3iL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



ing of the offal of the slaughtered hogs, which is thoroughly cooked, 

 submitted to a great pressure to extract the grease, and comes from 

 the press almost devoid of moisture, and all of which, even the 

 bones, crumble very easily. This we haul after the packing season 

 begins and mix with its own bulk or more of earth, and is shoveled 

 over once or twice as opportunity permits in order that it may be 

 thoroughly mixed. And this we apply in the spring by the aid of 

 a Kemp's Manure Spreader (which, by the way, is a most excellent 

 implement.) The ground is then thoroughly cultivated and har- 

 rowed, marked off and planted; and this can usually be done as soon 

 as the frost is out of the ground and the land in dry enough condi- 

 tion to work. 



For early cabbage we plant the Early Jersey Wakefield variety, 

 in rows three feet apart, and the plants sixteen inches apart in the 

 rows. For second early, Henderson's Early Summer is grown in 

 rows three feet apart, and twenty inches apart in the rows. Later 

 varieties for succession are grown on less highly manured ground, 

 and given more room. Formerly we wintered over fall grown plants 

 in cold frames, but many times we lost a large per centage by ex- 

 treme weather, mice, etc., and by many going to seed after setting 

 in the field and forming no heads; 7Wir, most gardeners, in the vicinity 

 of Bloomington, grow their plants in hot-beds, or forcing-houses, 

 sowing the seeds about the first of February in shallow boxes, and 

 transplanting the plants in similar boxes in about three or four weeks; 

 after which they are placed in cold frames and hardened off. In 

 transplanting, we row them both ways, in the boxes, in rows, about 

 two and a half inches apart each way, and when ready for planting 

 in the field, they are thoroughly watered and taken to the field, in 

 the boxes, and a knife drawn each way between the plants, and the 

 plants taken up with a block of earth attached to them, and in this 

 way they hardly feel the change, seldom wilting at all, and start im- 

 mediately to grow. I think this way of planting, rather than the 

 way we formerly pursued of planting with the dibber, will make 

 nearly a week's difference in the maturity of the crop. Then, with 

 good cultivation, which means that no weeds are to be allowed to 

 grow, and the ground well stirred with a cultivator at least once a 

 week, we usually begin to cut cabbage and cauliflower (which we 

 grow in the same way) from the first to the tenth of June, and the 

 land is cleared in time to be followed by celery, or some other crop 

 that will mature in the fall. Land that has been used for cabbage 

 one season, is planted the next with onions, sowing three drills with 

 seed, and planting every fourth drill with onion sets, radishes or beet 

 plants, which we grow and handle in the same way we do cabbage 

 plants. These are marketed in bunches as soon as they are large 

 enough. By the side of the rows of sets, etc., as near as it will do 

 (say about three inches), we plant celery, which can be done at any 

 time when the weather is favorable. The onions, from the seed, are 



