MARKET-GARDENING WITH KITCHEN VEGETABLES. 23 



crab-grass grows rapidly in warm weather, and this, mixed with the 

 peas, makes the best of hay, and the presence of the crab-grass makes 

 it easier to cure the peas. In the mild winter climate of the coast 

 country the late crop of potatoes can be piled in windrows and 

 covered with earth. Some growers lift them when the early potatoes 

 from Bermuda come in, and, being fresh from the soil, they sell as 

 "New Bermudas" in New York, bringing from $2.50 to $5 per 

 barrel. 



CABBAGES. 



The only cabbages grown for market in the coast trucking region 

 are the early cabbages, which can be shipped North in March and 

 April profitably. The variety used is generally the Early Wakefield. 

 The seed are sown in early September and at intervals till October, 

 so as to have plants just the right size to set the last of November or 

 early December in the open field. The plants are set on heavily 

 fertilized ridges, and it is important that the plants be just old enough 

 and not too old, as the plants that have gotten too large in the fall 

 may run to seed in the spring without heading. The cabbages are 

 shipped in crates that hold about a barrel and are among the most 

 profitable and largely grown crops of the market-gardens. There is 

 another large cabbage interest in the mountain country, where the 

 late summer and fall cabbages are grown and shipped in August and 

 September to the Southern coast cities Charleston, Savannah, and 

 Jacksonville where the climate is not favorable to the growing of 

 the late cabbages. Several counties are engaged in this culture, the 

 most extensive being in Henderson County. But in all the mountain 

 counties the late cabbage crop is of great importance, as the climate 

 there is more favorable to their growth than in the warmer parts of 

 the State, and the eastern towns of the State furnish a market for 

 a great deal of this cabbage. The late crop of cabbages in the moun- 

 tain counties probably amounts to one hundred thousand dollars, 

 while the early crop in the eastern part of the State will reach over 

 half a million dollars in value. 



LETTUCE. 



This is now probably the most profitable crop grown by the truckers 

 in the coastal plain for the area planted. It is grown entirely during 

 the cool season of fall, winter, and early spring. It is grown almost 

 entirely in frames covered with cotton cloth, though some use glass 

 sashes. Some of the larger growers use steam-pipes to heat the 

 frames on very cold nights, and have irrigating pipes above the 

 frames for watering. Two crops are grown, one being cut about the 

 last of November, and the other, set at that time, is marketed in March 

 and April. The lettuce that is cut the last of November is followed 

 by beets for the early spring market, and these by cucumbers and 



