8,i8 



PRACTICE OF AGRICULTIRK. Part III. 



i 



anted (be milch cows In French Flanders, the Netherlands, and In Jersey and Guernsey; and it has 

 been Introduced, at diflfcrenl periods Into this country, without having ever come into general cult.. 

 ration The CMou ctndetde FUmdre differ, from the French variety In ha ving re d leaves; ami the Cham 

 ,,', tbraneku, the Choumillc titetdu Poiteau, diflfers from the flrsl In not gwring quite eo high, and In 

 ^mUiTaMraewhat tufted head. No variety among these, and the ■many that might be named, appear, bo 

 suitable for Held culture In the climate of Britain as the Scotch or drumhead cabbage . 



V- I In Jeritw the coto cabbage ii sown from about the Kfth ol August to the 1st o September, .n a 

 nod soil and planted out from November to January and February ... succession, at from twenty to 

 S^yinSies'dUtance, in a good, substantial, well manured soil; as no plantu more exhausbng, or 



reauires I better ; bul perhaps no.....' plant produces so large a quantity ol nutriment during its period 



Ofveaetotion tbOUt the monti! Of April they begin Iron, the first crop* to >tr,p the under leaves .cut 



the... ... small pieces: mi* them with sour milk and bran, or other fannac. ous substances; and give them 



a. nod to due's, gees.-, hogs, *c. During the whole nummer they continue stripping the plant as above 

 ,,,,, lin ,,i „ .ttains the height of from six to twelve feet ; and it a scarcity ol herbage prevails, the green 



l.-ivf.'h.r.n excellent food for .ous and oxen, with alternate fowH of hay and straw. I'h? tops and side 

 shoot, are excellent at table .luring winter and spring. The longest of the stalks are frequently used to 

 .ui.i~.rt scarlet runners and other French beans, and as cross rafters tor farm buildings, under thatch and 

 have been known to but more than half a century, when kept dry, for the latter purpose. {Card. Mag. 

 vol. V. ) 



5502. Arm soil that is ricli w ill suit the cabbage, but a strong loam is preferred. The 

 best mode of preparation for field cabbage is that for potatoes or turnips, the plants being 

 dibbled along the centre of each ridgelet For early cabbage no ridgelets are required, 



as the plants are inserted in rows, by B line, at much narrower distances. 



5503. The season for planting, for a full crop of field cabbages, is usually March ; 

 but cabbages may be planted as late as June, and produce a tolerable crop by 

 November'; and in this way they may sometimes be made to succeed an unsuc- 

 cessful sowing of turnips. The plants used in March should be the produce of seed 

 sown, in an open loamy part of the garden, in the preceding August; but those planted 

 in .May or June may be the produce of seed sown in the February or March of the 

 same year. 



5504 The preparation given to the plants consists in pinching off the extremity of their tap-root, and 

 anv tubercles which appear on the root or stem, and in immersing the root and stem in a puddle or mix- 

 ture of earth and water, to protect the fibres and pores of the root and stem from the drought. 1 he plants 

 mav then be inserted bv the dibber, taking care not to plant them too deep, and to press the earth firmly 

 to the lower extremity of the root. If this last point is not attended to in planting by the dibber the 



.lants will either die, or, if kept alive by the moisture of the soil or rain, their progress will be very slow. 



A'hen the distance between the ridgelets is twenty-seven inches, the plants are set about two teet asunder 

 in the rows • and the quantity required for an acre is about 6000 plants. Some recommend sowing as for 

 turnips • but by this mode, one of the advantages of a green crop is infringed on, viz. the time given 

 to clean' the land Where cabbages are sown, that operation must be performed at least a month sooner 

 than if they were planted ; consequently, the best month of the cleaning season is lost To plant or sow 

 a green crop on land in good heart, that does not require cleaning, will seldom be found good husbandry. 

 It may succeed near large towns, where roots and other green produce sell high, but it can never enter into 

 any general system of farming. 



5505. The after-culture consists in horse and hand-hoeing and weeding ; and the crop 

 is taken by chopping off the heads with a spade, leaving an inch or two of stalk to each. 

 Thev may be preserved by housing, but only for a short time. The produce is said to 

 be from thirty-five to forty tons per acre. Sir II. Davy found that 1000 parts of cab- 

 bage gave seventy-three of nutritive matter, of which forty-one are mucilage, twenty-four 

 saccharine matter, and eight gluten. 



5506. The application of the field cabbage is generally to the feeding of milch cows, and 

 sometimes to the fattening of oxen and sheep. For the former purpose, great care must 

 be taken to remove the outside decaying leaves ; otherwise they are apt to give an un- 

 pleasant flavour to the milk and butter. Cabbages are also eaten by swine and horses, 

 and are reckoned excellent food for sheep that have newly dropped their lambs, and for 

 calves. A cow will eat from 100 to 150lbs. of cabbage per day, and a sheep ten or 

 twelve pounds, besides a moderate allowance of hay. Some farmers consider that ewes 

 fatten faster on cabbages than on turnips, and that ewes having lambs are much more 

 prolific in milk when so fed. (Country Times, Feb. 8. p. 47.) Early or garden cabbages 

 are sold to green-grocers, or to the consumers, or to ships' victuallers for the purpose of 

 being pickled or made into sour crout. 



5507 Salted cabbage, or sauerkraut, is thus prepared in Germany : — Any sort of cabbage or kail, or 

 even turnips and kidneyteana, may be prepared in this way ; but white, compact-headed, large cabbages 

 arc preferred, and next compact-headed red cabbages. The first process of preparing them is to scoop 

 out the interior part of the stalk, with an iron instrument or scoop ; they are then cut into small shreds 

 by a wooden machine, composed of a flat board or tray, which has a ledge on two sides, to steady a box or 

 frame into which the cabbages are put In the middle of the board are four flat pieces of steel, similar to 

 the steel part of a spokeshave, placed in an oblique direction ; and the near edge of each being a little 

 raised up, with small spaces between each, to let the shreds fall down into a tub placed underneath to 

 receive them. The cabbages are then put into the box before described, which is pushed backwards and 

 forwards when the cabbages, being cut by the steel, fall in small shreds into a tub placed below. A barrel 

 stands byready to receive then, when cut,' the sides of which are first washed with vinegar. A man stands 

 on a chair by the barrel, with clean wooden shoes on, whose business it is to salt and prepare them, which 

 is done in the following manner : the man first takes as much of the cut cabbage as covers about four 

 inches above the bottom : he next strews upon it two handfuls of salt, one handful of unground pepper, 

 and a small quantity of salad oil ; he then gets into the barrel, and treads it down with his wooden shoes 

 till it is well mixed and compact. He next takes another layer of cabbage, and puts salt and pepper on it 

 as before and treads it again, and so goes on till the barrel is filled. A board is then placed on it, and 

 upon the'board some very heavy weights are put; and it remains so ten or fifteen days, when it partially 

 ferments and a great deal of water swims on Uie surface : it is then put into the cellar for use. The men 



