1867.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
19 
of -the ordinary plant. It produces an abun- 
dance of flowers, which, though single, are very 
beautiful. A small yel- 
low disk is surrounded, 
by a single row of rays, 
four inches long, which 
together form a sort of 
belL and look much 
more like a lily than 
they do like a head of 
composite flowers. This 
lily-like appearance is 
hightened by these rays 
being pure white, except 
just at the base, where 
they are touched with a 
rich crimson. The en- 
graving is about half 
size, and though it gives 
the general form of leaf 
and flower, it fails to 
convey the color, upon 
which the effect so much 
depends. In France, 
this is valued to plant 
out in the open ground 
of their winter gardens, 
where it attains an enor- 
mous size. As it re- 
quires a long season, it 
will be necessary to 
start it earl}' and get a 
good growth before put- 
ting in the open ground. 
The Cabbage in its 
Varieties. 
In preparing the en- 
gravings for the work 
upon gardening, noticed 
iu another article, we 
were particularly struck 
with the wonderful va- 
riety presented by the 
cabbage plant, Brassica 
oleracea. Perhaps no 
cultivated plant presents 
us with such a wide 
range of varieties, and 
certainly no one of our 
garden vegetables af- 
fords so many useful forms. In one or another 
shape it, as Bcecher says of the apple, "belts the 
etable food from some form of this useful plant. 
The origiual, or wild plant of the cabbage, is 
Fig. 1. — BOI1ECOLE OB KALE. 
year," for with a properly managed garden a fam- 
ily need be no time in the year without fresh veg- 
imperial dahlia. — (Dahlia imperialis.) 
found on the coast of England, France, etc., and 
would hardly be recognized by those who have 
only known, the garden forms. 
Its great tendency to change 
is shown in the first genera- 
tion, as seeds of the wild plant 
will, if sown in rich soil, give 
plants varying much in their 
foliage and other peculiarities. 
The nearest to the wild state 
of the plant is the Borecole, 
or Kale, (fig. 1.) which never 
makes a head, but only a 
cluster of loose leaves, in dif- 
ferent sorts beautifully cut and 
curled, and often presenting 
fine colors. This is a very use- 
ful, but much neglected varie- 
ty. It is quite hardy, and where 
the thermometer does not go 
much below zero, it will stand 
out without any protection. 
After a freezing it is very 
tender and well flavored. Iu 
the Savoy Cabbages (tig. 2) we have the leaves 
broader, still much curled and wrinkled, but 
formed into a more or less compact head. 
These are the richest of all cabbages, and so 
distinct in appearance 
and flavor from the 
smoother and harder 
forms, that in the Eng- 
lish gardens they are 
not called cabbages, but 
Savoys. For family use, 
though they do not grow 
so large as other cab- 
bages, they are late and 
stand severe frosts. "We 
then come to the cab- 
bage proper, including 
early and late sorts, 
which present us with 
a great variety, from the 
loose Early York, to the 
enormous and compact- 
ly folded Drumheads 
(fig. 3). In the Cauli- 
flower and Broccoli, 
which are very much 
alike, the leaves do not 
fold, but surround a 
center, which is a mass 
of fleshy flower stems 
and undeveloped flower 
buds, all so closely 
crowded together that 
then - parts are not dis- 
tinguishable (fig.4). This 
when cooked is of al- 
most melting tender- 
ness, and may be con- 
sidered thus far the 
crowning achievement 
of the remarkable Bras- 
sica, in the way of va- 
rieties. A curious vari- 
ety is presented in the 
Brussels Sprouts, (fig. 5,) 
a vegetable not so much 
grown as it would be, 
were it known that it 
is easily raised in any 
garden soil, and that it 
is a most excellent vege- 
table. In this the stem 
grows tall, and instead 
of producing a head at 
the top, it forms a great number of small heads, 
about the size of walnuts, along the stem. Still 
another variation is presented by the Kohlrabi, 
(fig. G,) in which the leaf is rejected, but the 
Fig. 2. — SAVOY CABBAGE. 
stem, which swells out like a turnip, is the cat- 
able portion. This, if taken early and before 
it becomes stringy, is esteemed by many. Then 
again wc have an always acceptable vegetable 
