204 — How to Make the Garden Pay. 



Methods of Wintering. — There are numerous ways in 

 which cabbages can be kept successfully for home use, or the often 

 good market during latter part of winter or early spring. A 

 general rule is applicable to all methods. It is this, to pull the 



crop on a dry day, and 

 pack it only when per- 

 fectly dry. Also put off 

 the final covering, or 

 storing in buildings, cel- 

 lars, etc., as long in the 

 fall as can be safely done. 

 One of the most com- 

 monly practised methods 

 is to wrap the outer 

 leaves of each plant 

 firmly around the head, 

 and stand root side up 

 closely together, either 

 in single line or in a 

 close double row, with 

 Early Wakefield. ^^ without another layer 



on top; then plow a furrow from each side to the ridge of 



cabbages thus formed, and finish covering up with soil, using 



shovel or spade, leaving only the extremities of the roots sticking 



out. The illustration on page 162 represents a cross section 



of each of the three arrangements. Another good way to store 



cabbages is to put them in pits, like root crops. The excavation 



is made 6 or 8 inches deep, 4 feet wide, and as long as needed 



to make room for the 



quantity of cabbages 



desired to store. Here 



the heads are packed in 



a conical heap, roots 



inward, and covered 



with 8 or 10 inches of 



soil, packed firmly. In 



case we should want to 



use all or part of them 



during the winter, it will 



be a good precaution to 



cover the south side of 



pit with straw or other 



dry litter deep enough 



to keep the soil from freezing, and thus secure easy access to the 



cabbages whenever wanted. An improvement on this method 



was recently published in the Rzirai New Yorker. Boards or 



slabs are placed on bottom of pit. The cabbages, well trimmed 



Etampes. 



