28 2 
VEGETABLE GARDENING 
from small areas of high fertility. With approved 
methods it should net be less than 15 tons an acre. A 
Colorado grower in 1908 averaged 25 tons an acre on a 
12-acre field and the net returns were $340 an acre. This, 
however, is much beyond the returns of most growers. 
Early cabbage yields are generally figured in number of 
heads, in pounds, or in barrels or crates per acre, rather 
than in ton amounts, as are late cabbage yields. It is 
generally conceded that early cabbage is more profitable 
than late. Northern growers often clear $200 an acre. 
Profits are determined largely by the earliness of the 
strains used. Prices for the late crop are extremely vari- 
able. When sold out of the field the price ranges from 
$2 to $15, and out of storage from $8 to $60; when sold 
by the head, the price runs from $2 to $6 a hundred, n nd 
60 cents to $3 a crate or a barrel. 
Chicago Wholesale Cabbage Prices* 
Nov . 
Dec. 
Jaii. 
Feb. 
Mar 
' 06-'07 
$ 4-5 $ 
$ 
S 
$ 
’ 05-'06 
15-20 
18-22 
19-24 
21-24 
30-36 
• 04- '03 
4-8 
4-11 
8-11 
7-10 
12-15 
* 03-*04 
7-9 
20-25 
35-38 
50-55 
55-60 
’ 02-’03 
4-6 
6-7 
10-12 
6-9 
7-9 
' 01-’02 
10-12 
9-11 
10-14 
14-16 
17-20 
OO-’Ol 
10-11 
11-14 
8-14 
16-18 
19-20 
’ 99-'00 
12-14 
14-17 
25-26 
22-25 
28-30 
’ 98- '99 
6-8 
8-10 
16-18 
28-30 
35-40 
The 
usual estimates 
for the 
cost of 
producing 
and 
marketing an acre of cabbage are too low; $150 an acre 
for earlv cabbage and at least one-third this amount for 
late are not too high. Large net returns are seldom 
secured without a liberal outlay. With favorable mar- 
kets or good shipping facilities it is unquestionably one 
of our most profitable vegetables. 
363. The cabbage maggot (Pegomya brassicae) was in- 
troduced from Europe early in the nineteenth century. 
It feeds upon various cruciferous plants, but is espe- 
* American Agriculturist. 
