1416 The Vegetable Industry in Xew York State 



Commercial fertilizers are best suited to growing plants be- 

 cause of their freedom from weeds. For one pound of seed I 

 should use nine hundred square feet of ground, and to this apply 

 one hundred pounds of 4-10-8 fertilizer. It is preferable to have 

 all the nitrogen in this fertilizer derived from nitrate of soda. 

 It should be thoroughly worked in before the seeds are sown. In 

 some sections the plants are raised in rows : the fertilizer is sown 

 in rows and worked in. 



Fig. 433. — Good and Poor Types of Cabbage of the Same Variety 



PREPARATION OF THE FIELD 



Sod ground is perhaps best suited to grow this crop. Often a 

 very bad mistake is made by not plowing the ground early 

 enough to preserve all moisture. Fall plowing is best. In the 

 spring the field should be dragged at least once a week until set- 

 ting time. This will preserve all the moisture and also kill most 

 of the weeds. Very few other crops require so much moisture, or 

 more thorough preparation of the soil. 



FERTILIZATION 



Cabbage needs plenty to eat as well as to drink, if we expect to 

 get good yields. This does not mean that it needs wet land. 

 I like to think of a cabbage plant as a filter. The soil water is 

 taken in through the roots and the sun evaporates the moisture 

 thrown off by the leaves. What is left in the plant is used for 

 growth. 



