266 GARDEN FARMING 



a cheap but bulky crop two factors which require the least ex- 

 pensive type of transportation. As a rule it cannot be profitably 

 grown at a great distance from the market unless cheap water 

 transportation is available. Both Long Island and Norfolk have 

 the advantage of water transportation and, as a result, the indus- 

 try thrives in these localities. 



Botany. Botanically, kale belongs to the Mustard family 

 Cruciferae and is known as Brassica oleracea var. acephala. 

 It is in many respects more closely related to the wild cabbage 



FIG. 96. Field of Scotch kale 



than is the true cabbage of our gardens. The kales are interesting 

 because of the great variation shown in size and conformation of 

 leaf. Some idea of the range of this variation can be obtained from 

 figures 96 and 97. The thickened stem of the marrow kale is an 

 unusual development which marks a gradation between the true 

 cabbage or kale and the kohl-rabi. The kohl-rabi is in reality a 

 marrow kale with a globular stem instead of a long fusiform one, 

 as is characteristic of the large stock-feeding form. 



Kale is used almost exclusively as a boiled green, and for this 

 reason it is most palatable when quickly grown and when very small 

 and tender. At the prevailing prices it is not possible to market it 



