Of Cabbages and Kings (but mostly cabbage) [was Re: Where is "Crockets"]

[NW Mailing List]

On Wed, Jul 18, 2018 at 11:11 AM
abram
 wrote:

> Now to the railroad nuances:
>
> (1)  Which location shipped more cabbage, Crockett or Rural Retreat?   As
> I recall it, the really old heads always talked about setting off most of
> the refrigerator cars at Crockett for cabbage loading, not Rural Retreat.
> (By the time I hired in 1964, all the cabbage business had long since
> vamoosed.)
>
> (2)  What was it about the unique soil or climatic conditions which made
> this area so fertile for growing cabbage?
>
> (3)  What happened to the cabbage business, and why did it completely
> disappear ?
>

I don't have specific answers to abram's questions but I did find the roots
of cabbage growing around Rural Retreat in "The Annual Report Of The
Commissioner And The Board Of Agriculture And Immigration." for 1907.

Bruce in Blacksburg
------

THE CABBAGE INDUSTRY IN SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA.

The immediate section of Wythe county, Virginia, surrounding Rural Retreat,
has in the last few years acquired considerable reputation from the
production of cabbage. The settlers of this section were Dutch in origin
and came here from original settlements in Pennsylvania. They brought with
them the thrifty habits and simple tastes of their native land. And among
these tastes was that for cabbage.

The cabbage has always been grown in this section, but only of recent years
has its production assumed much importance. Now, however, more attention is
given to this crop than any other raised by the farmers of this part of the
county.

In the latter part of the 70's Mr. H. A. Eiffert began to grow cabbage for
market. Before this no one thought of selling cabbage. His first attempts
proved fairly remunerative and he began to induce others to raise cabbage
to satisfy the demand which he had created. The business continued in a
small way until about 1886, when cabbage began to be shipped from the
Southern market in car lots. At first nearly all cabbage was shipped on
consignment, but in late years the dealers began to sell all produce f. o.
b. cars at this place and consigning has ceased almost entirely.

Many wonder how so much cabbage is raised here and think it an endless task
to set out and bring to perfection a crop of cabbage. It may be of interest
to some to know how the crop is raised. The practice here is to plant the
seed in hills made either with the hoe or corn drill, and for the purpose a
small hand planter is used, which is regulated to drop about ten or twelve
seeds at a place. When these seeds have grown into plants of suitable size
for handling, the plants are thinned down to one in a hill and the extra
plants are then used to set places that are missing. It is very desirable
to get a patch set solid. The cabbage is cultured about as corn; it is
checked so that it can be plowed and hoed both ways. When the leaves almost
touch in the bulk it is time to lay the crop by with a final plowing and
hoeing. As soon as the heads begin to assume reasonable size and get solid
the farmer begins to market his crop. For this purpose a slatted crate is
used varying in size according to the market to be reached, and holding
from 100 to 200 heads of cabbage. There are some markets that prefer bulk
cabbage. This is cut from the patch with one or more loose leaves left
about the head and loaded into cars specially decked for this purpose.
Refrigerator cars were tried here this year for the first time. They have
proved very satisfactory, and while only about forty of these cars were
used against hundreds of the ordinary cars, yet this beginning will mean
much for the business here.

There are about 7,000 hills to the acre, hence it is possible to raise
about 40,000 pounds of cabbage on that much land. There is a very small
area, about ten miles long and four miles broad, that produces the best
grade of this vegetable. It requires a light soil of clay and limestone and
cool nights to give it that compactness and crispness which is so
conspicuous in Rural Retreat cabbage.

Without going into statistics it may give the reader some idea of the
magnitude of this crop to state that shipping begins about the first of
August and lasts till the middle of November, and that the Norfolk and
Western Railway Company operates a special train during the most of this
time to handle this one product. It is not an unusual thing for twelve cars
of cabbage to be loaded here in one day and often the number reaches
eighteen and twenty.

This crop is very well distributed among the farmers; very few of them put
out more than four or five acres. Only a few men risk large crops. The crop
has generally paid, and the condition of this community shows that there is
some money in cabbage.--Chas. P. Pepper, Rural Retreat, Va.
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