CHAPTER V. 



CABBAGE. 



Brassica oleracea capitata. 



This popular vegetable might, with a consider- 

 able degree of propriety, be included among the 

 staples, for it is in almost as general use as the Po- 

 tato, especially among the working classes. Every 

 working-man who owns or tills a piece of ground, 

 no matter how small, will devote part of it to a Cab- 

 bage-patch. In fact, no kitchen-garden is complete 

 without its well-tended square of Cabbages, both for 

 Summer and Winter use. 



The culture of Cabbages for market has been 

 steadily on the increase in localities contiguous to 

 large cities. At the present time single growers in 

 our neighborhood will plant more Cabbages for mar- 

 ket than were planted in the whole township fifteen 

 or twenty years ago. Yet, every careful cultivator 

 finds an equally ready sale for his crop at paying 

 prices. It is no longer a rare sight to see, in the 

 vicinity of large cities, manufacturing towns, and 

 mining districts, fields of five, eight, or ten acres 

 exclusively devoted to Cabbages. Where there is a 

 good market near by, the cultivation of Cabbages 

 generally proves a profitable part of the gardener's 

 business. But to make it so, requires certain con- 



