CABBAGE 



119 



elevated inland parts of the country. Heat and drought are 

 injurious to them, while they grow well in moist, foggy weather, 

 even when somewhat cold. They like a clayey, rather stiff soil, 

 rich in manure and decayed organic matter ; they do not seem to 

 mind a little sourness in the soil, and grow well in ground that has 

 been newly broken up. In the kitchen-garden, Cabbages should 

 occupy the coolest and moistest positions, except the early spring 

 kinds, which require a warm and sheltered aspect ; the ground 

 should be deeply dug and plentifully manured, and always kept 

 clean and free from weeds. The plants must be watered from 

 time to time during the summer, and care be taken to prevent 

 them from being overrun by the caterpillars of the white 

 Cabbage butterfly, which, if not attended to, will damage them 

 severely. 



SOWING AND PLANTING.* The 

 most important sowings of Cabbage 

 are those which are required to form 

 a supply through the spring and 

 early summer months. These sow- 

 ings should consist of several 

 varieties that succeed each other 

 in coming into use. However, very 

 early kinds should not be sown too 

 early in the summer, as there is a 

 possibility of their running to seed 

 in dry weather. From the middle 

 of July to the middle of August 

 is the time usually chosen for sow- 

 ing; but much will depend upon 

 the season, soil, and locality. The 

 beginning of August will in most 

 places be found to be the best. 

 Plants from seeds sown at that time 

 are generally ready to plant out by 

 the end of September or beginning 

 of October, and they have then 

 ample time to get established before 

 the winter sets in. For autumn 

 supply a sowing should be made 

 from the middle of March to the 

 beginning of April, and planted out 

 in June and July they then come 

 into use in August and September ; 

 and if a second and rather larger 

 sowing be made in the last week 

 in April, and planted out in July 

 and August, they will come into 

 use from October to December ; and 



a small sowing of a dwarf kind 

 that hearts quickly, sown in May, 

 will form nice little heads for use 

 in January, which, with the Greens 

 produced from the stumps of those 

 that have been cut, will last until 

 the spring Cabbage comes in. Cab- 

 bage plants intended to stand the 

 winter are best planted with a 

 crowbar in firm undug ground, such 

 as has recently carried a crop of 

 Onions, or other surface -rooting 

 plants that have not impoverished 

 the ground too much. The ground 

 must, of course, have been well 

 manured for the crop previous to 

 Cabbage, or good results cannot be 

 expected. A firm, stiff, rich soil is 

 best for Cabbages ; for if grown in 

 loose, light soil, they do not " heart " 

 so well, neither is the quality so 

 good. Cabbage seed should at all 

 times be sown on light rich land, 

 and the plants should not be allowed 

 to overcrowd each other before they 

 are put out, but as soon as large 

 enough to handle be pricked out 

 6 or 8 in. apart, or be thinned out, 

 and the remainder transferred to 

 their final positions as soon as they 

 are sufficiently large. The distance 

 fro plant them apart depends upon 

 the variety grown; but 2 ft. between 

 the rows, and from 15 to 18 in. from 



* See also p. 759. 



