1 84 



Bulletin 67. 



the most edible portion, being cooked and served after the manner 

 either of cabbage or asparagus. The entire foliage is cooked as 

 "greens," however. The plant is curious and affords an accepta- 

 ble variety for the kitchen-garden, but I cannot see that it is des- 



TuBRROus Root of P.\k-Choi. 



tined to become even an important secondary vegetable in America. 

 The plant requires a .somewhat longer season than the Pe-Tsai. 



I have said that this plant is apparently normally biennial. 

 Most of the plants, if given cool, moist soil, tend to make a turnip- 

 like root, like that shown in the engraving above. These roots 

 are not unlike turnips in flavor. A patch was sown May 23, 

 1893, to Pe-Tsai and Pak-Choi, the plants not being tansplanted. 

 On November 19, when the last notes were taken, the Pe-Tsai 

 plants had all perfected seeds and were dead, but most of the Pak- 

 Choi plants were still growing, and had thick tuber-like roots. 



This plant is so uniformly associated with Pe-Tsai in horticul- 

 tural writings, that I am unable to separate its individual history. 

 It is undoubtedly native to China. There are many forms of it. 

 We have grown it in two varieties from Japanese sources, and 

 from the Chinese about New York we have it under the names 

 Bok-toi-moi and Choi-toi-moi. 



California Peppergrass. {Brassica Japonica). Plate I. 



In 1890, John Lewis Childs introduced the California Pepper- 

 grass, wnth the following description : "Some years ago, we re- 

 ceived from a customer a sample of seed which was called Cali- 



