James John Howard Gregory

“ In a more recent experiment, on a gravelly loam on one of my seed farms in Middleton, Mass., where two hundred bushels of unleached ashes were used per acre, three-fourths broadcast, I have had complete success, raising as good a crop as I ever grew the second year on the same land, without a single stump foot on half an acre. ”

“ That the close wrapped leaves which make the cabbage head and surround the seed germ, situated just in the middle of the head at the termination of the stump, are necessary for its protection and nutrition when young, is proved, I think, by the fact that those cabbages, the heads of which are much decayed, when set out for seed, no matter how sound the seed germ may be at the end of the stump, never make so large or healthy a seed shoot as those do the heads of which are sound; as a rule, after pushing a feeble growth, they die. ”

“ Considering the circumstances under which this insect appears, usually in a very dry season, I hold that it is rather the product than the cause of disease, as with the bark louse on our apple-trees; as a remedy I advocate sprinkling the plants with air-slaked lime, watering, if possible, and a frequent and thorough stirring of the soil with the cultivator and hoe. The better the opportunities the cabbage have to develop themselves through high manuring, sufficient moisture, good drainage, and thorough cultivation, the less liable they are to be "lousy." ”

“ With the return of spring most families have some cabbage stumps remaining in the cellar; these can be planted about a foot apart in some handy spot along the edge of the garden, where they will not interfere with the general crop, setting them under ground from a quarter to a half their length, depending on the length of the stumps. They will soon be covered with green shoots, which should be used as greens before the blossom buds show themselves, as they then become too strong to be agreeable. If the spot is rich and has been well dug, the rapidity of growth is surprising ”

“ Some of our best farmers drill their seed in with a sowing machine, such as is used for onions, carrots, and other vegetable crops. This is a very expeditious way, and has the advantage of leaving the plants in rows instead of bunches, as in the hill system, and thus enables the hoe to do most of the work of thinning. It has also this advantage: each plant being by itself can be left much longer before thinning, and yet not grow long in the stump, thus making it available for transplanting, or for sale in the market, for a longer period. ”

“ To carry on hot-beds on a large scale successfully is almost an art in itself, and for fuller details I will refer my readers to works on gardening. Early plants, in a small way, may be raised in flower pots or boxes in a warm kitchen window. It is best, if practicable, to have but one plant in each pot, that they may grow short and stocky. If the seed are not planted earlier than April, for out-of-door cultivation, a cold frame will answer. ”

“ Cabbage can be raised on fertilizers alone. I have raised some crops in this way; but have been led to plow in from four to six cords of good manure to the acre, and then use from five hundred to a thousand pounds of some good fertilizer in the hill. The reason I prefer to use a portion of the cabbage food in the form of manure, is, that I have noticed that when the attempt is made to raise the larger drumhead varieties on fertilizers only, the cabbages, just as the heads are well formed, are apt to come nearly to a standstill. ”

“ If a piece of land is planted with seed grown from two heads of cabbage the product will bear a striking resemblance to the two parent cabbages, with a third variety which will combine the characteristics of these two, yet the resemblance will be somewhat modified at times by a little more manure, a little higher culture, a little better location, and the addition of an individuality that particular vegetables occasionally take upon themselves which we designate by the word "sport." ”

“ I wish I could preach a very loud [Pg 5] sermon to all my farmer friends on the great value of liberal manuring to carry crops successfully through the effects of a severe drouth. Crops on soil precisely alike, with but a wall to separate them, will, in a very dry season, present a striking difference,—the one being in fine vigor, and the other "suffering from drouth," as the owner will tell you; but, in reality, from want of food.
The smaller varieties of cabbage will thrive well on either light or strong soil, but the largest drumheads do best on strong soil. ”

“ Should the market for very late cabbages prove a poor one, the farmer is not compelled to sell them, no matter at what sacrifice, as would be the case a month earlier; he can pit them, and so keep them over to the early spring market which is almost always a profitable one. In marketing in spring it should be the aim to make sale before the crops of spring greens become plenty, as these replace the cabbage on many tables. By starting cabbage in hot beds a crop of celery or squashes may follow them the same season. ”

