The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-09-29
Cabbage.

The cabbage does not rank high in
nutritive food value, consisting as it
does almost wholly of woody fiber and
water. Yet it has an important place
among the vegetables han1led by the
grocers and in the home vegetable gar
den, for the housewife would hardly
know how to arrange her winter menus
without including it. Moreover, it is
to the interest of the farmer to give
space in the garden or cornfeld to
cabbage, for any surplus not made use
of in the house is very acceptable to
the stock, and greedily eaten by it. 1t
does not really pay to raise cabbage
for feeding purposes, but little extra
supply needn't be wasted.
The most inexpensive way of rails
ing cabbage for the home demand, and
one that is at the same time the least
troublesome, is to take it out Of the
garden and plant among the potatoes
in the cornfeld. Simply SOW the seed
where the cabbage is to grow, and
avoid all the trouble of transplanting,
watering, etc., which are important
factors in farm work and apt to pre-
vent the cabbage patch from attaining
adequate dimensions. The average
man dislikes to break his back over a
few cabbage plants, and the task is
apt to devolve on the women, who, of
course, haven't backs to break. The
crop will not be as early, but there
will likely be plenty of it, which is o
compensation.
The seed may be sown when the corn
is planted, or earlier if desirable; later
also if more convenient. Sow in hills,
same as corn or potatoes.
Eighteen inches or two feet is the
proper distance in the garden, where
space is to be economiZed. The cab
bage will of course receive the same
cultivation as the other crop, and very
little hand work will be necessary as
the cultivator will keep the weeds
down.
For the ordinary grower, or the man
who merely grows home supply, it is
not necessary to bother about early
and late varieties. A quick-growing
variety may be sown the last Of June
or even, with little coaxing, the first
CT July, and make good heads. Or
seed of on early sort sown late answers
every purpose of late variety.
The cabbage worm and the flea
beetle are the chief insect pests of the
cabbage, though aphides or plant lice
sometimes attack the heads and prove
troublesome. For the flea beetle,
which works on the young plants, o
busting of fine road dust, or Scotch
snuff, is effective. The worm is more
troublesome foe, and years when it
abounds one might as we'll surrender
the cabbage patch. The best remedy
is sprinkling (spraying) with paris
green in solution before heading be.
gins. Afterwards, of course, it should
not be employed. Sometimes the
butterflies can be trapped early in the
season. thus diminishing the supply
The cabbage prefers rich soil,
Scuelouo!y ouPPlicu "i'h i4"A" ~
gratifying its preference we get mani
moth heads, but invoke danger. It
is awfully aggravating to have the
heads fill up and keep on growing till
they burst and turn themselves inside
out, being then of no earthly use.
The usual remedy advised for this is
twisting or loosening the roots, the
idea being that the plant devotes itself
to repairing the damage done to its
root system, and the head stops en-
larging. But in actual practice this
often fails, and I have come to the
conclusion that when the bursting has
once begun there is no use trying to
stop it, and the only way to save the
head is to pull it up and feed it to the
hens, COWS or sheep. The safest and
surest way is to take the heads in
charge before the bursting begins, and
as soon as they are solid and full tip
them to one side, or loosen the roots
by twisting the roots little. This
will stop growth and hasten maturity,
and the heads will remain firm and
solid all winter.