CABBAGE TREE CACTE^. 



661 



I,'). Paington. 



16. Drumhead, or Scotch 



17. Fine Red Globe. 



18. Thousand Headed. 



19. Dwarf Drumhead. 



20 Braganza, or Choux-trouchad. 



21. Turnip-rooted above ground. 



22. Ditto under ditto. 



23. Green and Purple Kohl Rabi. 



Of the above the most suitable for private gardens 

 are numbers 1 , 2, 5, 6, 8, and 11; for cottagers, 5, o', 

 8, and 1 1 ; and for agricultural purposes, numbers 10, 

 17, 19, 21, -2-2, and 23. The other culinary articles 

 belonging to the cabbage family, as Cauliflower, 

 Broccoli, &c., are described under their proper names. 



CABBAGE TREE is a West Indian palm, the 

 Afcca oleracci/ of botanists. Linncean class aiufcordcr, 

 Moncccia Munadclphia ; natural order, Palmae. Ge- 

 neric character : flowers sitting on the same spadix, 

 upper ones male, lower ones female ; calyx three- 

 parted ; corolla of three petals ; stigmas sitting ; 

 berry or drupe fibrous, one-seeded. Specific charac- 

 ter : fronds pinnated ; leaflets linear acute ; fruit 

 oblong. This species of palm is called the cabbage 

 tree, not so much from its appearance as from the 

 use the inhabitants put it to. The leaves are crowded 

 together at the top of the stem, and when these are 

 cut off, the central ones are found to be white and 

 tender, and which, when boiled, are used as a substi- 

 tute for cabbage hence the name. 



CACALIA (Linnaeus). A genus of mostly suc- 

 culent plants, of very grotesque form and habit. 

 Linnaean class and order, Syngenrsia JEqualis ; natu- 

 ral order, Compoiitce. Generic character : anthodium 

 cylindrical, of many parts, scaly at the base ; recep- 

 tacle naked ; pappus hairy, rough. The succulent 

 species are of the same nature, and require the same 

 treatment, as mesembryanthemums. The C. kleinia 

 is called the cabbage-tree from the green gouty 

 resemblance of the stalks to those of cabbage. 

 In some countries the leaves of some of the spe- 

 cies are used as salad, and the stalks are used as 

 pickles. 



CACHRYS (Linnaeus). A genus of herbaceous 

 perennial plants, chiefly natives of Europe. Linnajan 

 cl;is< and order, Pcntandria Digi/n'ta ; natural order, 

 Umbettiferee. Generic character : involucre none ; 

 calyx none ; corolla petals ovate, lanceolate, acute ; 

 seed oblong, rounded, smooth, and fungous. These 

 plants have carminative qualities, approaching those 

 of rosemary, on which account the latter-named plant 

 was called cachrys by the Romans. 



CACTE^E. Indian fig family. A natural order 

 of dicotyledonous plants, containing nine genera, and 

 upwards of one hundred and fifty species. It is 

 nearly allied in its characters to the Grossularicae, or 

 currant tribe, from which, however, it is completely 

 different in habit. This order sometimes receives 

 the names Opaiitinccce, Nopalcce, and Cacloidcce. It 

 has been divided into two sections, Optinliaccce, in 

 which the ovula and seeds are fixed to the parietes 

 of the fruit, and Rhipsalidcfc, in which they are at- 

 tached to a central axis. The former includes the 

 ra C'lifln.t, Melocactus, Opuntia, Ccrcns, Mam- 

 millaria, Eclimocactus, Epiphi/llum, and Peri'skia, 

 while the latter contains the single genus RhipsaUx. 



The essential characters of the order are, sepals 

 numerous, usually indefinite, gradually passing into 

 petals, either crowning the ovary cr covering its 



surface ; petals numerous, arising from the mouth of 

 the calyx, often more or less combined; stamens 

 numerous, in many rows, more or less cohering with 

 the petals and sepals ; filaments long and slender ; 

 anthers ovate ; ovary fleshy, one-celled ; style fili- 

 form ; stigmas many and clustered; fruit, a fleshy 

 berry, smooth or scaly, or tuberculated; seeds enve- 

 loped in pulp, without albumen. 



The plants belonging to this order are perennial 

 succulent shrubs, presenting very various and singular 

 forms. Some have angular tall stems, while others 

 have rounded spiny ones, not above a few inches 

 high. In general the stems and branches are jointed. 

 The leaves are either very minute, or are altogether 

 wanting, their place being supplied by spines. The 

 flowers are generally white, scarlet or purple, and in 

 some instances are showy and magnificent, frequently 

 ephemeral. The fruit is sometimes small, at other 

 times large, and resembling a fig in shape. From 

 this circumstance the English name of the family is 

 derived. From being succulent, and possessing few 

 evaporating pores, the cacteae are remarkably well 

 adapted for hot, dry and exposed places. They in- 

 habit the arid soils of the warmest parts of America, 

 whence they have been transported to the rocks of 

 Asia, and the burning sands of Africa. They extend 

 only a short distance beyond the tropics on either 

 side ; their northern limit is said to be 33 or 34 

 north latitude. 



The fruit of many plants of the order is esculent. 

 It has sometimes an agreeable acid taste, and at 

 other times is very insipid. Some of the plants yield 

 an acrid milky juice. 



The cacteue is propagated by cuttings, offsets and 

 seeds, and thrive best in dry sandy loam, or in loam 

 mixed with a little brick rubbish. 



One of the most important plants of the order is 

 the Cactus cochincllifer, or Opuntia cocci/era, the 

 spineless cochineal fig. This is a large shrub nine 

 feet high, bearing red edible berries, which are said 

 to possess diuretic properties. It is cultivated ex- 

 tensively in the West India islands as food for the 

 cochineal. The plantations of this cactus are called 

 in Mexico Nopaleries, from the Indian name of the 

 plant. The cochineal (Coccus cacti of Linnaeus) is 

 a homopterous insect, not unlike the mealbug of 

 our gardens. The male insect is winged; the female 

 alone is used as a dye. There are two kinds ot 

 cochineal, which are reputed to feed on different 

 species of cacti. One of these, the wild or common 

 cochineal, is covered with a silky envelop, and is not 

 so valuable as the fine or cultivated cochineal, which 

 has a powdery or mealy covering. The female 

 insects, after feeding on the cacti for three or four 

 months, are brushed off by means of a squirrel's or 

 deer's tail, and are then killed by exposure either to 

 the sun or to the vapour of hot water. When dried 

 they are exported in large quantities for the purpose 

 of furnishing a rich scarlet dye. The colouring 

 matter is extracted easily by water, alcohol, or harts- 

 horn. It is stated that 800,000 pounds of cochineal 

 are annually brought to Europe ; each pound con- 

 taining about 70,000 insects. The annual consumption 

 in Great Britain alone is estimated at 150,000 pounds, 

 worth 275.000/. sterling, a vast amount, as has been 

 observed, for so small a creature, and well calculated 

 to show us the absurdity of despising any animal on 

 account of its minuteness. Cochineal possesses 

 stimulating properties. It was formerly used as an 



