THE CABBAGES. 45 



four seeds to each inch of row. We generally sow a lit- 

 tle thicker than this in hopes that the plants will have a 

 better chance of escaping the ravages of the little black 

 beetle which is almost certain to attack them. Frequent 

 hoeing is particularly desirable, as it not only kills weeds 

 and favors the growth of the plants, but it has a ten- 

 dency to frighten away the black beetle. For late au- 

 tumn or winter cabbages we sow our cabbage seed from 

 the middle of May until the first week in June. The 

 larger and later the variety the earlier should the seed be 

 sown. The summer and early autumn varieties, such as 

 the Winningstadt, Henderson's Summer, Fottler's, Stone 

 Mason, and Harris' Short Stem Drumhead can be changed 

 into winter cabbages by sowing the seed from the last 

 week in May until the first week in June. I have had a 

 good crop of most of these varieties when the plants were 

 set out as late as the middle of June ; as a rule, how- 

 ever, it is better to plant earlier. 



On my own farm, where we raise cabbage plants in 

 very large quantities, we drill the seed in rows twenty-one 

 inches apart, and keep the crop clean by the frequent 

 use of the horse-hoe. You need the cleanest, richest and 

 best land, and in addition to this, sow four hundred 

 pounds of superphosphate per acre. With good clean 

 land, a dressing of superphosphate and the frequent use 

 of the horse-hoe between the rows, it is a very easy mat- 

 ter to raise cabbage plants. You can grow from one 

 hundred and fifty thousand to two hundred thousand 

 good cabbage plants to the acre. When much thicker 

 than this, the plants are not so stocky as they should be. 

 The price paid for good cabbage plants is from two dol- 

 lars to three dollars per thousand. 



LATE CABBAGES. 



For the main crop of winter cabbages, the large late 

 Flat Dutch or Premium Flat Dutch, or, if the land is 



