342 CULINARY PLANTS. Chap. IX 



frizzled and laciniated kinds, some of such beautiful colours that 

 Vilmorin in his Catalogue of 1851 enumerates ten varieties which 

 are valued solely for ornament. Some kinds are less commonly 

 known, such as the Portuguese Couve Tronchuda, with the ribs of 

 its leaves greatly thickened ; and the Kohlrabi or choux-raves, 

 with their stems enlarged into great turnip-like masses above the 

 ground; and the recently formed new race 65 of the choux-raves, 

 already including nine sub-varieties, in which the enlarged part 

 lies beneath the ground like a turnip. 



Although we see such great differences in the shape, size, colour, 

 arrangement, and manner of growth of the leaves and stem, and of 

 the flower-stems in the broccoli and cauliflower, it is remarkable 

 that the flowers themselves, the seed-pods and seeds, present ex- 

 tremely slight differences or none at all. 66 I compared the flowers 

 of all the principal kinds ; those of the Couve Tronchuda are white 

 and rather smaller than in common cabbages ; those of the Ports- 

 mouth broccoli have narrower sepals, and smaller, less elongated 

 petals ; and in no other cabbage could any difference be detected. 

 "With respect to the seed-pods, in the purple Kohlrabi alone, do 

 they differ, being a little longer and narrower than usual. I made 

 a collection of the seeds of twenty-eight different kinds, and most 

 of them were undistinguishable ; when there was any difference 

 it was excessively slight ; thus, the seeds of various broccolis and 

 cauliflowers, when seen in mass, are a little redder; those of the 

 early green Ulm savoy are rather smaller ; and those of the Breda 

 kail slightly larger than usual, but not larger than the seeds of 

 the wild cabbage from the coast of Wales. What a contrast in 

 the amount of difference is presented if, on the one hand, we 

 compare the leaves and stems of the various kinds of cabbage with 

 their flowers, pods, and seeds, and on the other hand the corre- 

 sponding parts in the varieties of maize and wheat ! The expla- 

 nation is obvious ; the seeds alone are valued in our cereals, and 

 their variations have been selected ; whereas the seeds, seed- pods, 

 and flowers have been utterly neglected in the cabbage, whilst 

 many useful variations in their leaves and stems have been noticed 

 and preserved from an extremely remote period, for cabbages were 

 cultivated by the old Celts. 67 



It would be useless to give a classified description 68 of the 

 numerous races, sub-races, and varieties of the cabbage; but it 

 may be mentioned that Dr. Lindley has lately proposed b9 a system 

 founded on the state of development of the terminal and lateral 



65 « Journal de la Soc. Imp. d'Horti- des Celtes,' 1818, p. 438. 

 culture,' 1855, p. 254, quoted from 6S See the elder De Candolle, in 



' Gartenflora,' Ap. 1855. 'Transact, of Hort. Soc.,' vol. v. ; and 



68 Godron, ' De l'Espece,' torn. ii. p. Metzger ' Kohlarten,' &c. 

 52; Metzger, ' Syst. Beschreibung 69 'Gardener's Chronicle,' 1850. p 



der Kult. Kohlarten,' 1833, s. 6. 992. 



a; 



Reguier,' De 1'EconomiePublique 



