80 



Cole Crops 



In the North, kale is ordinarily sown in the spring, the 

 seeds being placed where the plants are to stand. The rows 

 may be far enough apart to allow of horse cultivation, and 

 the plants may eventually stand, after the thinning 

 process, from ten to twenty-four inches apart, allowing 

 each plant an opportunity to develop to its best. The 

 plants are not used until late fall or even winter. Often 

 they are allowed to stand in the field all winter and the 

 hardiest kinds are not injured by freezing, not even in the 

 Northern States, if they are well niaturcd, although a light 

 mulch on the ground is beneficial. The older leaves and 

 leaf-stalks are usually improved by being frozen. The 

 tenderest leaves are picked from the plants at intervals, 

 or the whole plant may be harvested at once. 



For early spring use the seed ordinarily is sown in late 

 summer or early autumn in the South and Middle South, 



frames; therefore fall-sown kale is relatively little known 

 in the colder parts of the country. It is grown on a very 

 extensive scale about Norfolk, Virginia, and elsewhere 



28. Scotch kale, showing a plant of large size. 



and the plants 

 stand out of doors 

 in winter and are 

 ready for use 

 very early in 

 the spring. In 

 the northernmost 

 States, however, 

 these young plants 

 are likely to 

 perish unless pro- 

 t e c t e d under 



