620 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



If one does not care to go to the trouble of raising his own seed 

 he should at h^ast purchase a supply a year in advance and test in a 

 small way before jjlautiug extensively. Cabbage seed is good for 

 several ^ears. 



liaising the Plants. — Theie are several methods by which we may 

 oblaiu a su])ply of early plants. The old-iaslii(ined waj' was to sow 

 seed in the open on the loth of [September. When the plants were 

 two or three inches high they were transplanted into well-drained 

 cold frames, about 200 plants per sash. When the weather became 

 cold sash were ])laced on the frames and careful attention paid 

 to ventilation. If the weather became very severe the plants were 

 still further protected by covering the sash with mats or boards. The 

 plan was to let the plant make the necessary development in the fall 

 and keep them in a dormant condition during the winter. This 

 method, however, is rather unsatisfactory in many respects. The 

 plants need looking after almost every day during the winter, and 

 often considerable number of the plants run to seed on being j)l anted 

 in the field. This was especially true if the seed was sown prior to 

 September 1.5. If sown much later the plants did not have time 

 enough to make the pioper development before cold weather. 



Spring sown plants have almost entirely taken the place of the 

 wintered-over ones. They can be produced cheaper and if properly 

 grown are much superior. If a green-house is not available the seed 

 may be sown in hot-beds and when a few inches high the plants are 

 set in cold-frame, just as with wIntered-over plants. A someAvhat 

 better plan is to sow the seed in tiats, place the flats in the hot-bed. 

 When the rough leaf appears the seedlings are transplanted in simi- 

 lar flats 1^ X 1^ inches apart. These flats are then watered, placed 

 in cold-frames and, if necessary, shaded a few days until the plants 

 have struck root. 



A green-house is much more desirable in every way. It need not 

 necessarily be an expensive affair. A house 12 x GO feet need not 

 cost over |200, if one is handy with tools. Having a suflQcient num- 

 ber of sash one could run through such a house 100,000 cabbages and 

 the same amount of celery and tomato plants. 



In our section we make the first showing of cabbage seed early in 

 January, varieties used are Early Jersey, Charleston, Glory and Enk- 

 heisen, Succession, etc. We sow in flats rather than in solid beds as 

 the moisture conditions are under better conti'ol. The seed is sown 

 in drills ^-inch deep and covered with sand. We prefer to trans- 

 Ijlant before the rough leaf appears as we get a more even stand of 

 plants by using them when quite young. They are set in the flats 

 l|-inches apart but for the very earliest it pays to plant them 2 

 inches apart. In order to get all the plants a uniform distance apart 

 we use a spacing board. This consists of a -J-inch board large 

 enough to cover the entire flat, ^-inch holes are bored the desired 

 distance apart. The board is placed over the flat and a handy boy 

 punches the holes with f-inch iron dibber. With a little practice 

 the kid becomes mighty expert at the business. Other children then 

 place plants in the holes and a careful man shoves a little dirt with a 

 X)ointed peg around the roots to fasten them. They are then watered 

 and placed in the green house. Wlien the room is needed the first 

 lot is shifted to cold frames. 



