164 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES 



Field planting by machinery as practiced to some extent in the 

 eastern states, is not prevalent in California. 



Cultivation. Cabbages must be kept well cultivated to reach 

 their best estate. Early cabbages will head in two and a half to 

 four months, according to weather and soil conditions, and size will 

 depend much upon cultivation in connection with soil richness and 

 adequate moisture. Hardly any plant delights more in soil stirring. 

 Rapid growth during the winter also gives the plant the advantage 

 over the lice or aphis, which sap the life of unthrifty plants, and is 

 worse on late-planted cabbages because of the dry, hot weather they 

 are likely to encounter. 



Cabbage Worm and Louse. These two pests are the bane of 

 the cabbage grower. For the cabbage worm take a teaspoonful of 

 Paris green and a pound of bran stirred into a gallon of water and 

 the moist bran is then sprinkled over the cabbages. A cheaper 

 treatment is two pounds of lead arsenate powder (or four pounds 

 of the paste form) to fifty gallons of water to be sprayed on the 

 plants. To hit the louse also, add four ounces of tobacco extract 

 (40 per cent) for each fifty gallons. The plants ought to be watched 

 and sprayed again later, for both these pests are liable to keep com- 

 ing. As for poisoning the cabbage with the arsenate, a late govern- 

 ment report says that one must eat twenty-eight heads of cabbage 

 at once to get poison enough to make him sick. Still, outer leaves 

 should be removed before cooking. We would not use the tobacco 

 spray on heads nearly ready. A good hard rain or a stiff spray with 

 cold water will dislodge most of the lice if the treatment is given 

 before they become too abundant. 



Harvesting. The cabbage field is usually cut over for a winter 

 shipment three times in about six weeks, and then the ground is 

 cleared up and put in shape for a summer crop. 



Cabbage for Stock Feed. In field growth of cabbage all im- 

 perfect heads are used for cow feed and if fed right after milking 

 and not in too large quantities, are said not to taint the milk. They 

 should be fed in connection with some dry feed. Very often cabbage 

 can be grown to advantage especially for cow feed. Planted out in 

 February or March they would be fit to use by the latter part of 

 June, just about the time that the grass gets dry and cows want 

 something juicy to keep up the flow of milk. In their use, however, 

 care must be taken to strip them of any decaying leaves, as nothing 

 will impart a bad taste to milk and butter quicker than the use of 

 decaying vegetable matter of any kind. On moist land late cabbages 

 are considerably grown for poultry and can be pulled for them all 

 through the dry season. 



Varieties of the Cabbage. Of the many varieties of cabbage 

 only a few are largely grown in California. 



Early Jersey Wakefield is the earliest cabbage and is widely 

 popular. It makes up in earliness for any lack in size. Heads 

 pyramidal in shape having blunted or rounded peak. 



