THE CABBAGE FAMILY 71 



Turnips, etc. ; and there are also novelties in the Chinese and 

 Portugal Cabbages all of which have their peculiarities of 

 culture small, perhaps, but important which the gardener 

 will do well to note and act upon. Stable manure is undoubtedly 

 the best to use for Greenstuffs ; and this may be supplemented 

 by nitrate of soda in the case of Cabbages, Brussels Sprouts, etc. ; 

 while kainit, used jointly with superphosphate, is excellent 'for 

 Cauliflowers and Broccoli. 



CABBAGES (Brassica oleracea). I think the best and most 

 popular type is the " Spring Cabbage." Coming in season at 

 a time when there is quite a dearth of new vegetables, and we 

 are tired of the long-stored, played-out specimens then available, 

 the sweet little " Spring Cabbage " always finds its way into 

 our affections. That Cabbages demand, and well repay, 

 solicitous care and good culture is a good reason why the 

 gardener should put his whole energies into this department 

 of gardening, even to the sacrifice and exclusion of other favourite 

 subjects. Seeds of a good strain, of a kind without a great 

 tendency to run to seed, should be secured and sown very thinly 

 at intervals during July and August, on a bed of fine, rich soil, 

 made moderately compact by gentle pressure after the seed is 

 sown. Every encouragement should be given to the resultant 

 seedlings to "make rapid growth with sturdy habit ; and this 

 will be secured, first, by seeing that the plants do not suffer 

 from lack of water, and, secondly, by a vigorous thinning-out 

 the withdrawn seedlings may be replanted elsewhere as surplus 

 stock. The aim must always be to secure what is termed a 

 " stocky " plant ; weak, drawn, or defective specimens are 

 to be removed and destroyed, for they are quite useless for any 

 purpose, except to grow as greenstuff for poultry, and it is an 

 utter impossibility for them to negotiate a severe winter. 



The young plants ought not to remain too long in the seed- 

 bed. As soon as their size permits, they should be transplanted 

 into a nursery-bed of good, compact soil. While the plants 

 are gaining strength in this second bed, their permanent loca- 

 tion may be considered and prepared. The selection of the 

 site is an easy matter, for at the time in question September- 

 October there is so much vacant ground that has carried 

 crops now safely gathered. Soil from which root-crops have 

 just been removed is very suitable, because, for one thing, it 

 is certain to be well dug, and, for another, the manure required 

 for the Cabbages will renovate the top-spit, which will probably 



