HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



CAB 



sels Sprouts, Cauliflower, Broccoli, and their va- 

 rieties. A more wonderful instance of a species 

 producing so many distinct forms of vegetation 

 for the use of man is scarcely to be met with 

 throughout the range of the vegetable kingdom. 

 The common, or cultivated Cabbage, B. oleracea 

 capi(ata,is well known, and from a very early peri- 

 od has been a favorite culinary vegetable, in al- 

 most daily use throughout the civilized world. 

 The ancients considered it light of digestion 

 -when properly dressed, and very wholesome 

 if moderately eaten. For the introduction of our 

 garden variety of Cabbage we are indebted to the 

 Romans, who are also believed to have dissemi- 

 nated it in other countries. It is said to have been 

 scarcely known in Scotland until the time of the 

 Commonwealth, when it was carried there from 

 England, by some of Cromwell's soldiers; but it 

 now holds a prominent place in every garden 

 throughout the United Kingdom." From its 

 wild state the Cabbage has been brought to its 

 present state of perfection very gradually, by 

 careful selection under cultivation. The various 

 stages of these improvements have not been 

 sufficiently noted to enable us to award the cred- 

 it where it properly belongs. In the improve- 

 ments made within the last fifty years the 

 market gardeners around New York have taken 

 a conspicuous part, and to them we arc 

 indebted for our best market varieties. One 

 of the most noticeable is Henderson's Early Sum- 

 uter, a variety that originated near Jamaica, 

 Long Island, within the last few years. The Red 

 Cabbage, B. oltracfa rubra, is an entirely dis- 

 tinct variety, but its origin and early develop- 

 ment are unknown. It has been known in Hol- 

 land for several hundred years, and the Dutch 

 have made the growing of the seed an extensive 

 business. The Savoy Cabbage, B. oleracea bul- 

 lata, differs but little from the other kinds of Cab- 

 bage. It is distinguished by its leaves being 

 wrinkled in such a manner as to have a netted 

 appearance. The Savoys are remarkable for [ 

 their tender, crisp leaves and excellent flavor. I 

 It would seem not to be generally known that i 

 the Savoys are the most delicious of all the 

 Cabbages. The Brussels Sprouts, or Bud- 

 bearing Cabbage, B. oleracea buttata minor, \ 

 originated in Belgium, and has from a very 

 early date been extensively grown around 

 Brussels, where it seems to thrive better than 

 in most other countries. It forms a head some- 

 what like the Savoy, of which it is consid- 

 ered a sub-variety, differing in the remark- 

 able manner in which it produces at the axils 

 of the leaves, along the whole length of the I 

 stem, a number of small sprouts resembling | 

 miniature Cabbages of one or two inches in di- 

 ameter, of an excellent flavor. 



Cabbage Palm. See Areca. 



Cacalia. Tassel Flower. From kakos, pernicious, 

 and lian, exceedingly ; supposed to be hurtful 

 to the soil. Linn. ISynfjeneyia-Polyijatnia-^Equa- \ 

 lis. Nat. Ord. Composite. 



C. coccinea is the only species worthy of cul- j 

 tivation in the flower garden, a half-hardy annu- | 

 al, that can be grown readily from seed sown j 

 where wanted to grow. Its bright scarlet bios- ' 

 soms are borne in profusion from July to Octo- 

 ber. Introduced from New Holland in 1792. 



Cactus. A name applied by Theophrastus to semi- 

 spiny plants. Linn. Icosandria-Monorjynia. Nat. 

 Ord. Cactaceve, 



The very remarkable succulent plants, ar- 

 ranged by Linnaeus under the name of Cactus, | 



CAL 



have been distributed by modern botanists over 

 numerous genera, which they are still continu- 

 ally changing and re-arranging. At first a few 

 plants were left in the genus Cactus, but now that 

 genus is annihilated, and seven or eight new gene- 

 ra substituted for it; still, as all the plants that 

 once composed it, and the new ones of the same 

 nature that collectors are continually sending 

 home, are known by the general name of Cacti, 

 it has been thought advisable to give here a 

 slight sketch of the whole family. In the time 

 of Linnams very few Cacti were known, and 

 even in the year 1807 Persoon enumerated only 

 thirty-two ; but now about five hundred living 

 species are to be found in a single collection, 

 and numbers of new species are being Sent home 

 by collectors every year. These new species are 

 chiefly found in the tropical regions of America, 

 but they extend over 75" of latitude, some 

 being found within the boundary of the 

 United States and some near the town of Concep- 

 tion, in Chili. By far the greater number, how- 

 ever, grow in the dry, burning plains of Mexico 

 and Brazil, where they are subjected to the alter- 

 nate seasons of extreme moisture and extreme 

 drought. In these arid plains, where all nature 

 seems parched up for six months in the year, the 

 Cacti have been mercifully provided to serve as 

 reservoirs of moisture, and not only the natives, 

 by wounding the fleshy stems with their long 

 forest knives, supply themselves with a cool and 

 refreshing juice, but even the cattle contrive to 

 break through the skin with their hoofs, and 

 then to suck the liquid they contain, instinct 

 teaching them to avoid wounding themselves 

 with the spines. Some of the species serve the 

 Indians for food. The Cacti are arranged by na- 

 ture into several distinct groups, the first of 

 which consists of the tree Cacti, or those kinds 

 of Cereus which have long, slender stems, and 

 which usually grow on the summits of the moun- 

 tains of Mexico and Brazil, forming a singular 

 kind of crest. These are generally thirty or forty 

 feet high, and sometimes are branched like can- 

 delabra, and sometimes consist of only one nak- 

 ed stem, not thicker than a man's arm, though 

 of such enormous height. Others, again, not 

 only grow to a height of fifty or sixty feet, but 

 have a diameter of two or three feet. The Mam- 

 millarias and Echinocacti, which form another 

 group, grow in the valleys of the temperate re- 

 gions, generally in loamy soils and low grass ; 

 and the Opuntias and Pereskias, which form two 

 others, are also principally found in the temper- 

 ate latitudes. The Melpcacti, or Melon Cacti, 

 and the Rhipsalis, which has narrow-jointed 

 stems, and two other groups, are only found 

 in the hottest parts of the tropics. With 

 regard to the culture of Cacti, it is found 

 that, generally speaking, they ought to have a 

 season of complete rest, followed by one of ex- 

 citement. They ought to be watered sparingly 

 while dormant, and freely when in bloom. They 

 ought all to be grown in a light, sandy soil. 

 Several of the best known genera of Cactus, such 

 as Epiphyllum, Cereus, and Phyllocactus, will be 

 found under their respective heads. 

 Caladium. A word of uncertain derivation, prob- 

 ably from kaladion, a cup. Linn. Jfoncecia-En- 

 neaijynla. Nat. Ord. Arac">'. 



Of this genus of tuberous-rooted plants there 

 are many rare and beautiful species and 

 varieties that rank high as ornamental foliage 

 plants, useful only as green-house or rather hot- 

 house plants, as they will not succeed well with 



