April 1. 
COUNTRY GENTLEMAN'S COMPANION. 
know liow the oldest and most experienced hands in this 
country proceed in such matters connected with their call- 
in". I am among the oldest practical hands in this country 
at this kind of work; but I gave it up with the spade and 
apron in 1851. I do nothing of the kind now, unless it be 
to assist a personal friend with advice, or superintend a con¬ 
signment, as on the present occasion, when the friend is out 
of the country, and cannot look to it himself. I never sent 
out a parcel of nursery stock but through one firm; other 
firms, no doubt, are equally good, and just as successful; 
but as long as one is served properly, it is neither a good 
plan nor a fair way of dealing, to change hands. Besides, our 
great nursery firms are the sharpest men in the country; 
they can see through a fellow as if he was a glass bottle, 
and if you are one of those who are “ here to-day and off to¬ 
morrow,” not one of the fraternity would scruple to give you 
the first plant which came to hand, whether it was good, 
bad, or indifferent; but “ stick ” to any one of them, and he 
would go through fire and water for you, and be glad of the 
opportunity to show that he is “ a trump.” Messrs. H. Low 
and Co., of the Clapton Nursery, is the firm I employ on 
these occasions. They never grumble at any bother I give 
them; but I believe they think me rather odd and fanciful 
at times, if not self-willed; but, altogether, we manage to 
keep pretty near the mark ; and I have great hopes of this 
consignment, only it is sent off full two months later than I 
ever sent to that quarter of the world. 
Although I could describe the actual mode of packing to 
the last move, you could no more learn how to pack for 
Australia from my description Ilian you could how to make 
a military cloak, or a ball dress, from reading how they arc 
and ought to be made. Depend upon it, the packing is the 
next grand secret after the proper time for sending off, and 
the condition of the plants. These plants were numbered 
on wooden square tallies, and fastened to the plants with 
copper wire. There were duplicates of all the plants, and 
of many of the kinds there were three plants. All that the 
Warden named were first on the list, and I either suggested 
or approved of the rest. The whole amounted to 288 plants, 
and we shall hear of them next October or November, when 
I hope to learn that not more than ten or fifteen per cent, 
have perished. A good deal depends on how they are treated 
on their arrival. They should not see the sun for the first 
three weeks after being unpacked, and the air should be 
kept moist about them by throwing water on the ground 
near them, but not over them. In that latitude the sun is on 
the north side of them; therefore, the plants should stand 
in a sheltered place looking to the south; their roots should 
be spread out on the ground, and be covered five or six 
inches deep with very sandy soil; their heads leaning against 
a bank, and some half-rotten grass or ferns under them and 
round them, and partly covering their heads and stems. 
This hay, or fern, to be damped as often as is necessary, in 
order to keep the whole as cool and moist as possible, with¬ 
out “stagnant wet” at the roots, or near them. 
It is, also, as well to know that all expenses on these con¬ 
signments must be paid on this side, even the carriage to 
the very end of the journey. They should be insured to 
their full value. A bill of lading and a list of the plants 
should go by the same vessel, and a duplicate of each be 
sent by the same post. D. Beaton. 
VEGETABLE CULTURE AND COOKERY. 
NO. IX. 
CABBAGE. 
The best sorts of Cabbages for garden purposes are 
Shilling’s Queen; the true Early Battersea, or, as it is some¬ 
times called, Early Barnes; the Enfield, Market; Nonpareil; 
and Sprotboro, There are many varieties which have local 
reputations, and others which have been introduced of late 
years, as improved or selected varieties of those already men¬ 
tioned; but every purpose will be well served by using those 
mentioned above. 
