Culture of the Cabbage. 541 



cabbages, and that they were the best sort in England, the 

 Paignton and early Cornish. I told him I never before saw such 

 wild, long-leafed, long-legged plants, to be called cabbages, and 

 be said to be fine when they came in. However, I had a pinch 

 of East Ham with me, of my own saving ; I sowed a little in a 

 pan or two in the January following, pricked them early, and 

 got them good plants by the first week in March. I then 

 planted them out; and had pretty cabbages from them, five 

 weeks sooner than from those ugly-looking ones that had been 

 hoed every dry day, and nursed and taken every possible care 

 of all through winter. Scarcely any of these were fit to cut 

 before we had peas and beans ; how, then, could they be called 

 spring cabbages? I like to see pretty cabbages in March, 

 April, and May, and that is the time they are looked for ; I 

 have always found it so, and not when other vegetables are 

 plentiful. As soon as possible I trenched them all in for 

 something else to grow on ; never meaning to cultivate, myself, 

 any more of those wild sorts, whilst I know of better ones to be 

 grown at the same cost : but no doubt it would require much 

 persuasion to convince some of the West-country men that there 

 are any better sorts than they have been accustomed to cul- 

 tivate. 



I generally sow the seed for my early cabbages about the 

 25th of July ; prick them early at 3 in. apart each way ; then 

 again at 6 in., which makes them strong and short-legged. It 

 is my usual practice to grow them on the piece of ground the 

 onions have been raised in. As soon as possible after these 

 have been cleared off, the ground is well dunged and trenched, 

 and laid up in ridges, as rough as possible ; and at about every 

 12 or 14 feet a sloping bank is cast up, by throwing two 

 trenches into one, Avhich breaks the cold winds from the cab- 

 bages, and supplies fine places for winter endive, brown Cos let' 

 tuce, cabbage lettuce, cauliflower, late cabbage plants for spring 

 planting, and many other things ; lying dry and healthy, and, 

 when carefully done, having a very neat appearance. Of course, 

 I sow about once a month all summer and spring for coleworts. 

 I generally make it a rule to prick my spring cabbage plants on 

 my cucumber ridge, which was the case this season ; the ridge 

 being 100 ft. in length, and when forked down about 8 ft. wide, 

 all of good fresh earth from the frames, and waste soil from the 

 potting-shed, which I always save ; and I will warrant that not 

 one handful of it had been near where a cabbage had been 

 grown. Six kinds of cabbages were pricked ; the principal part 

 of them were the three I have before mentioned, and the rest 

 three new sorts for proving. However, to my great disap- 

 pointment, after making every necessary prej)aration for their 

 being planted out permanently, I found some of the sorts nearly 



3d Ser.— 1843. X. NN 



