>5 Area Aye f iA ANI We PATTI ba etl LAN et NINE NENA ONIN AIRS Ee AW AR AML NA Re RIAU RAS BN aL A Aa A A AYIA NY A Jala anlar t' al A an ANAIAANARACARARARARA RAL REO ACARACAR ROR AR ARS? ala AaARah an PARAAAR TN yy | Talal alae ry Ap A AN ANA IANar fn ae Ral Vl WN RARIAAAA ARAN) \A AA ) A AN AA R Ai ala Nee . lala\ AA A Aahna ANMna é AAA’ A Aaa 7 A f MANN, an nAaAa } A Natal Wale TAAAA. AAA MAN a AAAAne dn Ag! AAAR AAR ABA AA AAA, 1A) AA Al Ann, AAR | AANA SA A Ye a Ven Avi A AINACN| Ny lA ASA \ AN ES ay LA AW ves) } AL: alae A AAA \ TA a ya) [ir AR ARAARAL AL INE As : ‘Als AA a APE ARs Aah 5 A ST Aan Am) a ARRAN RAR. al AAAA AA ANP ae An ann WW Cease A paneer Ana Aen RaiNAR ARE aA MAR AL OANA AY: WN NnnannNanag [A An. aaACAAN NOAM anaes TIES rae Ai Aaaly enn oa > a 3 a Any ai ster AA mie An i | AA , A Te al aA SEAN ut Ms Aas s20808 at PARRAANAAN MN NA AA a a: p saninnan ala af ‘Wn A, 4 A SN Anan. Bere ae N. We ahuash aaaeenennte ll ot mA Ana AAA RANMA AAA, © ee Bctekes ee, Me. ln A ie wath Ae NRA aR aan an At An RAN as a A a “A SA RIB AY HAAN i Uy 2 te al eg a\ VU eat ' $ {i Muu" VV. y AWN uv Viviun Vv 4 i v 3 EO, aS ¥ UY ep Rm os zr 2 > >D: 2S SSD ae kD Be >> eae > > Je 3 Deb: ine S E> 5 pS - SSD). Sb _ yy a 27> y Ses, 2 > SBD. “Sop Ss 3 Se > ee 2 Sop. SSeS 32 23 Se Bee SS Sees Cs SE _ Sie A ww) NY | Y Wy \ y A. vy hes wy SS a a > 2p" DD Da ee Spon oS a> yp ¥> yD? >. 2 > pee Se 3333 3 : V V a ve ve: x Ui ey Bt nM v “A we AiY : Ne i a VU: vig u ay py) WY en fi A NS AX rtf oN i v wa iN | WAS AZ a8 ae > Se ae > > aS 22. oye = CaS tet 22>. >>> OY Reeds ae” $4 ss iy WL uy iy pens ty ue MO: > Ty - x ie : > Ney ww L™ ; Sy) Do» 5» ee REZ? : >: % Sys ») ra is) oh So ie > 8 ree SS N v ; VU AV) 5 V U W W V : Verma NWW\Y V WM UV Y, EMEA UUiy™, V f NVC Che Ueno V j\ ha’, v yw: Vv VU" We Uy W { tek w { V W vu V J VOUS: wv y Uv WV Wv | \ YOY Si v SAMY y Mv = 3> DDS SD Be 0 ae 2 yo » ) > DS. : Agi 2D D> 3d > . Ky y V WY W iY Be fae " He.” | ates ie % eu . ro Pe aa Ree e" i ay Y Vv yy a vue u sei Suess } Ke i V Vv Y y V INN V ‘| We 3 { seca Uy v y : MN, MW ¥ Uy 2D >. Ss = 25> es = 35 LD >» 2D» SB. Sis 22:2 B28 Be; 22 2s 5D 2D 3555 — > ee 3222 lw WV UY JW ACR ACL) W J tion j - bina dh Lies my CABBAGES: HOW TO GROW THEM. A PBACTICAL C s Greatise on Cabbage Culture, GIVING FULL DETAILS ON EVERY POINT, INCLUDING KEEPING AND’ MARKETING THE CROP. 34, (9S~ JAMES J¢ If GREGORY, INTRODUCER OF THE MARBLEHEAD CABBAGES. SALEM, MASS.: OBSERVER STEAM PRINT. 1878. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by JAMES? 3. A. (GREGORY At the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 2Y lrausier trom Pat. Otice Lip, dard wie COUN Ti Ne ee —— ee Page Page. Object of Treatise. ..........- . 3 Fottler’s Early Drumhead...... 50 The Origin of Cabbage.......... 3 Bergen Drumhead.............+ 51 ‘What a Cabbage is..... A cmetaca'aiernis 4 Cannon: Ball, ai. iiicsce waren oon 51 Selecting the Soil........... Ate, 3. BAVOy. CADDALE, peas. as daceeaee 52 Preparing the Soil. .........+.++0: 7 Drumhead Savoy. ......+.-s00.. 52 AM ive Alehonbh dey Seno neaeMsUdOGe COMcODOC 8 PANG A HEE) aiat ais etianreaies Aaiodbac 53 How to Apply the Manure....... 10 Early Ulm Savoy........0..sse05 53 Making the Hills and Planting Early Dwarf Savoy........ aecats 54 PRS GIN a alate s.c'c.aaie cip'=1n.s'< amininie ais ke Improved American Savoy.... 54 Care of the Young Plants... ... 16 FTFOIGEN SAVOY .s).:l¢si via vierasinvnc siniwes 54 Protecting the Plants from their Norwegian Savoy......... siesievele) (OE HOM ETINICSS | ie aie cies oe vie sseceis sie.syeise 18 Victoria, Russian, Cape Savoys 55 NeKGMeeM VOM i... 361) 21 Feather Stemmed Savoy....... 55 Club or Stump Foot........ 22 Large Brunswick Short Stem’d 55 Care of the Growing Crop........ 27 Early Empress........... corcvee DG Marketing the Crop:............- 28 Robinson’s Champion Ox Keeping Cabbages through the Drumihead. 2. scwiecscse ste Siwiesieleio OD VLU) 2) eae ye lar ee eters eC 30 English Winnigstadt........... 55 Having Cabbage Make Heads in PLSMMCUMN 5238 scies ciate elon teas seickejan DO VEU paleseiv cian ele ise eins noigepin'es 36 Shillings: Queen... s/o .e.2s: sees BD Varieties of Cabbage............. 38 Carter’s Superfine Early Dwarf 55 dp wali Sieh oak AiGaeiine Gem A OCIORC 40 Enfield Market Improved...... 56 WATE OMVOTIC. srtaatasieisissicisisinerces 40 Kemp’s Incomparable...-...... 56 Barly OxheGarhs «..ccicec> < e10 .s 41 WMioldenkrawibiyeiys\ejeaistess cerselcits 56 Early Sugar Loaf............. 41 | Ramsay’s Winter Drumhead.. 56 Early Winnigstadt........... 41 Pomeranian Cabbage.......... 56 RCC aD UMLCH eryanreyeecle sie sivietcare. = 42 Alsacian Cabbage............-- 56 Red Drumheadice. sec elas 42 Marbled Burgogne.......... Jooe 18 idave}d bron dleneibcle\\ cnareenagaadac 43 Early Dutch Drumhead....... . 56 Early Schweinfurt, or Cabbage Greens.............. sass BO Schweinfurt Quintal....... 44 | Cabbage for Stock. .............. . 58 Marian Wealkcenel@an. cam sce «ele 45 | Raising Cabbage Seed........... 61 IDEA Nace hae Shap booaono.cobe 45 | Cooking Cabbage, Sour Krout, Premium Flat Dutch......... 46 Bhs Pome eo Mansiteats ciate: easier 62 Early Low Dutch............. 