CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 33 



ing the protection of a fence or wall if practicable, and 

 turning furrows with the plough throw out the earth 

 with shovels to the depth of about six inches ; the cab- 

 bages, stripped as before described, are then stored 

 closely together, and straw or coarse hay is thrown over 

 them to the depth of a foot or eighteen inches. Pro- 

 tected thus they arc accessible for market at any time 

 during the Winter. If the design is to keep them over 

 till Spring, the covering may be first six inches of earth, 

 to be followed as cold increases, with six inches of straw, 

 litter, or eel grass. This latter is my own practice, 

 with the addition of leaving a ridire of earth between 

 every three or four rows to act as a support and keep 

 the cabbages from falling over. I am also careful to 

 bring the cabbages to the pit as soon as pulled, with the 

 earth among the roots as little disturbed as possible, and 

 should the roots appear to be dry, to throw a little earth 

 over them after the cabbages are set in the trench. The 

 few loose leaves remaining will prevent the earth from 

 sifting down between the heads, and the air chambers 

 thus made answer a capital purpose in keeping out the 

 cold, as air is one of the best non-conductors of heat. 

 It is said that muck soil when avcII drained is an excel- 

 lent one to bury cabbage in, as its antiseptic properties 

 preserve them from decay. If the object is to preserve 

 the cabbage for market purposes only, the heads may be 

 buried in the same position in which they grew, or they 

 may be inverted, the stump having no value in itself; 

 but if for seed purposes, they must be buried head up, 

 as whatever injures the stump spoils the whole cabbage 

 for that object. I store between ten and fifty thousand 

 heads annually to raise seed from, and carry them 

 through till planting time with a degree of success 



