CAB 



C 143 ] 



CAB 



of August, of which the seedlings may 

 remain in the seed-bed all the whiter, if 

 not too thick ; or any number may be fi- 

 nally planted out into the open quarters 

 from October to November, or pricked 

 out into nursery-beds, banks, c., so as 

 to have a good stock of plants for final 

 planting out whenever favourable oppor- 

 tunities offer. 



Should the winter be so severe as to 

 have destroyed many of the autumn- 

 sown plants, then early spring sowing 

 becomes of importance. Sow towards 

 the middle or end of January, so as to 

 have good plants for final planting out, 

 if the weather be mild and open, about 

 the end of February. To effect this, 

 cither a pinch of seed may be sown in 

 pans or boxes, and placed in some steady- 

 heated structure; and, when the seedlings 

 are up large enough to prick out, have a 

 worm border, or very gentle hotbed, 

 ready to prick them out upon, to be pro- 

 tected either by a little glass or hoop and 

 mat. To sow on a larger scale, make up 

 gentle hotbeds, to be protected with either 

 glass, which is best, or mats : the pricking 

 out attend to as before-mentioned. Also, 

 any kind may be sown in the open, warm 

 border, in February and March, should 

 the August sowing have been destroyed. 

 The Couve Tronchuda should be sown 

 from the first of March to the end of 

 April. One vary important point is, that 

 all pricked-out plants should invariably 

 be lifted, with either a spade, trowel, or 

 fork, out of the pricked-out beds, whether 

 in frames or otherwise, so as to secure 

 their young roots. Plants out of the 

 seed-bed seldom need this precaution. 



Mode of Sowing. The seed is inserted 

 rather thin, about a quarter of an inch 

 deep, and occasionally watered until the 

 plants are well above-ground; and the 

 waterings in summer may afterwards be 

 beneficially repeated two or three times 

 a week, until they are ready for removal, 

 if dry, hot weather continues. The seed- 

 lings are pricked out in rows four or five 

 inches asunder each way; shaded and 

 watered until completely established. 



The Soil cannot be made too rich for 

 cabbageworts at any time. 



Planting. We never make but two 

 plantings in the year; one from the 21st 

 of July sowing, which planting is made 

 during the first fortnight of September ; 

 and the second planting we make in the 

 spring, towards the end of February or 



beginning of March. This last planting 

 is either made from plants raised in Au- 

 gust, or, if the winter destroyed that sow- 

 ing, it is made from early spring sowings, 

 our soil being made so rich for these two 

 plantings that we never want for cole- 

 worts, or even young cabbage, which are 

 produced after the principal heads have 

 been cut away. 



Cutting Callages. If young sprouts 

 are required, the side-leaves should be 

 left on for about five days after the prin- 

 cipal head is cut. The side-sprouts will 

 be found to put forth very much the 

 stronger and quicker for the leaves being 

 thus left. 



Planting. Plant in rows, from one and 

 a half to two and a half feet asunder 

 each way, the smaller early kinds being 

 planted the closest. The Bed Cabbage, 

 the principal plantation of which should 

 be made in March, for pickling in Sep- 

 tember, is benefited by having the dis- 

 tances enlarged to three feet. They must 

 be well watered at the time of removal, 

 and until fully established. The best 

 mode of applying the water is to make 

 the hole with the dibble, and pour in, 

 about a quart before inserting the plant. 

 Frequently hoe, to keep under the weeds ; 

 and as soon as their growth permits tho 

 earth should be drawn round the stems. 

 To promote the cabbaging of the plants,, 

 it is useful to draw the leaves together 

 with a shred of bass mat, which forwards 

 it about a fortnight. The stems of the 

 summer and autumn crops, if left after 

 the main head has been cut, will produce 

 numerous sprouts during those seasons, 

 and also throughout the winter. 



To obtain Seed. In October, which is 

 the preferable season, and from thence 

 until the close of February, select some 

 of the finest and best cabbage-plants. 

 Have the large, outer leaves removed, 

 and then insert them up to their heads 

 in rows, three feet asunder each way. 

 Each variety must be planted as far from 

 any other as possible, as, indeed, from 

 every other species of cabbagewort ; and 

 this precaution applies equally to the 

 whole tribe. 



Frame Seedlings. The heat must never 

 exceed 00, nor sink more than two or 

 three degrees beneath 50, which is the 

 most favourable minimum. Air should 

 be admitted freely in the day, and the 

 glasses covered, as necessity requires, at 

 night with matting. 



