258: BRITISH HUSBANDPwY. [Ch.XXI. 



by superiority of weight. Thus, according to Mr. Sinclair's experiments — 



Nutritive matter. Fibre. 

 7000 grains, or 1 lb. of the drum-1 „ > 



head cabbage, contains J 

 Early York . . .430 3 12 iThe remainder, 



Purple borecole 448 1120J water. 



Turnip-rooted cabbage . .251 360j 



and upon an analysis of the respective average nutritive qualities of 

 each species of root, cabbages were generallv found superior to common 

 turnips in the proportion of 107^ to 80, and inferior to Swedes in that of 

 117^ to 110. It is, however, the opinion of an experienced farmer that the 

 culture, considering the greater consumption of manure, and the superior 

 nature of the requisite soil, does not art'ord advantages to be compared 

 with the scourge which it occasions to the land*. 



AVith the exception of the turnip-rooted cabbage and borecole, wliich 

 are fed off by sheep, cabbages are never eaten as they stand on the 

 ground ; but are more generally carted oft" the land, and either given daily 

 fresh in the yards, or spread upon grass-land, and in this wav they are in 

 use from the latter end of autumn until the close of the month of March. 

 If, however, they show any disposition to run to seed, they should be 

 drawn, and either laid close together on a piece of dry pasture, or stacked 

 in the manner of Swedish turnips. Borecole is of two kinds, both green 

 and purple, and is commonly known as "Scotch kale." It is capable of 

 enduring the severest frost, and affords the best food after its flavour has 

 been thus mellowed. Sheep and cattle are extremely fond of it, but it 

 requires a good soil, perhaps rather moist, and superior to those on which 

 turnips are generally sownt. 



Woburn perennial kale, which has been lately introduced, appears far 

 superior, in point of its amount of produce, to either the green or purple 

 borecole, and requires less manure. It is planted about the beginning of 

 April, from cuttings taken from the stem of the old plants, and cut down to 

 six or seven inches in length. They are then placed in rows, each from 

 twenty inches to two feet apart, three parts of their length being inserted 

 into the ground, and must be watered until they are firmly rooted. The soil 

 should be of an intermediate kind, between wet and dry. It is equal to the 

 best winter greens ; affords abundant crops during several years, without the 

 aid of further manure, or any other labour than that of keeping the ground 

 free from weeds, and may therefore be justly considered a valuable acqui- 

 sition to every farmer who keeps store-stockj. 



The turnip-rooted cabbage is distinguished bv its irregularly-shaped root 

 and the swelling of the stalk in the upper part, which forms a kind of round 

 fleshy head at the end of the stem, on which the leaves are produced. This 

 root is the part employed for culinary and other edible purposes, and the 

 comparative thinness of the leaves is a constant feature of its character. It 

 is cultivated in the gardens of Germany under the name of kohl Rabi, and 

 has been introduced into England under that denomination §. It indeed 

 much resembles the Swedish turnip, for which it is frequently used as a sub- 



* Brown of Markle, vol. ii. p. 124. 



f Dumfries Rep., p. 227. 



X Trans, of the Hort. Soc. vol. v. art. 40. Mr. Sinclair says that it flourished durinjj 

 eight years successively at Woburu Abbey, and that the produce on ten square yards 

 •was l441bs. 



§ De Candolle, Mem. on the different species of cabbage. Trans, of the Hort, Soc. 

 Tol.v. art. 1, 



