By M. De Candolle. 



23 



oleifera, or the Brassica Napus oleifera, which can easily be 

 ascertained by observing whether the young plant is rough 

 or smooth ; if hispid, it is the Brassica campestris ; if gla- 

 brous, the Brassica Napus. Experiments* made by M. 

 Gaujac show the produce of the first, compared to that of 

 the second, as 955 to 700. The true Colsa, the plant now 

 described, is generally sown about the middle of June, in well 

 manured nursery ground, from whence it is transplanted after 

 harvest into fields properly prepared, and manured again in 

 November, after which, it stands the winter tolerably well, 

 blossoms in the spring, and soon after runs to seed. 



There is a variety of Colsa, called in France Colsa de 

 Mars, which may be sown in spring, and harvested in the 

 same year. It is less productive, but may be employed on 

 ground that has not been prepared soon enough in the pre- 

 ceding year, or to replace those plants of other kinds that 

 have perished in winter. I have seen both these varieties 

 when sown in the same ground in the month of May, wear a 

 very different aspect in September ; the early or spring one, 

 prcecox, was in full blossom, and the late or autumn one, 

 autumnalis, had not the slightest appearance of a flower. 

 Some authors speak of a variety called the white-flowered 

 Colsa, but as I have constantly seen the flowers of a bright 

 yellow, I suspect this name has arisen from some confusion 

 of nomenclature. 



Second Race. Brassica campestris pabularia. 

 This second race of Field Cabbage is designated by Com- 

 meralt in the Memoirs of the Agricultural Society of Park, 



* See the end of this Memoir. 



