raised as are imported. The heads are thick,
round, of medium size, and about as hard as a rock.
Plant at least a fortnight earlier than the common
Drumhead, and manure very liberally.

Early Deep Head. ‘This cabbage, which is a selec-
tion from the Fottler, differs from its ancestor in
forming a much thicker and harder head. It grows
to a first-class market size. Very popular among the
market gardeners of Marblehead, who have the repu-
tation of carrying in the best cabbages sold in the
Boston market. Earlier than Stone-Mason. Planted
in the latitude of Boston from June 10 to 20, it
matures in season for the late fall market, and is an
excellent variety to keep through for marketing in
spring, as it “peels ” well.

SAVOY CABBAGES.

The Savoys are the tenderest and richest-flavored
of cabbages, though not always as sweet as a well-
grown Stone Mason; nor is a Savoy grown on poor
soil, or one that has been pinched by drough, as ten-
der as a Stone Mason that has been grown under
favoring circumstances ; yet it remains, as a rule, that
the Savoy surpasses all other cabbages in tenderness,
and in a rich, marrow-like flavor. The Savoys are
also the hardiest of the cabbage tribe, enduring in the
open field a temperature within sixteen degrees of
zero without serious injury; and if the heads are not
very hard they will continue to withstand repeated
changes from freezing to thawing for a couple of
months, as far north as the latitude of Boston. A
degree of freezing improves them, and it is common
in that latitude to let such as are intended for early
winter use, in, the family, remain standing in the
open ground where they grew, cutting the heads as
they are wanted.

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 63

As a rule Savoys neither head as readily (the “ Im-
proved American Savoy” being an exception) nor do
the heads grow as large as the Drumhead varieties ;
indeed, most of the kinds in cultivation are so unreli-
able in these respects as to be utterly worthless for
market purposes, and nearly so for the kitchen garden.

The Drumhead Savoy. This, as the name im-
plies, is the result of a cross between a Savoy and a
Drumhead cabbage, partaking of the characteristics
of each. Many of the cabbages sold in the market
as Savoy are really this variety. One variety in my
experimental garden, which I received as Tour’s
SAvoy (evidently a Drumhead variety of the Savoy),
proved to be much like Early Schweinfurt in earli-
ness and style of heading; the heads were very large,
but quite loose in structure ; I shouid think it would
prove valuable for family use.

It is a fact that does not appear to be generally
known that we have among the Savoys some remark-
ably early sorts which rank with the earliest varieties
of cabbage grown. Pancalier and Early Ulm Savoy
are earlier than that old standard of earliness, Early
York; Pancalier being somewhat earlier than Ulm.

Pancalier is characterized by very coarsely blistered
leaves of the darkest-green color; the heads usually
gather together, being the only exception I know of
to the rule that cabbage heads are made up of over-
lapping leaves, wrapped closely together. It has a
short stump, and with high cultivation is reliable for
heading. The leaves nearest the head, though not
forming a part of it, are quite tender, and may be
cooked with the head. Plant fifteen by thirty inches.

Early Ulm Savoy is a few days later than Panca-
lier, and makes a larger head; the leaves are of a

64 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

lighter green and not
so coarsely blistered ;
stump short; head
round; very reliable
for heading. It has a
capital characteristic
in not being so lable
as most varieties to
burst the head and
push the seed shoot
immediately after the
head is matured. For first early, I know no cabbages
so desirable as these for the kitchen garden.

The Early Dwarf Savoy is a desirable variety of
second early. The heads are rather flat in shape, and
erow toa fairsize. Stumps short; reliable for heading.

Improved American Savoy. Everything con-
sidered, this is the Savoy, “par excellence,” for the
market garden. It
is a true Savoy, the
heads grow to a
large size, from six
to ten inches in di-
ameter, varying, of
course, with soil,
-manure, and culti-
tvation. In shape

the heads are most-

ly globular, occasionally oblong, having but few waste
leaves, and grow very solid. Stump short. In re-
liability for heading it is unsurpassec by any other
other cabbage.

Golden Savoy differs from other varieties in the
color of the head, which rises from the body of light

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 65

green leaves, of a singular pale yellow color, as though
blanched. ‘The stumps are long, and the head rather
small, a portion of these growing pointed. It is very
late, not worth cultivating, except as a curiosity.

