164 COLIN CLOUT'S CALENDAR. 



we have adopted our own horse-radish, whose pungent 

 root, favoured and preserved in the natural order of things 

 because of the protection it afforded the plant against 

 gnawing animals, has been utilised by ourselves for the 

 sake of its value as a relish in small quantities to our 

 more jaded palates. In the water-cress and other cresses, 

 which are also members of the same group, we are simi- 

 larly attracted by the very essences which were meant 

 to deter the animate creation ; though in this case we 

 ourselves do not care for them except when the plants 

 are very young and tender. Sea-kale, again, is a mari- 

 time Devonshire weed, introduced into our gardens 

 during the last century ; and here the portion of the 

 plant we eat consists of the succulent shoots which force 

 their way up through the sand in spring, and which we 

 intentionally lengthen out and blanch by the device of 

 artificial banking. Gardeners say that it flourishes best 

 even now when surrounded by its natural element sand 

 from the sea-shore. The origin of our radish is not 

 known with certainty, though it probably represents 

 an improved southern variety of the jointed charlock 

 that grows by road-sides in many parts of England. 



All these are purely useful variations on the one pri- 

 mitive theme ; but there are some other crucifers whose 

 flowers have been developed into a higher state of per- 

 fection by insect selection, and many of these supply 

 us with a groundwork for ornamental garden blossoms. 

 Simplest among them are the little white alyssum, with 

 its sweet honey perfume, and the queer one-sided candy- 

 tufts of old-fashioned gardens, whose two outer petals 

 have grown longer and broader than the two inner ones, 

 so as to present a larger total attractive surface, thus 



