IPO 



BRA 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL ; 



BRA 



ditch, first covering them with straw, and then with hur- 

 dles or fagots, from the cattle; or still better, by stacking 

 them in the field with layers of. straw between, covered and 

 thatched with straw ; either on the ground, or, if the land 

 will bear it, in beds or pits dug one or two feet deep, or 

 more, three yards wide, and of what length you want them. If 

 straw be scarce, old haulm or stubble will answer the purpose. 

 Or else, to carry them home, and pile them in small stacks 

 in a clean home pasture, or near the yard ; or, to house them 

 where there is room, always screening them with straw, 

 and putting some between the layers to absorb the moisture. 

 This practice not only preserves some Turnips from the rot, 

 and furnishes cattle and sheep with feed, in time of the 

 greatest distress ; but prevents the crop from exhausting 

 and impoverishing the land, and gives time for preparing 

 it for the succeeding crop of Barley. After all, the provi- 

 dent farmer will not absolutely depend upon hisTurnip crop, 

 for feed late in the spring ; but have in reserve some Cab- 

 bages, Coleworts, Rye,, or Winter Tares, according to his 

 convenience and the nature of his land ; not only to guard 

 against failures in hisTurnip crop from frost, &c. but to have 

 some provision for the couples, by the time the lambs begin 

 to feed, which will put them on much faster than the best 

 Turnips. A square perch of Turnips, which is sixteen feet 

 and a half, drilled in rows three feet apart, Las been found 

 to contain eighty-four roots, weighing seven hundred two 

 quarters ; which is sixty tons to a statute acre ; eighty-four 

 Turnips picked within fifteen yards of the above perch, 

 weighed eighteen hundred three quarters seventeen pounds ; 

 which is one hundred and twenty-six tons nine hundred 

 and twenty pounds to an acre. 



8. Brassica Oleracea ; Common Cabbage. Root caulescent, 

 columnar, fleshy. The Cabbage, as it is found wild on the 

 shores of Britain, has the stem-leaves very much waved, and 

 variously indented, the colour sea-green, frequently with a 

 mixture of purple ; the lower leaves somewhat ovate and ses- 

 sile, the uppermost almost linear ; the flowers are large. Early 

 in the spring, the Sea-Cabbage is preferable to the cultivated 

 sorts ; but when it is gathered on the coast, it must be boiled 

 in two waters, to take away the saltness. When old, it is said 

 to occasion giddiness. The roots may also be eaten, but they 

 are not so tender as those of the Turnip and Navew. The 

 varieties of garden Cabbage, which all originate from this, 

 may be reduced to three general divisions : the first com- 



1 prehending those which grow in the natural way, without 

 forming the leaves or stalks into a head. This division, be- 

 sides the Sea Cabbage, or Wild Colewort, would comprehend 

 the Green Colewort, the Borecoles, and Turnip-cabbage. Se- 



\condly, those which form the leaves into a head, as the White 

 Cabbage, the Red, the Savoy, &c. Thirdly, those which form 

 their stalks into a head, as the Cauliflower, and the different 

 varieties of Broccoli. The first division might be subdivided 

 into theWild.with broad leaves, and an even stem ; theTurnip- 

 cabbage, with broad leaves and a protuberant stem ; and the 

 Borecoles, with fine cut leaves and an even stem. The second 

 division contains the Cabbages commonly so called : as, the 

 Red, the numerous varieties of the White, such as the Sugar- 

 loaf, the early, the foreign musk, the small Russia, the large- 

 sided, the flat-topped, the Yorkshire, Scotch, American, &c. 

 &c. and those with wrinkled leaves, as the common Savoy, the 

 green Savoy, &c. Of the Borecoles in the first, and the Broc- 

 coli in the third section, there is also a variation in colour ; the 

 puq>le, and the white. The common Colewort, or Dorsetshire 

 Kale, is now almost lost near London, where the markets are 

 usually supplied with Cabbage plants, which are more tender 

 and delicate, instead of them. The common Colewort is 



indeed better able to resist the cold in severe winters ; but 

 it is not good till it has been pinched by frost, and our 

 winters being generally temperate, Cabbage plants are now 

 constantly brought to market, which, if they be of the 

 sugar-loaf kind, are the sweetest greens from December to 

 April yet known. Indeed, where farmers sow Coleworts to 

 feed their milch-cattle in the spring, in case of a scarcity 

 of herbage, the common Colewort is to be preferred, because 

 no frost will destroy it. The curled Colewort, or Borecoles, 

 are more generally esteemed than the common one, being, 

 like that, so hardy as never to be injured by cold, and at 

 the same time much more tender and delicate ; these, how- 

 ever, are always sweeter in severe winters than in mild 

 seasons. Of the head ing Cabbages, the red is chiefly cultivated 

 for pickling; the common white, flat, long-sided, and Savoy, 

 for winter use. The Musk Cabbage is almost lost, although 

 for eating it is one of the best we have ; but, being tenderer 

 than many other sorts, it is not so profitable for market 

 gardeners ; such, however, as cultivate for their own tables, 

 should make choice of this rather than any of the common 

 Cabbages, for it is always looser, the leaves are more crisp 

 and tender, and it has a most agreeable musky scent when 

 cut. The early and sugar-loaf Cabbages are generally sown 

 for summer use, and are commonly called Michaelmas Cab- 

 bages. The Russian Cabbage was formerly in much greater 

 esteem than at present, it being now only to be found in par- 

 ticular gentlemen's gardens, and rarely brought to market. 

 The other varieties are chiefly cultivated for feeding cattle ; 

 for which they are certainly well adapted on strong lands, 

 but they are undoubtedly a very exhausting crop. The 

 Germans cut Cabbages in pieces, and, with some aroma- 

 tic herbs and salt, press them close in a tub. where they 

 soon ferment, and are then eaten under the name of sour 

 crout. In this state they are much recommended against 

 the sea-scurvy; indeed Cabbages in general are esteemed a 

 salubrious aliment in the putrid scurvy : they are laxative, 

 and produce flatulencies ; but the laxative matter is extracted 

 by long boiling. The white Cabbage is the most putrescible, 

 and the red most emollient. The Cauliflower was first 

 brought to England from the island of Cyprus, since which it 

 has been greatly improved. Purple and white Broccoli are 

 only varieties of the Cauliflower. The following are the 

 methods of propagating and cultivating the different kinds 

 of Cabbages. . Colewort seeds should be sown in July, 

 in an open spot of ground, and transplanted, as soon as 

 the leaves are two or three inches broad, into rows a 

 foot asunder, and six inches distant in the rows ; the rows 

 may be drawn alternately for Coleworts, and the remainder 

 left to Cabbage. To continue them for spring drawing, they 

 should be sown again at the beginning of August. In the 

 Jiekl culture of Coleworts, the best method is to sow the 

 seeds, nine pounds to an acre, about the beginning of July, 

 choosing a moist season, which will bring up the plants in 

 about ten days or a fortnight : when they have got five or 

 six leaves they should be hoed, as is practised for Turni]. 

 cutting down all the weeds from among the plants, and thin- 

 ning them where they are too thick ; but they should be 

 kept thicker than Turnips, because they are more in dan- 

 ger of being destroyed by the fly : this work should be per- 

 formed in dry weather, that the weeds may be killed, for if 

 it should prove moist soon after, the weeds will take root 

 again, and render the work of little use. ' About six weeks 

 after, the plants should have a second hoeing, which, if care- 

 fully performed in dry weather, will entirely destroy the 

 weeds, antl make the ground clean, so that they will require 

 no further culture. In the spring, they may either be drawn. 



