' . % - BRASSICA. 267 



into soil which can scarcely be either naturally or~ 

 artificially too rich. The seed is generally sown at 

 the latter end of the months of February, May, and 

 August, for three succeeding crops. The plants raised 

 from seed sown in the latter month stand through the 

 winter, during which season and the first part of spring 

 they are usually protected under hand-glasses. In 

 the neighbourhood of London it is not uncommon to 

 see whole acres overspread with such glasses fostering 

 an early supply of this vegetable for the inhabitants of 

 the metropolis, and conveying to the mind of the be- 

 holder a forcible idea of the riches and luxury of this 

 vast city. 



The head of the cauliflower is not nearly so liable 

 to putrescency, after being cut, as its leaves, which in 

 this respect are similar to those of the cabbage. For 

 a considerable time after the leaves have become flaccid 

 and in a state of decay, the head remains unchanged, 

 and with care may be preserved without putrefaction 

 for some months. By merely drawing up the plants 

 entire, and hanging them in a cellar, they will con- 

 tinue in a sound state for a considerable time. The 

 method most successfully adopted in Scotland, is to 

 place the plants in layers in a pit, with their heads 

 inclining downwards. The pit is then covered up 

 closely with earth, beaten down, and smoothed in a 

 sloping direction, so as to exclude both the rain and 

 the atmosphere. 



Brocoli is usually considered as merely a sub- 

 variety of cauliflower, and that this is the case is ren- 

 dered very probable from the great tendency of the 

 plant to run into new varieties, which are constantly 

 making their appearance, and as rapidly vanishing 

 and giving place to others. It is a matter of common 

 observation, that the more any plant has been changed 

 by culture, the more readily does it admit of other 

 changes. 