For a supply of early spring and summer Cabbage, the seed 
should be sown in the second week in August, in an open 
situation, broadcast on beds, and raked in. When the plants 
have acquired two or three broad leaves, prick out as many 
n 
as are required of the strongest into another bed, at a dis¬ 
tance of four or six inches apart, and, if the weather is dry, 
water them till they are established; but allow the others to 
remain in the seed-bed all the winter. In October or No¬ 
vember, those that were pricked out should be transplanted 
on a piece of ground, which has been previously well dug j 
and manured, in rows two feet apart, and from fifteen to 
eighteen inches distance from each other in the rows. As 
they grow', hoe and loosen the earth about them; earth 
them up on both sides to stand the winter, and they will be j 
ready for use in spring and early summer. Should any of j 
them sutfer from the severity of the winter, or from grubs, 
let them be removed, and their places supplied with the 
strongest that were left in the seed-bed. 
At the end of February, or beginning and middle of , 
March, let those which were left in the seed-bed at the Au- 
gust sowing be planted out in the same way as directed J 
above, to come in and succeed those which were planted out 
in October and November. 
For the late summer and autumn supply make another sow- 
ing in the first or second week in March, and when the j 
plants are strong enough, let the largest of them be planted 
out in May, in the open quarters where they are to stand. 
In June, another portion from the same seed-bed may be 
planted out; and these, with the remainder from the seed¬ 
bed planted out in July, will furnish a supply during the 
aukumn and early winter. 
Bed Cabbage should bo sown early in August, as directed 
for the other varieties, and after standing the winter in the 
seed-bed, they should be transplanted in February and 
March where they are intended to remain, in rows three 
feet apart, and the same distance from each other in the 
rows, and in September and October they will be ready for 
use. 
All the Cabbage family delight in a rich soil, and, where 
liquid-manure is available, occasional waterings during 
the season will be beneficial. As the Cabbages begin to 
heart, it will be well to tie them round with a string of mat¬ 
ting, in the same way as is practised with Lettuce. Some 
cultivators recommend the immediate removal of the Cab¬ 
bage-stalks after the heads are cut; but I have always 
found that the stalks of the late summer and autumn crops, ! 
if allowed to stand, produce an abundant supply of excellent ! 
Coleworts during the late part of autumn and early winter. 
To Boil Young Cabbage. —Remove the outer leaves, and 
pick the Cabbages clean ; let them lie for an hour in salt 
and water, to destroy the insects; then put them into a 
saucepan, with plenty of boiling water, and a table-spoonful 
of salt. Let them be quite immersed in the water, and 
after boiling, without the lid on, till they sink to the bottom, 
they will then be done. This refers to young Cabbage ; but 
if it bo large and old it must be cut in quarters, and boiled 
in an abundance of water till the stalks arc quite tender. 
There are many who prefer Cabbage boiled with ham, 
bacon, or pickled beef,—a mode which is often attended 
with disagreeable results, from the unwholesomeness which 
the grease of the meats communicates; but if the liquor in 
the pot is first skimmed before the Cabbage is introduced, 
the required fiavour will be preserved, while the evil conse¬ 
quences will be avoided. 
To Dress Large Cabbage. —There is some Cabbage 
which is very large and solid, and which requires long cook¬ 
ing to render it wholesome. The following receipt, fur¬ 
nished by a physician, by which the Cabbage is divested of j 
its unpleasant odour and unwholesome properties, will be 
found worthy the attention of good housewives, and particu¬ 
larly of those who have a consideration for the digestive 
powers of themselves and others :— 
Trim the Cabbage, cut it almost in quarters, but do not 
divide it entirely, and let it be for an hour in salt and water, 
to free it from insects. Have ready a pot full of boiling 
water, seasoned with a tea-spoonful of salt, into which put 
the Cabbage, and let it boil an hour-and-a-half, skimming it 
occasionally. Take it out, drain it through a cullender, and 
then pour cold water upon it from a pump, jug, or pitcher, 
till it has become cold all through. Having thrown away 
all the first water, clean and fill the pot again, and when it 
boils put in the Cabbage, which by this time will be quite 
cold, and boil it for two hours or two-and-a-half. When the 
stalk is perfectly tender, take up the Cabbage, and drain it, 
