Cabbage leaf

“ 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 ”

“ Take a small, short stick and with a string wind the ends of the leaves, one leaf at a time, on the stick, folding the first leaf opposite to and inside the second, the second in the third, and so on, always allowing each succeeding leaf to overlap the last until the cabbage-head is large enough ”

“ Seeds of cabbage taken from the same bag and sown at the same time, but planted out in soils of light sandy loam, heavy clayey loam, and peat or leaf-mold, will show such marked differences when at maturity as easily to be pronounced different sorts. This, no doubt, is the reason why the multitude of varieties of all vegetables, when planted side by side to test them, are so wonderfully reduced in number. ”

“ All cabbages require a rich soil, and frequent hoeing up; and in dry weather they should be watered to make them succulent. The stalks of the spring cabbages are generally pulled up and carried to the refuse heap as soon as the cabbages are cut; but the stalks of the summer and autumn kinds are left standing, that they may throw out what are called sprouts. The culture of the red cabbage is exactly the same; except that there is no spring crop, and the stalks are never left standing for sprouts. ”

“ 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." ”

“ These cabbage-trees or palms were not thicker than a man's leg, and from ten to twenty feet high. They are of the same genus with the cocoa-nut tree; like it they have large pinnated leaves, and are the same as the second sort found in the northern parts of New South Wales*. The cabbage is, properly speaking, the bud of the tree; each tree producing but one cabbage, which is at the crown, where the leaves spring out, and is inclosed in the stem. The cutting off the cabbage effectually destroys the tree; so that no more than one can be had from the same stem. ”

“ In the winter of 1868, excessively cold weather came very early and unexpectedly, before my cabbage plot had received its full covering of litter. The consequence was, the frost penetrated so deep that it froze through the heads into the stumps, and, when spring came, a large portion of them came out spoiled for seed purposes, though most of them sold readily in the market. A cabbage is rendered worthless for seed when the frost strikes through the stump where it joins the head ”

“ They are quite hardy, easily grown, thrive well in New England or in the Middle States, and deserve more general cultivation.
To raise Seeds.—In the autumn, select two or three of the finest plants; keep them in the cellar, or out of the reach of frost, during winter; and in the spring set them in the open ground, two feet apart, and as far as possible from all flowering plants of the Cabbage family. Cut off the top shoot, and save the branches of pods that proceed from the finest of the small heads on the sides of the main stem. ”

“ It may be said in a general way that a Cabbage may be grown almost anywhere and anyhow; that it will thrive on any soil, and that the seed may be sown any day in the year. All this is nearly possible, and proves that we have a wonderful plant to deal with; but it is too good a friend of man to be treated, even in a book, in an off-hand manner. The Cabbage may be called a lime plant, and a clay plant; but, like almost every other plant that is worth growing, a deep well-tilled loam will suit it better than any other soil under the sun. ”

“ I have seen the cabbage bed so full of plants that it seemed as if two plants or more had sprung from every seed. Early and late cabbage, the rows labeled, can be planted in the same bed; lettuce, pepper grass, parsley and radishes in another, taking care to sow the radish seed thinly as the plants will not transplant well, and the radishes must be used for the table taken from the place where the seeds are sown. Cabbages grow better when the small plants are transplanted to the large bed where they are to stand for their season’s growth. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ Still, though the mere presence of cabbage causes stump-foot, it is a fact, that, under certain conditions, cabbage can be grown on the same piece of land year after year successfully, with but very little trouble from stump-foot. ”

“ The cabbage, which grows out from the bottom of the branches, is about a foot long and very white; and at the bottom of this there grow clusters of berries, weighing five or six pounds, like bunches of grapes, as red as cherries and larger than our black-heart cherries, each having a large stone in the middle, and the pulp eats like our haws. These cabbage trees abound about three miles into the woods, the trunk being often eighty or ninety feet high, and is always cut down to get the cabbages, which are good eating; but most of them grow on the tops of the nearest mountains to the great bay. ”

