AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
81 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Hints on Cabbage Growing, 
A failure of this crop is common from the 
disease called “ anbury,” or “ fingers and toes 
the.roots swell, and after a time rot off; new 
roots are often sent out which keep the plant 
alive, and give hopes of success. But the disease 
soon reaches the new roots, and after a hard 
. struggle the plant dies, or starts too late to make 
a good head. Fortunately, this most destruc-; 
, five disease generally shows itself by the time 
■ plants are large enough to set, and where the 
roots show the least tendency to swelling, the 
plants should be rejected at once. The grand 
remedy of the cabbage growers who supply our 
large vegetable markets is, never to plant the 
' same piece of ground with this crop two years 
in succession. The cabbage is more sensitive 
than most other plants, to feeding upon its 
own decay. For this reason, unusual care should 
be taken in preparing hot-beds for starting 
plants, during this month. If the same soil 
have been used for starting plants the year be¬ 
fore, it will be very likely to impart the disease 
to the young plants. Yery much depends upon 
the preparation of the seed bed, whether it be 
' under glass or not. For late plants it is well 
enough to plant the seed in the hills, but for the 
early crop, it is indispensable to have either cold- 
frame plants, kept through the Winter, or those 
started as early as March, in a gentle hot-bed. 
Whatever the amount of manure used, there 
: should be at least six inches of fresh soil upon 
the top. Leaf mold from the woods, mixed 
With sand or with yellow loam, makes a good 
■ seed bed in which, to start the plants. The wri- 
' ter has always succeeded better with cabbage 
upon green sward broken up the previous Fall, 
than upon any other ground. In such a soil, 
we may use almost any quantity of stable ma¬ 
nure with decided advantage to the plants. 
Hog manure is always to be avoided. I have 
never yet succeeded in composting it with so 
much muck as to make it entirely safe for this 
crop. Ashes are excellent, both as a manure 
and as a safeguard against insects. They should 
be used in the seed bed, and around the plants, 
soon after transplanting. Jonathan. 
A Dish of Green Peas. 
This is one of the earliest garden crops that 
can be put into the ground. For the first 
crop, select the dryest and warmest corner of 
the garden, sheltered by a wall or a high and 
tight fence if possible, and open full to the south. 
The ground should not be manured the same 
year it is planted to peas, or the vines win 
grow too rampant, and bear few pods. It 
should, however, have been enriched the previ¬ 
ous year. Some of the old school will tell you 
not to sow peas in the “ new of the moon,” lest 
the vines all run to stalks, and not to fruit. But 
let the moon alone, and sow the peas as soon as 
the season opens. The frost being well out of 
the ground, break it up by spading, and rake 
it down level and fine. With a garden line, lay 
off the drills as long as you like, and at least 
two inches deep. A good method is to make 
two drills six inches apart, then to leave a space 
two and a half feet wide, or more, for tall grow¬ 
ing kinds, for a walk between them; then the next 
pair of drills, and so on. The peas are scattered 
in the drills about an inch apart, and then cov¬ 
ered with the back of a rake. One row of brush 
is stuck for two rows of vines. For this purpose, 
the best material is brush from the woods, es¬ 
pecially the fine bushy limbs of birch trees. 
! Yet. the spray of almost any; tree' will answer; 
and the bushes should be from three to six feet 
high, according to the kind of pea. Another 
method, often practiced where brush is scarce, 
is to drive in stout wooden stakes, six feet apart, 
along each row, then pass a/line of strong, twine 
from end to end of the rows, taking a turn 
around each stake as you proceed. Begin when 
the vines are about six inches high; put on a 
second line when they are two feet high; the 
tall varieties will want a third string. Do not 
put clown the brush at the time of sowing. Let 
the plants get several inches high, give them two 
or three hoeings and. thorough weedings mean¬ 
while, the last time drawing up the soil around 
the stems to prevent them from being blown 
about by the winds: then bush them. To get 
a very early crop, sow the peas under the lea of 
a sunny wall, in drills running east and west, 
and have a frame of boards, shaped like an 
eaves-trough, to set over each row in frosty 
nights and during cold rains. Set it up on the 
edge by day to reflect the light and heat of the 
sun on the young plants. Of the many varieties 
now in market, we can not speak at length. 
Early Kent and Daniel O'Rourke seem, just now, 
to dispute the field as to earliness. Both of them 
and the Prince Albert are early, and fair quality 
peas. For a little later crop, the Champion of 
England ranks high: it is very sweet, rich and 
high flavored. The Marrowfats, of course, will 
always be in vogue. 
A Spring Tart—Rhubarb. 
Does anybody doubt, or not know the desira¬ 
bleness of this vegetable? Then we pity him. 
It is one of the finest things in the world, to 
make a pie or Spring tart. Apples often give 
out in April and May, and those which remain 
are wilted and tasteless, Man’s stomach longs 
for something fresh, crisp and juicy: the pie¬ 
plant affords that very thing. It forms a con¬ 
necting link in the year-long chain of articles for 
pie-making. Think, too, of the doctors’ testi¬ 
mony that it is “ one of the most wholesome, 
cooling and delicious substances that can be used 
for the table. For dysentery in children, it is 
an infallible remedy, stewed, seasoned with su¬ 
gar, and eaten in any quantity with bread.” 
