.August 2, 1883. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
99 
there in the times when a race with painted skins had sole 
possession of Britain. Possibly the Romans cultivated and 
improved the wild Brassica oleracea, but we rather incline to 
the theory that they brought seeds or young plants from Italy. 
Both Greeks and Romans were acquainted, as the histories 
show, with several varieties of the Cabbage. They allude to kinds 
with a compact head, and to others of a looser growth belong¬ 
ing to the Colewoi't tribe; their style of description, however, 
renders it difficult to identify these. The Greeks were eloquent 
in praise of the culinary and also the medicinal value of such 
vegetables, and commended them as remedies for various diseases 
as well as aids towards good health and longevity. To their 
wholesomeness the Romans do not seem to have demurred, but 
they were scarcely choice enough for the palates of the citizens 
of imperial Rome, who left them to be eaten by the freedmen 
and slaves. Pliny notices several kinds named from places 
where they chiefly grew, and one mentioned as produced in 
the vale of Aricia was a large Cabbage with a close heart, pre¬ 
decessor, it may be, to our Whiteheart Cabbage. It does not 
appear that the ancients were acquainted wdth the edible flower- 
heads of Broccoli and Cauliflower. This author gives his readers 
exact cultural directions how to obtain good Cole worts: he 
advises that they should be sown after the autumn equinox 
in ground that had been first well dug, then manured. After¬ 
wards he suggests the judicious cutting away of part of the 
early sprouts, while the earth is gradually raised round the 
roots. 
The numerous varieties of this esculeut are easily classed. 
All those that form hearts of different degrees of compactness 
are properly Cabbages, an appellation said to be derived from 
an old French word that meant a “ head ” or close centre; such 
were certainly not much grown even in the metropolis until the 
times of the Stuarts. Cauliflowers and Broccoli present the 
second group, also deemed rarities till about the same period ; 
they are distinguishable by the firm succulent flower head set 
on a short stem. The name “ Cauliflower ” has been explained 
in several ways; presumably it is merely a new spelling of 
Gerard’s old “ Cole-floury ”—?>., a Colewort with a flower-top 
which is conspicuous. As to “ Broccoli,” it is, perhaps, a 
corruption of Borecole. This, though it has a stem slightly 
longer, less flower-heads, and more variety of colour than the 
Cauliflower, differs not from it botanicallv, and the method by 
which both these types were developed out of B. oleracea has 
been forgotten, as well as the names of the men who accom¬ 
plished the feat. 
Then we come thirdly to what are in common parlance 
“ Bunch Greens,” “ Broccoli Sprouts,” Coleworts, or Kale—all 
varieties of the Colewort familiar to our ancestors in the middle 
ages and earlier. These have the leaves expanded, and mostly 
coloured, whatever may be their size, there being no compact 
heart. So greatly did the Wars of the Roses affect England, 
that the cultivation of even such common vegetables as the Cole¬ 
wort was greatly interfered with, but under the Tudors garden¬ 
ing speedily revived. Still for some time Cabbages continued to 
be brought from Holland and France as rarities; and Ben Jonson 
has a joke in one of his plays, which represents a character 
receiving intelligence from abroad in Cabbages, and possibly 
letters were sometimes placed in the heart of one of these 
vegetables for secret transmission from abroad to England. 
A story which seems to have quite as much in its favour as 
the like traditions generally have, attributes to Sir Anthony 
Ashley, an official person of some importance in the reigns of 
Elizabeth and James I., the introduction to our garden of some 
close or summer Cabbage. Mr. Glasspoole thiuks it not im¬ 
probable there was a rivalry amongst the courtiers of Elizabeth 
to see who could obtain most foreign roots and plants, and as 
a Clerk of the Council he would be in frequent communication 
with the continent. Besides, there was a jest current concerning 
him, that he got more by Cales than he did by Kale, the allusion 
being to a command he once held at Cales or Cadiz, where he 
enriched himself unfairly. Add to this the fact that upon his 
monument at Winborne St. Giles, Dorsetshire, there is sculptured 
a round object which might be taken for a Cabbage. True, 
there have been those who asserted this is no Cabbage, but a 
cannon ball, “ornamented with reticulations,” intended to keep 
in remembrance the knight’s warlike performances, not his 
horticultural ones. 
We are at all events certain that Gerard was the first English 
author who discoursed upon Coleworts and Cabbages. He grew 
them and studied them ; was specially interested in several of 
the varieties, amongst these one he calls the Rapecole, having 
the excellent qualities both of the Colewort and the Turnip. 
The seed of this he had sent him from Germany, and he says 
the young plants received the same careful attention he gave to 
Cucumbers and Melons. After comments upon several varieties 
he remarks, “ The swollen Colewort of all others is the strangest. 
