102 AGRICULTURE. 



tions which overturn this opinion, and demonstrate 

 that " oats, in rotation, under proper culture and in . 

 good soil, are not less profitable than wheat or rye ; 

 that after beans, cabbages, or potatoes, it yields 

 great crops, and that it exhausts less than other 

 grains which occupy the soil a greater length of 

 time." As a protector of clover or other grass 

 seeds, with some of which it should always be 

 sown, it is second only to barley. 



XI. Of Cabbages* 



These have been long known among us as a gar- 

 den vegetable, but are rarely met with in field cul- 

 ture ; a fact the more extraordinary, as in England 

 they have been very extensively and profitably em- 

 ployed in that way for more than half a century. 



The species most recommended are the early 

 Salsbury and York, the great Scotch, the Drum- 

 head, the Cavalier, and the green Savoy. Mr. Cob- 

 bett has remarked, with much good sense, that the 

 species best for man are also best for cattle ; and 

 that, on this ground, the last of those mentioned 

 should form the principal part of our cabbage crop. 



The seed of early cabbages, as the York and the 

 Salsbury, should be sown in hotbeds about the 

 middle of February ; and that of winter and fall 

 cabbages in the open field about the 15th of May. 

 The bed selected for the latter should be of good 

 soil and well ventilated ; that is, exposed on all 

 sides to the influences of the air, and without arti- 

 ficial shelter. When the plants rise, they should 

 be sprinkled with unleached ashes or gypsum, and, 

 if attacked by the fly, may be slightly and tempo- 

 rarily covered with branches of elder. If the weath- 

 er be uncommonly dry, a little watering may be 



* It is doubtful whether, cabbages will ever constitute with 

 us a field crop for feeding stock, since the introduction of ruta 

 baga, beets, and carrots, which are found to be more certain 

 and abundant crops here than the cabbage, and are more easily 

 preserved for winter use. J. B. 



