266 AMERICAN HUSBANDRY. 



heads $jome covering must be strewed, which will 

 not press on or injure the heads, and a coating of 

 earth may be added when the liosts become intense. 

 Cabbages so saved will come out in the spring fresh, 

 and of fine quality when well preserved; but theie 

 is no method which is always successful, as thejnost 

 experienced gardeners admit. 



Cabbages are used in various ways, and are gen- 

 erally much 'esteemed. Savoys rank next to the 

 cauliflower and broccoli. Red cabbage is excellent 

 for pickling. It must be shred fine, and sprinkled 

 with salt. Let it be forty-eight hours, and then turn 

 off the water or brine, and pack it in a jar. Prepare 

 vinegar with ginger and spices over the fire, and, 

 when boiling hot, pour it over the cabbage. Cover 

 the jar closely, and set it away in a dry, cool place. 

 Sourkrout is made by chopping the heads very fine, 

 and placing it in layers in a barrel, with alternately 

 a handful of salt mixed with a few caraway-seeds, 

 until the barrel is filled. A heavy weight is placed 

 on the mass, and an active fermentation soon com- 

 mences. After this has ceased, the weight is remo- 

 ved and the cabbage headed up. A httle use is re- 

 quired to accustom the palate to this preparation, 

 but it is a healthy and valuable article of food. 



CAULIFLOWER. Brassica Oleracea Hotrytis. 



This is an excellent vegetable, and by epicures is 

 ranked next to young pease and the Lima bean. 

 For early use the seed is sown in September, and 

 the plants preserved by frames in hotbeds through 

 the winter until about the middle of April, when a 

 place in the garden may be prepared for their recep- 

 tion. The ground should be watered before trans- 

 planting, and great care should be taken to raise 

 each plant with a ball of earth, that the fine fibres 

 of the roots may not be disturbed, a thing essential 

 to the quick growth of the cauliflower. 



For late canliflowors the seed may be sown from 



