THE CAULIFLOWER 



CHAPTER I. 



ORIGIN AND HISTORY. 



On the sea- coasts of Great Britain and other 

 countries of western Europe, from Norway around 

 to the northern shores of the Mediterranean (where 

 it is chiefly at homej grows a small biennial plant, 

 looking somewhat like a mustard or half- grown 

 cabbage. This is the wild cabbage, Brassica ole- 

 racea, from which our cultivated cabbages origin- 

 ated. It is entirely destitute of a head, but has 

 rather succulent stems and leaves, and has been 

 used more or less for food from the earliest historic 

 times. The cultivated plants which most resemble 

 this wild species, are our different sorts of kale. 

 In fact this wild plant is the original, not only of 

 our headed cabbage in its different varieties, but 

 also of all forms of kale, the kohlrabi, brussels- 

 sprouts, broccolis and cauliflowers. Xo more won- 

 derful example than this exists of the changes pro- 

 duced in a wild plant by cultivation. Just when the 

 improvement of the wild cabbage began is un- 

 known, probably at least 4000 years ago. Of the 



