CABBAGE l6l 



uniform size, as shown in figure 56. Much hand labor is required 

 in the harvesting and marketing of this crop, and for this reason its 

 culture is confined to a few localities where economic conditions 

 are favorable. Sprouts usually sell for as much per quart as straw- 

 berries, and as a result the return per acre from the crop is high, 

 since the yield is usually far greater than that of berries. 



Types. There are two forms of this plant : a tall plant much 

 used in Europe, and a dwarf plant, which is the common type 

 found in American gardens. The type desired should be carefully 

 specified in ordering seed. 



CABBAGE 



Distribution. Cabbage is a robust, hardy plant, naturally adapted 

 to a variety of soils and uses. Its cosmopolitan habits make it one 

 of the group of plants which are almost universally found in the 

 kitchen garden. Its general consumption and diversity of uses give 

 it high rank both as a truck crop and as a farm crop. Some idea of 

 the extent of its cultivation can be gained from the area of the crop 

 in New York State in 1 900, which, according to the census report, 

 was over 25,000 acres. Cabbage is unfortunately one of those crops 

 the acreage and value of which fluctuate greatly from year to year. 



Cabbage can now be obtained in the market at all seasons. The 

 stored product of the autumn crop of the North no sooner disap- 

 pears from the markets than its place is taken by the early truck 

 crop from Florida. This is followed by the product from Georgia, 

 the Carolinas, and Virginia. 



Types of cabbage. Because of the relationship of four important 

 market-garden and truck crops, namely, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, 

 and Brussels sprouts, they can well be discussed together. These 

 plants, which are now of immense commercial value, all have a 

 common origin in the wild cabbage native to Europe and western 

 Asia. The varied forms which have received these names have all 

 developed under cultivation. The wild plant is a perennial, with 

 broad-lobed, undulating, thick, rather smooth leaves, and is covered 

 with a heavy bloom. The stem of this plant sometimes attains a 

 height of from 2| to 3 feet, in this respect resembling somewhat 

 the giant cabbage now grown in the Jersey Islands. As is naturally 



