134 BRASSICACEOUS PLANTS. 



sometimes white or yellowish- white. The seeds, which 

 ripen in July and August of the second year, are round, 

 reddish-brown or blackish-brown, and retain their vitality 

 five years. About ten thousand are contained in an ounce. 



Soil. Cabbages are best grown in deep, rich, loamy 

 soil. On land that has been long under cultivation, or in 

 dry situations, they rarely succeed well. Ashes, with a 

 mixture of salt, may be advantageously applied, not only 

 for the promotion of growth, but for protection against the 

 attack of the maggot, to which the roots are liable. They 

 may be mixed in the hill at the time of transplanting, or 

 applied about the plant from time to time in the process of 

 cultivation. 



Propagation. All of the varieties are propagated from 

 seed sown annually. For early use, a sowing may be made 

 in a hot-bed in February or March ; and, for winter use, the 

 seed may be sown in a nursery-bed, in the open ground, in 

 May or June, When five or six inches high, transplant, 



Seed. -American-grown seed is generally considered 

 superior to that of foreign growth ; and, when it can be 

 obtained from a reliable seedsman or seeds~-grower, the pur- 

 chaser should not be induced by the difference in price to 

 select the nominally cheaper, as there are few vegetables 

 with which the character of the seed is of greater impor- 

 tance. 



Varieties. The varieties are numerous, and the distinc- 

 tion, in many instances, well-defined and permanent. Be- 

 tween some of the sorts, however, the variations are slight 

 and unimportant. 



Champion of One of the largest of the recently introduced 

 sorts ; the whole plant sometimes attaining a 

 weight of forty pounds and upwards. Head flattened, some- 

 what resembling the Drumheads ; outer leaves very few, 

 succulent, and tender ; stalk short ; quality tender, mild, 

 and well flavored. 



