CABBAGE. 



CABBAGE. 



and they are excellent for rearing calves and ' 

 toothless crones. An acre of good cabbages 

 is therefore considered by many as worth two 

 of turnips, and is certainly equal to one and 

 a half. 



Woimrn perennial kale is a valuable variety 

 of the open-growing cabbage, which has been 

 recently introduced, and appears far superior 

 in amount of produce to either the green, pur- 

 ple, or borecole, and requires less manure. It 

 has also this advantage, that it continues highly j 

 productive for many years, without further 

 trouble or expense. Propagated by planting, 

 in In-winning of April, cuttings taken from the 

 stems and branches of old plants. The seed 

 is apt to produce spurious plants. For the 

 table it is not inferior to the best kinds of 

 greens or kale ; and for the farm and cottage 

 garden, its highly productive powers and 

 cheapness of culture promise to render this 

 plant highly valuable. Its perennial habit 

 places it out of the reach of the yearly acci- 

 dents of weather, bad seed, and depredations 

 of insects, to which 11 other varieties sown 

 annually are subject. (Trans. Hort. Soc. Land. 

 vol. v. art. 40.) 



The turnip-rooted or bulb-stalked cabbage (B. 

 oleracea, var.) is distinguished by its irregularly- 

 shaped root, and the swelling of the stalk in 

 upper part, which forms a kind of round fleshy 

 at the end of the stem on which the leaves 

 are produced. It is a native of Germany, and 

 was first introduced from thence by Sir Thomas 

 Tyrwhitt, under the name of kohl-rabe. (De~ 

 canilnlle, in Tranr. Hort. Soc. vol. v. art. 1.) The 

 produce is nearly the same as that of Swedish 

 turnips, and the soil that suits the one is equally 

 good for the other. Two pounds of the seed 

 will produce a sufficiency of plants for one 

 acre: 64 drs of the bulb of kohl-rabe ari".>nl 

 105 grs. of nutritive matter. (Hort. Grata. 

 p. 411.) 



The turnip-rooted cabbage is a hybrid pro- 

 duction between the cabbage and turnip, which 

 both belong to the same wen us; and the various 

 kinds which have becomedisseminated through- 

 out Europe are so confused in nomenclature, 

 that it has become difficult to state their pro- 

 perties with any great degree of precision, or 

 to draw any <: -t-.iii inferences to guide us in 

 their use. (Brit. Hitsb. vol. ii. p. 2.VJ.) 



These species of brassica are but little cul- 

 tivated, and at most a very small quantity of 

 each is in request. The bulbs, for which, they 

 are cultivated, must have the.ir thick outer skin 

 removed, and in other respects treated as tur- 

 nips in preparing them for use. Of the turnip 

 cabbage, which is so named on account of the 

 round fleshy protuberance that is formed at the 

 upper end of the stem, there are four varieties : 

 1. White turnip cabbage; 2. Purple turnip 

 cabbage; 3. Fringed turnip cabbage; 4. Dwarf 

 early turnip cabbage. 



Of the turnip-rooted cabbage, which is dis- 

 tinguished from the above by its root having 

 the protuberance near the origin of the stem, 

 there are two varieties, the white and the red. 

 (Trans. Hort. Soc. Loud. vol. v. p. 18 24.) They 

 are propagated by seed, which may be sown 

 broadcast or in drills, at monthly intervals, in 

 small quantities, from the commencement of 



April until the end of June. The best mode is 

 to sow thin, in drills two feet ana a half apart, 

 and allow the plants to remain where sown, 

 the plants being thinned to a similar distance 

 apart; or, if sown broadcast, to allow them to 

 remain in the seed-bed until of sufficient size 

 to be removed into rows at similar distances 

 for production, rather than, as is the practice 

 of some gardeners, to transplant them, when 

 an inch or two in height, into a shady border, 

 in rows three inches apart each way, to be 

 thence removed as above stated. 



Water must be given every night after a re 

 moval, until the plants are again established; 

 and afterwards in dry weather occasionally, as 

 may appear necessary. 



Earth may be drawn up to the stem of the 

 turnip cabbage, as to other species of brassica; 

 but the bulb of the turnip-rooted must not be 

 covered with the mould. 



For directions to obtain seed, &c., see Bnoc- 

 ( (M.I, TniMP, &C. (G. W. Johnson.) 



The red cabbage differs from the common 

 cabbage in nothing but its colour, which is a 

 purplish or brownish red. The varieties are 

 three in number; the large, the dwarf, and the 

 Aberdeen red. It is chiefly used for pickling, 

 and the dwarf red is considered the best sort. 

 Cultivated precisely similar to the white cab- 

 bage. The cabbage is not nearly so exten- 

 iltivated in thi> country as it ought to 

 be. It is not only a valuable food for live 

 stock, rarely mi^'-s ;>l-mt, and is come-at-able 

 in all weathers; but it is exceedingly usei'u! to 

 fill up the spaces on the ridges where the 

 Swedes and common turnips have missed 

 plant, looo parts of cabbage contain 7:1 parts 

 of nutritive matters. (Hrit. ///'./>. vol. ii.; />'". 

 ter's A~ .irluir's Hort. Gram. Wob.; 



' iym. Board of Jlgr., vol. iv. ; 

 Quart. J. Jter., vol. vii. p. 76.) 



The cauliflower is considered the easiest to 

 be digested of all the various species of cab- 

 bage. It is not destitute of utility in a medici- 

 nal way; a decoction of red cabbage being 

 supposed capable of relieving acrimonious hu- 

 mours in some disorders of the breast, and also 

 in hoarseness. ( Willich's Dom. Ennjr.} A cab- 

 bage leaf placed on any fleshy part acts in 

 keeping open a blister; but it should be fre- 

 quently changed, as it speedily becomes cor- 

 rupt. "The seed, bruised and boiled, is good in 

 broth. 



Garden Cabbage*. For the seed-bed the soil 

 should be moist, mouldy, and not rich; but for 

 final production it should be afresh, moderately 

 rich, clayey loam, though very far removed 

 from heavy, as they delight in one that is freo 

 and mouldy. Such crops as have to withstand 

 the winter may have a lighter compartment 

 allotted to them; the savoy, in particular, re- 

 quires this, though it may be as rich as for the 

 other crops, without any detriment: an extreme 

 of richness is, however, for all the crops to be 

 avoided. The ground is advantageously dug 

 two spades deep, and should be well pulverized 

 by the operation. Stable manure is usually 

 employed in preparing the ground for this 

 genus; but Mr. Wood, of Queensferry, N. B., 

 who has for the greater part of his life paid 

 particular attention to the cultivation of bror 



247 



