BRUSSELS SPROUTS. 
29 
compound of cleanings of old ditches, tree leaves, and dung. TV hen the eau 
begins to open and expand, he cuts out the center, leaving only four or five 
of the outside shoots to come to seed. Lifting, [taking up,] he says, pre¬ 
vents them from producing proud seed, as it is called, or degenerating.— 
Caled. Hort. Mem. vol. ii. p. 267. Abercrombie says, broccoli seeds degen¬ 
erate in this country, [England,] and that the best seed is obtained from 
Italy.— Loudon. The common directions are, in substance, as follows: 
Reserve a few of the largest heads of the first crop, stripping constantly 
off all under shoots, leaving only the main stem to flower and seed, and tie 
them to strong stakes, to prevent their being broken by winds and heavy 
rain. Care should be taken that no other sort of cabbage is suffered to go to 
seed near them. 
Use .—The same as the Cauliflower, which see in its alphabetical order 
BRUSSELS SPROUTS. 
Brassica oleracea. — Chou de Bruxelles , Fr.— Sprossen Kohl , Ger. 
The Brussels sprouts produce an elongated stem, often four feet high, from 
which sprout out shoots, which form small green heads, like cabbages in 
miniature, each being from one to two inches in diameter, and the whole 
ranged spirally along the stem, the main leaves of which drop oft' early. 
The top of the plant resembles that of a Savoy, planted late in the season ; 
it is small, and with a green heart of little value. Van Mons says, (Hort. 
Trans, vol. iii,) 44 If this vegetable be compared with any other, which oc¬ 
cupies as little space, lasts as long, and grows as well in situations generally 
considered unfavorable, such as between rows of potatoes, scarlet runners, 
or among young trees, it must be esteemed superior in utility to most others.” 
Nicol considered it deserving a more general culture in Scotland. 
Use. —The sprouts are used as winter greens; and at Brussels they are 
sometimes served at table with a sauce composed of vinegar, butter and nut¬ 
meg, poured upon them hot, after they have been boiled. The top, Van 
Mons says, is very delicate when dressed, and quite different in flavor from 
the sprouts. 
Culture. —The plants are raised from seed, of which an ounce may be 
requisite for a seed bed, four feet by ten feet. Van Mons, in his paper 
already referred to, says, 44 The seed is sown in the spring, under a frame, so 
as to bring the plants forward; they are then transplanted into an open bor¬ 
der with a good aspect.”* By thus beginning early and sowing successively 
till late in the season, he says, 44 we contrive to supply ourselves in Belgium 
with this delicious vegetable full ten months in the year; that is, from the 