“ Cabbage may be planted out at any time when weather permits, provided you possess, or can obtain, the plants; and it is of the utmost importance to secure them from a reliable source, or varieties may be planted which will in a few weeks send up flower-stems instead of forming tender hearts. At every season of the year vacant plots should be kept going with a few breadths of Cabbage. With our variable climate they may be acceptable, even in the height of summer, if there has been a hard run upon other vegetables, or some important crop has failed outright. ”

“ Cabbage may be sown in pans or boxes placed in a frame, to be planted out in due time for summer use, and from a quick-growing variety tender hearts may be cut almost as early as from autumn-sown plants. Where plantations stand rather thick, draw as fast as possible from amongst them every alternate plant, to allow the remainder ample space for hearting. It is well to remember that the small loose hearts of immature Cabbages make a more delicate dish than the most complete white hearts; but when grown for market, or to meet a large demand, there must be bulk and substance. ”

“ 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. ”

“ If in setting out plants of winter cabbage it is found that there are more plants than are needed, they may be allowed to remain where they are and given a little protection, such as boards, cornstalks or evergreens, and can be used for setting out the following spring. ”

“ Head green, washed with red, of medium size, regularly but loosely formed; the exterior leaves are large, undulated, blistered, and stained with brownish-red, like those of the head; diameter thirteen or fourteen inches; weight twelve ounces; seeds black.
Its season is near that of the Large Brown Cabbage. When grown in warm weather, the head is small, and the plant soon runs to seed: in winter, the head is much larger, more solid, and longer retained. It resembles the Brown Dutch, but differs in the deeper color of the leaves. ”

“ A more wonderful plant and a more useful one is seldom found in the whole range of the vegetable kingdom. The Romans did much to extend the culture of the cabbage. In Scotland it was not generally known until the time of Cromwell. Much improvement has been made in American sorts of cabbages within the past fifty years. In the wild state the cabbage has a hard, woody stalk, but the fine specimens in market have only a small stem, bearing a large, compact head, of closely folded leaves.
The first essential in the successful growing of cabbage is the right kind of soil. ”

“ Prune your wall trees, lay gillyflowers and carnations, sow lettuce, and spinnage, for latter sallading, transplant or remove tulips, or other bulbous roots, plant cuttings of myrtles, but let them not have too much sun at first. Remove your large sided cabbage planted in may, to head in autumn. Keep weed from growing to seed, and begin your howing. Gather the snails from your wall-fruit, but pull n (illegible text) off the bitter fruit, for then they will begin with others. ”

“ In the comparatively mild climate of England, where there are but few days in the winter months that the ground remains frozen to any depth, the hardy cabbage grows all seasons of the year, and turnips left during winter standing in the ground are fed to sheep by yarding them over the different portions of the field. ”

“ Thus we see that food and raiment grow on this wonderful plant.
The cabbage-palm of Surinam is another of our wonderful plants. This gigantic tree has a stem about seven feet in circumference at the base, which ascends straight and tapering to a vast height, and bears a plume of graceful foliage. The cabbage lies concealed within the leaves that surround the top of the trunk. It is about two or three feet long and as thick as a man’s arm. When eaten raw, it greatly resembles the almond in flavour, but is much more tender and delicious. ”

“ And it is a fact, though not generally known, but which deserves greater publicity, that when the common garden cabbage is in perfection, and we wish to cut it, if, instead of severing the whole from the stalk, as is usually done, the loaf, or heart only be scooped out, and all the large lower leaves left entire, a young cabbage will, in due time, be produced, superior in flavour, if not equal in size, to that of the first growth. ”

“ Botanists tell us that all of the Cabbage family, which includes not only every variety of cabbage, Red, White, and Savoy, but all the cauliflower, broccoli, kale, and brussels sprouts, had their origin in the wild cabbage of Europe (Brassica oleracea) , a plant with green, wavy leaves, much resembling charlock, found growing wild at Dover in England, and other parts of Europe. This plant, says McIntosh, is mostly confined to the sea-shore, and grows only on chalky or calcareous soils. ”

“ Some gardeners sow only one crop of green cabbages, and leave the stalks standing to produce sprouts all the rest of the year. When the cabbage stalk is left for sprouts, it is customary, after cutting the cabbage, to give the stalk two cuts across, so as to divide the top into four ”

“ 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. ”