Cultivation. 



Surface Ullage may begin at once, or at least as 

 soon as the plants have had time to establish them- 

 selves in the soil. The small tooth cultivator is the 

 best implement, ai it cultivates shallowly and finely. 

 By running this implement twice in each middle at 

 intervals of a week or ten days, a good, mellow mulch 

 will be maintained. This aerates the soil and conserves- 

 moisture and also keeps down weeds. Where the rows 

 are not laid ofT both ways, the hoe should be used to 

 break up the crust between the plants and to pull a 

 little soil to any plants that need it. The hoeing or 

 cultivation should be frequent and thorough, but not 

 deep, and should be continued until the plants are fair- 

 ly well headed. 



Fertilizers. 



Cabbage soil can hardly be made too rich, but the 

 plant food materials should be in a well balanced form. 

 When possible a liberal application of stable manure 

 or a green croj) should be turned under in the fall pre- 

 vious to planting. Sufficient quantities of animal ma- 

 nures cannot always be secured, neither may green 

 crops be available at the time. Commercial fertilizers 

 must then be used instead. If used at planting time, 

 the formula should have a reasonable quantity of phos- 

 phoric acid and potash, but not the full amount of ni- 

 trogen, that will ultimately be needed. When the 

 plant is small it can use only a limited amount of ni- 

 trogen, while the remainder of the application might 

 bo leached out and lost. When nitrogen is applied to 

 the soil it stimulates a succulent leaf growth. 

 Hence, much nitrogen tends to make the young plants 

 too tender to stand severe freezing weather. If made 

 to grow slowly, cabbage plants will stand a tempera- 

 ture as low as 12 degrees F., the lowest temperature 

 recorded at the Experiment Station during the test. 

 Since, in maturing the cabbage crop, it is leafy growth 

 we desire, nitrogen is necessary in the fertilizer, but 

 most of it should be applied at the approach of the 

 growing season rather than at planting time. 



For use in the furrow at planting time let the ferti- 

 lizer be what is known as a complete fertilizer. Such 

 a fertilizer may be made up as follows: 



