318 AGRICULTURE ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE 



of the lettuce itself. The sow thistle, much liked 

 by stock, is common everywhere. The prickly lettuce, 

 also quite common in California, is supposed by some 

 to be the wild ancestor of our cultivated kind. When 

 lettuce goes to seed it gets a bitterish taste like the 

 wild lettuce, and, like the latter, produces a sleepy 

 feeling when eaten. 



The cabbage group of vegetables is the most widely 

 used of leaf vegetables, especially in the form of head 

 cabbage. Its numerous forms have been shown in 

 figures 156 and 157, pages 26,8 and 269. The cabbage 

 group is the most nutritious of leaf vegetables, and on 

 that account is eaten very largely by the people of 

 northern Europe. It is cooked in a great variety of 

 ways, and is put up for winter use in large quantities 

 in the form of " Sauerkraut. 77 



For this purpose the heads of cabbage are cut into shreds 

 by means of plane irons set in 'the face of a smooth bench, or 

 sometimes by revolving cutters. The shredded cabbage 

 is then well salted and packed in barrels or tubs, in which 

 it undergoes a fermentation a good deal like that of cheese, 

 getting a flavor much liked by Germans, Scandinavians, and 

 Russians. " Sourcrout, " as it is commonly spelled in English, 

 is considered a very good food and very healthful. 



Cauliflower has the most delicate flavor of the cabbage 

 group. The part eaten is the young flower stems, which are 

 gathered into a cheese-like mass inside of an outer basin or 

 envelope of leaves, like those of ordinary cabbage. If left in 

 the ground or replanted in spring, the cauliflower mass 



