20 JOHNSON, ROBBERS, & CO'S. 
flowering, of our common orchard fruits (see table on page 8), 
In latitudes south of St. Mary's, in Georgia, cabbage seed may 
be sown every month in the year. 
Cabbages require a rich soil, rather moist than dry. A 
clayey soil, well mixed with other matter, is perhaps the best. 
The ground, whether it be a clayey or a sandy loam, should 
be repeatedly ploughed and harrowed when comparatively 
dry, or, what is better, deeply spaded or trenched to the sub- 
soil. If intended for spring planting, let the land be thrown 
up into ridges in the autumn, in order to be mellowed by the 
winter frosts. The manure may either be dug or ploughed 
in ; or it may be laid in the bottom of the drills just before 
planting, and covered by splitting each ridge between the 
drills. 
Though cabbages seem to require much nourishment, they 
do not much impoverish the soil. They have been raised 
eighteen years consecutively on the same ground without a 
diminution of the crop. When closely planted, they form so 
close a covering for the surface of the ground, as to cause a 
putrefaction of the soil, which increases its fertility. 
Transplanting may be done at such periods as circumstances 
will admit. In summer, when the weather is very dry and 
hot, the ground should be newly dug, the plants carefully 
lifted, having previously given them a copious watering, say 
an hour or two before, and their roots dipped into a soft pud- 
dle of cow dung, soot, or earth, at a moment before planting. 
Wet weather is regarded as favorable for the operation, unless 
the ground is naturally moist. In cases where the soil is quite 
dry, some fill the holes with water before the plants are set, 
which has a better effect than pouring water on them after- 
wards. Soap suds would be better than clear water for wet- 
ting the plants. If a hot sun cause them to droop, two shin- 
gles stuck into the ground will be a sufficient protection if 
they be on the south and south-west sides of the plants 
Covering them with boxes or leaves of trees are bad practices, 
lhe rows m general garden culture may be two feet apart, 
and the plants eighteen inches asunder; but in fields, where 
large varieties are planted, the rows may be three feet apart 
and two feet between the plants. * • ' 
As the crop progresses, they musi be frequently hoed, the 
weeds kept down, and the stalks protected from the winds by 
slightly earthing them up. ♦ 