Norwegian Savoy. This is a singular half cab-
bage, half kale —at least, so it has proved under my
cultivation. The leaves are long, narrow, tasselated,
and somewhat blistered. The whole appearance is
very singular and rather ornamental. I have tried
this cabbage twice, but have never got beyond the
possible promise of a head.

Victoria Savoy, Russian Savoy, and Cape Savoy,
tested in my experimental garden, did not prove
desirable either for family use or for market purposes.

Feather Stemmed Savoy. This is a cross be-
tween the Savoy and Brussels sprouts, having the
habit of growth of Brussels sprouts.

OTHER VARIETIES OF CABBAGE.

I will add notes on some other varieties which have
been tested, from year to year, in my experimental plot.
The results from tests of different strains of standard
sorts, I have not thought it worth the while to record.

Cannon Ball. The heads are usually spherical,
attaining to a diameter of from five to nine inches,
with the surrounding leaves gathered rather closely
around them; in hardness and relative weight it is
excelled by but few varieties. Stump short. It de-
lights in the highest cultivation possible. It is about
a week later than Early York. In those markets
where cabbages are sold by weight, it will pay to
grow for market ; it is a good cabbage for the family
garden.

Early Cone, of the Wakefield class, but with me
not as early.

66 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

Garfield Pickling, of late variety, of the conical
class.

Cardinal Red. A large, late variety of red; but
on my grounds, it is not equal to Red Drumhead.

Vilmorin’s Early Flat Dutch. Not quite as large
as Early Summer, though about as early and resem-
bles it in shape of head.

Royal German Drumhead. Reliable for heading.

Large White Solid Madgeburg. A late Drum-
head ; short stumped; reliable for heading. Medium
late.

Pak Choi. Evidently of the Kale class; no heads,

Chou de Burghlez and Chou de Milan. ‘These
are coarse, loose, small heading varieties, allied to
Kale. The latter is of the Savoy class.

Earliest Erfurt Blood-Red. Decidedly the earliest
of the red cabbages. Very reliable for heading. A
Drumhead; smaller than Red Drumhead. Very dark
red.

Empress. Resembles Wyman in size and shape;
but the heads are more pointed, and it makes head
earlier. Heads well.

Schlitzer. This makes heads mostly shaped like
the Winnigstadt, but a third larger. Its mottling of
ereen and purple gives it a striking appearance.
Early and very reliable for heading. Heads are not
very hard; but, when cooked, are just about as tender
and rich-flavored as the Savoy. Promises to be an
excellent sort for family use.

Rothelburg. An early sure heading variety of the
Drumhead class. Heads of medium size ; resembling
in shape Deep Head.

Sure Head. A strain of Fottler or Flat Dutch.
A late variety; heads deeper than Fottler, but with
me not so reliable.

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 67

Dark Red Pointed. Resembles Winnigstadt in
shape. About as late as Red Dutch, and not as de-
sirable.

Bacalan Late. In shape resembles Winnigstadt.
Grow a little wild.

Amack. A late variety. Heads generally nearly
globular and quite hard. Very reliable for heading.

Bangholm. First of all. As early as the earliest.
but very small, — not as large as Little Pixie.

Henderson’s Early Spring. New; early; very
promising.

Tourleville. Heads resemble Wakefield in form,
but with me are not so large, and are more inclined
to burst.

Danish Round Winter. A late variety; bearing
deep, very hard heads on long stumps.

Dwarf Danish. Late; reliable to head; uneven
in time of heading, worth planting for market.

Danish Ball Drumhead. Heads not characterized
by globular shape, but rather flattish. Irregular in
length of stump.

Early Paris. Closely resembles Wakefield.

Very Early Etampes. Earlier than Wakefield.
Shape, partakes of both Oxheart and Wakefield.

Early Mohawk. Light green in color; a good
header, but not so hard heading as Fottler; appears
to have a little of the Savoy cross in it.

Louisville Drumhead. Of the Flat Dutch type;
nearly as early as Early Summer.

Early Advance. Of the Wakefield type. With
me it is full as early as Wakefield, and considerably

larger ; rather coarser in structure,

68 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

Market Garden. Of the Fottler class; very reli-
able for heading. Heads of good size, but rather
coarser than the Deep Head.

Chase’s Excelsior. A second early; much lke
Fottler ; heads finely.

