SAUERKRAUT. 175 



from a stock growing wild on the sea-coast, and from which is 

 also the colewort, borecole, cauliflower, and brocoli. The effects of 

 cultivation on this plant are thus remarkable. In the wild state the 

 leaves are spreading, but in the cultivated plant they lie like the 

 scales of a bulb. The cabbage is greatly cultivated in this country 

 and most parts of Europe, for the food of man and beast, and is one 

 of the most important plants in use. It has been cultivated from re- 

 mote antiquity, and was introduced into Europe by the Romans. The 

 Saxons named the month February, Sprout Kale, from this plant. 



The seed is sown in April, and the plants are transplanted in rows. 

 Boiled with meats, they are a common dish ; and also cut fine with 

 salt, spices, and vinegar, as a salad. The Germans make of them, 

 pickled, a favorite dish called " sour-crout." 



"Sauerkraut" is an excellent preparation of the Germans. It is 

 prepared with close-headed white cabbage cut in shreds and placed in 

 4-inch layers in a cask. The first layer being put in, is strewed with 

 salt, unground pepper, and a small portion of salad and oil ; it is then, 

 trodden down by a person having on wooden shoes. Another layer is 

 then put in and managed in the same way, and so on till the cask is 

 full. The whole is then heavily pressed, and allowed to ferment for a 

 time, after which the casks are headed up and stored away for use. 

 The preparation of this is a distinct profession, and is performed chief- 

 ly by the Tyrolese. The shredding is performed by machines carried 

 on the back from house to house ; so that every German family stores 

 up one or more barrels of this food. Oct. and Nov. are the busy 

 months in this art, and huge white pyramids of cabbages are seen 

 crowding the markets ; while in every court and yard into which an 

 accidental peep is obtained, all is bustle and activity in the concocting 

 of this national food ; and the baskets filled with the shreded cabbage 

 resemble mountains of green-tinged froth or sylabub." This sour- 

 crout has been much used in the English navy, both as food and as a 

 preventive against scurvy. The method of cooking this is simply to 

 stew it in its own liquor with bacon, pork, or other meats ; aromatic 

 seeds and other carminatives are often added. It is not suitable for 

 those with an acrid stomach. Its effects are somewhat laxative on 

 the bowels. 



Cabbage, though much used for feeding cattle, is said to give 

 an unpleasant flavor to the flesh and milk of cows. But the re- 

 moval of the lower leaves, most disposed to putrefaction, is said to be 

 a remedy for these effects. The crops of this article in England ap- 

 pear to be greater than ours, 36 tons being an average crop per acre on 

 dry soil ; but on sandy soil the crop is not over 18 tons. A cabbage, 

 it is said, was produced in Devonshire, a year or two since, measur- 

 ing 5 feet in circumference, weighing 60 pounds, and occupying a 

 space of 15 feet of ground. 



