1 66 PROSERPINA. 



be studied, though, except for particular plants, not 

 needing to be used, — namely, the Latin cau-dex, 

 and cau-lis, both connected with the Greek kguAos, 

 properly meaning a solid stalk like a handle, passing 

 into the sense of the hilt of a sword, or quill of a 

 pen. Then, in Latin, caudex passes into the sense 

 of log, and so, of cut plank or tablet of wood ; thus 

 finally becoming the classical ' codex ' of writings 

 engraved on such wooden tablets, and therefore 

 generally used for authoritative manuscripts. 



Lastly, ' caulis,' retained accurately in our cauli- 

 flower, contracted in ' colewort,' and refined in ' kail,' 

 softens itself into the French ' chou,' meaning 

 properly the whole family of thick-stalked eatable 

 salads with spreading heads ; but these being distin- 

 guished explicitly by Pliny as ' Capitati,' ' salads 

 with a head,' or ' Captain salads,' the mediaeval 

 French softened the ' caulis capitatus ' into ' chou 

 cabus ; ' — or, to separate the round or apple- 

 like mass of leaves from the flowery foam, ' cabus ' 

 simply, by us at last enriched and emphasized into 

 ' cabbage.' 



29. I believe we have now got through the 

 stiffest piece of etymology we shall have to master 

 in the course of our botany ; but I am certain that 

 young readers will find patient work, in this kind, 

 well rewarded by the groups of connected thoughts 