47 | Cabbage Under Glass...... rey a 64 SCONE eMASOM: ccm scrs tlie 47 | Cold Frame and Hot Bed........ 66 Large Late Drumhead........ 48 | Cauliflower, Broccoli, Brussels Marblehead Mammoth....... 49 Sprouts, Kale and Sea Kale.. 68 American Green Glazed. ... 50 = ee Th m) = ; nore & a. ae Ls ab ibe ' ar") OBJECT OF THIS TREATISE. As a general yet very thorough response to inquirier from many of my customers about cabbage raising, - 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 MclIntosh’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, broccoli, 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. Thus through the wisdom of the Great Father of us all, who occasionally in his great garden allows vegeta- bles to sport into a higher form of life, and grants tc some of these sports sufficient strength of individuality to enable them to perpetuate themselves, and at times to 4 CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 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 grounds 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, grow- ing 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 varie- ties, have only been made so by years of careful improve- ment on the originalimported 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 und 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 similarity (the looser the head the closer will be the resemblance ),—the outer leaves of each will unwrap and unfold, and a blossom stem will push out from each. Hence we see that a cabbage is a bud, a seed bud, as all fruit buds may be termed, the production cf 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 CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 5) 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 nutrition when young, is proved, I think, by the fact that those tabbages 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, (particularly is this true of hard heads) ; yet they exhibit a vitality of their own, which is seen in the deeper green color the outer leaves soon attain, and the change from tenderness to tough- ness in their structure; 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 por- tion of the heads when cabbages are set out for seed to use as food for stock. There is certainly a great temp- tation, standing amid acres of large, solid heads in the early Spring months, when green food of all kinds is 6 CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 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 trim- ming 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 gradual accumu- lation 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. I wish I could preach a very loud sermon to all my farmer friends on the great value of liberal manuring to carry crops success- fully 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. CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. T The smaller varieties of cabbage will thrive well on either light or strong soil, but the largest drumheads do best on strong soil. For the Brassica family, including cabbages, cauliflowers, turnips, etc., there is no soil so suitable as freshly turned sod, provided the surface is well fined by the harrow, and 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 srowth of these by the application of guano to the sur- face sufficiently long before turning the sod to allow for its effects on the growth of the clover or grass. If the soil be very sandy in character, 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 ploughing 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 dryer in early 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 8 CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. from the dry weather that usually prevails at that season, preventing 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, that such as die may be promptly replaced. 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 gang plough or cultivator. On ploughed sod I have found nothing so satisfactory as the class of wheel harrows, which not only cut the ma- nure up fine and work it well under, but by the same operation can be made to cut and pulverize the turf until the sod is left not over an inch in thickness. To do the work thus thoroughly requires a yoke of oxen or 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 ma- nure, rotten kelp, night soil, guano, phosphates, wood ashes, fish, salt, 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 itis apt to produce that corpulent enlargement of the. roots known in different localities as ‘‘ stump foot,” ‘‘underground head,” “finger and thumb.”’ I have found barn manure on which hogs have run, 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, CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 9 phosphates, or wood ashes, if the soil be in good condi- tion, 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 Imean to make them grow to the greatest size possible I want a strong compost of barn-yard manure, with night soil and muck, 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 toa winter’s frost, to the depth of about eighteen inches, and raising around this a rim about three feet in height, and thickness. 