This I received from the worshipful London merchant Nicholas 
Lete, who brought the seed out of France, one who is greatly in 
love with rare and fair flowers and plants.” Was this a kind 
identical with the Kohl-Rabi of the present day, which is classed 
amongst Broccoli, aud has a stem singularly globose, but which 
is seldom sent to table ? It does not appear that Gerard was 
acquainted with the cultivation of the Cauliflower or “ Cole- 
floury.” This variety is referred to by him as the best of all, 
the white Cabbage being next; but he would see foreign samples 
as Cauliflowers, were imported from the Netherlands somewhat 
stale, and sold early in the seventeenth century at a rate equi¬ 
valent to about 3s. each as money goes now. 
Whether Sir A. Ashley was the introducer of summer Cab¬ 
bages, as remarked above, may be doubtful. Hartlib’s evidence 
is tolerably positive that the Flemish emigrants who had landed 
in Kent, and who towards the end of the sixteenth century 
moved nearer to the metropolis, began to grow Cabbages and 
Cauliflowers for the markets, chiefly on the Surrey side of the 
Thames. Then under the Ceorges these vegetables began to be 
grown freely in Middlesex. “Cabbage Lane ” appears here and 
there on old maps as the name of a byeway amongst fields of 
vegetables, in which such plants had a prominent place. 
Scotch Kale is famous both north and south of the Tweed, 
and although some folks have tried to give us English the credit 
of having introduced it to Scotland after the Union, Kale-yards, 
or gardens possess a longer history than that; probably they 
date back to the time when parties of German fishermen settled 
on the eastern coast. So notable a dish is “ Kale-brose,” that 
it has given Scotland a title to be called the “ land o’ Kale ” as. 
much as the “ land o’ cakes,” the open Coleworts getting the 
preference over the close Cabbages. The thrifty Scots have 
been in the habit of eating what southerners reject, the stem of 
the Winter Cabbage, peeling off the fibrous portion and boiling 
the centre, called “ custock.”—J. R. S. C. 
CARNATION AND PICOTEE SHOW AT SLOUGII. 
July 31st. 
There was a peculiar appropriateness in the site chosen for the supple¬ 
mentary Southern Show of the National Carnation and Picotee Society on 
Tuesday last, for the Royal Nurseries, Slough, have a history closely 
connected with the special objects of this Society, and extending over a. 
period of forty years, during which time Mr. C. Turner has, together with 
Mr. E. S. Dodwell and later with Mr. J. Douglas, worked most assiduously 
to improve his favourite flowers and render them more popular. Both objects 
have been most satisfactorily accomplished, and since the Exhibition held 
at Slough in 1851 great advances have been made, especially in extending 
the taste for florists’ flowers amongst the multitude. After a lapse of thirty 
years there was especial interest in a similar gathering on the same ground, 
affording an opportunity for a retrospect of the Society’s labours, and as a 
signification of appreciation of the valuable assistance received from Mr. C. 
Turner. 
As was expected a great number of visitors assembled to honour the 
occasion, particularly as no fees were charged for admission ; and though 
exhibitors were not so numerous as might have been desirable, sufficient 
stands were entered to constitute a very pretty display, the quality of the 
blooms being extraordinary, especially those shown by Mr. Turner and Mr. 
Dodwell; indeed, some of the blooms were uncommonly fine both in size, 
substance, refinement, and colour. They were arranged in the large con¬ 
servatory near the entrance to the nursery, being placed on the side and 
cross stages with a few miscellaneous plants between the lines of boxes to 
relieve the monotony that otherwise too frequently prevails at such shows. 
In addition to the blooms in competition Messrs. J. Yeitch & Sons, Chelsea, 
contributed three boxes, representing about 120 varieties of Carnations and 
Picotees, forming a most interesting and valuable feature in the Exhibition. 
From the Slough Nurseries also six boxes of fresh and bright Roses were 
staged, including a great number of the best varieties in cultivation ; and 
Mr. R. Dean, Ealing, showed some blooms of a new Clove Carnation Violet 
King, very rich in colour, and exceedingly free. 
Several new varieties of Carnations were awarded prizes and certificates 
in the classes for seedlings, all those so honoured being of great merit, 
well deserving the distinction accorded them. Mr. Dodwell was particularly 
successful, securing certificates for the following four :— 
Dorothy .—A charming rose flake, the blooms large, pale rose, petals 
broad and clear. First prize and certificate. Mr. Turner also obtained a 
second prize for Mrs. Bridgewater, a pretty rose flake, clear, and of good 
substance. 
Squire Whitbourn .—A purple flake, rich clear purple, with the best- 
formed petals of all the varieties in this class. Certificate. 
Samuel Barlow .—Crimson bizarre, very large flowers, outer petals large 
and shell-like ; colour rich crimson, flakes broad and clear in colour. First 
prize and certificate. 
Mrs. Anstiss .—Pink and purple bizarre, a very beautifully formed flower 
rich purple and deep clear purple. First prize and certificate. 
New Picotees were represented by only one variety, a fine corner bloom in 
Mr. C. Turner’s first-prize twenty-four—namely, 
Mrs. Webb .—A heavy rose-edged variety, flowers very large and extremely 
handsome, the substance being very notable. The colour is light and 
delicate, but very pleasing. 
After careful comparison of a number of fine blooms the premier Car¬ 
nation was selected from Mr. Turner’s first twenty-four, a charming example 
