November 10. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
a short period, a number of varieties, and some of them, 
probably, very valuable. 
As the Cabbage is a native of the whole globe, so we 
may conclude it has been known throughout all time, ior 
the earliest writers mention it with applause. Even the 
Talmudists dwell upon it under its Hebrew name, Caruv, 
and with the Greeks the Crambe, or Cabbage, was m 
universal request as one of the most wholesome of 
vegetables. Their physicians, such as Chrysippus and 
Dieuches, wrote volumes upon its merits, and from 
birthday festivals it was never absent. Epiphippus 
thus tells of some of the delicacies then prepared: 
_“Tonsted Chersonesian clieese, 
And Coleworts tied in bundles seeth’d in oil.” 
Indeed, so high was the regard for this product of the 
garden, that it was dedicated to some of their deities ; 
and At.henmus says the lonians swore by “the Sacred 
Cabbage! ” Passing onward, in course of time we find 
that the Romans had the same high regard for this 
vegetable; and Cato dates tho decline of the Roman 
Empire, and the degeneracy of its sons, from the time 
when they ceased to have tho Cabbage as a chief dish 
of their repasts, and displaced it for foreign luxuries. 
We have in their volumes abundance of instruction 
for its cultivation, but we will make only this one ex¬ 
tract from Columella—“Tho Cabbage should bo trans¬ 
planted when it has six leaves, and when inserted 
should have its root daubed over with liquid dung, and 
then be wrapped round with three small bandages of 
sea-weed. Such treatment renders tho produce tender 
when boiled, and preserves the green colour without 
the employment of soda. When once the plants aie 
rooted, the oftener they aro hoed and manured the 
better they thrive, and the more luxuriant they become.” 
The above epitome of Cabbage-culture, as practised 
about eighteen hundred years ago, is that which may 
be accepted as the epitome of that adopted by tho best 
kitchen gardeners now, and we have extracted it for the 
purposes of adding—what will surprise mauy of our 
rea( lers—very few persons know what a really good 
Cabbage is. 
A Cabbage of the Nonpareil, or other superior variety, 
sown about the 10th of August, planted out during 
moist weather in October, amply supplied with liquid- 
manure in the seed-bed and in early spring ; sown and 
i grown upon a rich light soil; frequently hoed, and wcll- 
! manured with decayed dung, and an occasional sprink¬ 
ling of salt, unless growing near the sea-side, or unless 
| the surface of the bed can be covered thinly witli sea¬ 
led ;— a Cabbage thus grown luxuriantly, and without 
a check, and uncut until within ten minutes of being 
consigned to its seething, is unknown to few. It is as 
unlike tho sticky, stunted indigostibles usually found in 
a country garden, or to the flabby, bruised, semi¬ 
putrescent masses of a metropolitan market, as “ Hy¬ 
perion to a Satyr;” and we recommend to all our 
readers, by attending to what we have said, to surprise 
themselves with a hitherto-neglected luxury. It is no 
theoretical matter, for we know where such Cabbages 
were grown last spring; and their cultivator, in answer 
to the query, “ How did you grow this real Vegetable 
Marrow?” replied—“ They never knew what it was to 
stand still — muck and moisture kept them always 
growing.” We can add our testimony that “ muck and 
moisture ” are the magic ingredients of Cabbage culture. 
“ What kind of poultry do you really advise me to 
keep?” At page 410 of our last volume, we endea¬ 
voured to answer this inquiry with respect to “ Fouls 
wo will now proceed to tender our advice in regard to 
the other denizens of the poultry-yard. 
Our readers, however, should be previously reminded, 
that a certain class of persons were taken as those for 
whom our suggestions were specially designed, and 
these were the clergyman and country gentleman, occu¬ 
pying from fifteen to twenty acres of land under the 
usual course of tillage. But making allowance for 
deviations on either side of these conditions, there are, 
wo would hope, many points on which our recom¬ 
mendations may prove useful to the largor holder, on 
the one side, as well as to the cottager on the other. 
Let us commence, then, with Geese. Now, whom¬ 
ever a meadow with a small pond or brook is at hand, 
a gander, with two or three geese, will rarely fail of 
giving us a good return for their cost. Because, the 
first fortnight, little care is required for the goslings, and 
the old birds are not only singularly free from maladies 
of all kinds, but provide by far the greatest portion of 
their own food. A Goose, too, is a “ piece de resis¬ 
tance” on our table highly appreciated, and which 
fairly discharges its duty in the reduction of our butcher’s 
bill. By the time the corn is carried, the flock may be 
turned into the stubble, wbicb are most diligently gleaned 
by them, and, whence, without further care, mauy may 
be selected in fit condition for tho usual Michaelmas 
sacrifice. For birds to he killed later in the year, a 
well-ventilated out-house, or large pig’s-stye, with plenty 
of clean water, oats, and barleymeal, will become re¬ 
quisite ; but even this greater outlay is woll compensated 
under judicious management. Tho choice of breeding- 
stock, dictated by our own experience, would fall on a 
Toulouse Gander, and large, dark-coloured Geese of 
the common breed; from such parents cross-bred birds 
will usually attain greater weight than either of the 
breeds by themselves, although to bo rejected them¬ 
selves as breeding - stock, and the objection to the 
Toulouse race, on account of their being indifferent 
sitters and mothers, is thereby obviated. If white 
plumage is desired, the “ Embden ” Goose should be 
taken ; but we are at a loss for any point of recommen¬ 
dation in the “China” species that would place it 
above these for general purposes. 
Ducks, we believe, aro usually kept with less profit 
than Geese, being much more dependent on then- 
owners for their food, and the comparative cost of pro¬ 
duction is, therefore, in excess of the latter birds. But 
where steamed food is daily prepared for our pigs and 
cattle, a portion of this, mixed with bran and barley- 