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 setsin. arly in Spring the entire mass should be pitched over, thoroughly broken up with the bar and 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 of cabbages with a compost of this quality, from five to twelve cords will be required to the acre. Ifthe land is in good heart by previous high cultivation, or the soil is naturally very strong, 10 CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. five cords will give a fair crop of the small varieties ; while, with the same conditions, from nine to twelve cords to the acre will be required to perfect the largest variety grown, the Marblehead Mammoth Drumhead. Of the other kinds of manure named above | will treat farther under the head of 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 ma- nure 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 guano, phosphates, or hen manure in the hill. Let all guano, if at all lumpy, like the Peru- vian, be sifted, and let all the hard lumps be reduced by pounding, until the largest pieces shall not be larger than halfa pea, before it is 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 manure as guano is 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 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 stir- CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 11 ring the soil very thoroughly with the hoe or fork. Unless the guano (and this is also true of most phosphates), is faithfully mixed up with the soil, the seed will not veg- etate. Give the second man about an hour the start, and then let the third man follow with the seed. Of phosphates I use about half as much again as of guano to each hill, and of hen manure a heaping handful, after it has been finely broken up, and, if moist, slightly mixed with dry earth. When salt is used, it should not be depended on exclusively, but be used in connection with other 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 applied ; if dissolved in the manure, better yet. Fish and glue waste are exceedingly powerful manures, very rich in ammonia, and if used the first season they should be in compost. Itis best to handle fish waste, such as heads, entrails, backbones, and liver waste, precisely like night soil. ‘* Porgy cheese,’”’ or ‘‘ chum,” the ref- use after pressing out the oil from menhaden, and now 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 meas- ure, of soil. Assoon as it shows some heat turn it, and repeat the process two or three times, until it is well decomposed, when apply. Glue waste is a very coarse, lumpy manure, and requires a great deal of severe ma- nipulation 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 season before using. This will decompose most of the straw, and break down the hard, tough lumps. In applying this 12 CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 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. 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 the northern states; —the largest and most experienced cultivators of cab- bage in New England usually dropping the seed directly where the plants are 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 unpro- pitious, or the quantity of manure applied is insufficient, it is possible that transplanting may promote heading. The advantages of planting directly in the hill are a saving of time, avoiding the risks incidental to trans- planting, and having all the piece start alike ; for when transplanted many die and have to be replaced, while some hesitate much longer than others before starting, thus making a want of uniformity in the maturing 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 CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 13 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 follow. } Some of our best farmers drill their seed in with a sowing machine, such as is used for onions, carrots, and vther vegetable crops. Thisis 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... Tt has also this advantage, each plant being by itself can be left much longer before thinning, and yet not grow 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 1s very important that the rows should be as straight as practicable, it is a good plan to run back once in each furrow, particularly 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. The manure is leveled 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 ina tin box, or any small ves- 14 CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. sel having a broad bottom, and taking a small pinch be- tween the thumb and fore finger he gives a slight scratch with the remaining fingers of the same hand, and drop- ping 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 pale to keep the moisture in the ground and thus promote the vegetation of the secd. 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 with- out crowding its neighbors. 