Bloomsdale Early Market. With me this is not
as good a variety as Wakefield.

Berkshire Beauty. There appear to be fine pos-
sibilities in this cabbage, which have not yet been
developed into uniformity.

Landredth’s Extra Early. With me it does not
prove as early as Wakefield, and does not head as
well.

Bridgeport Late Drumhead. A large Drum-
head; in size, between Stone Mason and Marblehead
Mammoth. Reliable for heading, but does not head
as hard as either of these varieties. Not inclined to
burst.

Large French Oxheart closely resembles Early
Oxheart, but grows to double the size, and is about
ten days later; quality usually good.

Early Sugar Loaf. Heads shaped much like a
loaf of sugar standing on its smaller end, resembling,
as Burr well says, a head of Cos lettuce in its shape,
and in the peculiar clasping of the leaves about the
head. Heads rather hard, medium size; early, and
tender. It is said not to stand the heat as well as
most sorts.

Large Brunswick Short-Stemmed. (English
seed.) Late, long-stumped, wild, plenty of leaves,
almost no head; bears but a slight resemblance to
Fottler’s Drumhead.

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 69

Robinson’s Champion Ox Drumhead. Stump
long; heads soft and not very large ; wild.

English Winnigstadt. Long-stumped; irregular;
not to be compared with French stock.

Blenheim. Early; heads mostly conical; of good
size.

Shillings Queen. Early; heads conical; stumps
long.

Carter’s Superfine Early Dwarf. Surpasses in
earliness and hardness of head. Closely allied to
Little Pixie.

Enfield Market Improved. Most of the heads
were flat; rather wild; not to be compared with
Fottler.

Kemp’s Incomparable. lLong-headed; heads,
when mature, do not appear to burst as readily as
with most of the conical class.

Fielderkraut. Closely resembles Winnigstadt,
with larger and longer heads and stump; requires
more room than Winnigstadt.

Ramsay’s Winter Drumhead. Closely resembles
St. Dennis. I think it is the same.

Pomeranian Cabbage. Heads very long; quite
large for a conical heading sort; very symmetrical
and hard; color, yellowish-green. It handles well, and
I should think would prove a good keeper. Medium
early.

Alsacian Drumnead. Stump long; late; wild.

Marbled Bourgogne. Stumps long; heads small
and hard; color, a mixture of green and red.

CABBAGE GREENS.

Tn the vicinity of our large cities, the market gar-
deners sow large areas very thickly with cabbage

70 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

seed, early in the spring, to raise young plants to be
sold as greens. The seed is sown broadcast at the
rate of ten pounds and upwards to the acre. Seed
of the Savoy cabbage is usually sown for this pur-
pose, which may be sometimes purchased at a dis-
count, owing to some defect in quality or purity, that
would render it worthless for planting for a crop of
heading cabbage.

The young plants are cut off about even with the
ground, when four or five inches high, washed, and
carried to market in barrels or bushel boxes. The
price varies with the state of the market, from 12
cents to $3 a barrel, the average price in Boston
market being about a dollar. With the return of
spring most families have some cabbage stumps re-
maining in the cellar; these can be planted about
a foot apart in some handy spot along the edge of
the garden, where they will not interfere with the
general crop, setting them under ground from a
quarter to a half their length, depending on the
length of the stumps. They will soon be covered
with green shoots, which should be used as greens
before the blossom buds show themselves, as they
then become too strong to be agreeable. If the spot
is rich and has been well dug, the rapidity of growth
is surprising; and if the shoots are frequently gath-
ered, many nice messes of greens can be grown from
a few stumps. Farmers in Northern Vermont tell
me, that if they break off each seed shoot as soon as it
shows itself, close home to the stump, nice little heads
will push out on almost every stump. In England,
where the winter climate is much milder than that
of New England, it is the practice to raise a second
crop of heads in thisway. In my own neighborhood

|

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. (Gl

I have seen an acre from which a crop of drumhead
cabbage had been cut off early in the season, every
stump on which had from three to six hard heads,
varying from the size of a hen’s egg to that of a goose
egg; but to get this second growth of heads, as much
of the stump and leaves should be left as possible,
when cutting out the original head. As in the
cabbage districts of the North little or no use is made
of this prolific after growth, it is worse than useless
to suffer the ground to be exhausted by it; the stump
should be pulled by the potato hoe as soon as the
heads are marketed. When cabbages are planted out
for seed, if, for any reason, the seed shoot fails to
push out, and at times when it does push out fine
sprouts for greens will start below the head, such
sprouts should be broken off, not being allowed to
blossom, much less produce seed ; it being the gen-
eral belief among seedsmen that seed raised from
them is no better than that raised from the stumps
after the heads have been removed.

