eenhouse. When forward enough, prick out in a bed
of light rich soil in a cold frame, and give plenty of air. Before the
seedlings become crowded harden them off and plant out, taking care to
lift them tenderly with earth attached to their roots to minimise the
check. These will heart quickly and be valued as summer Cabbages. The
second sowing is to be made in the last week of March, and to consist of
early kinds, including a few of the best type of Coleworts. As these
advance to a planting size, they may be put out a few at a time as plots
become vacant, and they will be useful in various ways from July to
November or later. A third sowing may be made in the first or second
week of May of small sorts and Coleworts; and these again may be planted
out as opportunities occur, both in vacant plots for hearting late in
the year, and as stolen crops in odd places to draw while young. The
second and third sowings need not be pricked out from the seed-bed, but
may be taken direct therefrom to the places where they are to finish
their course.

In planting out, the spacing must be regulated according to the size of
the variety grown. If put out in beds, the plants may be placed from
one to two feet apart, and the rows one and a half to two feet asunder.
All planting should be done in showery weather if possible, or with a
falling barometer. It may not always be convenient to wait for rain, and
happily it is a peculiarity of Brassicas, and of Cabbage in particular,
that the plants will endure, after removal, heat and drought for some
time with but little harm, and again grow freely after rain has fallen.
But good cultivation has in view the prevention of any such check. At
the best it is a serious loss of time in the brief growing season.
Therefore in droughty weather it will be advisable to draw shallow
furrows and water these a day in advance of the planting, and if labour
and stuff can be found it will be well to lay in the furrows a
sprinkling of short mulchy manure to follow instantly upon the watering;
then plant with the dibber, and the work is done. If the mulch cannot be
afforded, water must be given, and to water the furrows in advance is
better than watering after the planting, as a few observations will
effectually prove. If drought continues, water should be given again and
again. The trouble must be counted as nothing compared with the certain
loss of time while the plant stands still, to become, perhaps, infested
w