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 con- centrated, it will be apt to produce stump foot; it will therefore be safest in such cases to hollow out the middle ith 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‘guano or phosphates 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 sur- face with a hoe, before applying them. Ihave in a pre- vious paragraph given full instructions how to apply CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 15 these. Hen manure, if moist, should be broken up very fine, and he mixed with some dry earth to prevent it from again lumping together, and then applied in suf- ficient 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. 1 note, however, that seed of the Improved American Savoy is 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 tenthousand seed, but should not be relied upon for many over two thou- sand 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 of the larger sorts to plant an acre, and of the smaller cabbage rather more than this. Cabbage seed when well cured and kept in close bags will retain their vitality four or five years; old garden- ers 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. 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 plant get tall and weak. 16 CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 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 Ist 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, presenting 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, weak growth, which will hap- pen 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, thou- sands 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. CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 17 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 tothem when taken up. ‘Take up the young plants by running the finger ora trowel under them ; put these into a flat basket or box, and in trans- planting set them 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 dibble or any pointed stick an inch and a half in diam- eter, 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. Some advocate wilting the plants before transplanting; others challenge their vigor by making ita rule to do all transplanting under the heat of mid-day. I think there is not much of reason in either course. | 18 CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. PROTECTING THE PLANTS FROM THEIR ENEMIES. As soon as they have broken through the soil, an enemy awaits them in the small black insect commonly 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 surprisingly active. He apparently feeds on the juice of the young plant, perforating it with small holes the 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, sprinkled upon the plants while the leaves are moist from either rain or dew, afford almost complete protection. The lime or ashes 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. Tam 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 rain has ceased, and so continue to keep the young plants covered until the third or fourth leaves appear, 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 at 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 im length. He burrows in the ground just below the surface, is slow of CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 19 motion, and does his mischievous work at night, gnawing off the young plants close at the surface 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 the rascals will) usually be found half coiled together. Dropping a little | wood ashes around the plants close to the stumps is one} ofthe 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 sur- face, is recommended as efficacious ; and from the hab- its of the worm I should think it would proveso. Late planted cabbage will suffer little or none from this pest, as he disappears about the middle of June. Some sea- sons they are remarkably numerous ; making it neces- sary to replant portions of the cabbage patch several times over. I have heard of as many as twenty being dug at different times the same season out of one cab- bage 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 condition when attacked by a small green insect known as aphide, 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 pow- ers, the leaves curl up into irregular shapes, and the \ 20 CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 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. Considering the circumstances under which this in- sect appears, usually in a very dry season, | hold that it is rather the product than the cause of disease, as with the bark louse on our apple trees ; as a remedy I advo- cate sprinkling the plants with air-s!aked lime, watering if possible, and a frequent and thorough stirring of the soil with the cultivator and hoe. The better the oppor- tunities the cabbage have to develop themselves through high manuring, sufficient moisture, good drainage, and thorough cultivation, 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 grasshoppers are plenty, they will frequently destroy the outer rows, puncturing the leaves with small holes and feeding on them until little besides their skeletons remain. In isolated loca- tions 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 CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. ys their caterpillar state, are the cabbage moth, white-line, brown-eyed moth, large white garden