VEGETABLES DESCRIPTION AND CULTURE. 291 



Use. The seed leaves are gathered young for a small 

 salad with cresses and mustard. Later it is used like 

 mustard for greens. This plant is much cultivated in Eu- 

 rope for the oil expressed from its seeds. 



Rape, Edible-rooted, or French Turnip, J5. Napus, 

 var. esculenta, is another variety with edible roots, some- 

 times cultivated as a substitute for the turnip. The root 

 is white, carrot-shaped, about the size of the middle finger. 

 It is much grown in Germany and France. [This is not 

 the French Turnip of the North, and is the Teltow of the 

 Germans. ED.] 



Culture. It is raised from seed, which may be sown in 

 August or September, and requires the same treatment as 

 turnip. It likes a sandy soil, and if grown in too rich 

 earth, it loses its sweetness. In dry weather, the beds 

 must be watered regularly until the plants get three or 

 four leaves. To save seed, see " Turnip." 



Use. It is much used in continental cookery, and en- 

 riches all the French soups. Stewed in gravy, it forms an 

 excellent dish, and being white and carrot-shaped, when 

 mixed with carrots upon a dish, it is very ornamental. 

 In using, there will be no necessity of cutting away the 

 outer rind, in which the flavor chiefly resides. Scraping 

 will be quite sufficient. 



RHUBARB. (Rheum.) 



The garden Rhubarb, or Pie-plant, is a perennial of the 

 same natural family as the common dock. The varieties 

 now cultivated are hybrids, and have supplanted the 

 original species, Rheum Rhaponticum, palmatum, and un~ 

 dulatum, excelling them in size, earliness, and delicacy of 

 flavor. The best sorts are the Early, which is of but me 



