296 



nrSTORY OP THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



4. Bt^sscIs sprmits, (B. O. sabaitda), a sub- 

 variety of tlie last noticed, with an elongated 

 stem, four or five feet high from the nla> of the 

 leaves of which sprout out small green heads, like 

 cabbages in miniature. 



5. Borecol'', (B. 0. Sahellica), with an open 

 head of curled or wrinkled leaves, deep green, 

 and very strong and hardy. Of this kind of the 

 common kale, or curlies, there are a great many 

 sub-varieties, no less than fourteen being enum- 

 erated. The most common and useful are the 

 green, the dwarf, the purple or brown, and the 

 German greens or curlies of Scotland. 



6. Cauliflower, (B. 0.botrjtis),\\\\h. the un- 

 developed flower buds, forming a close firm 

 cluster or head; a late variety of this is the 



7. Brocoli, (B. O. botrj/tis), a hardier plant 

 than the other, and with more colour in the 

 flower and leaves. The chief varieties are the 

 green, purple and dwarf brocoli. 



Several varieties of the cabbage have been cul- 

 tivated from the very earliest times of which we 

 have any record. But the migrations and 

 changes of the best sorts have not been traced : 

 neither is it at all probable that the varieties 

 which the ancients enjoyed have descended to us 

 unaltered. 



It is probable that some species of the brassica 

 were first introduced into this country by the 

 Romans, since kale is mentioned among the 

 oldest English records. It is well known that 

 brassica was in very common cultivation at 

 Rome, where, according to Columella, it was a 

 favourite edible with freemen, and in sufficient 

 plenty to be an article of food for slaves. The 

 ancient Germans likewise cultivated this plant 

 from very remote times; whether they, too, 

 were indebted to their Roman conquerors for its 

 introduction it is impossible to decide. The 

 Saxon name for February is sprout-kale, and 

 that is tiie season when tlie sprouts from the old 

 stalks begin to be fit for use ; the Saxons must 

 therefore, of course, have been familiar with the 

 culture of cabbage or kale, as it is not at all 

 probable that they invented the name after their 

 settlement in this country. 



The variety of brassica which was fii-st culti- 

 vated in England cannot be ascertained, since 

 our ancestors had no distinctive name for the 

 different kinds. Many improvements have been 

 made in the cultivation of this vegetable, and 

 many new varieties introduced by different in- 

 dividuals at comparatively recent dates. 



The close-hearted variety, which is now more 

 peculiarly called cabbage, was for many years 

 imported into England from Holland. Sir An- 

 thony Ashley first introduced its cultivation into 

 this country, and made the English independent 

 of their neighbours for a supply. This planter 

 of cabbages likewise rendered his name known 

 by other deeds, less creditable to his character. 



It is related that he had a command at Cales 

 (Cadiz), where he got much by rapine, especially 

 from a lady who intrusted her jewels to his 

 honour; whence the jest on him, that he got 

 more by Cales than by cale and cabbage. There 

 is said to be a cabbage at his feet sculptured on 

 his monument at Wimbome St Giles, in Dor- 

 setshire. Although Sir Anthony Ashley intro- 

 duced the cabbage, it does not appear to have 

 become generally cultivated, for we continued 

 to import the vegetable for many years. Ben 

 Jonson, who wrote more than half a century 

 afterwards, says " He hath news, from the Low 

 Countries, in cabbages." 



It is recorded that cabbages were first intro- 

 duced into the north of Scotland by the soldiers 

 of Cromwell. A country embroiled in internal 

 hostilities might be supposed not to be in a very 

 favourable state for the more extended cultiva- 

 tion of plants, the passions of the contending 

 parties being too keenly roused to pay attention 

 to improvements in those arts the progress of 

 which more peculiarly belongs to a period of 

 peace. But in the present case the fact is op- 

 posed to this conclusion ; we learn that " Crom- 

 well was a great promoter of agriculture and the 

 useful branches of gardening, and that his sol- 

 diers introduced all the best improvements 

 wherever they went." 



The colonies of German fishermen from Cux- 

 haven and the adjacent places, which peopled 

 the coasts of the central parts of the east of Scot- 

 land, are, however, supposed by some writers to 

 have brought with them their national love oi 

 brassica, and to have introduced some species of 

 those plants at a period much anterior to that of 

 the Commonwealth, to this part of Scotland, 

 which is more peculiarly "the land of kale." 

 There the cabbage and the open colewort are in 

 equal favour, giving the name of kale to a soup 

 of which they fonn the principal ingredients, 

 the outside leaves and the stalks of the plants 

 falling to the share of the cattle. 



Many allusions in the old Scotch songs point 

 to the fact of the country about Aberdeen 

 abounding with this vegetable. In recommend- 

 ing the good fare of the country, the poet says, 



" There's canid kail in Aberdeen, 

 An' castoch in Stra'bogie." 



These castocks are the cabbage stems having 

 the fibrous part peeled off, and the remainder 

 softened by boiling. Before the introduction of 

 the turnip into general use in Scotland, this me- 

 dullary substance of the stalks of the brassica 

 was very commonly eaten by the peasantry. 

 The "kale brose o' auld Scotland" is celebrated 

 to the same tune as the "roast beef of old Eng- 

 land;" and though, with many of the ancient 

 peculiarities of the people, it has fallen mudi 

 into disuse, it is still considered a national dish. 



