34 BULLETIN 1005, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



growing; 12 growers, or 63 per cent of the number answering, prefer 

 a loam soil; and 2 growers, or 10 per cent, prefer a clay soil for cab- 

 bage production. 



The yields of cabbage reported range from 100 to 250 barrels per 

 acre, with an indicated mean production of about 200 barrels. 



There is considerable diversity in the methods of management of 

 the cabbage crop in the Norfolk district. To an appreciable extent 

 cabbage is planted along the shoulders of the spinach beds as soon as 

 the greater part of that crop has been harvested. Some growers 

 plant cabbage upon land from which a summer crop of corn or hay 

 has been harvested. Others follow various short rotations. 



Usually there is no interval in which to grow a green-manuring crop 

 in preparation for cabbage. 



The most common method of fertilization for cabbage is to use a 

 moderate application of the fertilizer commonly employed for pota- 

 toes at the time of transplanting the cabbage. This is followed at 

 intervals through the winter and early spring by applications of a 

 fertilizer analyzing 10 per cent of ammonia, 5 to 7 per cent of phos- 

 phoric acid, and 2 or 3 per cent of potash. 



The more soluble sources of ammonia are used in the winter ferti- 

 lizers, as the crop is subject to cool conditions under which the surface 

 soil may be frozen for short periods. The total applications of com- 

 mercial fertilizer for cabbage range from 500 to 2,000 pounds per acre 

 with a mean of about 1,500 pounds. Stable manure is used if avail- 

 able. 



The earliest spring crop of cabbage is handled with special refer- 

 ence to the promotion of growth during the winter and spring. The 

 crop is set as spinach is removed and a high ridge is plowed up on the 

 northern side of the cabbage row for the purpose of protecting the 

 young plants from cold winds and to intercept and reflect the sun- 

 light. Later in the season the ridge is worked down and the winter 

 applications of fertilizer are made. The crop thus handled is available 

 for early shipment. This early crop is set only upon the best drained 

 and warmest soils, chiefly the coarse and fine sandy loams of the 

 district. A later crop is planted on the heavier soils or those not 

 quite so well drained naturally. Thus the cabbage crop may be grown 

 on quite a variety of soils, ranging from the best drained members 

 of the Sassafras and Norfolk series, used for the early crop, to the 

 dark sandy loams and loams of the Suffolk and Portsmouth series, 

 which give a large yield at a somewhat later date in the spring. 



Strawberries. — The replies of 20 growers, representing 304 acres 

 of strawberries, show no decided preference in the selection of soils 

 for this crop. Seven prefer a sandy loam, 7 a loam soil, and 6 a 

 heavy loam or clay soil. This is in general accord with the observa- 

 tions in the district. It is probable that strawberries are grown 



