Sauerkraut Farming 1 . 
Very few people of this city are aware of 
the fact that Chicago has the largest “sauer¬ 
kraut ’ factory in the world 5 or, more strict¬ 
ly speaking, the only one, and that almost 
within her city limits is the most extensive 
cabbage farm in this country, perhaps on 
the globe. Yet such are the facts, and, 
stranger still, not a single head of cabbage 
grown on this wonderful farm seeks a mar¬ 
ket in the Garden City. The cabbage dis¬ 
trict, as it is called, lies to the west and 
southwest of the Stock Yards, and com¬ 
prises upward of 2,500 acres of rich, heavy 
soil, especially adapted to the cultivation 
of mammoth cabbage heads. A reporter, 
in company with a South Water street Com¬ 
mission man, went over the cabbage plan¬ 
tations and witnessed the finishing touches 
being put to cultivation and the preparations 
for the gathering of the harvest. The first 
visit was made to a field containing 160 
acres—the largest single cabbMge patch in 
the world—filled with enormous heads of 
“Second Early,” “Fottler's Brunswick.” 
and “Johnston’s Late.” Adjoining this 
field are^thirty acres of cabbage of the same 
varieties, making a farm of 190 acres, all 
belonging to and cultivated by a South 
Water street firm. . 
The preparation of this field for the recep¬ 
tion of the plants in the spring is no easy 
task. Every foot of land has to be as care¬ 
fully attended as if it were to be devoted to 
floriculture; In the fall the surface of the 
ground is covered with an abundance of 
rich fertilizers and then plowed, harrowed , 
and rolled. Early in the spring the soil is 
again disturbed by the plow and harrbw, 
and the surface of the ground is made as 
smooth and free from lumps as is possible. 
The ground is then laid off witha check- 
rower, the rows being from thirty to thirty- 
three inches apart according to the variety 
to be planted, the first crop being planted 
thirty-three inches. The rows are as 
straight as an arrow in order to allow cross- 
cultivation, yet at this season of their 
growth, the broad leaves covering every 
inch of ground, the systematic method of 
planting is not easily discernible. After 
the] ground has been carefully prepared, 
1,114,000 plants alone are required for 
these 190 acres and for the entire district 
some fifteen million. This number of plants 
is required for the first “setting,” and since 
many are destroyed by vermin—the maggot 
and the fly—fully one-third more plants 
are required, making a grand total of twen¬ 
ty million plants necessary to supply the 
Chicago cabbage district. 
Where do these plants come from ? One 
would naturally suppose they were early 
products of the hot-bed and greenhouse. 
Not so. Such plants may do for the gar¬ 
dener who seeks to be first in the market 
with early cabbage, but the experienced 
cabbage farmer relies not upon home prod¬ 
uct. W. M. Johnston, Chicago’s pioneer 
iu cabbage raising, early discovered the 
advantage of obtaining plants from the 
South. He commenced his experiments at 
Evansville, Ind. Finding that his theory 
was correct — that is, that of securing strong, 
healthy and vigorous plants, which were 
grown in the open air, he succeeded in 
having his last crop fully matured, when 
hot- house plants cultivated by his neigh¬ 
bors, were cut short in their career by 
1 early frosts and backward seasons. Mr. 
Johnston extended his experiments to 
Nashville, Tenn., and now has a farm there 
where he raises nothing but cabbage plants. 
1 here is about two weeks difference iii 
point of earliness between Nashville and 
Evansville, and about four weeks between 
the latter place and Chicago. After a 
thorough trial it has been fully determined 
'hat plants grown in the South, and trans¬ 
planted here are hardier and healthier than 
those grown either in the open air or in 
lot-houses at Chicago. After growing the 
plants in the South, the question arose how 
to transport them. It was a vexed ques¬ 
tion some years ago. Express charges were 
too high—if shipped in small boxes—but 
Mr. Johnston solved the problem by in¬ 
venting a method of transportation by 
freight, and he gives his word that he can 
ship a carload of tender cabbage plants 
from New York City to San Francisco and 
deliver them in as good shape for trans¬ 
planting as the freshest and nicest plants 
ever exhibited on South Water street. Dur¬ 
ing the present season he has successfully 
