SMOOTH-LEAVED DRUMHEAD CABBAGES 139 



when shredded fine and pickled with vinegar, they turn a brilliant 

 red colour. 



Marbled Burgundy Drumhead Cabbage. Stem longish ; 

 leaves numerous, stiff, rounded, narrowly undulated at the edges, 

 pale gray-green, with red 

 ribs and veins ; head 

 rather small, very com- 

 pact, flat on the top, 

 formed of short leaves, 

 which often do not quite 

 cover one another, and 

 leave a pit-like depression 

 in the centre of the top. 

 In addition to the prin- 

 cipal head, other small 

 heads, about the size of 

 hen's eggs, and very hard 



and compact are often Marbled Drumhead ^ 



produced in the axils of 



the lower outside leaves. It is chiefly from the marbled appearance 

 of the heart of the head when cut that this variety derives its 

 name. It is considered a very hardy kind, and is very extensively 

 grown in the eastern districts of France and in Switzerland. 



Variegated - heading Cabbage. A short-stemmed variety, 

 with outer leaves half-erect, undulated, strongly tinged, and mottled 

 with white, rose, red, and lilac on a dark green ground, which makes 

 it of some value as an ornamental plant. The head, however, is 



large enough to make it 

 worth growing for the 

 table. 



CULTURE. The 

 Smooth-leaved Drumhead 

 Cabbages, the series of 

 which terminates here, are 

 most usually sown in 

 spring, from March to 

 June, according to the 

 varieties grown, and the 

 time it is desired the crop 

 should come in. The sowings are made in the open ground, 

 and the seedlings are pricked out as soon as possible into a 

 bed, from which, as soon as the stems have grown as thick as 

 a goose-quill, they are planted out permanently in well-tilled 

 and richly manured ground. Plentiful waterings should be given, 

 at first to ensure the rooting of the young plants, and afterwards 

 to compensate for the great evaporation which takes place in 



Variegated-heading Cabbage. 