CABBAGE FOR STOCK.

No vegetable raised in the temperate zone, Man-
gold Wurtzel alone excepted, will produce as much
food to the acre, both for man and beast, as the cab-
bage. Ihave seen acres of the Marblehead Mammoth
drumhead which would average thirty pounds to
each cabbage, some specimens weighing over sixty
pounds. The plants were four feet apart each way
which would give a product of over forty tons to the
acre ; and I have tested a crop of Fottler’s that yielded
thirty tons of green food to the half acre. Other
vegetables are at times raised for cattle feed, such as
potatoes, carrots, ruta bagas, mangold wurtzels ; a
crop of potatoes yielding four hundred bushels to the

12 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

acre at sixty pounds the bushel would weigh twelve
tons; a crop of carrot yielding twelve hundred
bushels to the acre would weigh thirty tons; ruta
bagas sometimes yield thirty tons; and mangolds
as high as seventy tons to the acre. I have set all
these crops at a high capacity for fodder purposes;
the same favoring conditions of soil, manure, and
cultivation that would produce four hundred bushels
of potatoes, twelve hundred bushels of carrots, and
thirty-five tons of ruta baga turnips, would give a
crop of forty tons of the largest variety of drumhead
cabbage. If we now consider the comparative merits
of these crops for nutriment, we find that the cab-
bage excels them all in this department also. The
potatoes abound in starch, the mangold and carrot
are largely composed of water, while the cabbage
abounds in rich, nitrogeneous food.

Prof. Stewart states that cabbage for milch cows
has about the same feeding value as sweet corn ensi-
lage, and makes the value not over $3.40 per ton.
Now it is admitted by general consent that the value
of common ensilage, which is inferior to that made
from sweet corn, is, when compared with good English
hay, as 3 to 1. This would make cabbages for milch
cows worth not far from $7.00 per ton.

When cabbage is kept for stock feed later than the
first severe frost, if the quantity is large there is
considerable waste even with the best of care. The
loose leaves should be fed first, and the heads kept in
a cool place, not more than two or three deep, at as
near the freezing point as possible. If it has been
necessary to cut the heads from the stumps, they may
be piled, after the weather has set in decidedly cold,
conveniently near the barn, and kept covered with a

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWEBRS. 73

foot of straw or old litter. As long as a cabbage is
kept frozen there is no waste to it; but if it be
allowed to freeze and thaw two or three times, it will
soon rot with an awful stench. I suspect that it is this
rotten portion of the cabbage that often gives the bad
flavor to milk. On the other hand, if it is kept in
too warm and dry a place, the outer leaves will dry,
turning yellow, and the whole head lose in weight,
—if it be not very hard, shrivelling, and, if bard,
shrinking. If they are kept in too warm and wet a
place, the heads will decay fast, in a black, soft rot.
The best way to preserve cabbages for stock into the
winter, is to place them in trenches a few inches
below the surface, and there cover with from a foot
to two feet of coarse hay or straw, the depth depend-
ing on the coldness of the locality. When the ground
has been frozen too hard to open with a plough or
spade, I have kept them until spring by piling them
loosely, hay-stack shape, about four feet high, letting
the frost strike through them, and afterwards cover-
ing with a couple of feet of eel-grass ; straw or coarse
hay would doubtless do as well.