“ When salt is used, it should not be depended on exclusively, but be used in connection with other manures, at the rate of from ten to fifteen bushels to the acre, applied broadcast over the ground, or thoroughly mixed with the manure before that is applied; if dissolved in the manure, better yet. Salt itself is not a manure. Its principal office is to change other materials into plant food. Fish and glue waste are exceedingly powerful manures, very rich in ammonia, and, if used the first season, they should be in compost. ”

“ Where the climate is unpropitious, or the quantity of manure applied is insufficient, it is possible that transplanting may promote heading. The advantages of planting directly in the hill, are a saving of time, avoiding the risks incidental to transplanting, and having all the piece start alike; for, when transplanted, many die and have to be replaced, while some hesitate much longer than others before starting, thus making a want of uniformity in the maturing of the crop. ”

“ In our country, cabbage seed is mostly raised from soft, half-formed heads, which are grown as a late crop, few, if any of them, being hard enough to be of any value in the market. Seedsmen practise selecting a few fine, hard heads, from which to raise their seed stock. It has been my practice to grow seed from none but extra fine heads, better than the average of those carried to market. ”

“ If the manure in any of the hills is too strong, the fact will be known by its effects on the plants, which will be checked in their growth, and be of a darker green color than the healthy plants. Gently pull away the earth from the roots of such with the fingers, and draw around fresh earth; or, what is as well or better, transplant a healthy plant just on the edge of the hill. When the plants are finger high they are of a good size to transplant into such hills as have missed, or to market. ”

“ Cabbage raised from seed grown from stumps are apt to be unreliable for heading, and to grow long-stumped, though under unfavorable conditions, long-stumped and poor-headed cabbage may grow from the best of seed. To have the best of seed, all shoots that start below the head [Pg 74] should be broken off. To prevent the plants falling over after the seed-stalks are grown, dig deep holes, and plant the entire stump in the ground. Scarecrows should be set up, or some like precaution be taken, to keep away the little seed-birds, that begin to crack the pods as soon as they commence to ripen. ”

“ The few loose leaves remaining will prevent the earth from sifting down between the heads, and the air chambers thus made answer a capital purpose in keeping out the cold, as air is one of the best non-conductors of heat. It is said that muck-soil, when well drained, is an excellent one to bury cabbage in, as its antiseptic properties preserve them from decay. If the object is to preserve the cabbage for market purposes only, the heads may be buried in the same position in which they grew, or they may be inverted, the stump having no value in itself ”

“ Cabbage plants have great tenacity of life, and will rally and grow when they appear to be dead; the leaves may all die, and dry up like hay, but if the stump stands erect and the unfolded leaf at the top of the stump is alive, the plant will usually survive. When the plants are quite large, they may be used successfully by cutting or breaking off the larger leaves. Some advocate wilting the plants before transplanting, piling them in the cellar a few days before setting them out, to toughen them and get a new setting of fine roots ”

“ Some advocate the economy of cutting off a large portion of the heads when cabbages are set out for seed to use as food for stock. There is certainly a great temptation, standing amid acres of large, solid, heads in the early spring months, when green food of all kinds is scarce, to cut and use such an immense amount of rich food, which, to the inexperienced eye, appears to be utterly wasted if left to decay, dry, and fall to the ground ”

“ Cabbages are hardy plants, and loose heads will stand a good deal of freezing and thawing without serious injury. They are not generally injured with the thermometer 16° below freezing. The waste, after the seed and all market cabbage are removed, brings me about $10 per acre on the ground, for cow feed.
If cabbage is fed to cows in milk without some care, it will be apt to give the milk a strong cabbage flavor; all the feed for the day should be given early in the morning. Beginning with a small quantity, and gradually increasing it, the dairy man will soon learn his limits. ”

“ To perfect the large varieties of drumhead,—by which I mean to make them grow to the greatest size possible,—I want a strong compost of barn-yard manure, with night-soil and muck or fish-waste, and, if possible, rotten kelp. A compost into which night-soil enters as a component is best made by first covering a plot of ground, of easy access, with soil or muck that has been exposed to a winter's frost, to the depth of about eighteen inches, and raising around this a rim about three feet in height, and thickness. ”