butterfly, white and green veined butterfly. All of these produce cater- pillars which can be destroyed either by application of air-slaked lime, or by removing the leaves infested and crushing the intruders under foot. The cabbage-fly, father-long-legs, the mellipedes, the blue cabbage fly, brassy cabbage flea, and two or three other insect ene- mies are mentioned by Mclntosh as infesting the cab- bage fields of England; also three species of fungi known as white rust, mildew, and eylindrosporium con- centricum ; 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 has made its appearance within a few years, and spread rapidly over a large section of country, in a green worm. ‘This pest infests the cabbage tribe at all stages of its growth; it is believed to have been recently in- troduced into this country from Europe, by the way of Canada, where it was brought in a lot of cabbage. It is probably 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 some- what in check; but its remarkably rapid increase 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, leads me to fear that it has reached this country without its attendant parasites. ee) CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. Besides this green worm, there are found in Kurope a green caterpillar marked with grey or black, and having a dark stripe down.the back and a dirty yellow one down each side, the moth of which is of a dusky brown color; another caterpillar of a greenish yellow color with black spots; a third, green with small yellow rings on the sides of the body; and a fourth green, with orange stripes down the back and sides. All these make great havoe in Europe among the cabbage tribe. The remedies given by European writers, are sprink- ling with clarified lime-water, dusting with air-slaked lime, hellebore, or Scotch snuff. An admixture of car- bonate and carbolate of lime, dusted on, has proved a protective in this country. Large areas in cabbage, in proportion to their size are, as a rule, far less injured by insect enemies than small patches. CLUB OR STUMP FOOT. The great dread of every cabbage grower is a disease of the branching roots, producing a bunchy, gland-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 vitality. There are two theories as to the origin of club foot; one that it 1s a disease caused by poor soil, bad cultivation, and unsuita- ble 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 cab- bage 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.”’ CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 23 If 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 disease 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 cultivator going immedi- ately, 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 dis- ease prevail as late as when the plants have reached half their growth, 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 manifest 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 i is 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 erowing 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 excep- tion to this rule. While it is next to impossible to raise in old gardens a fair turnip free from club-foot, cab- bages may be raised year after year on the same soil 24 CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. with impunity, or at least with but trifling injury from that disease. ‘This seems to prove, contrary to English authority, that club-foot in the turnip tribe is the effect of a different cause from the same disease in the cab- bage 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 be- longing to this town which has peculiar advantages for collecting sea kelp and sea moss, and these manures are there used most liberally, particularly for the cultivation of cabbage, from eight to twelve cords of rotton kelp, which is stronger than barn manure and more suitable food for cabbage, being used to the acre. A few years ago, on a change of tenants, the new incumbent heavily manured a piece for cabbage and planted it ; but as the season advanced stump foot developed in every cabbage 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 suffered 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 ex- tent 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 cabbage were planted with inter- vals of two and three years between. My theory is that CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 25 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 season and planted to cabbage, stump foot ‘appeared only on that portion where the waste leaves fellthe 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 previous when turning his horse every time he had cul- tivated a row, he had stump footed cabbage the next 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 presence cf cab- bage 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 manur- ing and cultivation, yet in the gardens of the town, on the same kind of soil, (and our soil is green stone and syenite, not naturally containing lime,) there are in- stances where cabbage have 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, cabbages 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 something