76 VEGECULTURE 



quality throughout the winter months. The usual procedure 

 governing the culture of Cabbages is observed. Some useful 

 sorts include the old-fashioned Ragged Jack and Cottager S 

 Kale, and Thousand Headed; the Scotch Kales, the Hearting 

 Kales ; Moss Curled, Drumhead, Asparagus, Bnda t and others ; 

 while the Variegated Kales have been brought to a pitch of 

 handsome usefulness not generally known and recognized 

 white, purple, blue, red, yellow, and every shade of green lending 

 their assistance to complete a glorious picture of vegetable 

 dccorativeness. 



BRUSSELS SPROUTS. Brussels Sprouts require a long 

 period of growth, good soil, and plenty of room for development. 

 This vegetable is a variety of Cabbage which has acquired an 

 abnormally long stem, covered with compact, crimped, miniature 

 Cabbage heads of fine flavour. These "sprouts" are exceed- 

 ingly firm, and will prove a very tender and sweet vegetable when 

 properly cooked. There is a tendency to-day toward the 

 production of large sprouts ; but there is little that is desirable 

 in this fashion, for a moderately sized " button " is far more 

 compact and of better flavour than a large specimen which has 

 burst open. If large heads can, by good culture, be secured, 

 free from coarseness and a tendency to split, so much the better ; 

 but there is considerable risk of failure. The stem terminates 

 in a small but useful head, which can be gathered and used as a 

 separate vegetable. 



In order to have a matured crop by October, early seed- 

 sowing must take place in March at the latest ; while later 

 successional crops may be secured by sowings from April to 

 early June. The procedure of seed-sowing and plant-raising 

 coincides with that of Cabbages generally ; and a well-drained 

 rich soil, not freshly or highly manured, should be ready for the 

 accommodation of the plants when sufficiently developed, and 

 a distance from plant to plant of from two to three feet allowed. 

 Compact soil is necessary, and the retention of a ball of soil at 

 the roots when transplanting is a decided advantage. Liquid 

 manure during growth may be applied, but caution is to be 

 observed, as over-feeding ruins the plants. A very early batch 

 of sprouts may be obtained by sowing seeds in gentle heat in 

 January, and planting the resulting seedlings in their permanent 

 stations in March or April, first hardening the plants by gradually 

 inuring them to open-air conditions beforehand. In gathering, 

 a sharp knife should be used to cut off the sprouts, for spurs 



