In some wild plants the tendency to form fleshy subdivisions of flower stems was noticed. Selec tion of the best specimens for seed producers finally resulted in a race of cabbages whose flowers are borne on a white, coral-like mass of stem branches. These form a delicious dish when cut before the flowers appear. This race of cabbages is known as cauliflower.
Let me tell you something interesting about cauliflower. When the fleshy flower stems of certain wild cabbage plants were first noticed, and thought to be worth developing by selection, it was the gardeners of Italy that carried the work forward until the older varieties of what we call cauliflower were produced. They called it Broc coli, and' that is the Italian name for cauliflower to-day. All along the shores of the Mediter ranean, and all through the year, these plants, in many varieties, are grown for the markets. It is not usual to hear the name, Broccoli, in other countries, though the name, cauliflower, is every where. It is used by itself, as a vegetable and combined with other vegetables in pickles.
The headed cabbages form a great group that developed along the line of improvement of the terminal head. The sun tinged some to a rosy color. From that the line of purple cabbages came. The solid globular head of great size is one type. The oval head, more loose and soft, is another. Late and early varieties are numerous. So are tender and hardy kinds. Heavy coarse fibred kinds are grown for cattle. There are varieties for sauerkraut and others for crisp salads. They all fall into two groups, based upon the leaves. They may be smooth or crinkled. The latter have the network of veins so swollen that the heads are not solid, like the smooth sort, and the leaves are far more tender. "Savoy cabbage," as this group of crimped-leaved varieties are called, have sweeter, milder flavor than the smooth leaved varieties.
Swelling of the stem was noted as a character in some wild cabbage plants, and when thus dis torted the stems were tender and edible. Gradu ally this trait has been emphasized until a race of turnip-like plants resulted. The leaves grow out of the top and sides of a fleshy globe that sits on top of the ground. This is Kohl-rabi. Another race sprung from plants that had their roots enlarged. The Swedish turnip, or rutabaga, has its leaves clustered at the top of a thick "root-stem," that sits half buried in the ground. The flesh is tender, but becomes stringy when left too long in the ground. The flesh is yellow. The other turnip-rooted cab bages are white.
Suppose a wild cabbage had no tendency to form heads or turnips, but responded to cultiva tion by producing more and better spreading green leaves. Such a plant was the parent of the
kale, a tree of green, intricately curled, succulent leaves, used as a pot herb. We Americans use kale for "greens," which means the same thing, exactly.
Another name for this palm-tree cabbage is Borecole. In Europe, large kinds are grown to feed to cattle. In our southern states a kale is grown that bunches its upper leaves in a loose rosette at the top, while the rest are distributed about the elongated stem. These lower ones are cut for greens as they reach good size, but arc still tender. At the end of a summer the plants stand as bare stalks, each crowned by the small rosette around the growing point. This is the Georgia collard, the only cabbage that thrives in a warm climate.
The Chinese cabbage, or Pe-tsai, is a distinct species, no closer to the wild cabbage of Europe than the plum is to the cherry. Its curly leaves have white, fleshy stalks, that do not form a close head. They are more like Swiss chard in appear ance, but the flowers prove it a cabbage. Pak choi, another variety, is taller, with whiter stalks. Both are tender and of delicate flavor if cut when young and boiled like kale. The ribs alone may be served like asparagus. In American gardens, these Old-World vegetables are a delightful sur prise, easily raised, and a valuable addition to our list of food plants.
No vegetable responds more quickly to good treatment than the children of the wild cabbage. Rich soil, moist and fine and free from weeds, produces the finest specimen plants. Quick growth, uninterrupted by drought or neglect of other sort, makes the biggest, tenderest leaves and stalks, and they have the most delicate flavor. The cool, moist climate of England makes it the best place in the world to grow the whole cabbage group.
If the gardener neglects his cabbages they grow tough and rank in taste, do not head solidly, and finally burst open and "bolt to seed." Plant the seeds of such neglected heads, and do not tend them. The next crop is uglier than the last. Save seed of these plants to sow, and let alone. In a few generations what are our cab bages like? They have gone back to the old wild cabbage form of the British coast. The gardener says: "These plants revert to the original wild type." Just so your kohl-rabi and turnip-rooted cab bages will lose the plumpness and tenderness and delicacy of flavor, unless fed and tended. So will the cauliflowers and the kales, proving that their ancestors were the same as those of the headed cabbages, which alone keep the family name.