PRODUCTIVE FAMILY GARDENING. 



516 



early stone, the Dutch, and the Maltese 

 yellow, are the best for culinary purposes. 

 The best month for sowing a principal crop 

 is June, but if showery weather come in 

 July, that is a good month. 



CABBAGES. 



Of all the green crops this is the most 

 valuable ; it may be sown and planted out, 

 «f the weather be open, every month in the 

 year; it stands almost any frost. It is 

 eatable from the time it is large enough to 

 handle until it has acquired a hard close 

 heart. It is a crop to put on every bit of 

 otherwise idle ground; it can be planted 

 between rows of anything and everything, 

 either to be eaten as greens when large 

 enough, or left to cabbage on the coming 

 off of other crops. They should be sown 

 thickish on a seed-bed in January, and 

 every week there should be a lot put out, 

 three inches apart^ to strengthen for plant- 

 ing out. The sowings should be repeated 

 every month till August, for a constant 

 succession of plants is everything. There 

 sieed not, however, be large quantities sown 

 each time ; the quantity must be regulated 

 by the wants. Nor is the use of this ex- 

 cellent vegetable over when the full grown 

 cabbage is cut, for the sprouts which follow 

 are equally good. Planted out to cabbage, 

 !they should be eighteen inches apart in the 

 rows, and the rows two feet asunder. 

 When the best part of the cabbage is cut, 

 other crops may be planted between the 

 rows, the ground being first dug, and the 

 stumps may be all taken up and be planted 

 close togetker in some otherwise useless 

 spot and yield a mass of greens when 

 scarcely anything else is to be had. The 

 seed is but little object ; sowing, therefore, 

 to provide at all times plants to put out is 

 a necessary precaution. The best sorts are 

 new Early nonsuch, Wheeler's imperial, 

 Sprotsborough, Nonpareil, and Early York; 

 the Battersea is not to be despised, though 

 it grows a large size and wants plenty of 

 room. 



SCOTCH KALE, BRUSSELS SPROUTS, SAVOYS, 



These are only so many different mem- 

 bers of the same family, and may or may 

 not be used. The savoy is the most use- 

 ful, the Scotch kale the most hardy, but it 

 fs an inferior green to either a good savoy 

 dr cabbage. The savoy should be sown in 



April for a general crop, and the Brussels 

 sprout and kale at the same time. These 

 may, when large enough, be planted, or 

 rather pricked out, three inches apart, to 

 strengthen previous to planting out in their 

 final place. In doing this the strongest 

 plants must be taken, and every few days, 

 as others get large enough, they may be 

 pricked out, so that the store-beds may 

 have a succession of plants constantly 

 coming in, large enough to plant out as 

 they are wanted. They may be always 

 planted out as other crops are cleared, 

 when the ground is not required for a dif- 

 ferent purpose. 



BED CABBAGE. 



Few people know the worth of this, ex- 

 cept for its use as a pickle, but a moment's 

 consideration will convince any thinking 

 person that the immense number brought 

 to marlvet can never be consumed for that 

 alone. It is used raw as a salad, and is 

 excellent. When grown well, too, and cut 

 at the right time, the red cabbage will store 

 the best part o( the winter, merely losing 

 two or three of the outer leaves. As a 

 salad it is economical and capable of being 

 eaten by itself, and only requires to be cut 

 into the thinnest possible shreds. The 

 seed of the red cabbage may be sown in 

 August, so as to get strong enough to stand 

 the winter in the store-beds, where they are 

 to be pricked out six inches apart. They 

 may be planted out in February or March 

 to their final destination, two feet apart 

 one way and eighteen inches the other ; 

 spinach may be sown in drills between the 

 rows, and will come off before the cabbages 

 get large enough to occupy the room them- 

 selves. Seed may also be sown in small 

 quantities in January in a frame or among 

 the radishes, to be protected with litter from 

 frost, and they will succeed from sowings 

 any time during the period from January to 

 August. When they have established them- 

 selves after final planting out and begun to 

 grow, the earth should be drawn up to their 

 stems, and they may remain in the ground 

 until they are hard and solid, for in that 

 state they will keep for months. 



SCARLET BEAN. 



This is the poor man's luxury ; for be- 

 sides growing up against palings, or in al- 

 most any corner of the garden, or as a 



