JUST HOW 
II5 
Beets do best when thinned twice. Thin first when the 
plants are about five inches high, or even less, leaving spaces 
of three inches. The second thinning leaves a distance of 
about six inches. These seedlings will be used as greens. At 
the second thinning, young beet roots will be pulled up as 
well. These whole plants are therefore served as greens ; it 
is hardly worth while to transplant the thinnings. Beets are 
subject to scab on the roots and to rust on the leaves. 
Table beets may be boiled, stewed, creamed, or pickled. In 
boiling, be sure not to break the skin. Put them into boiling 
water and cook slowly for one hour ; then drain and the 
skins will slip off. These boiled beets are to be sliced and 
seasoned with salt, pepper, and butter. They make, too, a 
favorite pickle. 
Cabbage. "Cabbage makes an excellent and wholesome food. 
It is widely appreciated too. Market quotations show that 
thousands of tons of cabbages are consumed every week in a 
great city like New York. It is said that nobody knows what 
a delicious flavor a cabbage may- have until he picks one 
fresh out of his own garden. A gardener, if he likes, can have 
a supply of cabbages the whole year through. To raise very 
early cabbages, plant seeds indoors in February. Prevent them 
from growing tall and spindling by giving extra sunshine and 
by pinching them back. In the cold frame, seed for a second 
lot may be planted as early as April, provided it is sheltered ; 
by the end of J une the seedlings will have grown large enough 
to set out. These ripen by November. Still a later variety 
can be set out in July. In a small garden, where space is 
precious, it is advisable to choose the late cabbages. Then 
other vegetables will have had their chance, and the cabbages 
may take all the room they please. Such handsome ones as 
the expert likes to produce cannot ripen properly nearer to- 
gether than two feet. In case the seed is sown out of doors, 