I have treated of cabbage thus far when grown speci-
ally for stock ; in every piece of cabbage handled for
market purposes, there is a large proportion of waste
suitable for stock feed, which includes the outside
leaves and such heads as have not hardened up suffi-
ciently for market. On walking over a piece just after
my cabbages for seed stock have been taken off, I
note that the refuse leaves that were stripped from
the heads before pulling are so abundant they nearly
cover the ground. If leaves so stripped remain
exposed to frost, they soon spoil; or, if earlier in the
season they are exposed to the sun, they soon become

74 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

yellow, dry, and of but little value. They can be
rapidly collected with a hay fork and carted, if there
be but a few, into the barn; should there be a large
quantity, dump them within a convenient distance of
the barn or feeding ground, but not where the cattle
can trample them, and spread them so that they will
be but a few inches in depth. If piled in heaps they
will quickly heat; but even then, if not too much
decayed, cattle will eat them with avidity. Cabbages
are hardy plants, and loose heads will stand a good
deal of freezing and thawing without serious injury.
They are not generally injured with the thermometer
16° below freezing. The waste, after the cabbages
suitable for seed-raising and all others that are fit for
marketing are removed, brings me about $10 per acre
on the ground for cow feed.

If cabbage is fed to cows in milk without some care,
it will be apt to give the milk a strong cabbage
flavor ; all the feed for the day should be given early
in the morning. Beginning with a small quantity,
and gradually increasing it, the dairy man will soon
learn his limits. The effect of a liberal feed to milk
stock is to largely increase the flow of milk. Avoid
feeding to any extent while the leaves are frozen.

An English writer says: “The cabbage comes into
use when other things begin to fail, and it is by far
the best succulent vegetable for milking cows, —
keeping up the yield of milk, and preserving, better
than any other food, some portion of the quality
which cheese loses when the cows quit their natural
pasturage. Cows fed on cabbages are always quiet
and satisfied, while on turnips they often scour and
are restless. When frosted, they are liable to produce
hoven, unless kept in a warm shed to thaw before
being used; fifty-six pounds given, at two meals, are

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 75

as much as a large cow should have ina day. Fre-
quent cases of abortion are caused by an over-supply
of green food. Cabbages are excellent for young ani-
mals, keeping them in health, and preventing ‘black
leg. A calf of seven months may have twenty pounds
a day.”

RAISING CABBAGE SEED.

Cabbage seed in England, particularly of the drum-
head sorts, is mostly raised from stumps, or from the
refuse that remains after all that is salable has been
disposed of. The agent of one of the largest English
seed houses, a few years since, laughed at my “ waste-
fulness,” as he termed it, in raising seed from solid
heads. In our own country, cabbage seed is often
raised from soft, half-formed heads, which are grown
as a late crop, few if any of them being hard enough
to be of any value in the market. Seedsmen practise
selecting a few fine, hard heads from which to raise
their seed stock. It has been my practice to grow
seed from none but extra fine heads, better than the
average of those carried to market. I do this on the
theory that no cabbage can be too good for a seed-
head if the design is to keep the stock first-class.
Perhaps such strictness may not be necessary; but
I had rather err in setting out too good heads than
too poor ones. Cabbage raised from seed grown
from stumps are apt to be unreliable for heading
and to grow long-stumped, though, under unfavor-
able conditions, long-stumped and poor-headed cab-
bage may grow from the best of seed. To have the
best of seed, all shoots that start below the head

76 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

should be broken off. To prevent the plants falling
over after the seed-stalks are grown, dig deep holes,
and plant the entire stump in the ground. Scare-
crows should be set up, or some like precaution be
taken, to keep away the little seed-birds, that begin
to crack the pods as soon as they commence to ripen.
A plaster cat is a very good scarecrow to frighten
away birds from seed and small fruits, if its location
is changed every few days.

I find that the pods of cabbage seed grown South
are tough, and not brittle, like those grown North,
and hence that they are injured but little, if any, by
seed birds. When the seed-pods have passed what
seedsmen call their “red” stage, they begin to
harden; as soon .as a third of them are brown, the
entire stalk may be cut and hung up in a dry, airy
place, for a few days, when the seed will be ready
for rubbing or threshing out. Different varieties
should be raised far apart to insure purity ; and cab-
bage seed had better not be raised in the vicinity of
turnip seed. ‘There is some difference of opinion as
to the effect of growing these near each other; where
the two vegetables blossom at the same time, I should
fear an admixture. When the care requisite to select
good seed stock, and the trouble, and, often, great
loss, in keeping it over winter, planting it in isolated
locations, protecting it from wind and weather, guard-
ing it from injury from birds and other enemies, gath-
ering it, cleaning it, are all considered, few men will
find that they can afford to raise their own seed,
provided they can buy it from reliable seedsmen.

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. Te

ORIGINATING NEW VARIETIES OF CABBAGE.

