Wichita eagle., 1888-01-18


see in March and then transplant the plants
in car loads to Florida and Illinois. There
are from 100000 to 6O0000 plants in a car
load Sounds big but it's true The cabbage
planted in Florida from Sept Is to Dec. 1
ripens from Feb. ! to June 15 We have had
new cabbage as early as Christmas down
south, but that's unusual. Here we plant
from May to July, and the cabbage is ripe
| from August until frost comes. October is
the big month"
"Do you raise all your own cabbage"
"Don't begin to do it. We buy over $500, 900
worth of cabbage every year from farmers
around here and those ii Iowa. There are
five car loads of Iowa cabbage Standing on
my side tracks now. No; Iowa cabbage usu-
ally is not as good as Illinois, but this year it's
better because they've had more rain there
than we've had Farmers for miles around
bring their cabbage to U.S. See that string of
wagons along that street" and he pointed to
a row of wagons loaded with cabbage like SO
much hay.
After the first wagon load of cabbage had
been weighed it was hauled to a large long
building two stories, or really one and half
stories IN height The sides were open, and
with pitchfork the cabbage was tossed into
now But instead of being scattered over
the floor the cabbage is piled up in space
about fifteen feet in width a board nailed up
to the inner rafters preventing it from going
farther After the cabbage was unloaded the
driver took from lower platform load Of
cores and outer leaves of cabbage This is
fed to their cows, and is said to do them as
much good as the sauer kraut does human
beings.
well go inside now and I'll show you
where those cores and cabbage leaves come
FROM" said Mr.. Johnson, leading the way.
Had known what it was l would have gone
there first. Ranged around the room, to call
it that, at equal distances apart, were thirty
two girls working as busily as bees.
In her right hand each girl held an instru-
ment which can be described as huge cheese
trier," one OF those things you stick i'll cheese,
give it q twirl, and then pull it out, to test its
miteyness, you know. Well, those girls
treated the cabbage like one would cheese.
Drawing one down from the pile with spite
full little dig she'd thrust the knife into the
side of the core, give her wrist a couple Of
twists, and the whole core would come out as
nicely as could be. They were very expert
at it, and could core eco cabbages an hour
with ease. After the core was removed, with
three or four blows with the knife the outer
leaves of the cabbage would be whipped off
with ali the worms, dirt and insects, and
showed into a trough, from which they fell to
the platform described before. At the same
time the clean head of cabbage was thrown
back of them Oh to big, broad platform,
running the whole length Of the room. On
this platform were half dozen women armed
with hay rakes, and as the cabbage was
thrown on to it the women pushed it to the
center of the floor, where four men took it
and fed it into a machine somewhat re-
sembling the stones of grist mill.
A very interesting and important part of
sauer kraut making is the cutting of the cab
bage As wine depends greatly on its age
for flavor and quality SO does sauer kraut
depend upon the manner in which the cab
bage is cut. To be firm and crisp, yet tender,
the cabbage must be cut in long thin slices
To chop it up fine, as could be done much
easier, would practically be to spoil it, or
render its value much less After expert
menting for over five years a knife was in
vented which does the work in the most sat-
isfactorv manner. By means of shaft in
the center il is made to revolve very rapidly,
and eight knives slice the cabbage as neat as
= butcher could steak. The knife can cut
meat, too, as some OF the operators have
found out to their sorrow. This wheel Of
knives is about thirty inches in diameter, and
will cut from $4,000 to 6o,O00 pounds of cab
hage day, depending on the skill and energy
of the feeders.
Four feeders work, although only one can
feed if desired. The head of cabbage is laid
on the wheel and the pressure of the hand
causes it to disappear in a few seconds. Be
meath the wheel is V shaped chest or box,
into which the cut cabbage falls. When it is
full big truck, holding 400 pounds of cab
nage. is showed under it, the right side of the
chest is pulled back, and the cabbage falls
into the truck. The girls who cut the cores
from the cabbage stand on a.platform raised
about three feet from the floor below the one
on which the cabbage is unloaded.
When one of the trucks is filled it is pushed
along gangway by two lusty young men
and into big building 56xlS4 feet. This is
called the packing house. Never having seen
the vault of brewery, | can't say it looks
like one, although Judge it does 1t is filled
with huge tanks 20 feet in diameter and 10
feet deep There are twenty-eight tanks in
this building and ten tanks in an adjoining
building :S2x96 feet in dimension. Each tank
holds 400 barrels of sauer kraut worth nearly
s4CO0 Thus the thirty eight tanks, if only
filed once n year, contain Sl93, 900 worth Of
sauer kraut. In each tank are two big.
strong men wearing long rubber boots.
When a truckful of cabbage is dumped into
the tank they tramp it down The object of
this is to break the fiber sufficiently TO let out
the water, SO the salt, which is plentifully
thrown over it. will take action at once. In
other words. it is to facilitate fermentation.
The sole ingredients of sauer kraut are cab
bage and salt. Worms and insects might i'm
prove the flavor, but they are religiously ex-
cluded.
Ii takes saur kiaut from two to four weeks
to cure or fernlcnt, depending on the temper
allure of the cabbage when put in and the at
mosphere afterward. 1t can be kept as long
as desired. and. like wine, improves with age.
But it is not kept in the tanks. After fer
mentaton it is placed in barrels holding
thirty-two gallons each, and headed up as
tight as an oil barrel. Then it is shipped in
any quantity desired all over the country
"Hassler" in Chicago luterOcean.
Facts Concerning Strawberries.
Strawberries ere said to be particularly