52 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



September, 1912 



burdocks. Two old cherry trees near the 

 front door were the sole ornaments of 

 the place. In 1875, when the place was 

 bought, the shop and staging were removed 

 and some cleaning up was done. Otherwise 

 the place remained unchanged for the next 

 twenty-five years. The poplars showing in 

 the picture were planted in 1S95, the horse- 

 chestnut was a seed planted by a little boy 

 in 1S90. 



"Improvements came in 1899. The old- 

 type porch was added to the house to 

 increase the size of the front entry, the 

 ground was trenched from front to rear, 

 loads of brickbats and stones carted off, 



and two levels made with a two-foot 

 retaining wall across the lot in line with the 

 end of the house. (The land slopes down 

 about three feet from front to rear.) The 

 clothes yard, taken from land of the rear 

 or garden end, was shut off by a bean-pole 

 fence six feet high which was continued 

 up and by the back door, and to avoid a 

 gate the back entrance was screened from 

 the street by a short piece of similar fence 

 projecting beyond the other at a right 

 angle. Japanese honeysuckle covers the 

 fence. Near the kitchen door a wistaria 

 ascends a pole trellis. Stone steps, rough 

 hewn, lead from the house to the clothes 



yard and from the front yard to the garden 

 beyond. 



"The prime objects attempted were to 

 make the lot appear larger (it is 50 feet 

 on the street by 121 in depth); to blot 

 out the uninteresting blank wall of the 

 dwelling house on the southern line, to 

 secure privacy for the little garden; and 

 to obtain an element of mystery where the 

 path leads to it and disappears at the end 

 of the front yard. With the coming of 

 the children also came the desirability of 

 contracting the garden beds, establishing 

 a sand-pile, and the building of the play- 

 house." 



Cabbages of Unusual Merit— By Adolph Kruhm, 0* 



TELLING HOW TO DECIDE ON THE SORT OF CABBAGE THAT WILL REALLY ANSWER YOUR 

 NEEDS — NOW IS THE TIME TO BEGIN IF YOU WANT ALL-THE-YEAR-ROUND RESULTS 



ALTHOUGH more than five hundred 

 varieties and strains of cabbages are 

 listed by seedsmen throughout this country, 

 we need only study five original types in 

 order to properly classify all. 



The whole family of cabbages may be 

 divided into oblong or point-headed, flat- 

 headed and round-headed sorts, and 

 red cabbages. In each of these classes we 

 find early as well as late sorts, while the 

 flat, and round-headed sorts may be sub- 

 divided into early, midseason and late 

 varieties. The unusually large assortment 

 of varieties found in seedmen's catalogues 

 makes a clear analysis very difficult, but by 

 that same token highly desirable. In the 

 following paragraph, an attempt is made to 

 shed some light on the subject so that 

 private planters may have less difficulty 

 in selecting correct sorts in the different 

 classes for each special purpose. 



The existence of so many varieties and 

 types is partly explained by the extent of 

 this country, its various climates and soils. 

 Cabbages show an unusual tendency to 

 adapt themselves to new conditions and 

 surroundings. Often, a variety will 

 undergo a complete transformation; roots, 

 stem, texture of foliage, all change in order 

 to make it adapted for cultivation in a 

 certain section. This naturally gives rise 



All Seasons cabbage. Matures in midsummer and rills 

 the gap between the extra early and the late kinds 



to a multitude of "strains" of one and the 

 same type; though all strains must, of 

 necessity, belong to one or the other of 

 the various classes mentioned in the open- 

 ing paragraph. 



To illustrate: The most important types 

 of cabbage in cultivation to-day are the 

 Flat Dutch group. Among these we find 

 early and late strains, the best of the latter 

 being Premium Flat Dutch. It is safe to 

 state that there are at least fifty strains 

 of Premium Flat Dutch listed under 

 different names, for which are claimed 

 superior characteristics of one kind or 

 another. Sometimes these claims are true, 

 as in the case of "Surehead" which does 

 well in the Southwest, where other strains 

 fail completely. In most cases it is well 

 to look for the original type, however, 

 though where seedsmen state with perfect 

 frankness that such and such a strain is 

 especially suitable for certain climates and 

 purposes, it often pays to test the truth of 

 the assertion. 



Before going into detail as to the use- 

 fulness and purposes of different classes 

 and telling about the best members of 

 each class, let your attention be called 

 to the root system of the cabbage plant. 

 Upon it depends, to a large extent, the 

 success with cabbage. Earliness or late- 

 ness, season of maturity, drought and dis- 

 ease-resisting qualities are indicated more 

 or less in the root system and stems of 

 even the seedling plants of the different 

 kinds. 



Take, for instance, Jersey Wakefield. As 

 the earliest of all varieties, it roots deeply 

 in a short time, and all along the long 

 tap roots are many fibrous rootlets which 

 absorb nourishment quickly from a large 

 area of soil. Allhead Early, devoid of a 

 prominent tap root, forms a compact lump 

 of fibrous rootlets which absorb nutrition 

 slower than those arranged along the tap 

 root of Jersey Wakefield. Succession, which 

 matures in midseason, when the soil is 

 apt to be dry, has a spreading system of 



those of Allhead Early. The late types, 

 finally, are constructed along different 

 lines. They form strong tap roots and 

 numerous rootlets, but develop them 

 slowly, building a more substantial founda- 

 tion than any of the early sorts. 



Because the proper development of a 

 cabbage crop depends so much upon the 

 basis of a good root system, it deserves this 

 lengthy explanation. When sowing seeds, 

 watch that the seed bed consists of at least 

 four inches of finely sifted soil, is free of 

 lumps and not too heavy or sticky. Every 

 effort should be made to encourage the 

 plants to form a correct root system and 

 great care should be exercised when buying 

 plants, to select roots rather than over- 

 grown tops. 



CABBAGES THE YEAR AROUND 



About the second week in September, sow 

 seeds of the early varieties recommended 

 below, in a carefully prepared seed bed 

 outdoors, in rows j inch deep with four 

 inches between the rows. With the ap- 

 proach of cold weather in October, trans- 

 plant the seedlings in a coldframe, 4 inches 

 apart each way. Keep them as nearly 

 dormant as possible, giving plenty of air 

 on warm, sunny days throughout the 

 winter. These plants will become so 



Jersey Wakeflald. the earliest of all sorts, and EureKa. 

 First Early, an offspring on the Ua, 