We have tasted samples of fair wine made from 
this plant. It is also used for jellies and jams. 
Mode of Culture. —Procure a few crowns, with 
roots attached, and set out only one in a place. 
Rhubarb will live in any kind of soil, but to get 
large, succulent stalks, the soil must be deep and 
rich. Five or six plants are enough for an ordi¬ 
nary family. Lay off a bed twenty feet long 
by four wide. Remove the top soil, break up 
and manure the subsoil heavily, and then return 
the top spit to its place. This last should be en¬ 
riched with a light dressing of old manure, and 
if the land is a stiff clay a little sand should be 
worked in. Now set out the crowns by a line, 
four feet asunder, leaving the plump, pinkish 
buds an inch or two below the surface. This 
work may be done in the Fall, or early in Spring. 
New roots will soon form, and the growth 
will rejoice the eyes of the planter. 
The after culture is very simple. Keep the 
ground free from weeds. Pluck no leaves the 
first year. In the Fall, put a peck or more of 
coarse manure around each plant. This will 
protect the roots, and furnish nutriment for the 
next year’s growth. In the second Summer, the 
leaves may be plucked in moderation, and after 
that, quite freely. Let the plants, however, have 
their autumnal dressing, to be forked into the 
soil the following Spring. In our own grounds, 
we have pursued this course several years; and 
now the stalks; and leaves of our plants are so 
magnificent, we are often asked the names of 
our new and improved varieties. We uniform¬ 
ly reply by simply pointing to .the manure-heap. 
. Forcing. —If any one wants to get a very, early 
tart or pie, let him (say, by the middle of this 
month,) set a barrel or rough box, headless and 
bottomless, over the crowns of several early 
plants, and surround the same with, fresh, ma¬ 
nure from the horse stable. Put a few fork¬ 
fuls inside of the barrel, and a bushel or more 
outside. This will soon generate a local climate 
of 50° or 60°, and give the plants a start while 
those out of doors are asleep. The barrels 
should be kept nearly or quite covered for ten 
days, and then gradually opened as the season 
and the plants progress. Add a little fresh ma¬ 
nure outside, after the first week. As soon as 
the out-door plants are fit to cut, the forced ones 
should be uncovered and allowed to rest. . 
Varieties .—Good cultivation will improve the 
commonest varieties, yet there is a choice in 
sorts. Here are some of the best now known: 
Myatt's Linnceus.r— This, probably the cap-sheaf, 
has the least acidity of any known sort, and 
therefore is very desirable in these times, when 
sugar is so costly. It is very tender, needs no 
peeling when cooked; is also highly aromatic. 
Myatt's Victoria.— Early, not very sour, pro¬ 
ductive, color dark red. 
Tobolsk. —Stalks small, but of fine flavor, very 
early, good for forcing. 
Giant. —Stalks round, green, very large, often 
four feet long, and as thick as a man’s wrist. 
Downing's Colossal. —Truly magnificent. Stalks 
very long and large, tender, high-flavored. 
(PRIZE ARTICLE.) 
Family Vegetable Garden. 
BY P. C. REYNOLDS, ESSEX CO., N. J. 
The garden is a domestic institution that has been too 
much neglected in this country, greatly to the detriment 
of the health and enjoyment of our people. 
The Garden Spot should have a gentle descent to¬ 
ward the south, most writers say southeast, but there 
are grave objections to an easterly exposure. If after a 
very cold night in Winter the first rays of the morning 
sun fall directly upon the frozen plants, they are liable to 
be injured by the sudden thawing, while if more gradu¬ 
ally thawed by the air before the rays of the sun strike 
them, they may escape. So in Spring, tender vegetables 
might survive a slight frost if not exposed to the direc;. 
rays of the morning sun. A garden should be protected 
from the northerly winds by hills or woods, or in the ab 
sence of these by a high, tight board fence or wall, and 
thus situated and protected will be several days earlier. 
Soil.— The best soil for a garden is a sandy loam, having 
but just enough sand to prevent its packing down hard, 
or baking after heavy rains, free from stones large enough 
to hinder the cultivation of the most tender plants, and 
containing enough vegetable mold to give it a dark color, 
as such a soil absorbs the heat of the sun more than a 
light colored one, and is warmer. Depth of soil is 
requisite to successful gardening, especially to the pro¬ 
duction of good root crops. The subsoil should be porous 
enough to permit the water to pass through it read:'.])' r ut 
not so open as to allow the fertility of the surface-soi. to 
leach through it. A subsoil of coarse sand or gravel 
would be liable to leach, while a porous loam, containing 
clay, would,allow the passage of water, but retain the 
pabulum of plants. If the subsoil of a garden is so com¬ 
pact as to retain the water which falls upon it until it is 
evaporated, it will be a cold, sour garden spot. To ascer¬ 
tain whether it is too compact or not, take a shovel, (not 
