22 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Cabbage -sprout, the result of a hybrid between Winning stadt Cabbage 

 and Cambridge Champion Brussels Sprout.* 



The curious proliferous form mentioned above was described in 

 1787.t It is called B. capitata polycephalos. In size it resembled 

 ordinary cabbages, but differed in bearing several heads (sometimes fifty, 

 the size of eggs, according to Tournefort), some larger, some smaller. 

 It was thought to have resulted from extra nourishment. It is said to 

 be an unaccustomed and rare form. There is no evidence of its having 

 had any descendants, and Mr. A. Sutton writes that at the present day 

 " there is no variety or strain of cabbage which produces an abundance of 

 small cabbage heads ; but we have often seen plants somewhat like your 

 description [of the polycephalos], where the first head of the plant in a 

 young stage has been injured, either by the hoe or by insects." 



Brussels sprouts are so called from the fact that they originated in 

 Belgium and have been long cultivated there. They were brought to 

 England about the middle of the last century, and are characterised by 

 the production of numerous buds in the form of miniature cabbages 

 in the axils of the leaves all along the stem, instead of making a single 

 large head at the summit. In six of Gerard's figures he shows a few 

 buds occurring on the otherwise bare stem. Such foreshadow the possi- 

 bility of their development into the modern form. 



In ordinary Brussels sprouts the globular buds are produced without 

 the leaves on the stems ; but Mr. James Carter developed a form in which 

 the leaves were retained, covering the stem in an erect manner. It was 

 called 'Chou de Burghley,' but "it was not constant, and sometimes ran 

 into all sorts of other types." 



Gerard figures also " B. prolifera, Double Colewoort, No. 7, and 

 B. p. crispa, the Double Crispe Colewoort." His description of the 

 former is : " The Double Colewoort hath many large and great leaues, 

 wherupon do grow heere and there other small iagged leaues, as it were 

 made of ragged shreds and iagges set vpon the smooth leafe, which giueth 

 shewe of a plume or fanne of feathers." The other variety only differs 

 in having " intricately curled leaues, and so thick set ouer with other small 

 cut leaues, that it is hard to see any part of the leafe it selfe, except 

 yee take and put aside some of those iagges and ragged leaues with 

 your hande." 



He does not say whether these proliferous sorts were cultivated, but 

 such outgrowths from the ribs on the under side of the leaves are 

 not at all uncommon. They sometimes take the form of funnels on 

 long stalks. 



Messrs. Carter inform me that " there is a kind of borecole cabbage 

 grown for the Paris markets at the end of winter called Bricoli Cabbage ; 

 we fancy we have noticed the crested growth you mention coming from 

 the back of the ribs of this variety." 



Inflorescence. — The broccoli and cauliflower supply globular masses 

 of hypertrophied inflorescences, the flowers being in bud, the name 

 implying " flowers of the stem " (caulis). It is known as " chou-fleur " in 

 French, broccoli being the Italian name, from brocco, a "shoot " ; for the 



* Catalogue, 1907, p. 21 (figure and description). 



t Histoi ia generalis plantarum, p. 521. Attributed to Dalechamps. 



