Food for should be made, though care should be used not to make 



_^1 the second application too late, as it encourages a later 



^26 growth of plants and retards maturity. 



_ , _ , , The cabbage is a gross feeder, and the 



crop can utilize large quantities or plant- 

 food to good advantage. The experiments with this crop 

 show that even where the land has been fertilized with what 

 would be regarded as reasonable amounts of fertilizers 

 adapted for the purpose, extra dressings of Nitrate have 

 given very profitable returns. The yield has been increased 

 from 40 to 80 per cent., and the net value of crop from 1^53 

 to ;^8o per acre. The experiments also show that what may 

 be regarded as a large quantity of Nitrate, namely, 400 

 pounds per acre, is superior to any smaller quantity, and 

 further, that this would better be applied in two rather than 

 in a greater number of fractional dressings, as the later 

 applications have a tendency to disproportionately increase 

 leaf growth and retard heading. The most remarkable 

 effect of the Nitrate is shown in the influence it exerts upon 

 the marketable quality of the crop. In the experiments 

 conducted the addition of Nitrate resulted in more than 

 doubling the value of those heads which were marketable — 

 that is, where no Nitrate was applied, ^i per hundred was 

 received, and where 400 pounds of Nitrate were used the price 

 was ^2.50 per hundred. These results suggest a reason for 

 the lack of success of many growers, who depend solely upon 

 applications of mixed fertilizers. 



__ , , - On soils well adapted for the crop — me- 



. . . dium sandy loams — the land should be 



plowed early and well cultivated. If ma- 

 nures are readily attainable, a dressing of ten tons per acre 

 may be applied and well worked into the soil; previous to 

 setting the plants a fertilizer rich in Nitrogen, one containing 

 6 to 7 ammonia, 6 to 8 phosphoric acid, and 6 to 8 potash, 

 should be applied, preferably broadcast, at the rate of 800 

 to 1,000 pounds per acre. At the time of setting, or very 

 shortly after. Nitrate of Soda, at the rate of 200 pounds per 

 acre, should be applied, preferably along the row, and culti- 

 vated in; this followed two or three weeks later with a second 

 ■ dressing of 200 pounds. The effect of these applications — 

 that is, the presence of an abundance of available Nitrogen — 

 will be to stimulate and strengthen the plant, so that it will 



