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members of the Cabbage family, of which we eat the stalks, in 

 distinction to those of the same family, of which we eat the 

 roots, as the turnip. We no longer talk of Coleworts, but the 

 name survives in the Kohl Rahhi a species of cabbage, Seakale and 

 Cauliflower. (It does not, as you might suppose, survive in Bore- 

 cole or Broccoli, which come at once from the Italian word Broccolo, 

 a smaU sprout). The word cauliflower, formerly Cole-flory or 

 flowery, is very expressive of the only one of the Coleworts, of 

 which we eat the unopened flower, and indeed almost the only 

 plant of which we eat the flowers. I can only call to mind 

 three other plants, the Artichoke, the Caper, and the Fig. Of 

 the artichoke I will only say that the name has nothing to 

 do with choking, as is commonly supposed, but comes from 

 an Arabic word of uncertain meaning ; the plant itself and 

 the name having been first introduced into Europe by the Moors 

 of Spain. The capers we eat in caper sauce are not seeds, but the 

 unopened buds of a most beautiful flower, and the ripe figs are 

 almost the same, though not exactly the bud. The fig as we eat it 

 is the fleshy receptacle that contains a multitude of small flowers, 

 which never see the light, yet come to perfection. If you want 

 to know how many flowers a fig really contains, count the seeds 

 and then double them. For the flowers are of two sorts ; fertile 

 flowers containing one pistil which ends in a seed ; unfertile ones 

 simply containing five stamens. These stamens and pistils are the 

 threads which you see inside a ripe fig when you open it. The 

 names "caper" and "fig" are simply the English fonns of their 

 Latin names capparis and^cws. 



The Sunflower is popularly supposed to derive its name from 

 constantly turning its face to the sun, and poets have told us how 

 The sunflower turns on her god when he sets 

 The same look which she did when he rose ! 

 Many flowers are thus constant to the sun, but the sunflower is not 

 among the constant ones ; it as often is found turning its back on 

 the sun as its face. The pretty little Sun-rose or Rock-rose, which 

 you find abundantly on your downs no doubt gets its name from 

 constantly facing the sun, and the Heliotrope, whicli is simply the 

 Greek for turnsole, is named for the same reason, while the sun- 



