622 BRASSICACEOUS ESCULENTS, OR THE CABBAGE TRIBE. 



of sand. Of these different ingredients, animal manure, sand, and leaf- 

 mould are alone universally in request in kitchen- gardens, for adding to their 

 soils, whatever these may be. 



1370. For the proportion of each crop which under ordinary circum- 

 stances require to be cultivated, the quantity of seed, plants, or sets, necessary 

 for this purpose, the place of the crop in the rotation, the advantage of 

 sowing or planting in rows, and various other points of general application, 

 we must refer the reader back to the Chapter on the Cropping and General 

 Management of a Kitchen Garden in p. 434. 



SECT. I. Brassicaceous Esculents, or the Cabbage Tribe. 



1373 . The cabbage tribe include the white and red cabbage, savoy, 

 Brussels' sprouts, borecole, cauliflower, and broccoli. All these are con- 

 sidered to have sprung from Brassica oleracea L., a cruciferous biennial, 

 found on the sea-shore at Dover and a few other parts of Europe, on chalky 

 or calcareous soil. At Dover the plant varies considerably in its foliage and 

 general appearance, and in its wild state it is there used as a culinary veget- 

 able, and found of excellent flavour, (G. M., viii. p. 54.) Improved 

 varieties have been cultivated in gardens since the time of the Romans, and 

 probably long before. They occupy a large space among the rotation crops 

 (923) of every kitchen- garden, because there is not a day in the year in 

 which one or more of the kinds is not required at table. We shall first 

 enumerate the varieties, and the best sub-varieties of each, and give what is 

 peculiar in their culture ; and conclude the section with the culture and 

 management of the cabbage tribe generally. 



1372. The white cabbage, B. oleracea var. capitata Dec. (Chou pomme, or 

 cabus blanc, Fr.^) is perhaps the most general vegetable in cultivation in tem- 

 perate climates ; it is in perfection from May to November, and the Scotch or 

 field cabbage and the Vanack afford a supply through the winter ; from the 

 open air, when the winter is mild, and taken up and planted under cover when 

 it is severe. The properties of a good cabbage are, a small, short stem, and a 

 large, compact, well-formed head of succulent leaves, surrounded with but few 

 loose leaves. The best sub-varieties are, the early dwarf, syn. Battersea, 

 and the early York* for early and late crops, and the Cornish and Vanack for 

 main crops. The Vanack cabbage is always in season ; and as it sprouts 

 freely from the stem after being cut, and the sprouts form heads as well as the 

 summits of the plants, one plantation of this kind might serve the whole sum- 

 mer, and actually does so in some considerable gardens in the neighbourhood 

 of London. The main plantation of cabbages, to come into use in May, is made 

 about the end of October, and for this the seeds are sown in the last week of 

 July or first week of August. Many of the London market-gardeners are so 

 particular in this respect that they sow annually on the same day, viz. 

 July 25, or as near it as circumstances will permit. The seeds are sown in 

 an open, airy situation, quite thin ; and watered and shaded, if necessary. 

 The ground for the plantation being prepared by deep digging and manur- 

 ing, if it is not already rich, the early sorts, being small, are planted out in 

 rows fifteen inches or eighteen inches apart, and about one foot distance in 

 the row ; the Vanack cabbage and Cornish at two feet distance, and eighteen 

 inches in the row ; and the Scotch cabbage, which, however, is but little 

 cultivated in gardens, at three feet between the rows, and two feet in the 

 row. For the Scotch cabbage to attain the largest size the seed should be sown 



