CABBAGES. 



147 



TABLE II. 





,_: 



33 . 



£ 



a 



> a 









3 



2 







1-1 ™ - 





.44 



.46 



1.00 



1.00 



ss 



Outer leaves tied up 

 Cheek 



.67 

 1.00 



Representing the weight of an average head from the check 

 plants by 1 or 100 per cent., an average head from the Harvest 

 Home which received the special treatment, would be repre- 

 sented by 44 per cent. In the same manner, we observe that 

 the heads from the treated plants of Surehead were only 46 per 

 cent, as heavy as the untreated, and Reynolds' Early, 67 per 

 cent. In a word, the size of the heads from the treated plants 

 averaged from 33 per cent, to 56 per cent, by weight smaller 

 than did those from the untreated plants. 



Another result of this operation which was even more notice- 

 able than the decreased size of the heads, was the effect upon 

 quality. Although all possible care was taken in tying up the 

 leaves, they did not overlap sufficiently to keep out all moisture, 

 so that during rains a considerable amount of water entered 

 each head. This moisture being so inclosed within the leaves, 

 did not readily evaporate. As a result of this continued damp- 

 ness, the inner portions of the plants very soon began to decay; 

 it was not long before this effect became noticeable upon the 

 outer leaves, resulting in a large proportion of the leaves fall- 

 ing off long before the season of growth would otherwise have 

 ceased. As a result of this decay, not a single head was pro- 

 duced fit for home use, to say nothing about its marketable 

 qualities. 



3. Effect of Mulching: — The advisability of using straw or 

 some similar material as a mulch for the purpose of conserving 

 the soil moisture has often been discussed. In order to ascer- 

 tain the advantages, if any, of such treatment in the culture of 

 the cabbage, three lots of plants, as soon as they were fairly 

 started after being set in the field, were thoroughly mulched 

 with swale hay so that when packed down the mulch was two 

 or three inches thick, the space between the rows of plants being 



