186. _COMMON MUSTARD is made from the powdered seeds of a plant_ (Sinapis
nigra), _which grows wild in corn-fields and by road sides, in most parts
of England, and is known by its yellow cruciform flowers, with expanding
calyx, and its pods being smooth, square, and close to the stem._
In light and otherwise barren lands mustard is cultivated to great
advantage. That which is produced in the county of Durham has much
celebrity; though the powdered seeds of charlock have, in many instances,
been substituted, and sold in place of it. Mustard is in daily use at our
tables, and the _seeds_, whole or bruised, are employed in pickles, and for
numerous other culinary purposes. These seeds yield, on pressure, a
considerable quantity of oil, which is soft and insipid to the taste, and
partakes but little of the acrimony of the plant.
Different preparations of mustard are sometimes used in medicine. The
seeds, taken internally, are serviceable in asthma, rheumatism, and palsy.
Cataplasms of mustard are employed, on account of its stimulating
properties, on benumbed or paralytic limbs. An infusion of the powdered
seeds, taken in considerable quantity, operates as an emetic, and, in
smaller quantity, is an useful aperient and diuretic.
187. _RAPE and COLE SEED_ (Brassica napus) _are different varieties of a
plant with yellow cruciform flowers and, spindle-shaped root, which grows
wild upon ditch banks, and amongst corn._
_This plant is distinguished from others of the same tribe by its roots
being a regular continuation of the stem._
In several parts of England rape and cole seed are sown intermixed, the
plants being distinguishable in their growth by the cole exceeding the rape
in height, being more soft and tender, and less branched and bushy. When
sown separately the cole is usually, though not always, consumed as food
for sheep and cattle; and the rape is allowed to stand for seed. For the
cultivation of rape the soil ought to be rich and deep.
The harvest commences about the month of August; and as the seed, when in a
state of maturity, is easily shed, it is customary, in some places, to
thresh the plants on a large cloth in the field. Rape-cloths are sometimes
so large as to measure twenty yards square, and to weigh more than half a
ton. The threshing is almost always considered a sort of festival, at which
a great portion of the neighbours attend, in order to expedite the work;
and they are repaid by the good cheer of their brother farmer. In other
places the rape is carried on a cloth, in a low kind of waggon, to be
threshed out of the field.
_Oil_ is obtained from rape-seed by pressure. This is used, in large
quantities, by clothiers and others. It is also used in medicine; and for
making the soap called green soap. It is likewise useful for various
purposes in domestic life, and particularly for burning in lamps; but it is
apt to become rancid, though there are means of purifying it. After the oil
has been extracted, the refuse is called _oil-cake_, and is employed for
the fattening of oxen; and, in Norfolk, is sometimes broken to pieces, and
strewed upon the land as manure. The _roots_ of rape plants may be eaten
like turnips, but they have a stronger taste. The _stalks_, or haulm, if
strong, may be advantageously employed in the formation of the enclosing
fences of farm-yards. They are, however, generally burnt; and in some parts
of the country, the ashes, which are equal in quality to the best
pot-ashes, are collected together and sold.
188. _The TURNIP_ (Brassica rapa) _is a well-known edible root, which is
cultivated to great extent in almost every part of England._
To the farmer turnips are, in various particulars, a most valuable crop.
They afford a profitable intervening crop with corn. Both the _tops_ and
_roots_ are eaten by sheep. Horses and cattle may be advantageously fed
upon the roots during winter; but the milk of cows receives an unpleasant
flavour from them. This flavour is also communicated to the butter; but it
may be taken off by dissolving a little nitre in spring water, and putting
a small tea-cupful of it into about eight gallons of milk, when warm from
the cow. Turnips also serve as food for mankind, either boiled or roasted.
In the years 1629, 1636, and 1693, during the pressure of a severe famine,
bread is stated to have been made of turnips in several parts of England,
particularly in the county of Essex. The process was to put the turnips
into a kettle over a slow fire, till they became soft; they were then taken
out, squeezed as dry as possible, mixed with an equal quantity of flour,
and, after having been kneaded with yeast, salt, and a little warm water,
were made into loaves and baked. In bread thus made the peculiar taste of
the turnip is said to be scarcely perceptible.
These roots have been much recommended as sea store, from the possibility,
with care, of preserving them for a great length of time uninjured, and
from their furnishing an agreeable and wholesome food for sailors, on long
voyages. The young and tender _tops_ of turnips, when boiled, afford an
agreeable substitute for greens.
For the cultivation of turnips a light soil, particularly such as consists
of a mixture of sand and loam, is found preferable to rich and heavy land.
Turnips are raised from seed, which it has long been the established custom
to sow in the month of June. As soon as the young plants have attained a
tolerable size, they are hoed, for the purpose of thinning them. In their
growth they suffer much by the attacks of slugs, caterpillars, and insects
of different kinds, particularly of a small, dark beetle with two
longitudinal yellowish stripes (_Chrysomela nemorum_), which is called by
farmers the _turnip-fly_. For the destruction of this insect many plans
have, at different times, been devised.
Turnips are either eaten on the land by cattle, or are drawn out and
stacked, or preserved under ground for winter use; and, in this state, they
may be kept sound till April.
There are several kinds of turnips; but of these the _common white_, or
_Norfolk turnips_, and the _Ruta-baga_, or _Swedish turnips_, are the
principal. The latter, which indeed constitute a distinct species, are
generally of a yellowish colour, and are so hardy as to suffer no injury
even from the most intense cold; but their substance is so compact as
sometimes to break the teeth of sheep which feed upon them.
189. _The COMMON CABBAGE_ (Brassica oleracea) _is a well-known plant, the
original stock of which grows on cliffs by the seaside, in Kent,
Cornwall, Yorkshire, and Wales._
_This wild plant is likewise the original of the various kinds of_
colewort, borecole, cauliflower, _and_ brocoli.
The effects of cultivation on the cabbage are very remarkable. In the wild
plants the leaves are extended: but in the common garden cabbage they are
set so close together as to lie upon each other, almost like the scales of
a bulb, and, increasing in compactness as they increase in size: those in
the interior being excluded from the effects of the light, do not assume a
green, but are of yellow colour.
Other plants of this species form their stalks into a head, as the
_cauliflower_ and _brocoli_; and others grow, in a natural way, without
forming either their leaves or stalks into heads, as the _coleworts_, or
_Dorsetshire kale_, the _borcoles_, _turnip-rooted cabbage_, and others.
In some parts of England, cabbages of different kinds are much cultivated
as food for cattle, and they succeed well in rich and finely prepared land.
The seed is sown in February or March. In April or May the young plants are
taken out, and set in rows, at a little distance from each other; and, in
the ensuing autumn and winter, the cabbages afford a valuable stock of
food.
All the kinds of cabbage are useful for domestic purposes; and some of them
afford a peculiarly sweet and delicate food. An agreeable pickle is made of
them, and the Germans, and people of other northern countries of the
Continent, prepare from them a favourite food called _sour-crout_. These
plants were known to, and much used by, the ancient Greeks and Romans.
Cabbages are biennial plants, or are sown one year, produce seed in the
ensuing year, and then die.
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