4Sj^ 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



"published by JOSEPH BRECK & CO., NO. 52 NORTH MARKET STREET, (Agricultuhal Warehouse.) 



•oii. xvni.i 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 25, 1839. 



[NO. as. 



AGRICU LTURAL. 



For the New England Farmer. 



THE BILLAUDEAU CABBAGE. 

 Mr Colman— The Hon. Thomas L. Winthrop, 

 ecently placed in my hands an extract of a letter 

 ,'hich he had received from France, and a Report 

 lade to the Royal Horticultural Society of Paris, 

 a relation to an e.\traordinary Cabbage, with a re- 

 uest that I would translate the iatter for the New 

 ^no-land Farmer, which has been done and is en- 

 losed. 



Accompanying the letter were fine seeds, — one 

 leino- the product of this remarkable new variety 

 if cabbage, and the others of the celebrated spe- 

 :ic3, called the Cavalier, which I was desired to 

 iresent to some person for cultivation ; that a care- 

 iil experiment might be made, to ascertain whether 

 iitlier of the kinds could be reared in our climate, 

 ind would become a valuable acquisition to the 

 ;ountry. They have been delivered to a gardener, 

 vhofrom his well known intelligence, practical 

 ikill and sincere devotion to all branches of rural 

 ;conomy, there cannot be a doubt but that every 

 jossible attention will be given to their culture, and 

 Jie result reported to the Massachusetts Horcicul- 

 ,ural Society. 



The active part which Governor Winthrop Ins 

 taken, for nearly half a century, in all the measures 

 ^'J.~'ii have been adopted, for the advanceineui. of 

 igricultural intelligence, and the exalted stations 

 he has filled, with so much credit to himself and 

 advantage to the State, have rendered his name fa- 

 miliar and dear to his fello-.v citizens. He was one 

 of those enlightened and patriotic gentlemen who 

 organized the first agricultural society in Massa- 

 chusetts, for the especial purpose of promoting that 

 highly important interest, and has ever since been 

 zealous and unremitting in his laudable efforts to 

 render that institution efiectual, for all the great 

 and useful objects of its establishment ; — and we 

 still find him the ardent friend of a cause, which he 

 has done so much to advance ; and that the intro- 

 duction of even a few seeds, which may possibly 

 become beneficial to his countrymen, is not deemed 

 unworthy of this venerated Nestor of New England 

 husbandry. M;iy his illustrious example have its 

 just influence upon the present and rising genera- 

 tions, for the CULTIVATION- OF THE EARTH IS the 



grand basis of all the other branches of industry; 

 and no nation can be considered' truly indepen- 

 dent, that does not produce all the articlf 



now seen a most curious plant, (shown to and ad- 

 mired by all the savants of Paris) — a mammoth 

 Cabbage, 10 feet high and 52 feet circumference 

 (French measure.) The Horticultural Society of 

 Paris appointed a commission to examine this pro- 

 duction and to verify its dimensions : they have 

 made a report on all points, satisfactory to the pro- 

 prietors of the plant. In that report they mention 

 also, the "Choux cavallie-," otherwise called 

 " Choux a Vache" — and also " Choux en arbre," as 

 being the largest known in Franco previous to the 

 coming of this. This Clumr cavallier I also saw 

 by the side of the other. I suppose even this wuuld 

 be considered " mammoth" in the United States, 

 for it is 5 1-2 feet high. As they will not add per- 

 ceptibly to the bulk of this letter, I enclose one 

 seed of the mammoth cabbage, and four of the Cav- 

 alier: it may be worth while to make an experi- 

 ment with them ; though it may be that the mam- 

 moth is a mere lu»its nnturrB : the proprietor him- 

 self does not feel confident that its seed will pro- 

 duce any thing like the present plant : — as to the 

 Cavalier there is no doubt." 



REPORT ON THE CABBAGE OF M. BIL- 

 LAUDEAU, 

 Made to the Royal Horticultural Society of Paris, at 



a meeting held on the Uth of Aus^ust, 1839. By 



a Committee composed of Messrs. VUmorin,Jaques 



and Poiteaii. 



