BROCOLI. 35 



does not spread wide, and the large side leaves 

 generally drop off to make room for the sprouts. 

 It is advisable to sow the seed as early as the 

 weather will permit in April, so as to forward the 

 plants for transplanting to the beds. In saving 

 the seed of this variety and every other of the 

 brassica tribe, care should be taken that the plants 

 of each sort be kept distinct, so that the farina may 

 not get intermixed ; otherwise they are apt to sport 

 and rob each other of their best qualities. 



8. BROCOLI. Var. BRASSICA. 



In Miller's Dictionary, under the article BRAS- 

 SICA, the few brocolis then known are supposed 

 to have proceeded from the cauliflower, which was 

 originally imported from the island of Cyprus, 

 about the middle of the sixteenth century. Miller 

 mentions the white and purple brocoli as coming 

 from Italy ; and it is conjectured, that from these 

 two sorts all the subsequent kinds have arisen, 

 either by accidental or premeditated impregnation. 

 There is no culinary plant so apt to sport as bro- 

 coli ; hence new varieties are continually coming into 

 notice. In their growth, habit, and eatable parts, 

 they greatly resemble the cauliflower, all of them 

 forming roundish heads in the centre of their 

 leaves, composed entirely of a compact collection 

 of numerous buds or ends of advancing shoots. 



The brocoli is cultivated principally for autumn, 



winter, and spring use, these being the seasons of 



its production in the greatest perfection. They 



are very hardy and resist the cold of an ordinary 



D 2 



