THE FLOEAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 



55 



they pay for liberally, for they are 

 all profitable in the most commercial 

 sense of the word. 



In preparing a seed-bed for cab- 

 bage, a piece of well-dug and finely- 

 broken soil should be chosen, and if the 

 sowing is for summer and autumn use, 

 it ought to be rich with manure ; but 

 for a crop to stand the M'inter, the 

 ground need not be so rich, nor when 

 planted out, need it be so liberally 

 manured as at other times, for if the}^ 

 grow too fast during the winter, 

 they may suffer from frost ; but if 

 kept growing slowly, they are much 

 more hardy. The sowing should be 

 made broadcast, not too thick ; and by 

 a proper choice of sorts, and a little 

 management, two or three sowings at 

 most will be sufficient for a year's sup- 

 ply. The old school of gardeners stick 

 to the rule of a monthly sowing, and 

 generally use their favourite sorts for 

 the purpose ; but we have many im- 

 proved varieties that are more accom- 

 modating than the old ones, and there 

 need now be no difficulty in having 

 at all seasons a bit of cabbage to 

 cut at, even with but one sowing a- 

 year. 



To deal with the simplest method 

 first, let sowings of Eastham, Enfield 

 Market, Large Sugar-loaf, or Wheeler's 

 Nonpareil, be made in the first or 

 second week of August ; from the 6th 

 to the 12th is a time suited to most 

 districts, but in a bleak place, a fort- 

 night earlier would be better. The 

 ground being ready to receive them, 

 prick ovit the strongest plants early in 

 September, and plant a few rows close 

 together, say not more than six inches 

 apart. These will strengthen, and 

 form nice fibrous roots, and their re- 

 moval from the seed-bed will promote 

 the growth of the remainder. As soon 

 as the leaves meet of those pricked 

 out, transplant them to the spot where 

 they are to remain, and thereafter keep 

 on planting, choosing from the seed- 

 bed the forwardest plants, and work- 

 ing on regularly till the seed-bed is 

 empty, which may happen at the end 

 of November ; but if a good planting 

 has been made, the smallest may be 

 left where they are, being weeded to 

 keep them clean, and these will come 

 in as wanted to fill up gaps, or plant 



in any odd corner as opportunities 

 occur. 



Early in spring, or even at Christ- 

 mas, some of the first planted will be 

 fit for use, or a general thinning of the 

 rows may be made as soon as severe 

 frosts are over, every alternate plant 

 being taken for use ; but it is better 

 for them to be a little crowded while 

 there is a chance of severe frosts, for 

 tliey protect each other. By the time 

 the whole patch has been thinned for 

 use, some of the forwardest plants will 

 have good hearts, and if you have a 

 good breadth planted, you need not be 

 afraid of using these hearts as fast as 

 they form ; for no sooner does the 

 spring set in than the whole crop 

 makes a sudden start, and you may 

 be overwhelmed with cabbage, and re- 

 gret that you were afraid to pull a 

 few weeks back, when the little ones 

 would have been so welcome. By the 

 time peas are fairly in, the crop will be 

 thinned a bit, and now, instead of pull- 

 ing them up, as you may have done 

 hitherto, cut out the hearts only of 

 those that have grown large and have 

 stout stems, leaving the whole of tlie 

 outside leaves on the stem for a week 

 at least. As soon as you can count a 

 dozen or two||of these headless stumps, 

 take them up, trim off the leaves with 

 a knife, but be careful not to bruise 

 the little sprouts that are pushing, and 

 plant them close together in some 

 moist shady spot. They will need no 

 manure, but if taken up in damp 

 weather with a little earth about the 

 roots they will do better. As fast as 

 you get stumps in this way, take them 

 up and plant them with the others, 

 and this wUl liberate the cabbage-plot 

 for other things, and before the cab- 

 bages are entirely gone, the stumps 

 will give you abundance of sprouts, 

 which are really nicer eating than the 

 cabbages themselves, and will last 

 almost till autumn. 



So much for the one sowing, which 

 certainly is not so safe as two. It is 

 advisable, about the middle of March, 

 to make a sowing of some of the quick- 

 growing kinds for use during autumn, 

 and these come in from July to Christ- 

 mas, and "keep the pot a-biling" 

 during the early growth of those sown 

 in August. The best for the March 



