European Agriculture and Rural Economy. 427 



paragus is forced under glass ; the later is forced in the open ground by all 

 the appliances of manure. The quantity of rhubarb consumed is enormous, 

 for it comes not in baskets, but piled up in four-horse wagons in bulk. The 

 asparagus shows the want of sun, and appears as if grown in a cellar, the 

 mere head of the early kinds being the only part eatable. I think Cobbett 

 somewhere says, that " the English do not know how to eat asparagus, for 

 they always begin at the white end." I have not myself observed among 

 them any remarkable deficiency of gastronomical science ; but certainly, 

 in this case, they have not far to go to find a white end. Sea-kale or 

 Scotch cale is very much eaten early in the season. It is blanched under 

 cover, and is a delicious vegetable, that is, for those whose taste agrees 

 with mine. The Jerusalem artichoke seems a favorite vegetable with most 

 persons. 



One of the principal vegetables found in the market, and this, at all seasons, 

 is cauliflower ; and it is certainly grown here in perfection. They are 

 sown, for the next year's use, some time in August, in hotbeds, and are 

 transplanted into the open ground in February. They, of course, before be- 

 ing transplanted, are cultivated under glass, and for some time after they re- 

 quire protection. They are a frequent, and almost an invariable dish at well- 

 furnished tables. Cabbages, likewise, are brought into the market with a pro- 

 fusion absolutely astounding, which itself shows how much they are eaten. 

 One would be disposed to consider them as the favorite vegetable of the 

 English. The early ones of course are forced in hotbeds and transplanted ; 

 and a constant succession is kept up. I have sometimes seen in the market, 

 at one time, very early in the morning, many large four-horse wagon-loads 

 of cabbages, lettuces, and rhubarb, all distinct, and piled up in the most 

 beautiful manner, with a precision which is admirable ; and when I have had 

 the curiosity to inquire how many heads of cabbage were on a single load, 

 the answer has been, two hundred and twenty-five dozen. 



The celery brought into market is, like the rhubarb, gigantic. The solid- 

 stalked is greatly preferred. It is finely blanched. It is not so agreeable 

 for eating as a smaller-sized plant, but it shows the perfection of cultiva- 

 tion. The celery, like the rhubarb and the lettuce, is brought into market 

 in the neatest manner. Nothing is tumbled into the carts, or thrown out 

 upon the ground topsy-turvy, or indiscriminately. Even the heads of let- 

 tuce are every one of them tied with a string of bass-matting ; and when 

 presented in the stalls, the various articles are arranged with great care — 

 I may add, with taste, and a view to effect. 



Mr. Colman visited some of the Market Gardens, and to 

 those who read his account of some of the best West Cam- 

 bridge Gardens in his Massachusetts Survey, we add the fol- 

 lowing, as contrasting the Market Gardenmg of England with 

 that of New England : — 



The extent of the vegetable gardens in the neighborhood of this great 

 city is enormous, and the multiplied facilities of conveyance make even re- 

 mote places, now, in many articles, the suppliers of London. Fifty years 



