i68 



MANUAL OF GARDENING 



It should be more generally known, as it is one of the choicest of 



the cabbage family, and may be had 

 at its best after the season for cauli- 

 flower has passed. It is the better for 

 being touched by the fall frosts. The 

 buttons should be cut off rather than 

 broken. The very small hard " sprouts " 

 or buttons are the best. The culture 

 is essentially the same as for late cab- 

 bage or broccoli. One ounce will sow 

 100 feet of drill, or make upward of 

 2000 plants. Set plants in field 2 to 3 

 l^\ --f=^^^^^ ^^®^ apart, or dwarf varieties closer. 



\^ '" "" "' They require the entire season in which 



298. Brussels sprouts. to grow. 



Cabbage. — The cabbage is now so extensively grown as a field crop, 

 from which the market is supplied, and the plants require so much 

 room that many home-gardeners incline to give up its culture; but 

 the early varieties, at least, should be grown at home. 



For an early crop in the North, the plants must be started either in 

 February or early March, or the previous September and wintered over 

 in coldframes. This latter method was once a common practice by 

 gardeners near large cities, but the building of greenhouses to replace 

 the many hotbeds of the market-gardener has changed the practice in 

 many localities, and now most of the early cabbages in the North are 

 grown from seed sown in January, February, or March. The plants are 

 hardened off in March and early April and planted out as early as pos- 

 sible. The private grower, or one with a small garden, may often 

 procure his early plants from the market-gardener much cheaper 

 than he can grow them, as usually only a limited number of early 

 cabbage plants are wanted; but for the midseason and main crop, the 

 seed may be sown in May or June in a seed-bed, setting the plants in 

 July. 



The seed-bed should be made mellow and rich. A good border will 

 do. The seed is sown preferably in rows, thus allowing thinning of the 

 plants and the pulling of any weeds that germinate. The young plants 



