Cabbage Culture. 
To obtain a profitable crop of cabbage, 
certain essentials must be complied with. 
First, good seed must be procured, regard¬ 
less of cost; second, a suitable soil, prop¬ 
erly prepared,, should be selected; third, 
the plants must be thoroughly cultivated 
and properly cared for. In procuring seed 
be careful to obtain the very best; for, with 
the exception of cauliflowers, I know of no 
other vegetable, the seed of which has 
more influence on the quality of the prod¬ 
uce. The most suitable soil is a well drain¬ 
ed, rich loam on which no vegetable of the 
cabbage tribe has been grown for a few 
seasons previously. Any good soil or a field 
that has been used as a pasture for several 
seasons, if repeatedly and deeply plowed 
and harrowed, well manured and thorough¬ 
ly cultivated, will produce an excellent 
crop. 
The most suitable fertilizer is well rot¬ 
ted stable manure, that has been property 
cared for. It should be turned at least 
twice, and all lumps should be broken as 
fine as possible. It is applied in the hills 
a forkful to each, and covered with the 
hoe. Another method, and one that is 
being generally adopted in this vicinity, is 
to spread the manure in the spring or fall, 
and plow it under immediately. A thor¬ 
ough harrowing is then given, and the 
ground marked out in rows three feet apart. 
Some commercial fertilizer is scattered 
where the plants are to stand, and mixed 
with the soil with a hoe. This is an excel¬ 
lent method for a late crop, if the ground 
has been occupied by an early one of peas, 
spinach or anything else. The best time 
for transplanting is just after rain. Take 
the cabbage up carefully, and in replanting 
use a dibble, and set the plants in the ground 
up to the first leaf, no matter how long the 
stems may be. Be careful to “firm” the 
ground well about the roots. Transplant¬ 
ing can be quickly done if one person drops 
the plants and others follow to plant them, 
provided the hills have been prepared before 
the last rain. 
As soon as the plants have taken hold and 
begun to grow, they should be cultivated 
as often as possible, as success depends large¬ 
ly upon this, the ground being sfirred deep¬ 
er each time. They should also be hoed 
frequently, a little earth being drawn up to 
the plants each time, until they begin to 
head, when they should be well hilled up. 
If a good dressing of lime or bone dust be 
given and harrowed in before planting, it 
will improve the quality of the crop. 
To preserve cabbages during the winter, 
they should be pulled up on a dry day, 
turned with th< lr heads down, to drain;. 
th^n placed together as closely as possible 
with their heads down, and buried, the 
heads and a part of the stumps beieg cov¬ 
ered. If they are to be used early in the 
season, a slight covering of leaves or straw 
should be given to prevent the ground from 
freezing hard. Do not bury them too early, 
but just before the ground begins to freeze 
hard. Club-root, to which cabbages are 
very liable, is a disease caused by the larva 
of a little insect which so affects the root* 
as to cause them to become so knobby and 
swollen that they are incapable of support¬ 
ing the plant, and in consequence it die* 
when about half grown. The presence of 
this pest is attributable to the too frequent 
planting of cabbage, cauliflower, turnip or 
any other member of the Brassica tribe, 
on the same ground, as well as to the char¬ 
acter of the manure used. Hog dung in 
particular, being full of insects, is very apt 
to cause the disease. Unfortunately, thi* 
does not show itself until the plants ar# 
about half grown, when it is too late t# 
make another planting. Like many other 
ills, however, it can be prevented, and thi* 
is best done by a proper rotation of crops. 
The only other insect pests to which th# 
cabbage is subject are the turnipfly and gree® 
cabbage worm. The former attacks th# 
young plants when they first appear abov# 
ground. An application of soot or tobacc# 
dust, frequently made when the plants ar# 
wet, is an effectual remedy. The latter i# 
a very serious pest, but may be overcom# 
by the use of pyrethrum powder or the ker¬ 
osene emulsion. Where cabbages are grow® 
as a field crop it is an excellent plan t# 
surround the field with a crop of rutabagas, 
two or three rods wide. The miller, which 
flies only around the edges of the field, will 
lay its eggs on the turnips mostly, and thu# 
