CRUCIFER^S 373 



A. R. Cruise, writing in 1820, says: "the excellent plants left by 

 Captain Cook, viz., Cabbages, turnips, parsnips, carrots, etc., are still 

 numerous but very degenerated." Captain Edwardson, speaking of 

 the natives of Foveaux Straits in 1823, sa y s: "Potatoes, cabbages and 

 other kitchen vegetables introduced by the Europeans are cultivated." 

 The mate of the brig 'Hawes' in 1828 found near Tauranga many 

 cultivations with cabbages, etc. 



Polack in 1831 recorded cabbages as extensively cultivated by the 

 natives in the Kaipara district. 



Dieffenbach, who visited East Bay near Tory Channel in 1839, says : 

 "the cabbage, which now abounds in Queen Charlotte Sound, and 

 which grows wild, was in blossom, and covered the sides of the hills 

 with a yellow carpet." Later on, speaking of Captain Cook, he says: 

 "the cabbage, which he sowed, has spread over all the open places 

 in Cook's Straits, and early in spring the sides of the hills are covered 

 with its yellow flowers." In the island of Kapiti he found plantations 

 of cabbages thriving well. Bidwill, who travelled in 1839 from 

 Tauranga to the summit of Tongariro, found that the natives used 

 wild cabbages, which they boiled freely. 



When Wilkes visited the Auckland Islands in 1840, he found 

 cabbages growing finely on one of the points of Sarah's Bosom. 



At the present time the wild cabbage is common on sea-cliffs in 

 both islands, but especially in the neighbourhood of former Maori 

 settlements. (FL, Nov. to Dec.) 



In Europe the flowers are visited by two of our humble-bees 

 Bombus terrestris and B. lapidarius. I have seen hive-bees on them. 



Brassica campestris, Linn. Swede-turnip 



I cannot find when swede-turnips were first introduced into New 

 Zealand, but it is quite probable that they were among the seeds 

 sown by Cook in 1773. The first notice I have come across is by 

 Bidwill when travelling in 1839; a * a sma ^ native settlement between 

 Waikato and Taupo "they roasted some Swedish turnips." He clearly 

 distinguishes between them and common turnips, of which the natives 

 used the leaves, and which were abundant in the wild condition. At 

 present this species only occurs as an escape from cultivation. 



There is, however, a remarkable form of wild turnip found 

 growing in Taranaki, which W.W. Smith considers to be the " Korau " 

 of the Maori. It is a gigantic form, growing five and six feet high, 

 with heavy branching stems, and leaves from two to three feet long. 

 It never forms any bulb, but has a thick stem as much as three inches 

 or more in diameter at the base. Both Cheeseman and Williams say 

 that the " Korau " is Brassica campestris, Linn., but Smith thinks this 



