402 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 7 



a little water should be given to each plant to 

 wash the earth closely about the stem. Detached 

 shoots so treated, will frequently produce roots 

 speedily, and bring a su[)ply of excellent seconda- 

 ry cabbages, true to the original varieties : seeds 

 are apt to sprout, owing to cross impregnations. 



To sum up the chiei' points of cubbage-cuilure 

 for spring and summer main crops, it nnist be ob- 

 served tha\ ;he period of solving should be strict- 

 ly attended to: the seed-beds are to be slightly 

 hoed to keep the ranks clear of weeds ; the strong- 

 er plants are to be timely removed to the final 

 beds, wherein two autumnal hoeings and a mode- 

 rate earthing up nnist be given during the progress 

 of growth. " On the approach of spring, the in- 

 termediate spaces are to be digged or Ibrked, after 

 the removal of the inert leaves, and the operation 

 should be repeated when the plants evince the 

 tendency to told up their inner leaves for hearting. 

 By a careful attention to thesti needful processes, 

 a bed of fine cabbages will, in favorable seasons, 

 be secured. Having thus dwelt so niinutely upon 

 the routine culture ol" the cabbage lor the main 

 spring and summer supply, 1 shall only allude to 

 that part of the treatment of succession crops, 

 which refers to tlie summer and autumnal months. 



It is usual to give directions ibr sowing the seed 

 at several distant periods ; but my object is to obvi- 

 ate trouble, and to simplify operations as much as 

 possible ; and as I have proved that, by attentive 

 management, a regular supply of fine paints may 

 be obtained irom one extra sowing, I shall pre- 

 sume that an extensive seed-bed or plot exists, 

 having been prepared late in March or early in 

 April. The mode ol" culture will be understood 

 by the directions already given : what, therefore, 

 remains to be said, will apply to the order of rou- 

 tine which ought to be observed subsequent to 

 the first of Jane. At that time, we may suppose 

 that the greater part of the cabbages have been 

 cut, the stems remaining being left for the produc- 

 tion of sprouts. The seedlings of the Aijrii bed 

 that are in a state to be transplanted, should be 

 carefully selected, and set in a bed of rich soil, wa- 

 tered, and attended to in every respect as were 

 those of the spring crop. This first bed, with the 

 cuttings of the sprouts and the other shoots yield- 

 ed by the old stems, will produce an ample sup- 

 ply of a second crop during July and August. 



After the removal ol" the seedling plants, those 

 which remain in the seed-bed shoulcl be greatly 

 lif"ted and replaced, but at regular distances three 

 or four inches apart ; the ground should be 

 moved, cleared of weeds, made level, and well 

 watered if" the soil be in a dry state. Should the 

 plants be very numerous, a hundred or two of the 

 best might with great advtmtage, be moved to a 

 succession bed to stand in rows, six inches apart, 

 plant from plant. Thus they will acquire stocky 

 roots, and be checked Ibr a time ; while the seed- 

 lings will gain strength from the additional space 

 afforded them. If a bed be formed and planted 

 for cabbaging in June, and thence every two 

 months; and especially if— as 1 must presume — a 

 previous transplantation had already been made 

 during May, it is obvious that a succession of crops 

 will be secured during every lavorable season till 

 the end of October; and I may add, from positive 

 experience, that if the weather be then fine, and the 

 succeeding winter j)rove open and mild ("a green 

 yule,") any remaining stock in the seed-bed, how- 



ever long shanked and ungainly they may be, i 

 set deep in the soil of a well prepared bed, may 

 make good progress to the end of November, sur- 

 vive the winter, and produce excellently hearted 

 and sweet-tasted cabbages in April. Small they 

 will be, and some perhaps will fly to seed ; but 

 those which do succeed, will amply reward the at- 

 tentive care of the grower. My experience ap- 

 plies, of course, to the latitude of London, though 

 in a county far westward, and much later in its 

 |»roductions ; but I presume that in the north also 

 these hints may be rendered to a certain extent 

 available. 



2. The Savmj. Brssica Oleracea BvUala of De 

 Candolle — a variety distinguished from all other 

 hearting cabbages by the puckerings of its leaves. 

 It is one of the prime winter vegetables, and 

 well merits the attention of every one who has a 

 garden or kail-yard. There are three subvarie- 

 ties — the large yellow, the green, and the smaller 

 green, which is the hardiest of the three. 



The savo)? must be sown pretty early in the 

 spring, and therelbre I say nothing now of the 

 early processes of its culture ; but as it will re- 

 quire transplanting to plots where it is finally to 

 remain, it will be needful to observe, that, as in all 

 respects the intermediate culture will, as nearly as 

 possible resemble that of spring sown cabbage, 

 the directions above given will apply to it. In 

 England it is customary to transplant at two or 

 three periods of July for the winter supply ; but 

 it will be proper to commence the work earlier in 

 the no.th, and to finish by the middle of that 

 month. Tlie ground should be well digged and 

 pulverized ; the texture rather light, and the qual- 

 ity rich. Draw drills or shallow trenches about 

 thirty inches apart ; tread along the drills or press 

 them with a broad pole, till the soil become smooth 

 and compact ; then plant the savoys eighteen 

 inches asunder, filling the holes with water, and 

 fixing the roots firmly in the soil. After they 

 have become established, and begin to grow, the 

 spaces will require the hoeings and diggings which 

 are so essential to the progress of plants of all the 

 cabbage famil}-, and have been before alluded to. 

 As winter approaches, the earth aught to be 

 brought up to and about the stems. 



The planting in open, manured trenches, in dry 

 weather will not only secure the growth of the 

 plants, but greatly tend to protect them from li-osts 

 during winter. Savoys are not considered to be in 

 perlection, till they have been exposed to a degree 

 of frost ; and they will subsequently furnish the 

 table throughout the winter months. 



3. Broccoli. — This variety of the cabbage tribe 

 is divided into a number of subvarieties, all of 

 which are excellent furniture Ibr the garden. By 

 Professor De Candolle it is placed in the sixth di- 

 vision ol his arrangement, Botrytis (Brassica bo- 

 tryiis) i. e. resembling a bunch or cluster of 

 grapes, but this grape-like species of variety ad- 

 mits of another sub-variety, as No. 1 is the cauli- 

 flower, Chiilijlora, or flowering cabbage ; But No. 

 2 is the broccoli, and is designated as jJspara- 

 goides, or asparagus-like cabbage. Though the 

 similitude ot" broccoli to asparagus may appear 

 somewhat fancilul ; yet as precision of classifica- 

 tion is obtained, it will be perceived that it is far 

 better to enter into minutiae closelj', than to prcsist 

 in a mode ol" arrangement which is equally ill-de- 

 fined and uiidi.scriminaling. 



