1871 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
343 
The Wakefield Cabbage — How to Select 
for Seed. 
BY PETER HENDERSON. 
After we had been growing the Early Wake¬ 
field cabbage in Jersey for a few years after its 
introduction from England, we found that it 
* broke into over a dozen sub-varieties, of varying 
size of leaf and shape of head, and, worse than 
$11, of varying earliness. No matter "how care¬ 
fully we selected the heads that we used for 
seed, the same difficulty occurred. A few miles 
inland, somewhere near the Orange Mountain, 
we found that an old German was always ahead 
of us in having the first Wakefields in New 
York, and these too of a uniformity in shape 
that none of us nearer the city could produce. 
All inducements to get him to sell seed were 
disregarded, and year after year he kept the 
lead. Several plans were laid to circumvent 
him, such as ordering a hundred of his cab¬ 
bages with roots on. But old Carl was not to be 
caught so; he filled the order to the letter, mak¬ 
ing the buyer pay roundly for the roots, but 
took the liberty of first dipping them in boiling 
water! But one day he invited a friend and 
countryman to see his wonderful cabbages as 
they grew. This was a fatal day for Carl’s 
monopoly, for his friend had his eyes about him, 
and observed that several of the stumps from 
which the earliest heads had been cut were 
marked with a stake, as were a few of the choi¬ 
cest shape, as yet uncut. The secret was out. 
Carl’s success had been gained by persistently 
year after year selecting the earliest and finest 
heads; taking up the stumps from which they 
where cut, he planted them carefully, and tak¬ 
ing the young shoots produced from the stumps, 
lie treated them exactly as we treat cuttings of 
a flower, that is, by planting the slip in the 
soil, watering it freely, and shading it until it 
rooted. After these cuttings or shoots of the 
cabbage were rooted, they were planted in the 
usual cabbage-frame, covered with glass in win¬ 
ter, set out in spring, and next J uly ripened seed. 
This process is too expensive and slow to fol¬ 
low for raising cabbage seed in quantity, but it 
is now used by careful growers to produce pure 
and improved stock from which to raise seed. 
Notes from the Pines. 
Sweet Corn. —Much talk was made last 
spring about “ Moore’s Extra Early Concord.” 
It came from Massachusetts, and that was in 
its favor, for Massachusetts is next door to 
Rhode Island, where sweet corn was invented. 
I can recollect when Rhode Islaud people used 
to send baskets of sweet corn, by stage—that 
was before railroads—to their friends in Boston 
who, in those days, knew not sweet corn. In 
adjoining rows, and upon the same day, I 
planted Crosby’s Early, Moore’s Concord, and a 
variety grown extensively about here known as 
Tom Thumb, Van Riper’s, Cadmus’, and by 
other local names. The varieties had the same 
care, and the last-named was fit for the table 
full two weeks before the others, Maore’s leading 
Crosby’s by a few days. But what stuff this 
Moore’s proved ! I never saw such a mixed 
lot, and in size and color there was the greatest 
lack of uniformity. . Some stalks were three 
feet high and others ten. Then as to smut—I 
never saw any thing to equal it. In a row 150 
feet in length I did not get three dozen ears, 
and of these not more than a dozen were of de¬ 
cent size, the rest being nubbins two and three 
inches long. I know that this variety does 
finely around Boston, but upon my light soil 
it has been the most provoking of failures. Still 
I shall try it again, as the unusually wet season 
may have had something to do with the unto- 
ward results. It is only by recording failures as 
well as successes that we can arrive at the value 
of varieties. 
Subtropical.—I made an odd bed, which 
thus far is very pleasing. The bed is a long 
oval in the lawn, and I put out two plants of 
Ricinus (Castor Oil) and set around them a 
margin of Colocasia ( Coladium ) esculenta. The 
luxuriance of the foliage of these produces a 
striking effect. Another thing that has given 
me much satisfaction is a clump of 
Arundo Donax. —This is a native of our 
Southern States, but is quite hardy here. My 
plant of it is now in its second year, and its 
stems form an immense clump ten or twelve 
feet high, of a bluish-green color. The leaves 
have a graceful curve, and are moved by every 
breeze. It is the “ reed shaken in the wind ” of 
Scripture, and if it were better known it would 
be very popular. It is not as graceful as the 
Pampas grass or Erianthus Ravennse, but it 
requires no petting nor protection, and has a 
sturdy elegance of its own that is pleasing to 
look upon. Its variegated form is a poor grow¬ 
er in comparison, but it is a showy plant, and 
worth the trouble of protecting it in winter. 
Tiie Sorrel Tree. — This was formerly 
called Andromeda, but is now Oxydendrum 
arboreum. The leaves are sour to the taste, 
hence the common name. It grows in its na¬ 
tive localities, the Southern and Middle States, 
to the bight of 40 or 50 feet. My specimen is 
about 15 feet high, and has been clothed for some 
weeks from “top to toe” with its long, one¬ 
sided clusters of white flowers, which in shape 
remind one of the Lily of the Valley. If you 
wish to plant a good thing and something out 
of the usual run of trees, try the Sorrel Tree. 
