VEGETABLE CULTIVATION DURING QUEEN VICTORIA'S REIGN. 375 



Dwarf," " Pine Apple," and " Dell's Black-leaved." Of the first 

 and last various selections have been made, resulting in uniform 

 and excellent types. 



Within recent years "Cheltenham Greentop" has also come 

 to the front, although I understand it has long been grown 

 in the neighbourhood from which it takes its name. It is an 

 excellent Beet, though disliked by some on account of the 

 colour of the leaves. The " Turnip-rooted," so useful for 

 shallow soils, has undergone great improvement, the flat type 

 called Egyptian being almost superseded in English gardens 

 by the introduction in 1891 of Sutton's Globe, which is as 

 perfect in form and clean in growth as a Snowball Turnip. 

 Many types of Globe Beet have also been introduced from 

 America, but, generally speaking, the colour of the flesh is not 

 up to the English standard. 



A white Beet called Bassano was also grown in the thirties, 

 but it never became very popular. In recent years efforts have 

 been made to popularise a yellow-fleshed Beet, but although 

 I can vouch for its excellent flavour the general public do not 

 appreciate it. 



A strange development in the leaves of the Beet has lately 

 been observed, and we may soon see in our flower gardens a 

 variety which produces a beautifully variegated foliage in addition 

 to a handsome well-flavoured root. 



The Brassicas. — Cabbage. 



First and foremost in point of general utility comes the 

 Cabbage. Although our forefathers had not so long a list of 

 names to select from as gardeners now have, there were several 

 good Cabbages in 1837. Chief among these were Early 

 Battersea, Early York, Large York, Emperor, Sugarloaf, &c. — 

 names which still retain a place in all seed lists, and are cer- 

 tainly valuable for spring sowing. It is reasonable to suppose 

 that the crops of those days suffered from " bolters," and with 

 none but these and similar varieties to grow the probability is 

 that an even bed of Spring Cabbage would be the exception, as 

 these varieties are all peculiarly liable to bolt. Of late years 

 much has been done to avoid this tendency, and we now have 

 such Cabbages as Ellam's Early, Early Offenham, Imperial, 

 Flower of Spring, and Early April, which, when obtained true 



