ORIGIN AND HISTORY. 15 



John Rogers, in his "Vegetable Cultivator'' (Lon- 

 don, 1843), said: " There are two varieties of the 

 cauliflower, the early and the late, which are alike 

 in their growth and size, only that the early kind, 

 as the name implies, comes in about a week before 

 the other, provided the true sort has been obtained. 

 There is, however, no certainty of knowing this, 

 unless by sowing the seed from the earliest sorts, 

 as is the practice of the London kitchen gardeners. 

 The early variety was grown for a number of years 

 in the grounds called the Meat-house Gardens, at 

 Millbank, near Chelsea, and was of a superior 

 quality, and generally the first at market. The 

 late variety is supposed to have originated from a 

 stock for many years cultivated on a piece of ground 

 called the Jamaica level, near Deptford, and which 

 produced uncommonly fine heads, but later than 

 those at Millbank. Both soils are nearly similar, 

 being a deep rich loam, on a moist subsoil, and con- 

 tinually enriched with dung. Both the varieties are 

 of a delicate nature, being generally too tender to 

 resist the cold of the winter season without the 

 occasional aid of glasses or other means; and the 

 sight of many acres overspread with such glasses 

 in the vicinity of London gives a stranger a forcible 

 idea of the riches and luxury of the capital." 



In France, in 1824, three varieties, differing 

 mainly in earliness, were recognized, le clur, le 



