JUST HOW 115 



Beets do best when thinned twice. Thin first when the 

 plants are about five inches high, or even less, leaving spaces 

 of three inches. The second thinning leaves a distance of 

 about six inches. These seedlings will be used as greens. At 

 the second thinning, young beet roots will be pulled up as 

 well. These whole plants are therefore served as greens ; it 

 is hardly worth while to transplant the thinnings. Beets are 

 subject to scab on the roots and to rust on the leaves. 



Table beets may be boiled, stewed, creamed, or pickled. In 

 boiling, be sure not to break the skin. Put them into boiling 

 water and cook slowly for one hour ; then drain and the 

 skins will slip off. These boiled beets are to be sliced and 

 seasoned with salt, pepper, and butter. They make, too, a 

 favorite pickle. 



Cabbage. Cabbage makes an excellent and wholesome food. 

 It is widely appreciated too. Market quotations show that 

 thousands of tons of cabbages are consumed every week in a 

 great city like New York. It is said that nobody knows what 

 a delicious flavor a cabbage may have until he picks one 

 fresh out of his own garden. A gardener, if he likes, can have 

 a supply of cabbages the whole year through. To raise very 

 early cabbages, plant, seeds indoors in February. Prevent them 

 from growing tall and spindling by giving extra sunshine and 

 by pinching them back. In the cold frame, seed for a second 

 lot may be planted as early as April, provided it is sheltered ; 

 by the end of June the seedlings will have grown large enough 

 to set out. These ripen by November. Still a later variety 

 can be set out in July. In a small garden, where space is 

 precious, it is advisable to choose the late cabbages. Then 

 other vegetables will have had their chance, and the cabbages 

 may take all the room they please. Such handsome ones as 

 the expert likes to produce cannot ripen properly nearer to- 

 gether than two feet. In case the seed is sown out of doors, 



