32 THE CULTURE OF VEGETABLES 



explains the offensiveness of the exhalations from Cabbage when in 

 a state of decay. 



In many gardens the supply of Cabbage is secured by one sowing 

 of a large late kind annually in July or August. The plants are pricked 

 out from the seed-bed as soon as possible, and are drawn from as 

 wanted from the time that they become suitable to use as Collards, 

 until the latest turn in and go to the house as Cabbage. Then the 

 stumps give a crop of Sprouts, and these are followed by the Collards 

 of the next sowing. But this rough mode of procedure is not to be 

 described as first-class Cabbage culture, and at the best only suggests 

 the immense value of this useful plant. It matters little, however, 

 how many sorts are grown, or how many variations of treatment may 

 prevail, the elements of the business may be quickly disposed of here 

 for all practical purposes. 



It will be necessary now to recognise four several sowings, any of 

 which, save the autumnal sowing, maybe omitted. We begin with a 

 sowing of the earliest kinds in the month of February. For this, pans 

 or boxes should be used, and the seed should be- started in a warm 

 pit or frame. When forward enough, prick out in a bed of light rich 

 soil in a frame, and give plenty of air, and as soon as the plants begin 

 to crowd one another, the season being advanced, plant them out, 

 taking care to lift them tenderly with earth attached to their roots to 

 minimise the check. These will heart quickly and be valued 

 as summer Cabbage. The second sowing is to be made in the last 

 week of March, and to consist of early kinds, and a few of the best 

 type of Coleworts. As these advance to a planting size, they may be 

 put out a few at a time as plots become vacant, and they will be useful 

 in various ways from July to November or later. A third sowing may 

 be made in the first or second week of May of smallish sorts and 

 Coleworts ; and these again may be planted out as opportunities occur, 

 both in vacant plots for hearting late in the year, and as stolen crops 

 in odd places to draw as Collards. The second and third sowings 

 need not be .pricked out from the seed-bed, but may be taken direct 

 therefrom to the places where they are to finish their course. The 

 fourth sowing is the most important, and the exact time for it must be 

 determined by the locality, for while a strong plant is wanted before 

 winter sets in, a rank growth may be endangered in the event of 

 long-continued and severe frosty weather. The season for sowing 

 spring Cabbage is from the middle of July to the end of August. It 

 is good practice to make two sowings, say, one about July 25, and 

 one about August 15. For these sowings the sorts must be selected 