that proves inimical 26 CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. to the disease that produces stump foot. I will suggest as probable that the protection is afforded by the pres- ence of some alkali that old gardens are constantly ac- quiring 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, cab- bage can be raised year following year with almost im- munity from stump foot. He ascribes this to the effects of lime in the soil derived from marine shells, and re- commends that lime from bones be used to secure the same protection ; but the lime that enters into the com- position 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 lib- erally he could follow with cabbage the next season on the same piece. An experiment of my own in this di- rection 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. 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. AsI have stated under another head, an attack of club foot is almost sure to follow the use of pure hog CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 27 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 occasion; 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 culti- vate and hoe cabbage three times during their growth, and it is a rule that works very well where the crop is in good growing condi'ion; 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 convenient, it can do no harm; cab- bages 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. 28 CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. If a season of drouth occurs when the cabbages have begun to head, the heads will harden prematurely ; 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 frequently 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 suff- cient 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 start- ed will grow to double the size they had attained when about to burst. 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 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 sufficiently 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 por- tion can be cut clean out, the head is salable; otherwise it will be apt to have an unpleasant flavor when cooked. CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 29 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 slicet tied closely down. In the markets of Bos- ton, 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 cab- bage equal in size and quality, to be from $3 to $17 per hundred; for the Marblehead Mammoth from $8 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 market- ing oftentimes making a difference of one-half in the profits of the crop. Capt. Wyman, who controlled the Early Wyman cabbage for several years, sold some seasons thirty thousand heads, if my memory serves me, at pretty much his own price. Asa 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 earlicr; 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 4 30 CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. the aim to make sale before the crops of Spring greens become plenty, 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 yard- ing them over the differest portions of the field. With the same impunity, in the southern portion of our own country the cabbages are left unprotected during the Winter months; and, in the warmer portions of the South they are principally a Winter crop. As we ad- vance farther north, we find that the degree of protec- tion 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 pro- tection given by but little more than a rough roof of boards thrown over the heads, after removing the cab- bages 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 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 cover- ing 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 pro- CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. ol cured 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 Thanks- giving time) to scatter over it the eel grass, straw or coarse hay, to the depth of another six inches. In keep ing 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 the plan for kecping for that section should therefore have particularly in view protection from moisture, while in the northern States we 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 possible sufficiently long after rainy weather to have the leaves free of water,—otherwise they will spout 16 on to you, and make you the wettest and muddiest scarecrow ever seen cff 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 towards 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 cabbage, which, if they are of the largest varietics, 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 32 CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. somewhat dry, when it can be mostly removéd by sharp blows against the stump given with a stout stick. In loading do not bruise the heads. Select the place for keeping them in a 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 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; connect the two by a joist secured firmly to the top of each, and against this, extending to the ground just outside 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.