Chap. 34.] THE EAPE. 47 



CHAP. 33. THE KIDNEY-BEAtf. 



The pod of the chick-pea is rounded, while in other legu- 

 minous plants it is long and broad, like the seed which it 

 contains ; in the pea, again, it is of a cylindrical form. In 

 the case of the kidney-bean 68 it is usual to eat the pod together 

 with the seed. This last may be sown in all kinds of soils 

 indifferently, between the ides of October 69 and the calends of 

 November. 70 As soon as ever the leguminous plants begin to 

 ripen, they ought to be plucked, for the pods will very soon 

 open and the seed fall out, in which case it is very difficult to 

 find : the same is the case, too, with the lupine. But before 

 we pass on to the lupine, it will be as well to make some men- 

 tion of the rape. 71 



CHAP. 34. (13.) THE EAPE. 



The Latin writers have only treated of this plant in a cur- 

 sory manner, while those of Greece have considered it a little 

 more attentively ; though even they have ranked it among the 

 garden plants. If, however, a methodical arrangement is to 

 be strictly observed, it should be spoken of immediately after 

 corn, or the bean, at all events ; for next to these two produc- 

 tions, there is no plant that is of more extensive use. For, in 

 the first place, all animals will feed upon it as it grows ; and 

 it is far from being the least nutritious plant in the fields for 

 various kinds of birds, when boiled in water more particularly. 

 Cattle, too, are remarkably fond of the leaves of rape ; and 

 the stalks and leaves, when in season, are no less esteemed 

 as a food for man than the sprouts of the cabbage ; 71 these, 

 too, when turned yellow and left to die in the barn, are even 

 more highly esteemed than 72 when green. As to the rape 

 itself, it will keep all the better if left in its mould, after which 

 it should be dried in the open air till the next crop is nearly 

 ripe, as a resource in case of scarcity. Next to those of the 



68 A variety of the Phaseolus vulgaris of Linnaeus : the " haricot " of 

 the French. The French bean and the scarlet-runner are cooked in a 

 similar manner among us. 



69 15th of October. 70 1st of November. 



71 The Kapo-brassica of Linnaeus. The turnip cabbage, or rape- 

 colewort, 



72 This taste, it is most probable, is nowhere in existence at the present 

 day. 



