CAB 



CAB 



em plane-tree, the largest, and one of 

 the handsomest trees of America. It 

 reaches its full dimensions only in the 

 rich alluvion of the middle Western 

 States, on the banks of the Ohio. 

 The wood is soft, and decays rapidly 

 when exposed, but is serviceable for 

 sheltered carpentry. The tree in the 

 Northern Slates has been much in- 

 jured by earlv frosts and insects. 



BUTTS. The short ridges which 

 are made by the plough in the cor- 

 ners of irregular fields. 



BUTYRIC ACID. An oily vola- 

 tile acid found in rancid butter, and 

 having a rancid smell ; it is soluble 

 in water, alcohol, and ether : boils at 

 212='. It consists of Cg U^y: On HO 

 (ch). It is formed by the oxidation 

 of the component of butter called 

 butyrine, and yields by distillation 

 from lime butryone, a neutral vola- 

 tile liquid. 



BUXUS. The generic name of the 

 box plants. See Box-tree. 



BYRE. A cow-shed for feeding, 



BYSLINS. The first milk of the 

 cow after calving. 



BYSSUS. A general name for the 

 thread-like mould of cellars and cav- 

 erns of vegetable origin. They be- 

 long to many genera, and to the fami- 

 ly of fungi. 



C. 



CABBAGE. The varieties of 

 cabbage, coleworts, broccoli, are all 

 derived, by cultivation, from the 

 Brassica olcracea, a sea-shore plant, 

 indigenous to Europe. It belongs 

 to the cruciferous family of Jussieu, 

 and Tetr adynamia siliquosa of Lin- 

 naeus. 



In agriculture, they may be divided 

 into three classes : 1st. Those that 

 form heads. 2d. Those that grow 

 erect without forming heads. 3d. 

 Those that are napiform, as Kohl 

 robe. 



Of Cabbages which form Heads. — 

 These may be divided into early, 

 midsummer, and autumn kinds. Of 

 the first, the early dwarf, early York, 

 early sugar loaf, early imperial are 

 the best. The midsummer kind are 

 L2 



the large York, large sugar-loaf, Ber- 

 gen, drumhead, flat Dutch, and the 

 autumn, the late glazed red, and the 

 varieties of Savoy. The seeds, in 

 ordinary culture, are sown in April ; 

 but for early crops they are sown in 

 September, and covered by a frame 

 during winter ; or in a frame in Feb- 

 ruary, care being taken to supply 

 light and air without admitting frost. 

 An ounce of seed yields from 3000 to 

 4000 plants. In the garden, where a 

 succession is required, seeds must be 

 sown every two weeks from Februa- 

 ry to May. The seeds start in a 

 week, and are fit to transplant in six 

 or seven weeks. There is, however, 

 no advantage in transjjlanting too 

 soon, as the young plants are very 

 liable to be destroyed by the cutsvorm 

 and insects during June and early in 

 July. They are set in rows 16 inch- 

 es to 2 feet apart, allowing sufficient 

 room for hoeing, ploughing, &.c. The 

 Bergen are set 30 inches apart. It 

 is economical to place an extra plant 

 between each, to be cut for collards. 

 At this rate, the acre contains about 

 6000 plants. The soil must be very 

 fine, and well dunged, for no vegeta- 

 ble is more improved by putrescent 

 manures. In planting, it is necessa- 

 ry to use a trowel to open the ground, 

 and not a stick to ram a hole. The 

 process of dipping the roots in a sem- 

 ifluid mass of fine earth and water, 

 with half a pound in four gallons of 

 crude nitre, and of whale-oil soap, is 

 highly recommended as ensuring a 

 vigorous start for the plants, and be- 

 ing very serviceable in keeping oflT 

 worms. A bucket with this mixture 

 can be readily carried by the planter. 

 The ground must be ploughed, hoed, 

 or thoroughly stirred three times du- 

 ring their growth, weeds being de- 

 stroyed, and the soil kept fine. Du- 

 ring a dry season they require water- 

 ing, and will be much benefited by 

 the use of fluid manures. The soil 

 they most relish is a moistish loam, 

 made very rich with putrescent ma- 

 nures. Extensive fields of cabbages 

 are cultivated near New- York city ; 

 the early kinds and large Bergen, 

 Savoy, and red being most preferred. 



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