AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
Jeaiprir ttf irajnk % farmer, tl \t flanter, aitb tlje (Sarimer* 
AGRICULTURE TS TIIE MOST WEALTHY, THE HOST USEFUL , AND THE MOST NOBLE EMPLO YMENT OF MAN. - Washington. 
PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY ALLEH & CO., 189 WATER ST, 
v 0 L. XI. ] NEW-YORK, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1353. [NUMBER 15. 
8^ FOR PROSPECTUS, TERMS, fyc., 
SEE LAST TAGE. 
THE CABBAGE. 
No. III. 
Procuring good seed is a matter of great im¬ 
portance in the cultivation of this vegetable. If 
you have a large market to supply, and grow 
the crop extensively, it will pay for a good deal 
of extra pains to get seed true to its name. W e 
saw an extensive market garden this fall, in 
which the first part of the season was entirely 
lost by the early York seed, which the cultiva¬ 
tor thought he had sowed, proving to be late 
Drum-head. The ten thousand heads of early 
York, which he ought to have sent to market in 
June, were not ready until the last of July or 
first of August. No second crop could be 
grown upon the land, and, if the market price 
of early Yorks was four dollars per hundred, 
here was a loss of four hundred dollars 'from 
bad seed. The best method is to raise your 
own seed, and to attend to its growing, curing, 
and packing, in person. Do not leave it to the 
supervision of any one who has but the interest 
of one dollar a day invested in the success of 
your gardening operations. 
When you remove your cabbage from their 
winter quarters in the spring, select the largest, 
finest heads of the varieties you wish to cultivate 
for seed. As all members of the hrassica tribe 
readily mingle their pollen, they must be kept at 
a distance from each other if pure seed is wished 
for. Put them out early in good soil with their 
heads on. A stout flower-stalk will soon push 
up from the center of the head, and rear a pro¬ 
fusion of seed; select the largest, best pods from 
this stalk; dry, shell, pack, and label them as 
choice seed for private use the next season. 
Seed thus raised you may conscientiously ex¬ 
change with a brother gardener for kinds that 
you have not room to grow, or sell to the seeds¬ 
man or cultivator for four times the price paid 
for a common, unreliable article. Neighboring 
gardeners often combine to raise seed for each 
other, and seeds so grown are worth much more 
than any thing offered in the market at the 
usual prices. If you cannot pursue this course, 
and must purchase at a venture, procure your 
supplies from the oldest and best established 
agricultural store within your reach. These es¬ 
tablishments give special attention to the pro¬ 
curing of good seed, and have a long experience 
in that line, which is invaluable to their custom¬ 
ers. 
Management of Young Plants. —To keep up 
a constant supply of cabbages, you will need 
three sowings. That for cold frame plants may 
be made the last of September. Prepare the 
border for sowing by thorough manuring and 
spading, and rake in charcoal dust about a 
bushel to the square rod. Sow your seed, rake 
it in and press down the soil lightly with a 
roller or board. If dry, water the bed frequently, 
and they will be up in a few days. The char¬ 
coal will assist in striking of the roots, and 
strong healthy plants will be produced. About 
the last of October, when the plants are of suf¬ 
ficient size, pick them out in cold beds to remain 
for the winter. These beds should be on a slope 
inclining to the south. Six feet is a good width, 
and they may be of any desirable length. If 
you have not frames, you may surround the bed 
with boards, fastened to stakes driven into the 
ground. The back boards should be a few inches 
higher than the front. As the frosty weather 
comes on, they should be covered with shutters, 
and when winter sets in they should be covered 
with sea weed or old hay. In mild, thawing 
days, they may be partially[opened to admit the 
air. Farther South they dispense with these 
frames, and picking out the plants on the south 
side of ridges, and protecting them with boards 
and litter, they carry them through the winter 
safely. But in this climate, this method is not 
always successful. Cold frame plants may be 
put out as soon as the weather is settled in the 
spring, and if well cultivated will make fine 
heads early in June. They are two or three 
weeks in advance of plants sown in March. 
Market gardeners usually have these plants for 
sale in the spring, and they command about five 
dollars a thousand. Where the market is brisk 
for early heads, they are cheaper at this price 
than other plants at two dollars a thousand. 
They are off the ground early, and leave room 
for a second or third crop. 
The second sowing should be under glass, in 
February or March. The hot-bed will not need 
so much heat as for most other plants. We 
have found very great benefit from the liberal 
use of charcoal cinders in this sowing. The 
plants make a great number of roots and fibres 
in it, and succeed much better after they are 
put out. When the plants approach the size 
suitable for transplanting, they should be gra¬ 
dually accustomed to more air, and the sashes 
may be left a little open at night, if frost is not 
threatened. Early Yorks of this sowing will 
have fine heads by the last of June, and will 
give a good supply nearly through July. 
For summer and winter sorts, the seed should 
be sown in the open air, in April and May, and 
may be set out as they become large enough for 
transplanting. The latest varieties should be 
set out by the last week in June, though we 
have had good heads from plants set out a week 
or two later. The transplanting is attended 
with little risk of losing plants, if the roots are 
immersed in water thickened with good soil be¬ 
fore setting out. Unless after a shower, the 
best time for transplanting is at evening. 
The distance of rows and of plants from each 
other, depends upon the condition of the soil, 
and the variety cultivated. If the soil is deep 
and rich, they may be thicker than in thin soil. 
The small early kinds require much less room 
than the large. Early Yorks will do well in 
rows 18 inches apart and 15 inches apart in the 
row. Some even put them within a foot of each 
other in the row. The Bergen requires rows 
thirty inches apart, and about the same distance 
in the row. 
The varieties of cabbage are very numerous, 
and are constantly increasing. The Early YorTc 
is a great favorite, and is perhaps more widely 
cultivated than any of the early sorts. It matures 
so early, and the flavor is so delicate, that it will 
be hard to displace it from our gardens. The 
heads are small, slightly heart-shaped, and the 
flesh is firm. Its size is so small that a great 
number of heads can be grown upon an acre. 
The Early Nonpareil , Early Vanach , Early 
Battersea , Early Sugar-loaf are the other 
early varieties. 
The Early Dutch comes between the small 
kinds and the later sorts, and is good for a suc¬ 
cession. This is followed by the Flat Dutch , a 
drum-head variety, perfecting about the middle 
of September. This is said to be the best of the 
large kinds with the exception of the Bergen, 
which, when pure, is unrivalled for that hearty 
dish, the sauer leraut. 
The Red Dutch is much used for pickling, and 
to our taste is the richest of all cabbages. But 
the housekeepers invariably object to it, because 
it discolors the meats with which it is cooked. 
It should have a place in every good vegetable 
garden. 
The Savoy, distinguished by its curled leaves, 
is much esteemed' for its tenderness and fine 
flavor. The heads are small, but very solid, 
and command a higher price in market than 
much larger kinds. 
AGRICULTURAL TOUR IW GERMANY.—NO. 14. 
BY COUNT DE GOURCY. 
Translated for the American Agriculturist from the Journal 
d’Agriculture Pratique. 
Proceeding from Presburg to Pesth, I had a 
conversation on board the steamboat with two 
young Englishmen on their way to Constantino¬ 
ple, who had undertaken a voyage to the East, 
and a fat old gentleman who lived alternately in 
the Bannat and on the frontiers of Servia. 
The Servian people, he told me, had just com¬ 
menced to cultivate a little grain for their own 
use; up till our time they have subsisted 
chiefly on the produce of their cattle; having 
