37 



the work can, as a rule, be more economically done by utilizing one of 

 the horsepower transplanters, in which case the plants are frequently 

 set about 20 inches apart in the row and cultivated in one direction 

 only. Painstaking growers, however, mark the field 30 inches apart in 

 one direction and drive the plant-setting machine at right angles to 

 these marks, thus enabling the setters to place the plants in check 

 rows 30 by 36 inches apart. This plan has the advantage of placing 

 the plants at better intervals and permits of cultivation in both di- 

 rections early in the season. 



As soon as the plants have been set in the field, cultivation is started 

 and kept up with suitable implements, depending upon the size and 

 character of the plants, until the cultivator can no longer be nm 

 between the expanded leaves of the crop. Attention from this time on 

 is necessary to protect the crop from insect enemies, such as the cabbage 

 worms and the aphides or "lice." 



Harvesting. — At harvest time, whether the cabbage is to be shipped, 

 carried to the sauerkraut factory or stored, a wagon provided with a 

 very deep body is driven across the field, the heads of two rows having 

 been cut and laid to one side in advance of the team. Men accompany 

 the team and gather the heads which have been cut, carefully trim 

 them and gently toss them to a person in the wagon, who loads them 

 with equal care. Heads intended for long shipment or for storage 

 should be very carefully handled, so as not to bruise or in any way 

 injure them. In unloading to the car or storage house the same pre- 

 cautions in careful handling should be observed as in gathering from 

 the field. 



Varieties. — The varieties which may be used for field cultivation 

 depend upon the purpose for which the cabbage is intended. If for 

 sauerkraut or for immediate consumption, the Flat Dutch type from 

 American-grown seed is extensively employed in the eastern part of 

 the United States. In the irrigated section of Colorado, in the vicinity 

 of Greeley, where cabbage is grown for sauerkraut, a variety known as 

 Scotch Cross is almost universally grown. If the cabbage is intended 

 for storage the Danish Ball Head, from imported seed, is almost ex- 

 clusively used. 



Storage. — The prerequisites for the successful storing of cabbages 

 are: (1) carefully grown and carefully handled heads of a sort well 

 adapted for storing; (2) storage warehouses so constructed and ar- 

 ranged as to prevent drip from the ceiling or roof striking the stored 

 heads; and (3) such arrangement and control of the ventilation and 

 temperature of the building as to prevent the condensation of moisture 

 on the cabbage while in storage. 



The Danish Ball Head, from imported seed, as has been stated, is 

 the variety chiefly grown for storage purposes. The heads should be 

 very carefully cut and closely trimmed, so that no loose leaves get into 

 the storage house. In hauling cabbage from the field to the store- 