It is singular that in this age, when science is SO
intelligently active along so many lines of investiga-
tion and discovery in its efforts to add to the sum of
human knowledge, and thus promote the welfare of
the race, so little attention has been given to the pro-
duction of new varieties of vegetables by the scientific
method, the crossing through the pollen. About all
the kinds of vegetables now cultivated have acquired
their varieties by selection. I can recall but one in
the cabbage family and one in the squash family that
have been thus produced, viz: the Reynolds cabbage
and Butman squash; the former being made at my
suggestion by the late Mr. Franklin Reynolds, then
a clerk in my employ, by transferring the pollen
of the Cannon Ball, a very early and hard heading
variety, on to the pistil of the Schweinfurt Quintal,
a very early, large but loose heading variety of excel-
lent quality. The result was a cabbage which had a
very happy combination of both its parents. T am
sorry to have to aver that in some way hard to
explain this cabbage has departed this life. The
Butman squash was the. product of a cross between
the Japanese squash, the Yokohama and the Hub-
bard by the gentleman whose name it bears, the
product being in quality one of the best of squashes.
Mr. Luther Burbank, when by purchasing from him
a new potato to which I gave his name, thus enabling
him to reach California, has gained a world-wide
reputation by his scientific crosses of fruits and
flowers. Would that he would aim to improve our
vegetables and grains by the same methods. The

78 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

late Mr. Conover, when editor of the Rural New
Yorker, devoted much work to the crossing of pota-
toes and grains, succeeding in obtaining one variety
of the latter which had in it great promise, but, un-
fortunately, by the death of the party having it espe-
cially in charge, all seed stock was lost. The Messrs.
Landredth made many crosses of the tomato. These
I fruited some years ago with very interesting results,
though I am not aware that any of the new varieties
have survived to our day. Within a couple of years
there has been a waking up in this matter, and I am
in correspondence with professors in two of our
agricultural colleges who are working along this line
with promise of a success which will be of great value
to the agriculture of this country. This scientific
crossing of varieties is a very simple matter, entirely
within the reach of any school boy of average intelli-
gence who has entered his teens. He will need a little
botanical knowledge to start with. Examine the blos-
som of a cabbage; you will see that it is made up of
three parts: the outer leaves, a centre growth, called
the pistil, around which are ranged symmetrically
little thread-like growths called stamens. From its
opening examine it carefully for a morning or two,
and you will find that the thread-like growths have a
little powdery growth, called pollen, on their tips.
This powder, more or less of it, must drop on the tip
of the pistil and so fertilize it to enable it to bear
seed. To get a new variety of cabbage it is only
necessary to cut off the tips of these stamens as soon
as they appear (a very small scissors should be used)
and convey to each blossom by the help of a fine
camel’s hair brush (or simply a careful shaking of
the flowers might do) the pollen of another variety

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 79

to the pistil of the one on which you desire to make
your cross. As soon as this pollen has been conveyed
the flowers must be protected from the intrusion of
insects by tying around them loosely a piece of cheese

cloth. The seeds that grow from flowers thus treated

will combine the qualities of the two parents in a
greater or less degree. Make your selections of the
type you prefer and plant in some isolated location
for seed purposes. The varieties of cabbage we have
produced by this scientific process might well be
called ‘* New Creations,” for there will be none others
just like them on this earth.

80 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

COOKING CABBAGE, SOUR-KROUT, ETC.

Cabbage when boiled with salt pork, as it is mostly
used, is the food for strong and healthy digestive
powers ; but when eaten in its raw state, served with
vinegar and pepper, it is considered one of the most
easily digested articles of diet. In the process of
cooking, even with the greatest care, a large portion
of the sweetness is lost. The length of time required
to cook cabbage by boiling varies with the quality>
those of the best quality requiring about twenty
minutes, while others require an hour. In cooking
put it into boiling water in which a little salt and
soda has been sprinkled, which will tend to preserve
the natural green color. It will be well to change
the water once. The peculiar aroma given out by
cabbage when cooking is thought to depend somewhat
on the manner in which it is grown; those having
been raised with the least rank manure having the
least. JI think this is one of the whims of the
community. By using some varieties of boilers all
steam is carried into the fire, and there is no smell
in the house.

To Pickle, select hard heads, quarter them, soak in
salt and water four or five days, then drain and treat
as for other pickles, with vinegar spiced to suit.

