RAPE AND CABBAGE. 165 



the surface after the land has been plowed. Usually 

 it is not necessary to plow the land again in the 

 spring, but it ought to be deeply stirred with the cul- 

 tivator as early as the work can be done, and a suc- 

 cession of harrowings may also be in order. The 

 number of these will be somewhat dependent on the 

 time at which the seed is sown. The earlier the seed 

 is sown the less the opportunity that will be given 

 for thus sprouting the weeds on and near the surface. 



Sowing. The time for sowing the seed will 

 depend, first, on the character of the climate ; second, 

 on the variety of the cabbage ; and, third, upon the 

 season when the crop is to be depastured. Sowing 

 should be deferred until danger from frost is past. 

 If early pasture is wanted, then the seed of some 

 early or semi-early variety should be sown, and as 

 early as the sowing may be safely done, otherwise 

 some late variety should be chosen and the sowing 

 deferred until the soil has been well cleaned and 

 mellowed. About the corn planting season will be 

 found a very suitable time for planting cabbage seed 

 of the late varieties, and those varieties should be 

 chosen that have been found well adapted to the 

 locality. 



\Yhen a limited area is to be sown, after the 

 ground has been thoroughly pulverized it should 

 then be rolled and the rows marked off with some 

 form of hand marker. They should vary in dis- 

 tance from thirty to thirty-six inches, according to 

 the variety of the cabbage and strength of the soil. 

 The seed may then be sown with a hand machine. 

 The roller should again be passed over the soil where 

 the wind is not liable to blow it away. When a 

 large area is to be sown the drills may be slightly 



