CABBAGE. 



119 



Storing Cabbage. In order to have cabbage keep well far 

 into the winter, they must not be headed very solid when 

 gathered but should be a trifle soft, but there is quite a differ- 

 ence in the keeping* qualities of varieties. If late varieties are 

 sown too early, they will not keep well, and if early varieties 

 are sown late so as to be in good keeping condition when har- 

 vested they often keep well. In order to store cabbages suc- 

 cessfully, they must be kept cold and moist but never allowed 

 to get warm or wet. Providing the cabbage is in good condi- 

 tion for storing, it will generally keep until spring if the heads 



Fij?. 54. Cabbage pitted for winter storing. 



are set together, roots up. in a trench and covered with from 

 six inches to a foot of soil and mulch enough to prevent hard 

 freezing. If they are frozen while buried and thawed out in 

 the ground, they are seldom seriously injured. In this sec- 

 tion, however, a better plan is to keep them in a cold, damp 

 cellar, stored in bins about four feet wide, so as to allow a 

 a circulation of air through them. For commercial purposes, 

 it is a good plan to build store houses, half in and half out 

 of the ground: in a small way. they may be kept by burying 

 the heads in sand in a cellar, or a small stock of cabbage 

 for home use, may be heeled in by the roots in the cellar — 

 but it should be borne in mind that decaying cabbage is dan- 

 gerous material to have under a dwelling house, and it should 

 not be permitted under any circumstances. In storing cab- 

 bage, the loose outside leaves should be removed and the 

 stumps always left on, except when they are to be stored 

 in bins. 



Cabbage Seed is a somewhat difficult crop to raise in this 

 section, the trouble being in keeping the plants over winter. 

 However, it may be done if care is used. Fcr this purpose, 



