ORDERS SILIQUC/SA AND SILICULO'SA. 179 



which shows very well the effect of climate upon 

 vegetables ; for in Sicily it is in flower all through 

 the winter ; in England, Holland, and France, it 

 does not begin to flower till February; in Germany, 

 till March ; and in Sweden it does not flower until 

 the month of April. 



The second order, Siliquo'sa, contains about 

 eleven native genera, some of which we use as 

 food. The common Water-cress, for instance, 

 Sisym'brium Nasturtium ; the Turnip, Bras'sica 

 Ra'pa; Cabbage, Bras'sica olera'cea ; Rape, Bras'- 

 sica Na'pus, which is cultivated chiefly for the sake 

 of the oil that is procured from its seeds ; Mustard, 

 Sina'pis ni'gra; and the Radish, Raph'aniis Rapha- 

 nis'trum. The Chinese Cabbage, Bras'sica chi- 

 nen'sis, is to the people of China nearly what the 

 potato is to the Irish. It is prized by all classes, 

 and is considered a necessary of life: it often weighs 

 from fifteen to twenty pounds, and reaches the 

 height of three or four feet. The leaves are used 

 raw, as salad; and, when boiled, they have the 

 flavour of asparagus. 



The Wall-flower, too, that you brought in from 

 the garden, to learn from it the different parts of a 

 flower, is in this second order. It is a good ex- 

 ample of the class, and we will now examine its 

 characters. [PLATES 17. and 1.] 



The pods that contain the seeds, you perceive, 

 are long ; the order therefore is Siliquosa, in which 

 N 2 