Gentlemen — Within a few days, there has boen 

 presented in Paris, to public curiosity, and those in- 

 terested in the cultivation of the earth, a Cabbage, 

 of an extraordinary character, both from its height 

 and the number of its branches. This producticm 

 must not be confounded with that marvellous fable 

 which has excited public credulity during the last 

 three years, 'i'hen the plant was not exhibited, 

 and only the seeds Avere sold, which were to pro- 

 duce colos3.il cabbages. Those who may be appre- 

 hensive of becoming the dupes of alike kind of 

 charlatanery, have nothing to fear in this case, for 

 your commissioners have seen, touched and meas- 

 ured M. Billaudeau's cabbage, as have a great num- 

 ber of distinguished persons, and among them the 

 Minister of Commerce and Agriculture. Besides, 

 the commendable house which has possession of the 

 Billaudeau C.ibbage, would not, for any considera- 

 tion, expose its reputation and its credit, by de- 

 scending to a fraudulentspeculation, like that which 

 has disgraced the inventors of the Colossal Cab- 

 bai-e. This house is more desirous of the honor 



DENT, that does not produce all the ^"^^icles of I ^»^^-^.^^__^ introduced to our cultivators a useful 

 FOOD, which are indispensable, for the ^"'■''0''^ =^^.^^^^^^jj ,^^^1,, jh,,„ ,„y ^.^f, 



OF THE WHOLE POPULATION. 



With great respect, your 

 Most oVt serv't, 



H. A. S. DEARBORN. _ 

 Hawthorn Cottai^e, Roxbury, Dec. 12, 1S3'J. 



Extract of a Utter from a gentleman in Paris to the 

 Hon. Thomas L. Winthelop. 

 "If I recollect rightly, you have a taste for Hor- 

 ticulture. I may mention then, that I have just 



...... and extraordinary vegetable, than any ,)Wfit 



which might be derived from the sale of its seeds. 

 The Messrs. Billaudeau have declared upon their 

 honor, that they have never offered to sell this 

 Cabbage or its seeds, to any person, and that what- 

 ever has been publicly said to the contrary, is ut- 

 terly false. These gentlemen have been desirous 

 of ascertaining what is the opinion of the Royal 

 Horticultural Society, in relation to their Cabbage, 

 that they may, in all respects, act in conformity 

 to the views of that institution, "i'ou thus perceive, 



gentlemen, that the Messrs Billaudeau have acted 

 with impartiality and in good faith. 



In conformity to the directions of the Society, 

 we went on the eighth of this month to the house of 

 M. Billaudeau, being No. 10, in the street des 

 Prouvoires, to see and examine the Cabbage in 

 question and to make a report to the society thereon. 

 We first discovered, that this Cabbage appeared 

 to be in the third year of its growth, and that it 

 was covered with ripe seeds. But by information 

 since received, from the country, we learned that 

 it was planted in August, 1837, and transplanted 

 in October of the same year. We also learned 

 that it was found among other cabbages in the dis- 

 trict of Melle, and department of Deux-Sevres, 

 where a vast number of cabbages are cultivated as 

 food for cattle. The proprietor of the estate, hav- 

 ing noticed the plant, he drew the attention of M. 

 Billaudeau, the father, to it, who bestowed special 

 attention to its culture, and was astonished at its 

 enormous growth. When in flower, it rose like a 

 Colossus above the neighboring plants. It occurred 

 to M. Billaudeau, that this plant might be repro- 

 duced from the seed, and thus become a precious 

 acquisition in rural economy, and that from its gi- 

 gantic size, it merited the examination of those per- 

 sons who felt a deep interest in the culture and 

 physiology of plants; consequently, when the seeds 

 were ripe, he took up the plant, and placing it care- 

 fully in a wagon, had it transported to Paris, and 

 placed in the°house of his sons, the Messrs. Billau- 

 deau, who were his successors, as dealers in seedd. 

 It was, therefore, in its state of fructification, 

 that we have seen this marvellous vegetable, and 

 to which the various public journals have already 

 given the name of the Billaudeau Cabbage. 



A Cavalier Cabbage, which is the largest hith- 

 erto known among our cultivators, placed for com- 

 pirison near this, appeared a dwarf. 



Since our first visit, M. Billaudeau, the father, 

 has sent to his sons additional information, of which 

 it is proper we should avail ourselves. In the first 

 place, we were shown a small box of earth, which 

 was taken from the spot where the cabbage grew. 

 On examination it appeared to be very ordinary 

 soil, being more sandy than argillaceous, a little 

 gravelly, and of a greyish color. It is not more 

 than a foot in depth, and the sub-soil is a sterile 

 calcareous sand. Water is found at the depth of 

 two feet and a half from the surface, and it is prob- 

 ably owing to its vicinity, that the superior stratum 

 of earth owes its fertility ; still, no other cabbage in 

 the vicinity rose to a greater height than three feet ; 

 and fruit trees in this same soil, flourished but in- 

 differently. Witnesses, worthy of credit, assured 

 us, that the leaves of this cabbage were from five 

 to 'six feet in length, which were glossy, wrink- 

 led, and resembled much those of the Cauliflower. 

 The dimensions of Mr. Billaudeau's cabbage are 

 as follows : The height is ten feet—it commences 

 to ramify at eight inches above the neck. The 

 ronts are neither as large or extensive, as the ini- 

 mense volume of the plant seems to have required, 

 which is the product of a seed and not of a sprout, 

 as has been presumed by some persons. There are 



