SKA KALK. 



299 



fhroiighout the winter, some attaining to tlie 

 size, and equalling the cauliflower in appearance, 

 though not in taste. The earliest spring crop 

 follows without an interval the late winter crop, 

 and no cessation need take place in the supply 

 of hrocoli, although, perhaps, it is not commonly 

 raised during a month or two in the middle of 

 the summer, when many other vegetables are 

 ])roduced in ahundance. 



Brocoli succeeds best in a fresh loamy soil ; 

 the seed-beds should be of rich mould, on which 

 the seeds are thirdy scattered, and covered with 

 mats or litter till the plants appear. 



The whole cabbage tribe are very liable to the 

 attacks of various insects, such as slugs, snails, 

 the tipula fly, and two species of butterfly, the 

 large and small garden butterflies. 



Sea Kaie (cramle maritima). This is a 

 hardy perennial, found in various parts of the 

 sea shores of England and Scotland. The com- 

 mon people on the western shores of England 

 have from time immemorial beeYi in the practice 

 of watching when the shoots begin to push up 

 the sand or gravel, in March and April, when 

 they cut ofl^ the young shoots and leaf-stalks, 

 then blanched and tender, and boil them as 

 greens. The precise period of its introduction 

 into the garden is unknown. Parkinson and 

 Bryant state that the radical leaves are cut by 

 the inhabitants where the plant grows wild, and 

 boiled as cabbage ; and Jones states that he saw 

 bundles of it in the Chichester market in 175.3. 

 Maher states that the crambe maritima was 

 known and sent from this kingdom to the con- 

 tinent more than two hundred years ago, by 

 Lobel and Turner. About the year 1767 it was 

 cultivated by Dr Lettsom, and by him brought 

 into notice in the neighbourhood of London. It 

 is now a common vegetable in the British mar- 

 kets, and it is also found in some of those of the 

 continent of Euro])e and in America 



The young spring shoots, and the stalks of the 

 unfolding leaves blanched, by rising through the 

 natural ground in a wild state, or by earthing 

 Tip in gardens, are the parts used, and when 

 boiled and dressed like asparagus, are not infe- 

 rior to that vegetable. They form, also, an ex- 

 cellent ingredient in soups. Sometimes the ribs 

 of the large leaves are peeled and dressed as as- 

 paragus, after the plant has ceased to send up 

 young growths. By forcing, sea kale may be 

 had in perfection from November till May. Ve- 

 getables are in general not improved by forcing ; 

 but, as Nicol remarks, the sea kale is an exception. 



The native soil of this vegetable is deep sand, 

 partially mixed with alluvial matter from the 

 sea; hence this soil is to be imitated in garden 

 culture. The ground is prepared, and the seeds 

 sown early in the year. The plants come up in 

 IMay ; but cuttings are not obtained till the se- 

 cond or third year. 



MusTAUD (sinajns aria,s.mijraj. There are 

 two species of mustard in common use, the white 

 and the black, both annual plants, indigenous to 

 Britain, and found in abimdance growing in the 

 fields. The leaves are pinnatifid, the pods round 

 and rough, and abruptly terminated. The flowers 

 appear in June and July. The seed of the 

 white mustard is larger than that of the black, 

 and of a yellow colour. Mustard seeds are cha- 

 racterized by a pungent aromatic taste, which is 

 derived from an essential oil of a peculiar kind. 

 The tender leaves are used as a sidad, and tlie 

 ground seed as a condiment to food. Mustard 

 is easily raised in a light soil, and repeated sow-- 

 ings give a succession of tender salad leaves in 

 spring. The seeds strewed in moist flannel, put 

 over a cup, will also quickly germinate, and will 

 afford an agreeable salad in winter, or on board 

 of a ship at sea. 



IIai'E (brassica rapus). This is a biennial 

 plant, a native of Britain. It is distinguished 

 by its glaucous root-leaves and yellow flowers, 

 which appear in April. The leaves have a simi- 

 lar taste, and are used in the same way as those 

 of mustard. An expressed oil is obtained from 

 the seeds. 



Garden Cress (lepidum sativum). This is a 

 hardy annual plant, not indigenous to Britain, 

 but introduced about the year 1548. It is sup- 

 posed to have come from Persia and the island 

 of Cyprus, in both which it is native. This plant 

 produces a number of small leaves, which are 

 curled in some of the varieties, and plain in the 

 others. The flowering stem is branched, and rises 

 to the height of about a foot and a half, produc- 

 ing white flowers, which blow in June or July. 

 It germinates very easily and rapidly, and is 

 most commonly used when the leaves are young 

 and tender, either alone or mixed with mustard 

 leaves, and other salad herbs. The flavour of 

 the cress is wann and pungent, hence it has re- 

 ceived the name of pepper wort. During the 

 greater part of the year a constant supply may 

 be obtained by sowing a portion every week ; 

 and the application of a moderate artificial heat 

 will furnish it throughout the winter. 



Water-Cress (nasturtium officinale). This 

 plant is a creeping amphibious perennial, putting 

 out rootlets at the joints of the stems. The 

 leaves, which have a slight tinge of purple, are 

 pinnate and rather heart-shaped. When the 

 current in which they grow is rapid, the root- 

 lets from the young shoots do not easily take 

 root, and then a considerable portion of the plant 

 rises above the surface of the water, and the 

 form of the leaves alters. This is the case with 

 many plants ; when the leaf is near the ground 

 it is broad, but when elevated it becomes longer 

 and naiTower. In water-cresses this change in 

 the fonn of the leaves is sometimes followed by 

 unpleasant consequences, since it then caasea 



