e can be
raised with success on any good corn land, provided such land is well
manured; and there is no more loss in seasons of drouth on such land
than there is in seasons of excessive moisture on the lower tillage land
of the farm. I wish I could preach a very loud sermon to all my farmer
friends on the great value of liberal manuring to carry crops
successfully through the effects of a severe drouth. Crops on soil
precisely alike, with but a wall to separate them, will, in a very dry
season, present a striking difference,--the one being in fine vigor, and
the other "suffering from drouth," as the owner will tell you; but, in
reality, from want of food.

The smaller varieties of cabbage will thrive well on either light or
strong soil, but the largest drumheads do best on strong soil. For the
_Brassica_ family, including cabbages, cauliflowers, turnips, etc.,
there is no soil so suitable as freshly turned sod, provided the surface
is well fined by the harrow; it is well to have as stout a crop of
clover or grass, growing on this sod, when turned under, as possible,
and I incline to the belief that it would be a judicious investment to
start a thick growth of these by the application of guano to the surface
sufficiently long before turning the sod to get an extra growth of the
clover or grass. If the soil be very sandy in character, I would advise
that the variety planted be the Winnigstadt, which, in my experience, is
unexcelled for making a hard head under almost any conditions, however
unpropitious. Should the soil be naturally very wet it should be
underdrained, or stump foot will be very likely to appear, which is
death to all success.

PREPARING THE SOIL.

Should the soil be a heavy clay, a deep fall ploughing is best, that the
frosts of winter may disintegrate it; and should the plan be to raise an
early crop, this end will be promoted by fall ploughing, on any soil, as
the land will thereby be made drier in early spring. In New England the
soil for cabbages should be ploughed as deep as the subsoil, and the
larger drumheads should be planted only on the deepest soil. If the
season should prove a favorable one, a good crop of cabbage may be grown
on sod broken up immediately after a crop of hay has been taken from it,
provided plenty of fine manure is harrowed in. One great risk here is
from the dry weather that usually prevails at that season, preventing
the prompt germination of the seed, or rooting