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XLI. Substance of a Memoir on the Cultivation and Varia- 

 tion (/Brussels Sprouts. By Jean Baptiste VanMons, 

 M. D. Professor of Chemistry and Rural Economy in the 

 University of Louvain, Foreign Member of the Horticul- 

 tural Society. 



Read July 7, 1818. 



The opinion entertained by the French writers on Horti- 

 culture, as well as by the German gardeners, that the Brus- 

 sels Sprouts are only fit for the table after they have been ex- 

 posed to frost, is erroneous. By proper attention, and ma- 

 nagement, in Belgium, we contrive to supply ourselves with 

 this delicious vegetable full ten months in the year, that is, 

 from the end of July to the end of May. 



To obtain the first crops, the seed is sown in spring, under 

 a frame, so as to bring the plants forward ; they are then 

 transplanted into an open border with a good aspect. By 

 late and successive sowings, the supply is continued through 

 the period I have stated. 



We usually cut off the top of the plant, about 10 or 15 

 days before we intend to gather from the stem, which then 

 produces most abundantly, so much so, that if this vegetable 

 be compared with any other, which occupies as little space, 

 lasts as long, and grows as well in situations generally 

 considered unfavourable, such as between rows of Potatoes, 