For Cold Slaw, select hard heads, halve and then
slice up these halves exceedingly fine. Lay these in
a deep dish, and pour over vinegar that has been
raised to the boiling point in which has been mixed a
little pepper and salt.

Sour-Krout. Take large, hard-headed drumheads,
halve, and cut very fine; then pack in a clean, tight
barrel, beginning with a sprinkling of salt, and follow-

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 81

ing with a layer of cabbage, and thus alternating until
the barrel is filled. Now compact the mass as much
as possible by pounding, after which put on a well-
fitting cover resting on the cabbage, and lay heavy
weights or a stone on this. When fermented it is
ready for use. To prepare for the table fry in butter
or fat.

The outer green leaves of cabbages are sometimes
used to line a brass or copper kettle in which pickles
are made in the belief that the vinegar extracts the
coloring substance (chlorophyl) in the leaves, and the
cucumbers absorbing this acquire a rich green color.
Be not deceived by this transparent cheat, O simple
housewife! the coloring matter comes almost wholly
from the copper or brass behind those leaves’; and,
instead of an innocent vegetable pigment, your green
cucumbers are dyed with the poisonous carbonate of
copper.

CABBAGES UNDER GLASS.

The very early cabbages usually bringing high
prices, the enterprising market gardener either win-
ters the young plants under glass or starts them there,
planting the seed underits protecting shelter long be-
fore the cold of winteris passed. When the design is
to winter over fall grown plants, the seed are planted
an the open ground about the middle of September,
and at about the last of October they are ready to go
into the cold frames, as such are called that depend
wholly on the sun for heat. Select those having
short stumps and transplant into the frames, about
an inch and a half by two inches apart, setting them
deep in the soil up to the lower leaves, shading them
with a straw mat, or the like, fora few days, after

82 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

which let them remain without any glass over them
until the frost is severe enough to begin to freeze
the ground, then place over the sashes; but bear in
mind that the object is not to promote growth, but, as
nearly as possible, to keep them in a dormant state,
to keep them so cold that they will not grow, and
just sufficiently protected to prevent injury from
freezing. With this object in view the sashes must
be raised whenever the temperature is above freezing,
and this process will so harden the plants that they
will receive no serious injury though the ground
under the sash should freeze two inches deep; cab-
bage plants will stand a temperature of fifteen to
twenty degrees below the freezing point. A covering
of snow on the sash will do no harm, if it does not last
longer than a week or ten days, in which case it must
be removed. There is some danger to be feared from
ground mice, who, when everything else is locked up
by the frost, will instinctively take to the sash, and
there cause much destruction among the plants unless
these are occasionally examined. When March opens
remove the sash when the temperature will allow,
replacing it when the weather is unseasonably cold,
particularly at night. Plants started in hot-beds may
be brought still farther forward by transferring them
when two or three inches high to cold frames, hay-
ing first somewhat hardened them. When so trans-,
ferred plant them about an inch apart and shield
from the sun for two or three days. After this
they may be treated as in cold frames. The transfer
tends to keep them stocky, increases the fibrous
roots and makes the plants hardier. As the month
advances the sash may be left entirely off, and about
the first of April the plants may be set out in the

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 83

open field, pressing fine earth firmly around the
roots.

When cabbages are raised in hot-beds the seed,
in the latitude of Boston, should be planted on thes
first of March; in that of New York, about a fort-
night earlier. When two or three inches high, which
will be in three or four weeks, they should be
thinned to about four or less to an inch in. the row.
They should now be well hardened by partly draw-
ing off the sashes in the warm part of the day, and
covering at night; as the season advances remove
the sashes entirely by day, covering only at night.
By about the middle of April the plants will be ready
for the open ground.

When raised in cold frames in the spring, the seed
should be planted about the first of April, mats being
used to retain by night the solar heat accumulated
during the day. As the season advances the same.
process of hardening will be necessary as with those
raised in hot-beds.

COLD FRAME AND HOT-BED.

To carry on hot-beds on a large scale successfully
is almost an art in itself, and for fuller details iL
will refer my readers to works on gardening. Early
plants, in a small way, may be raised in flower pots
or boxes in a warm kitchen window. It is best, if
practicable, to have but one plant in each pot, that
they may grow short and stocky. If the seed are
not planted earlier than April, for out-of-door culti-
vation, a cold frame will answer.

