Fio. 115. 



268 CRUCIFER^. [part ii. 



though these are in most cases softened by 

 cultivation, yet they are still perceptible in the 

 roots of the Horse-Radish, and 

 the common Radish, and in the 

 leaves and seeds of Mustard, 

 and the different kinds of Cress, 

 &c. This acridity, however, is 

 never so great as to be injurious ; 

 and Cruciferous plants, par- 

 ticularly if their texture be suc- 

 culent and watery, may always 

 ^iLiQUE. ^^ eaten with perfect safety. 

 Even those which, in a wild state, are 

 tough and stringy, such as the wild Cabbage 

 and the root of the wild Turnip, become excel- 

 lent by cultivation ; and all Cruciferous plants 

 are so extremely nourishing as to be considered 

 next in this quality to animal food. 



Among the many garden flowers which 

 belong to this order, few are more popular 

 than the common Wallflower. (Cheiranthus 

 Cheiri.) Its hardiness, and the facility with 

 which it is raised and cultivated — the gaiety of 

 its flowers, their profusion, and their delightful 

 fragrance, combine to make it a general favourite; 

 and I think I cannot take a flower to illustrate 

 the order which is more generally known and 

 liked. The flowers of the Waflflower (see 

 Ji^. 116, a) consist of four petals, each of which 



