THE CULINARY GARDEN 



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esteemed by the Romans, who probably introduced the cultivation of them into this 

 country, bringing with them from Italy some of the sorts then cultivated by them. 



The varieties of Brass'va olcracia var. capitata, or white cabbage, cultivated in 

 our gardens, are, the small early dwarf, early dwarf York, large early ditto, early 

 dwarf sugar-loaf, large sugar-loaf, East Ham, West Ham, early Battersea, late 

 ditto, early Imperial, Pentonville, Flaw's early, Deptford, Emperor, Antwerp, 

 Russian, early London, large hollow sugar-loaf, large oblong hollow, large-round 

 winter white, drum-head, round Scotch or white Strasburg, Baimbridge's flat Dutch. 

 Of these, the first five are the best for early crops, and also for the latter ones. 

 The last is an excellent sort for early summer use. The next five are good for 

 principal summer crops. The Pentonville is a curious cabbage, wrinkled like the 

 ;avoy, and very tender and white ; it never closes nor becomes hard. It is deci- 

 dedly the bes^ for summer use ; it continues delicate and well-flavoured when all 

 others are rank and ill-tasted. Flaw's early, is also a good sort for either early or 

 late crops ; the rest may be cultivated for summer and autumn uses, and have each 

 their respective merits. The drum-head and round Scotch are generally cultivated 

 in fields for cattle. From the last of these two is prepared the sauer kraut of the 

 Germans. 



Cabbage, red, — Brassica oleracia, var. rubra, {Linn.) — belongs to the same 

 natural and artificial class and order with the last-mentioned, and is another variety 

 sported from the original Brassica oleracia. It is chiefly used for pickling and gar- 

 nishing. The principal varieties cultivated are, the large red or red Dutch, dwarf 

 red, and the Aberdeen red. The first is usually cultivated in market-gardens. The 

 second is the best, and is usually grown in the gardens of gentlemen, and is most 

 esteemed for its bea>itiful colour. The third is much cultivated for culinary purposes 

 by the natives of Aberdeenshire, and some parts of the North of Scotland, and is an 

 ingredient in the national dish, " TJie kale brose." 



Cauliflower, — Brassica oleracia, var. botrytis. {Linn, and Decandolle,) is 

 another variety originating in the Bnudca oleracia, and a much-esteemed culi- 

 nary vegetable, being, according to Dr. Johnson, the best flower that grows in the 

 garden. Cauliflower was first introduced to this country from the isle of Cyprus, 

 about the middle of the sixteenth century. The culture of it was little attended to 

 till the beginning of the seventeenth; and previous to the French Revolution, cauli- 

 flower-sced was regularly sent to Holland, and even to France; at the present 

 day, English seed is preferred to that of the growth of either of those countries. 

 The same remark which we made regarding the quantity of asparagus, cultivated 

 round the metropolis for the supply of Covent-garden Market, &c., will also apply 

 to the cultivators of the cauliflower, who have often many acres under this crop. 



The sub-varieties in cultivation are the early, the late, and the red cauliflower; 

 of these three, we have been unable to discover much difference in point of quality. 

 Their distinctions are too trifling to merit the attention of the practical horticulturist - 

 Like the rest of the brassica tribe, they are apt to sport into degenerate varieties 

 from seed. " An action for damages was brought in Westminster Hall above a hun- 

 dred years ago, against an innocent, but unfortunate gardener, for selling caul=- 

 flower-seed which only produced long-leaved cabbages. This circumstance has been 

 particularly noticed by Linnaus, in his celebrated treatise on the sexes of plants, the 

 * Sponsalia Plantanim.' " 



Capsicum, Linn.—K genus belonging to the class and order Pentandria monogy- 

 nia, and natural order Solanaccre. There are three species in cultivation, and of 

 these, there are many varieties. 



Of these species, the Capsicum annuam, or Guinea-pepper, is, with its varieties, 

 mott generally cultivated. It is a native of India. It was introduced here in 1548, 



