167 



Clje Crca^xtrn al 23 a tang. 



[bray 



nated in Belgium, and has been cultivated 

 around Brussels from time immemorial; 

 although it is only within the last twenty- 

 years that it has become generally known 

 in this country. It is very hardy, and 

 forms a head somewhat like a savoy, of 

 which it is considered to he a sub-variety, 

 differing in the remarkable manner in 

 which it produces at the axils of the leaves, 

 along the whole length of its stem, a num- 

 ber of small sprouts, resembling miniature 

 cabbages, of one or two inches in diameter. 

 These are peculiarly well-flavoured, and, as 

 a winter vegetable, are more highly es- 

 teemed than any other kind of cabbage in 

 cultivation. 



The Cauliflower, B. oleracea botrytis can- 

 liflora, is of great antiquity, but its origin 

 is unknown, although it has been usually 

 ascribed to Italy. It is mentioned by Ge- 

 rarde, and must therefore have been in 

 this country previous to 1597. It differs in 

 a remarkable manner from all the other 

 varieties of the cabbage tribe, whose leaves 

 and stalks are alone used for culinary pur- 

 poses. Instead of these being taken, the 

 flower-buds and fleshy flower-stalks form 

 themselves in a close firm cluster or head, 

 varying from four to eight inches or more 

 in diameter, and become one of the greatest 

 of vegetable delicacies. It is not valued so 

 much for its large size, as for its flne 

 creamy white colour, its compactness, and 

 regular form, without being warty, which 

 features constitute the properties of a fine 

 Cauliflower. The uses of Cauliflower are 

 well known. When dressed it is served up at 

 table, either plain boiled, or with white 

 sauce. It forms an excellent addition to 

 vegetable soups, and is often used for 

 pickling. It may also be preserved for a 

 considerable time, when pickled like saur 

 kraut. 



The Broccoli, B. oleracea botrytis aspara- 

 goides, is similar in form and appearance 

 to the cauliflower, from which it is sup- 

 posed to have originated. It was first 

 brought into notice at the beginning of 

 the last century- Two kinds, the white 

 and purple, are mentioned by Miller (1724) 

 as coming from Italy, and from these have 

 arisen all the varieties that are now in cul- 

 tivation. Broccoli is more robust and far 

 more hardy than cauliflower, for which it 

 becomes a valuable substitute during the 

 winter and spring months, when the latter 

 cannot be obtained. The heads vary in 

 colour, from a brownish purple to a pure 

 creamy white, in which state they are 

 scarcely to be distinguished from cauli- 

 flowers. They are used for the same pur- 

 poses, but are not so delicate in flavour. 



The Turnip, B. Bapa depressa, is a hardy 

 biennial, and, in its wild state, is found in 

 corn fields in various parts of England. 

 The change it has undergone by cultiva- 

 tion is no less remarkable than that of the 

 Cabbage ; hut in this instance it is the 

 root which has been transformed from a 

 comparatively hard woody substance into 

 the large fleshy bull), which constitutes 

 one of our most nutritious vegetables. 

 The ancient Greeks and B-omans were well 



< acquainted with the Turnip; and, in the 

 fifteenth century, we find it had become 



I known to the Flemings, and formed oiie of 



i their principal crops. The first Turnips 

 that were introduced into this country are 



' believed to have come from Holland in 

 1550; and, among all the varieties now 

 cultivated for culinary purposes, the Early 

 Dutch continues to be generally esteemed. 

 The Turnip forms an ingredient in broths, 

 soups, and stews; it is likewise cut into 

 various figures for garnishing. In spring, 

 when the plant is pushing up for flower, 

 the points of the shoots are dressed as 

 greens, and are acknowledged to be valu- 

 able as an antiscorbutic. 



Rape, B. Napus, is a hardy biennial, in- 

 digenous to Britain. It is chiefly grown 

 for cutting when quite young, and mixing 

 with mustard, as a small salad. It is 

 also sometimes cultivated in cottage gar- 

 dens, for spring greens — the tops being 

 cut first, and afterwards the side shoots. 

 The Teltow Turnip, or 'Navet de Berlin 

 petit ' of the French (B. Na2ms var.), is very 

 different from any of our cultivated varie- 

 ties of Turnip, its root being long and 

 spindle-shaped, somewhat resembling a 

 carrot. Its culture in this country dates 

 from 1790 ; hut it was well known in 1671, 

 and is noticed by Caspar Bauhin in his 

 Pinax. It is much more delicate in flavour 

 than our Common Turnip. In France and 

 Germany it is extensively cultivated, and 

 few great dinners are served up without it 

 in one shape or other. It enriches all 

 soups by the peculiar flavour contained in 

 the outer rind, which is thin, and must not 

 he cut away, but scraped. Stewed in gravy, 

 it forms a most excellent dish, and, being 

 white, is very ornamental when mixed 

 and served with carrots. [W. B. B.] 



BRAVAISIA. The Onychacanthus Gu- 

 mzngii of Nees von Esenbeck. [B. S.] 



BRAVOA. A genus of Amaryllids, 

 containing a single species, B. geminiflora, 

 native of Mexico. This is a bulbous or 

 rather a tuberous plant, with a tuft of 

 radical linear keeled leaves, and an erect 

 flower-stem, a foot or more in height, 

 supporting a raceme of nodding flowers, 

 which grow in pairs, and are of a rich 

 orange-red outside and yellowish within. 

 The tuber is somewhat elongated, tuni- 

 cated, sending down several thick fleshy 

 roots. The perianth, which is rather over 

 an inch long, consists of a funnel-shaped 

 curved tube widening at the throat, and 

 having a very short six-cleft somewhat 

 spreading limb. There are six stamens, 

 and an inferior three-celled ovary, with a 

 long exserted filiform style terminated by 

 a dilated stigma. It is a very graceful 

 plant. [T. MJ 



BRATERA. A genus of Rosacea? named 

 after a French physician, Dr. Brayer, who 

 observed the valuable medicinal proper- 

 ties of the only species of this genus, and 

 sent a specimen of the plant to Kunth. 

 The plant is known by its top-shaped calyx, 

 the limb of which is divided into ten 