Near it is a specimen of another valuable tree, 
The Kcelreuteria pariculata, than which 
nothing can be neater in its dark-green cut 
foliage. Its clusters of yellow blossoms are 
showy, and its bladdery pods still more so. The 
tree is remarkably clean, not liable to be trou¬ 
bled by insects, a good grower, and in all re¬ 
spects desirable. Yet nurserymen tell me that 
there is no sale for this and many other choice 
species. People confine their orders to maples, 
elms, and a half-dozen other well-known things, 
while really choice varieties remain as dead 
stock upon their hands. 
Tall Planting of Hardy Plants. 
BY PETER HENDERSON. 
All hardy plants, that start early in spring, 
should be set out in autumn. The best time in 
this latitude is from October 15th to November 
15th; if later than this, they should be covered 
with hay, straw, or some such material, to 
keep them from being severely frozen. The 
reason why such plants as Rhubarb and Aspar¬ 
agus do better by being planted in fall, rather 
than in spring, will be apparent when we con¬ 
sider their nature. Young or old plants of 
either Asparagus or Rhubarb, just as soon as 
the frost is out of the ground in spring, begin 
to develop the buds which form the stalks. 
Simultaneously with this starting of the buds, 
there is a development of rootlets. Now, when 
we lift these plants to transplant in spring, these 
minute fibers are destroyed—not only by break¬ 
ing off, when dug up, but by exposure to the 
air. This does not seem materially to injure these 
roots, for either will grow and do well if the 
transplanting is delayed even late into the 
spring months. But what we contend for is, 
that they will do better, if planted so early in the 
fall—say during October—that these rootlets 
may be emitted, and be ready, if thus left undis¬ 
turbed, to impart vigor to the plant in spring. 
I am convinced that, particularly in light, dry 
soils. Rhubarb or Asparagus roots planted in 
October will give (conditions of soil and ma¬ 
nure being equal) a much better growth than 
when set in spring. Last fall I put out in Oc¬ 
tober, for my own use, a dozen roots of Rhubarb. 
Not having enough plants then to complete the 
row, I delayed getting additional roots until 
April. The result was, that we were pulling the 
stalks from those planted in October before 
those set out in April were showing signs of 
starting. This fall planting is equally advan¬ 
tageous with hardy bulbs. Our stock of Lilies 
is usually planted in October, and if by any 
chance some are left over until spring, the 
growth is never so vigorous, and the later the 
operation of planting is delayed, the weaker the 
growth. This many of your lady readers, no 
doubt, have experienced with their Hyacinths 
and Tulips. When planted early in fall, they form 
roots before cold weather sets in, and are ready 
to start early in the spring; but if the planting 
has been delayed until December, it is then too 
cold for roots to form, and the consequence is, 
a feeble flower in spring; or, worse yet, if Hya¬ 
cinths, Tulips, or Crocuses are not planted until 
spring, the top starts before the roots , and the re¬ 
sult is complete disappointment, and if the bulbs 
flower at all, they are weak and feeble. This 
may be still further illustrated by plants of an 
entirely different nature, in any section of the 
country where the thermometer does not fall 
lower than 15 or 20 degrees below the freezing 
point. Cabbages or lettuce plants set out in 
October, will come to maturity 10 or 12 days 
quicker than if planted in February or March. 
In many parts of the Southern States this fall 
planting of cabbages, or sowing or planting of 
onions, for market purposes, may be followed 
very profitably. No doubt it is done in some 
places, but I do not believe it is generally prac¬ 
ticed. In such localities the advantage of plant¬ 
ing Rhubarb or Asparagus in fall would be even 
greater than in colder districts, for if de¬ 
layed until spring, hot weather rapidly sets in, 
and, as in the case of Hyacinths or Tulips, 
above referred to, the tops start before the 
roots, and the growth for some time is feeble. 
-■*-<——-— 
Our Native Loosestrifes. 
There are many native plants which, while 
they possess neither a striking appearance nor 
any marked qualities, are yet of such frequent 
occurrence that most pei^ons desire to know 
what they are and something about them. Our 
native Loosestrifes, though not of any great 
beauty, are of such frequent occurrence that 
specimens are often sent to us for a name, and 
we give engravings of two of our common 
species. The well-known Moneywort of the 
gardens, the long, trailing stems of which make 
it such a favorite plant for hanging baskets, is 
a European species of Loosestrife, which has 
become naturalized in some places. The 
Loosestrifes belong to the genus Lysimachia, 
the name supposed to be from Greek words 
meaning a release from strife; the common 
name in this instance being nearly a translation 
