BENE PLANT.— BORECOLE. 



51 



than in common eartli ; but when the former cannot be 

 had, the sandiest earth you can procure must be dispensed 

 with." 



BENE PLANT. — Sescmum,— Tins was introduced into 

 the Southern States by the negroes from Africa. It abounds 

 in many parts of Africa. Sonnini and Brown, travellers in 

 Egypt, say it is much cultivated there for the purpose of 

 feeding horses, and for culinary purposes. The negroes in 

 Georgia boil a handful of the seeds with their allowance of 

 Indian corn. Probably no plant yields a larger proportion 

 of oil, which Dr. Cooper of Philadelphia has pronounced 

 equal to the finest oils. But it is worthy of cultivation in the 

 Northern States, principally, as a medicinal plant. A gen- 

 tleman in Virginia has given Messrs. Thorburn & Son the 

 following account of its virtues : — It requires to be sown 

 early in April, at a distance of about one foot apart. A 

 few leaves of the plant, when green, plunged a few times 

 in a tumbler of water, make it like a thin jelly, without 

 taste or colour, which children afflicted with the summ.er 

 complaint will drink freely, and is said to be the best rem- 

 edy ever discovered. It has been supposed, that (undei 

 Providence) the lives of three hundred children were saved 

 by it last summer in Baltimore, and I know the efficacy of 

 it by experience in my own family.'' This plant will throw 

 out a greater profusion of leaves by breaking off the top 

 when it is about half grown. — EusselPs Catalogue. 



BORECOLE. — Brassica oleracea. — The borecole con- 

 tains several sub-varieties, the common characteristic of all 

 which is an open head, sometimes large, of curled or wrin- 

 kled leaves, and a peculiar, hardy constitution. There are 

 fourteen varieties enumerated by Loudon. Those which 

 he says are the most valuable, are the green borecole, 

 Scotch kale, or Siberian borecole, the purple or brown kale, 

 the German kaie, German greens, or curlies. 



Propagation, — All the sorts are propagated by seed ; and 

 for a seed bed four feet by ten, Abercrombie says, one 

 ounce of seed is necessary. M'Mahon directs to sow 

 towards the end of March [about three weeks later in 

 New England] a first crop of borecole for autumn ser- 

 vice," and observes — 



" There are two principal sorts, the green and the 

 brown, both very hardy plants, with tall stems, and full heads 



