CULTURAL DIRECTIONS 265 



348. Soils. — Successful crops of cabbage are grown on 

 a great variety of soil types, the enterprise being devel- 

 oped to large proportions on soils ranging from light 

 sand to heavy clays. It is largely a question of constant 

 moisture (although good drainage is essential) and of 

 abundant food. Excellent crops of early and late cab- 

 bage have been grown on sandy loams, often along 

 mountain streams, -vyhere there is a large deposit of vege- 

 table matter and a regular supply of moisture. Perhaps 

 the largest crops of late cabbage have been grown on 

 clay loams, well enriched by manure. The mountain 

 glades of the Appalachian system seem to be well 

 adapted to this crop. Danish Ball Head, which is the 

 most limited in soil and climatic adaptation of all the 

 varieties, succeeds well on the DeKalb series of soils in 

 Pennsylvania. The reclaimed swampy glades in the 

 mountains of West Virginia have produced large crops 

 without manure or fertilizer, although these materials, 

 with the addition of lime, increase the yields. A mellow 

 soil which does not bake hard and which is well sup- 

 plied with humus will generally produce satisfactory 

 crops. 



349. Growing early plants.' — There are at least five 

 distinct methods of growing early cabbage plants: (i) 

 From Baltimore, southward, the general practice is to 

 sow in the open, usually in October, and when six to 

 eight weeks old the plants are set in the field on the sides 

 of ridges. They may also be wintered in the beds, with 

 protection if necessary, , and shifted to the field early in 

 the spring. Fall planting, however, is more satisfactory 

 because it produces an earlier crop. (2) The common 

 practice years ago in the North was to sow in the open 

 early in September and transplant into cold frames the 

 latter part of October, the plants being protected with 

 sash during the winter. The results were highly satis- 

 factory, and the plan is still used by some gardeners^ 



