BRASSICACEOUS PLANTS. — THE CABBAGE. 



89 



4. Knight's early dwarf. — A nice little hardy 

 sort, which may also be set at a foot apart each 

 way. 



5. Early Dutch twist. — An excellent cabbage 

 of the smallest size, very delicate, and may be 

 planted almost as close together as a crop of 

 cabbage-lettuce. 



6. CatteVs dwarf Barnes. — A small early sort 

 of great merit. 



The above are the smallest and earliest of 

 cabbages, and exceedingly well suited for small 

 gardens and private family use. They should 

 be sown more frequently than the larger-grow- 

 ing sorts, so as to keep up a succession of young 

 and delicate heads, much after the manner of 

 sowing lettuce. 



7. Early nonpareil, Shilling's queen, Shilling's 

 superb dwarf, Tiley's early marrow, early em- 

 peror, early imperial, are all equally excellent 

 for second earlies and second-sized cabbages. 



8. Pomeranian cabbage is thus described by 

 Mr Thompson in " Journal of Horticultural So- 

 ciety," vol. v. p. 280 : — "It is remarkable for its 

 conical tapering form, very compact, and firm 

 to the apex. It is very hardy, and may be cul- 

 tivated like other hearting cabbages ; but it may 

 be interesting and useful to know that, at Macon, 

 in France, the market-gardeners take it up out 

 of the quarters when fully grown before winter, 

 and lay it in the soil, to the neck, in a sloping 

 direction. Thus treated, it withstood the severe 

 winter of 1847. The quarter thus cleared can 

 be trenched and prepared for other crops — an 

 important advantage in small gardens. It is 

 likely to prove valuable in colder situations than 

 is suitable for the Battersea and other cabbages 

 grown in the neighbourhood of London." 



King of the cabbages, London market, Wheeler's 

 imperial, Vanack, Sprotboro, Paignton or Penton, 

 M'Ewan's, are all admirably adapted for general 

 crops, where large returns are required. The 

 vanack has been cultivated above a century in 

 the gardens of Colonel Wyndham at Petworth, 

 Sussex, but it was only brought into general no- 

 tice about thirty years ago. It has the merit of 

 throwing out fine sprouts, which attain a large 

 size for eighteen months or two years after hav- 

 ing been first cut. M'Ewan's is of similar cha- 

 racter, but of Scotch origin ; it is difficult to 

 seed, as it goes on sprouting and growing for 

 almost any length of time. The Paignton is of 

 Devonshire origin, named from a village of that 

 name, where it has been cultivated for ages. Its 

 properties are much the same as those of the 

 two last. The Sprotboro is a Yorkshire cabbage, 

 also of great excellence, in habit and properties 

 much resembling the last four. The Paignton is 

 also known in seed-shops as the Cornish, Penton- 

 ville, and curled. 



To this section we may usefully add Chap- 

 pell's colewort, which is little known out of the 

 London market, where it is brought in immense 

 quantities as an open green cabbage, being pulled 

 before it hearts, and is sold as a colewort, and 

 much esteemed. Colewort, cabbage-plants, and 

 collet are synonymous terms, used for cabbages 

 cut for use before hearting, and to be eaten in a 

 young state. 



The early York is probably the type of all our 



best early cabbages, many of which, however, 

 excel it in delicacy; no other sort is known to 

 have the ribs and veins less prominent, which 

 are its principal points. The vanack is again 

 the type of the imperial, Fulham, and Battersea. 

 Of the Portugal cabbage there are two varieties, 

 a taller and a dwarfer sort. The Pomeranian is 

 very distinct from all others, is a good late sort, 

 of conical form, almost terminating in a point. 



Approved sorts of Brassica oleracea capitata, 

 vax.Depressa,De C. — Large Drumhead. — Known 

 also as the Scotch, cattle cabbage, flat pole, and 

 Strasburg. Of this there are several sub- 

 varieties, differing chiefly in shortness of stem, 

 concavity or flatness of head, &c. Of these De 

 Candolle has recognised two distinct forms ; 

 viz., Brassica oleracea depressa (depressed or 

 flattened drumhead), and B. oleracea sphosrica 

 alba (spherical or great round Scotch cabbage). 

 Those of dwarf habit are the best, as, being for 

 winter use, they stand the frost better when 

 close to the ground than when high above it. 

 Unless, as we have already stated, a soup- 

 kitchen is to be supplied, or saur-kraut is to 

 be made, a small plantation of either of these 

 varieties will be sufficient even for a large gar- 

 den. In small ones, unless a head or two be 

 required for pickling (and even for this purpose 

 the red cabbage is preferred), we consider it 

 the least profitable of the family to grow, as it 

 is of little use after the head is cut off. It still 

 occupies a place in most farmhouse gardens and 

 cottages in Scotland, and frequently appears in 

 our markets — an evident symptom how far 

 we are behind our southern neighbours in the 

 art of vegetable cookery. 



The seed should be sown, in most parts of 

 Scotland, from the middle to the end of August, 

 and a strong rich soil should be chosen. In the 

 warmer parts, and generally throughout England, 

 it is better to sow in March, to prevent the 

 crop coming into use too early in the following 

 autumn, for this is to be regarded as a winter 

 esculent. The autumn-sown crop is sometimes, 

 if the plants are forward, planted out in the 

 early part of November, but in general about 

 the beginning of April following. Those sown 

 in February or March should be transplanted 

 in May, June, or July. Their whole routine 

 afterwards is the same as for savoys or other 

 cabbage. To have heads of a large size, plant 

 at the distance of 3 feet by 2\ ; give abundance 

 of liquid manure during their growing season, 

 or, in default of that, fork in a good dressing of 

 half-decayed rich stable-manure, using a fork 

 for the purpose, of which Dr Yellowlee's, fig. 34, 

 is a good example. 



Fig. 34. 



yellowlee's fork. 



Dr Yellowlee's fork. — Forks are preferable to 

 spades for digging the ground, because, from 

 their construction, the soil is much better 



