n 
AMERICAN KITCHEN GARDENER, 
feet growth. T1 is disorder is called stump foot , fumble foot , &c. It nas 
been supposed to be caused by the attacks of grubs, below the surface of 
the ground; and the disorder is said to be chiefly prevalent where the same 
sorts of cabbages have been raised on the same ground several years in suc¬ 
cession. Lovet Peters, Esq., of Westborough, Mass., says the cause of the 
stump foot is in the soil:—“ Few pieces of land, I believe, that have been, 
for several successive years, under the plow, will produce a good crop of 
cabbages, though there may be exceptions. My method of raising them, 
which I have practiced several years with complete success, is the follow¬ 
ing :—In the spring, take a piece of green sward, of a good soil, and free 
from stones, and turn it over with the plow as flat as possible ; then spread 
on a large quantity of good manure : if it has been previously mixed with 
leached ashes, the better. Then harrow gently, and early in June: if for 
winter cabbage, cut holes through the turf, with a hoe, as near together as 
the cabbages ought to grow; fill the holes with fine earth and manure, and 
then set the plants, or*put in a small number of seeds—I prefer the latter, 
however, 5 ^ since it saves the labor of setting, and is much surer of success, 
if it happens to be a time of drought. They will need no more hoeing 
than is necessary to keep down the weeds. In this way, I have raised cab¬ 
bages of the largest size, in a green sw r ard potato field, without more hoeing 
than was necessary for the potatoes. 
Cabbage plants are liable to be attacked b} r a grub or black worm, in the 
night, which eats off the stalks, just above ground, and buries itself in the 
* Cultivators do not agree on tlie subject of transplanting cabbage plants, or sow¬ 
ing the seeds in the spots where the plants are to grow. Dr. Deane, as has appeared 
above, after having tried both methods, gave the preference to transplanting. Mr. 
Peters, as we have seen, prefers the other mode. Mr. Bordley relates an experiment, in 
which he “ compared cabb ages transplanted with others not once moved. The unmoved 
grew, and were better tli an the moved.” Mr. Cobbett says, “ to have fine cabbages of 
any sort, they must be twice transplanted. First, they should be taken from the seed¬ 
bed, (where they have been sown in beds near to each other,) and put into fresh dug, 
well-broken ground, at six inches apart every way. This is called 'pricking out. By 
standing here about fifteen or twenty days, they get straight, and stand strong, erect, 
and have a straight and stout stem. Out of this plantation they come all of a size; 
the roots of all are in the same state, and they strike quicker into the ground where 
they stand for a crop.” According to Rees ' 1 Cyclopedia, it was the practice of the cele¬ 
brated Bakewell, and other cultivators who followed his example, to drill cabbage 
seed where the plants were to remain. Perhaps there would be no necessity for trans¬ 
planting cabbages, in order to make the stems “ straight and stout,” according to Mr. 
Cobbett’s directions, if the plants were not originally sown too thick, or were properly 
thinned at an early period of their growth. An English writer says. “Much injury 
frequently arises to young cabbage plants, irom the seed being sown too thick ; care 
should, therefore, be taken, to have them properly thinned out, whenever they come 
up in too thick a manner. Probably, xi the plants were sown in the hills in which 
they are intended to grow for a crop, and thinned out in due season, they would 
grow as straight and stout as if they had been several times transplanted.” 
