The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1883-06-14
Farm Culture Of Cabbages.


One of the most profitable crops for
market gardeners is the cabbage. 1t is
easy to raise, and meets with a sure
sale. believe that it might become
profitable farm crop. Very few farm
ers raise more than enough for family
use, and many grow none at all. Cab
bages are quite as easy to raise as
turnips or beets, and any surplus can be
very readily sold in the small towns
and villages. Those who have them
for sale can readily obtain five to TWEEN
tv-five cents per head in late fall or
winter. Early cabbages always com
mand remuneratiYe prices. 1 am in
formed that cabbages are grown IN
England as a forage crop, and / am I'M
able to see why they may not be grown
to advantage for the same purpose in
this country. Cows eat cabbages with
aviditY. I have known a few messes of
cabbage given to milch cows in autumn
to greatly increase the flow of milk.
think that they are as valuable a
forage crop as can be grown. With
this end in view cabbages grown for
market or family consumption can be
set quite closely; those that head prop
erly to be consumed or sold, and those
that fail to head to be fed to stock.
1t is impossible to make soil too rich for
successful cabbage culture, and failure
is too apt to lie in the other direction.
A dry, sandy. gravelly loan is most
suitable. The soil should be plowed
deep, thoroughly pulverized, and large
quantities of well-rOtted barn-yard
manure be we'll worked in. Those who
raise only a few cabbages for family
use often make the mistake of not
planting early enough. Plants should
be set out as soon as danger from
frost is past; if delayed later, the
ground dries up while the plant is get
ting root. The growth Ofplants is thus
retarded, and many of them lost 1t IS
a good plan to set plants Just before a
rain, but as we can not always have a
rain storm Just when we would like 1T,
the next best plan is to set plants in the
evening" If plants have been properly
grown, and care is exercised in setting
those which are stOcky and vigorous,
there is little danger in transplanting
The early kinds may be set in 70 WIS
two feet apart and eighteen inches apart
in the rows. The large varieties should
be set in rows at least three feet apart
and two feet apart in the row. In any
case it would pay to have the rows far
enough apart so that they could be cul-
tivated with horse. From the time
the cabbages are set out until they COW
er the ground, all weeds should be care
fully kept under. After the cabbage
has reached a size that prevents Guilt
walton or hoeing, all weeds should be
pulled by hand. Such a course will
add much to the ease of cultivation in
future years. One of the evils which
cabbage-growers must contend with
is club-foot This is not serious enough
to alarm any but professional market
| gardeners. And yet have had to reset
| almost an entire plat of cabbage from
/ this cause alone. Another evil is the
'cabbage-worm, produced by the
! white butterfly. Every season is pro
/ life in new remedies for this nuisance.
A fertile soil and early, close-heading
/ vari ,ties of cabbage seem to me to be
/ suffi cient to overcome the evil-F. x.
/ Mo1eld1sd, IN Country Gentleman.