“ When I use forest leaves, I cover them with coarse hay, and add branches of trees to prevent its being blown away. In keeping cabbages through the winter, three general facts should be borne in mind, viz.: that repeated freezing and thawing will cause them to rot; that excessive moisture or warmth will also cause rot; while a dry air, such as is found in most cellars, will abstract moisture from the leaves, injure the flavor of the cabbage, and cause some of the heads to wilt, and the harder heads to waste. ”

“ As in the cabbage districts of the North little or no use is made of this prolific after growth, it is worse than useless to suffer the ground to be exhausted by it; the stump should be pulled by the potato hoe as soon as the heads are marketed. When cabbages are planted out for seed, if, for any reason, the seed shoot fails to push out, and at times when it does push out, fine sprouts for greens will start below the head; when the stock of these sprouts becomes too tough for use, the large leaves may be stripped from them and cooked. ”

“ On my own grounds from a strain of seed that had been grown isolated for years, there recently came a plant that in its structure closely resembled Brussels Sprouts, growing about two feet in height, with a small head under each leaf. The cultivated cabbage was first introduced into England by the Romans, and from there nearly all the kinds cultivated in this country were originally brought. Those which we consider as peculiarly American varieties, have only been made so by years of careful improvement on the original imported sorts. ”

“ I find that the pods of cabbage seed grown South are tough, and not brittle, like those grown North, and hence that they are injured but little, if any, by seed birds. When the seed-pods have passed what seedsmen call their "red" stage, they begin to harden; as soon as a third of them are brown, the entire stalk may be cut and hung up in a dry, airy place, for a few days, when the seed will be ready for rubbing or threshing out. Different varieties should be raised far apart to insure purity; and cabbage seed had better not be raised in the vicinity of turnip seed. ”

“ No doubt, the lowest soil being the richer from a gradual accumulation of the wash from the upland, when manure was but sparingly used, cabbage would thrive better there than elsewhere,—and not, as was generally held, because that vegetable needed more moisture than any other crop. Cabbage can be raised with success on any good corn land, provided such land is well manured; and there is no more loss in seasons of drouth on such land than there is in seasons of excessive moisture on the lower tillage land of the farm. ”

“ Another excellent way to use fish waste is to compost it with barn manure, in the open fields. It will be best to have six inches of soil under the heap, and not layer the fish with the lower half of the manure, for it strikes down. Glue waste is a very coarse, lumpy manure, and requires a great deal of severe manipulation, if it is to be applied the first season. A better way is to compost it with soil, layer with layer, having each layer about a foot in thickness, and so allow it to remain over until the next season, before using. ”

“ The outer leaves which surround the head appear to have the same office as the leaves which surround the growing fruit bud, and that office closes with the first year, as does that of the leaves surrounding fruit buds, when each die and drop off. In my locality the public must have perceived more or less clearly the analogy between the heads of cabbage and the buds of trees, for when they speak of small heads they frequently call them "buds." ”

“ They need the same cultivation, and, being subject to the same diseases and injury from insect enemies, need the same protection as their cousins of the cabbage tribe. In raising for the summer market, start in the cold frame, or plant as early as the ground can be worked, that the plants may get well started before the dry season, or the crop will be likely to make such small heads "buttons" as to be practically a failure. For late crop, plant seed in the hills where they are to grow, from the 20th of May to the middle of June. ”

“ The young plants can be set out almost as fast as a man can walk, by holding the roots close to one side of the hole made by the dibble, and at the same moment pressing earth against them with the other hand.
PROTECTING THE PLANTS FROM THEIR ENEMIES.
As soon as they have broken through the soil, an enemy awaits them in the small black insect commonly known as the cabbage or turnip fly, beetle, or flea. This insect, though so small as to appear to the eye as a black dot, is very voracious and surprisingly active. ”

“ If the season should prove a favorable one, a good crop of cabbage may be grown on sod broken up immediately after a crop of hay has been taken from it, provided plenty of fine manure is harrowed in. One great risk here is from the dry weather that usually prevails at that season, preventing the prompt germination of the seed, or rooting of the plants. It is prudent in such a case to have a good stock of plants, that such as die may be promptly replaced. ”