THE CABBAGE-CATERPILLAR 291 



this to perfection, not with its flowers, which in their 

 modesty, continue intractable, but with its curly and 

 variegated leaves, which have the undulating grace of 

 Ostrich- feathers and the rich coloring of a mixed bouquet. 

 None who beholds it in this magnificence will recognize 

 the near relation of the vulgar " greens " that form the 

 basis of our cabbage-soup. 



The cabbage, first in order of date in our kitchen- 

 gardens, was held in high esteem by classic antiquity, 

 next after the bean and, later, the pea ; but it goes much 

 farther back, so far indeed that no memories of its 

 acquisition remain. History pays but little attention to 

 these details; it celebrates the battle-fields whereon we 

 meet our death, but scorns to speak of the plowed fields 

 whereby we thrive; it knows the names of the king's 

 bastards, but cannot tell us the origin of wheat. That 

 is the way of human folly. 



This silence respecting the precious plants that serve 

 as food is most regrettable. The cabbage in particular, 

 the venerable cabbage, that denizen of the most ancient 

 garden-plots, would have had extremely interesting things 

 to teach us. It is a treasure in itself, but a treasure 

 twice exploited, first by man and next by the caterpillar 

 of the Pier is, the common Large White Butterfly whom 

 we all know (Pieris brassica, Lin.). This caterpillar 

 feeds indiscriminately on the leaves of all varieties of 

 cabbage, however dissimilar in appearance: he nibbles 

 with the same appetite red cabbage and broccoli, curly 

 greens and savoy, swedes and turnip-tops, in short, all 