For a cold frame select the locality in the fall,
choosing a warm location on a southern slope, pro-
tected by a fence or building on the north and north-

84 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

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, some good fertilizer, or finely pul-
verized 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

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 85

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 de-
sirable 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 temper-
ature 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 some good
fertilizer, 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.

86 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

CAULIFLOWER, BROCCOLI, BRUSSELS-
SPROUTS, KALE, AND SEA-KALE.

My treatise on the cabbage would hardly be com-
plete without some allusion to such prominent mem-
bers 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 cauli-
flower.” Whether from this we are to infer the
surpassing excellence of this member of the Bras-
sica 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 con-
troversy, that the cauliflower, in toothsome excel-
lence, stands at the head of the great family of which
it isa 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 cauli-
flower, 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 hav-
ing 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

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 87

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 win-
ning 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 cab-
bage 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 mid-
dle 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.

88 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

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 experimen-
tal 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, or Demi-Dur, was for years
the standard variety
raised in this coun-

obtained ; but, of late
years, this has been,
to a large degree, su-
perseded by several
excellent sorts, of
which the Extra-

84
TT HIE BALL NS

cipal among these varieties is the Snowball, the

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 89

After testing it side by side with other varieties, I find
that the best strain of the Snowball is not excelled.
Of the somewhat later ripening sorts, a variety which
originated in this country, called the “Long Island
Beauty,” gives 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 five hundred 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

90 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

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, compact-
ness, and what is technically called curdy appearance,
from its resemblance to the curd of milk in its prep-
aration 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 com-
ponent of soups, or be used as a pickle.

The Broecoliare 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 _ ex-
ceedingly 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

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 91

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 cab-
bage, 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 vege-
tate. 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 prizedin England; but thus
far its cultivation in this country has been very
limited.

The Borecole, or common kale, is of the cabbage

92 CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS.

family, but is characterized by not heading like the
cabbage or producing eatable flowers like the cauli-
flower and broccoli. The varieties are very numer-
ous, 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 ScotcnH,
DWARF GREEN CURLED or GERMAN GREENS, TALL
GREEN CURLED, PURPLE BORECOLE, and the varie-
gated kales. The crown of the plantis used as greens,
or as an ingredient in soups. The kales are very
hardy, and the dwarf varieties, with but little protec-
tion, 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 ex-
treme hardiness leaves them in full vigor after the
cold has destroyed all other plants — some of the rich-
est colors are developed along the veins of the upper-
most 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
ereat 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

~“

CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWERS. 93

customers have written me that this kale raised for
stock feed has given them great satisfaction. The
stalks of this variety of kale are manufactured into
canes.

The THoUSAND-HEADED KALE is a tall variety
sending out numerous side shoots, whence the name.

KOHL-RABI.

The KOHL-RABI, or cabbage-turnip, as it is often
called Gts peculiar structure suggesting a combina-
tion of these two vegetables), is extensively culti-
vated in parts of Europe for stock feeding. To raise,
prepare the ground as for a good
crop of cabbage; have the soil
made as fine as for an onion crop,
and plant in rows about 18 inches
apart, and thin plants to three
inches in the rows. For early use
they can be started in the hotbed
and transplanted like cabbage.
They do better in the cooler months
of the early or late season. They
may be stored for winter use, like
turnips. For a fall crop they can
be planted as late as tuynips.
There are two varieties catalogued, the white and the
purple Vienna, the difference being mere matter of
color. In recent years the kohl-rabi has, to some
extent, become a favorite for table use. When fully
grown it is tough, fibrous and worthless for this pur-
pose, but in its early stage of growth, when it has
attained a diameter of two inches or a little more,
connoisseurs rank it in quality as superior even to the
cauliflower. For table use boil till tender and mash,
to be eaten with a white sauce; or slice, when well
cooked, and fry in butter.

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NOV 30 1

ONION RAISING

WHAT HINDS TO RAISE

AND

THE WAY TO RAISE THEM

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 twenty
editions. It gives the minutest details, from selecting the
j ground and preparing the soil, up to gathering and marketing
the crop. WUlustrated with thirteen engravings of Onions,
Sowing Machines, and Weeding Machines.

_ PRICE, BY MAIL, 50 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

Deana NDE