1887] History of Garden Vegetables. 523 
bage, whereby form has become transferred while the character- 
istics of the Chinese species have disappeared. On the other 
hand, the Savoy class, believed to have origin from the same 
source as the cabbage, have oval or oblong heads, which have 
been noted by the herbalists. 
The Cabbage is called, in France, Choux cabus, chou capu, chou 
en tête, chou pomme, chou pomme a feuille lisse; in Germany, 
Kopfkohl, Kraut; in Flanders, kaduiscool; in Holland, slutkool ; 
in Denmark, hoved kaal; in Italy, cavolo cappuccio; in Spain, 
col repollo ; in Portugal, couve repolho ;* in Sweden, husvudkal? 
The ancient names were, in France, capucos coles, or cabutos, 
Ruel., 1536; chou cabus, Lyte, 1586; in Germany, Kappiskraut, 
Adv., 1570; Kapskraut, Pin., 1561; in Italy, cavolo cappuccio and 
cappuzzino, Pin., 1561; in Spain, repolho and colhes morcianos, 
Pin., 1561. 
CAPER. Capparis spinosa L. 
. 
The caper, although rarely grown in this country, forms an 
object of extensive culture in the Mediterranean region for the 
sake of the flower-buds, which enter into commerce for use as a 
pickle or appetizer. The Greeks of the Crimea eat the shoots 
as well as the buds, and in Egypt the fruit, which in this va- 
riety is very large, is eaten by the Arabs.* In Sindh and the 
Panjab, India, the fruit is also pickled and eaten.s According 
to Ruellius,® Aristoteles and Theophrastus describe the plant as 
not cultivated in gardens; but in his time (1536) it was in the 
gardens of France. Unger’ says it was known to the ancient 
Greeks, and the renowned Phryne, at the first period of her 
residence in Athens, was a dealer in capers. The plant has 
become widely distributed, and was introduced into South Caro- 
lina about 1755.8 
There are two forms now known,—the spined and the un- 
armed. The.former is the most esteemed, although C. zzermis 
is also grown in France. Both kinds have been known for a 
long time, as the following partial synonymy indicates : 
z Vilmorin, Les Pl. Pot., 1883, 103. 2 Tengborg, Hort. Culin., 1764, 23. 
3 Pallas, Trav., iv. 224. 4 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, ii. 29. 
5 Priadi, Forest Flora, 14- 5 Ruellius, De Nat. Stirp., 1536, 561. 
7 Unger, Plants used as Food ae Man, U. S. Pat. of Rept., 1859. 
8 Hist. of the Mass. Hort. Soc., 29. 
