BRASSICACEOUS PLANTS. — THE BROCCOLI. 



95 



the leaves after the head is cut. We sow in 

 April to secure flowers in November. Some- 

 times a second sowing is made in June, which 

 produces flowers the following April. 



5. Purple cape. — A very early variety, the 

 culture, &c. of which we have already noticed. 

 The last two are almost the only purple sorts 

 worth growing, and the five described the best 

 of the very early varieties. 



6. Elletsons gigantic late white. — One of 

 the largest as well as latest white broccolis; 

 dwarf on the stem ; but, as the leaves spread 

 considerably, it should be accorded 3 feet dis- 

 tance each way. 



7. Willcove late white— As large as the last, 

 but hardly so late ; grows taller, and requires 

 the same space. 



8. Hammond's white cape. — An excellent pure- 

 white broccoli, flowering about December. 



9. KnigMs protecting. — If not so pure a white 

 as the others, it possesses the great merit of being 

 exceedingly hardy ; and, being of very dwarf 

 growth and small size, it may be planted 15 

 inches asunder, thus yielding a great return of 

 produce off a small space, and therefore excel- 

 lent for small gardens. Its heads are larger 

 than might be expected from so small a plant. 

 It is known from all others by a bracteal leaf, 

 which is produced on one side of the flower as 

 if it were designed for protection from frost and 

 wet. It appears to be an improvement on the 

 small green Danish, from which it may possibly 

 have originated. 



10. Chappie's large cream. — A very large 

 and excellent variety, to which may be added 

 Dilston's bride and Snow's superb white, two 

 first-rate sorts. The latter is a dwarf variety, 

 with broad leaves and short petioles, in size and 

 colour resembling a fine cauliflower. If sown 

 in the neighbourhood of London in May, it will 

 come into use in November. If sown in Scot- 

 land in April, it will come in at the same time. 



To those who require the hardier varieties, 

 we would recommend the Siberian, late green, 

 or Danish, which are all the same. It has been 

 proved to be the hardiest of any, coming in late 

 in spring, when the slow increasing heat of the 

 sun tends to swell it out to a fair size. The 

 leaves are somewhat purplish, very much waved 

 and indented ; 2 feet apart is sufficient for it. 

 The Russian dwarf is also equally hardy and 

 small. 



Besides, there are about thirty other varieties 

 possessing less or more merit, and perhaps 

 nearly half as many more names to be found in 

 seed-lists, which are either worthless or pos- 

 sess similar or inferior merits to those in the 

 above selection. They have been selected from 

 about forty named sorts, which were grown 

 within two years in the Dalkeith gardens. 



The following broccolis are popular; their 

 names, however, will suffice. Late dwarf purple 

 Syrian, winter imperial, Dancer's pink cape, 

 Adam's superb early white, Snow's winter white, 

 impregnated white, Portsmouth cream-coloured, 

 Sumner's late white, early Malta, Howden's 

 purple, hardy green cape, American white, Tarn- 

 worth white, Miller's dwarf, Stewart's early 

 white, Addison's — the two latter much esteemed 



about Edinburgh. Indeed, Stewart's early white 

 and Gillespie's white are more grown by the 

 market-gardeners than any others, coming in 

 early in winter of a good white colour, and 

 lasting till spring. 



The true Walcheren, by successful sowings, 

 may be had the whole year through, and, with 

 Snow's superb white, Grange's early cauliflower, 

 Knight's protecting, and Hammond's fine white 

 cape, may be considered quite sufficient to afford 

 a supply the whole season. 



General remarJcs. — The difference between the 

 broccoli and cauliflower is very slight. The co- 

 lour in some sorts of the former is no doubt 

 sufficient to mark the distinction; but amongst 

 the finer varieties of the white-flowering kinds of 

 broccolis, this distinction almost vanishes. Pro- 

 fessor de Candolle, who has taken more pains 

 to describe and systematise the order Cruciferce 

 than any other botanist, has not forgotten to 

 mark the differences which exist between them. 

 He states, first, that both are varieties of each 

 other, or rather varieties of the same race — Bras- 

 sica oleracea botrytis, or cabbages producing 

 heads or flowers of an eatable description, but 

 of a very different organisation from the cab- 

 bage. From a very interesting paper upon this 

 subject by that eminent botanist, published in 

 the " Transactions of the London Horticultural 

 Society," vol. v., the following brief extract is 

 taken : — " The bunches of flowers, instead of 

 being loosely spread into a pyramidal form, like 

 those of a panicle, are close from their basis, and 

 form a kind of a regular corymb ; to which is 

 added a second character, that may be consi- 

 dered as a natural consequence of the first : the 

 pedicles, from being tightly kept together before 

 their time of blossom, lose their shape, grow 

 fleshy from adhering to each other, and in ge- 

 neral produce nothing but the rudiments of 

 abortive flowers; so that, contrary to all other 

 varieties, where the leaves and stalks are alone 

 taken for culinary purposes, in this the floral 

 foot-stalk is the only part eaten. This race com- 

 prehends two varieties, viz., the cauliflower and 

 the broccolis." 



Their difference is thus shown : — " The Bras- 

 sica cauliflora (cauliflower) has generally a short 

 stem, white-ribbed oblong leaves, the pedicle 

 uniting at the head of the primary branches into 

 thick, short, irregular bundles, in the shape of a 

 corymb ; it appears to be a degeneration of the 

 Brassica oleracea costata, or Portugal cabbage. 



" The Brassica cymosa (broccoli) ; its stem is 

 more elevated, the leaf-nerves less prominent, 

 the pedicles altogether less thick and close ; they 

 are also longer, so that, on becoming fleshy, they 

 resemble in shape the young shoots of aspara- 

 gus : hence the name Asparagoides given by an- 

 cient botanists to broccoli. The broccoli seems 

 to be a degeneration of some variety of the chou 

 cavalier, tall or open cabbage. It is divided 

 into two sub-varieties, the common or white 

 broccoli, and the purple or Maltese broccoli ; and 

 each of these is again divided into several kinds 

 by the practical gardener." 



Cultivation, by improving the finer kinds of 

 white broccolis, is narrowing the distinctive 

 marks ; but although so nearly alike, they must 



