1 82 Bulletin 67. 



there, and also in Japan. Professor Georgeson* makes the follow- 

 ing account of it in Japan : 



' ' No other vegetable of this class is so universally grown, or is 

 represented by so many varieties. It is a kind of rape which has 

 been transformed by cultivation. Certain varieties of it are grown 

 only for their seed, from which an oil is expressed, formerly much 

 used as lamp oil This class of illuminating oil is, however, rap- 

 idly passing out of date, its place being taken by American kero- 

 sene. . . . • . The term cabbage is a misnomer, as its resem- 

 blance to that vegetable is quite remote. The plants are merely 

 bunches of large, smooth, more or less spreading leaves, with 

 broad fleshy midribs. They do not bear their leaves on a well de- 

 fined stem.asdo the cabbage, kale, etc., but look more like the Cos 

 lettuce, the leaves having their origin at the surface of the ground. 

 They are usually cultivated as a fall crop and grow very rapidly , 

 some varieties attaining a height of two or three feet in two 

 months from the seed. The seed is usually sown early in Septem- 

 ber. When large enough, the plants are set out in rows like cab- 

 bage, the distance varying with the size of the varieties. For 

 rapid growth they require a rich soil, and good cultivators stimu- 

 late their plants by applications of liquid manure every eight or 

 ten days. By the end of October the crop is ready for use and it 

 is cut and marketed before frost. In taste, all varieties are much 

 alike. They have the characteristic flavor of the Cruciferae in a 

 wild form. This flavor is improved by blanching, which is com- 

 monly done either by simply tying up the leaves or b}^ heaping 

 the earth up about them. Thus treated, the leaves make a crisp 

 and palatable salad. They are also boiled for greens, and enter 

 into the composition of many dishes. Why might not this class 

 of cabbage find similar uses in this country? It would especially 

 compare favorably with the collards so largely grown for the 

 southern markets, and which are merely varieties of non-heading 

 cabbage of tou^li fibre and strong taste. Some of the large vari- 

 ties might also be of value for stock feed. 



' ' This species is not hardy ; it must be harvested before frost. 

 It is, in fact, chiefly grown for winter use. For this purpose it is 



*Amer. Gard. xii. 652 (Nov. 1891). 



