CABBAGE (OF. calms in chew calms, headed eole, 0I1G. Kabuz, Ger. Kappus, Kappes, from Lat. coput, head) (Brassiea elcracca). A plant in general cultivation for culinary purposes and :for feeding cattle. It is a native of the rocky shores of Great Britain and other parts of Europe, and in its wild state is generally from a loot to two feet high. It has been cultivated in Europe from time immemorial and has developed into several different forms, such as cabbage, kale (q.v.). kohl raid (q.v.), cauliflower (q.v.), and 'Brussels sprouts (q.v,).
The wild cabbage has smooth. sea-green leaves, and variously indented; under domestica tion these have developed into a head, which is the part. eaten.
There are two general classes of cabbages smooth-leaved and wrinkled-leaved. The smooth leaved cabbages may be either green or red, the head may be conical, oblong, round. or flat, and there are early, medium, and late maturing kinds. Red cabbage is chiefly esteemed for pickling; while green cabbage is the kind most generally grown in the garden and for market. More than loo varieties are in cultivation in the States. The wrinkled-leaved or Savoy
cabbage is a cabbage of excellent quality, but is little grown. because it is not so productive as the common green kind. Cabbage demands a rich loam soil with plenty of manure. Seed for the early crop is sown in the hotbed. The plants are set in the field• as min in spring as the frost is out of the ground, in rows three feet apart and two feet. distant in the row. For the late crop the seed is sown in beds or in hills in the open in May. The early cabbage will mature in July. while the late crop may not be harvested freezing weather. Cabbage may be winter stored by putting in pits head down and cover ing with straw and earth or by storing in a cold, damp cellar. The tree-cabbage or cow-eabbage is a variety cultivated for cattle, especially in the Channel Islands and the north of France. the leaves of which do not close together into com pact heads. but which is remarkable for its great height, reaching, when it is in fltiwer, 10 feet on rich soil.