No crop responds better to good tillage, and if this be given every seven or ten days and the small applications of nitrate of soda, already mentioned, be harrowed in, the plants will soon meet in the rows ; then tillage ceases. For success, it is essen tial that there be a good plant in every place ; 7,500 to 9,000 plants should be grown per acre. Rows thirty inches apart seem to be convenient, the plants being twenty-four to thirty inches apart in the row. Cabbages may be grown in the place of corn or any other intertilled crop in the rotation.
Varieties.
Some of the best varieties for stock-feeding pur poses are : Sorehead and Autumn King (both of which mature in September when sown in May, and must then be used); Volga, a new Russian variety of merit ; Drumhead or Flat Dutch, a standard variety. Danish Ballhead and Hollander give rather lower yields but are considered better for storage.
The varieties may be classified according to shape (Fig. 315), as Flat,—as Drumhead, Surehead, Flat Dutch. Round,—as Danish Ballhead.
Obovate or egg-shaped,—as Early York, Late York.
Elliptical or oval,—as Sugar Loaf.
Conical, tapering to apex,—as Early Jersey Wakefield, Winnigstadt, Pomeranian and Oxhearts.
Varieties are spoken of as early, medium or late in maturing ; and as having green, purple or varie gated leaves.
The cabbage is a good illustration of a plant which has reached that stage in which it is much influenced by its environment. Not only has it been in a variable state for some time, but man has been interested in the plant and prepared to pick out and preserve some of the variations which are of value to him. These two factors are necessary for the improvement of plants.
Harvesting.
In stock-feeding, the cabbages are hauled trom the fields as required. The aim is to have some thing to feed from the first of September until November, and during this time the plants are cut as required, or sheep are folded on them. Cab bages are stored in regular storage houses or in pits six or eight feet wide which are dug out about two feet below ground and roofed in with boards and straw, the apex of the roof being about six feet above ground. The heads are stored upside down and kept cool, moist, and yet well ventilated, until used or sold.
Plants saved for seed production may be laid on their side, with the roots in the ground and a fur row plcwed over them. In spring they should be
taken up and planted about four feet apart each way in rich, well-prepared land. The plants cross pollinate, and two varieties should not be grown near together.
Obstructions to growth.
Clubroot or anbury (Plascnadiophora brassiere) is a fungous disease which attacks many cruciferous plants ; it is common among turnips, causing them to rot badly. It can be combated readily by lim ing the land at intervals of four or five years, as suggested, and applying the lime with the crucif erous crop ; by destroying all cruciferous weeds and by arranging the rotation so that such crops will not be taken too frequently.
Black-rot, or stem-rot (Pseudomonas campestris), is a bacterial disease and is one of the most dis astrous troubles of the cabbage. It is often found on wild mustard and other cruciferous weeds, which act as hosts in spreading it. There is no cure. Prevention by disinfection of seed, destruction of diseased specimens, a good rotation, the control of insects which may carry the germs, is suggested. A diseased crop should not be stored. It is better to sell the plants while they are good.
The flea-beetle (Phyllotrcta vittata), a small, black, quick-moving insect, sometimes destroys the seedlings while they are in their first leaves. The best means of combating is to sow plenty of seed and to thin the crop if all come through.
The green cabbage-worm (Picric rapes) may be combated in the case of young plants by spraying with resin-lime mixture containing Paris green, arsenate of lead in water as for potatoes, or, if not abundant, by hand-picking. If the first brood, which is usually small, be controlled, little trouble need be feared for the remainder of the season.
The cabbage-looper (Plusia brassiere) frequently does considerable damage and is dealt with in the same way as the green worm. The cabbage root maggot (Phorbia brassiere) sometimes injures the roots. In the southern states the harlequin cab bage-bug does considerable injury ; it is checked by sowing mustard and radishes in the cabbage fields for the bugs to congregate on and then de stroying these by spraying with kerosene or burn ing. The blow-torch passed slowly over the crop will also destroy these insects. The cabbage-aphis is sometimes combated by spraying with kerosene emulsion or tobacco powder.