CABBAGE. 



79 



CABBAGE. 



perennial in some of the varieties. It may 

 be divided into 



1. Cabbages proper, which have heads 

 formed of the inner leaves growing c'ose 

 and compactly round the stem, which are 

 thus blanched into a whitish yellow by the 

 outer leaves. 



2. Red, or Milan Cabbage, which grows 

 in the same form, but differs in colour. 



3. Savoys, distinguished by their curly 

 wrinkled leaves, but retaining the tendency 

 to form a head. 



4. Brussel Sprouts, producing the sprouts, 

 or edible part, from the stem in small heads, 

 like very young cabbages. 



5. Borecole, of which there are many 

 varieties, having a large open head with 

 large curling leaves. 



DRUMHEAD CABBAGE. 



6. Cauliflower and Broccoli, in which 

 the flower-buds iorm a close fleshy head of I 

 a delicate yellowish white, for which both 

 are cultivated. 



Cabbage Proper, the. Of the first of 

 these there are many varieties, some of 

 them valuable for their precocity, which 

 adapts them for early spring cultivation ; 

 others for more enduring qualities. They 

 are all propagated by seed sown for main 

 crops twice a year namely, in April, for 

 planting out in June and July, for autumn 

 and winter use ; and in August and Septem- 

 ber, for spring use ; but it is usual to make 

 sowings of smaller quantities every month 

 for succession. 



Cultivation, Soil, &-Y. The seed is 

 sown on beds four feet wide, and long in 

 proportion to requirements. A bed 4 feet 



by 20 will take 2 oz. of seed. Sow broad- 

 cast, or in very shallow drills, on a calm 

 day just before rain. Cover the seed to an 

 eighth or a quarter of an inch with rich light 

 soil, and rake it in. The cabbage requires a 

 rich retentive soil, and is improved by early 

 transplanting. When about two inches in 

 height, the young plants should be removed 

 into nursery-beds thoroughly prepared by 

 digging and manuring, and, if dry, by 

 watering, where they are planted four or 

 five inches apart. Here they must remain 

 till well rooted. Their next remove is 

 usually to the place where they are per- 

 manently to grow ; but they will be rather 

 improved than otherwise by an intermediate 

 shift to a second nursery-bed. 



Planting Out. In. final planting out, the 

 ground being trenched and well manured, 

 a drill is drawn three inches deep, at a dis- 

 tance proportioned to the size and habit of 

 growth of the variety ; the small or eaily 

 dwarfs at 12 or 15 inches apart in the rows, 

 the larger sorts at 18 inches. The subse- 

 quent culture is confined to weeding and 

 occasionally stirring the earth during 

 summer, and drawing it up round the stem 

 when about eight or nine inches high. 



Cabbage Fly (Anthomyia brassica). 



A fly whose larva or maggot causes 

 injury to cabbages in the summer, causing 

 the leaves to assume a yellow and blighted 

 appearance, and to droop under the sun's 

 rays. When the presence of this pest is 

 known or suspected the plants should be 

 removed and burnt, and the ground in 

 which they have been growing should be 

 heavily salted or dressed plentifully with 

 lime. The fly is grey in colour, the male 

 being darker than the female. 



Cabbage, Planting, in Market 

 Gardens. 



Towards the end of October a well- 

 conducted market garden is full of cabbages 



