RECENT CHINESE VEGETABLES. 187 



warm, half-pungent flavor which is very agreeable. Like other 

 mustards, if these large leaves are desired, the plant should be 

 given a cool soil and the best growth should be expected in spring 

 or fall. The photograph in Plate I was taken on the 21st of Oc- 

 tober. We have found this plant excellent for forcing, for winter 

 "greens" (see Bull. 55, p. 143). 



Brassicajuncea, as now accepted by botanists, is held to include 

 a great variety of forms. It is native to tropical and temperate 

 Asia, and is widely cultivated in the Old World. According to 

 Hooker and Thomson,* it affords the Soorsa mustard of India, 

 which is cultivated for oil and burning, and rubbing the body in 

 illness. Professor Georgeson speaks of its cultivation in Japan as 

 follows :t 



" Taka-iia, 0-garashi. — This species is not a native of Japan. 

 It is indigenous to Africa and China, from which latter place it 

 has doubtless been introduced. It is a large plant, as is indicated 

 by the native names, one meaning ' tall greens ' and the other 

 'large mustard.' It is hardy, and is usually sown in the fall, in 

 rows two feet apart, for winter use. The leaves are large, spatu- 

 late or obovate, the radical ones often a foot long, the lower por- 

 tion of the margin dentate, and the upper portion entire or slightly 

 sinuate. It is highly esteemed for salad, and is used all winter 

 long. Certain varieties are also grown for the .seeds, which are 

 used both for condiment and as a source of oil. It is said to be 

 cultivated in all parts of India for the .seed, which is exported 

 under the name of Sarepta mustard seed." 



Tuberous-Rooted Chinese Mustard. {Brassica napiformis). 



This vegetable appeared in France in 18S2 from seeds sent by 

 Dr. Bretschneider, of the Russian legation, Pekin.]: It was offered 

 by American seedsmen as early as 1889.II The plant is a bien- 

 nial, with thin bluish foliage, and a small tuberous root like a 

 conical turnip. These roots, which reach a diameter of three or 



*Journ. Linn. Soc. v. 170. 



tAmer. Gard. xii. 653. 



tPaillieux and Bois, Le Potager d'un Curiex, 2d ed. 372. 



II Annals of Horticulture, 1889, 121. 



