The late Dr Lindley proposed the following classification for the various forms, which includes all yet cultivated :— 1. All the leaf-buds active and open, as in wild cabbage and kale or greens; 2. All the leaf-buds active, but forming heads, as in Brussels sprouts; 3. Terminal leaf-buds alone active, forming a head, as in common cabbage, savoys, <fcc.; 4. Terminal leaf-bud alone active and open, with most of the flowers abortive and succulent, as in cauliflower and broccoli; 5. All the leaf-buds active and open, with most of the flowers abortive and succulent, as in sprouting broccoli. The least variety bears the same relation to common broccoli as Brussels sprouts do to the common cabbage. Of all these forms there are numerous gardeners’ varieties, all of which reproduce faithfully enough their parent form by proper and separate cultivation. Under Dr Lindley’s first class, common or Scotch kale is a variety which formerly was in extensive cultivation, and is still found in the cottage “kail-yards” or gardens of the Scottish peasantry. It sends up a stout central stem, growing upright to a height of about 2 feet, with close-set, large thick plain leaves of a light red or purplish hue. The lower leaves are stripped off for use as the plants grow up, and used for the preparation of broth or “Scotch kail,” a dish at one time in great repute in the north-eastern districts of Scotland. Tall or German greens, which grow to the height of 4 feet, with bright green very much curled leaves, have largely superseded kale in cultivation. A very remarkable variety of open-leaved cabbage is cultivated in the Channel Islands under the name of the Jersey or branching cabbage, It grows to a height of 8 feet, but has been known to attain double that altitude. It throws out branches from the central stem, which is sufficiently firm and woody to be fashioned into walking-sticks; and the stems are even used by the islanders as rafters for bearing the thatch on their cottage-roofs. Several varieties are cultivated as ornamental plants on account of their beautifully coloured, frizzled, aud laciniated leaves. Brussels sprouts, which represent i Dr Lindley’s second class, are miniature cabbage-heads, about an inch in diameter, which form in the axils of the leaves. They form a tender and delicate table vegetable. The third class is chiefly represented by the common or drumhead cabbage, the varieties of which are distinguished by difference in size, form, and colour. In Germany it is converted into a popular article of diet under the name of Sauerkraut by placing in a tub alternate layers of salt and cabbage. An acid fermentation sets in, which after a few days is complete, when the vessel is tightly covered over and the product kept for use with animal food. Cabbages contain a large percentage of nitrogenous compounds as compared with most other articles of food. Their percentage composition is—water, 93'4; albumen, 1’8; starch and dextrin, 3'3; woody fibre, 0 5; and mineral ash, 0 ’ 8. Red cabbage is chiefly used for pickling, and the Savoy is a hardy green variety, characterized by its very wrinkled leaves. The Portugal cabbage, or Couve Tronchuda, is a variety, the tops of which form an excellent cabbage, while the midribs of the large leaves are cooked like sea-kale. Cauliflower, which is the chief representative of class four, consists of the inflorescence of the plant modified so as to form a compact succulent white mass or head; this is upon the whole the most highly prized cultivated form of the plant, and has been in use from very remote times. Broccoli is merely a variety of cauliflower differing from the other in the form and colour of its inflorescence and its hardiness. Broccoli sprouts, the representative of the fifth class, is a form of recent introduction, and consists of flowering sprouts springing from the axils of the leaves. Kohl-rabi is a peculiar and exceptional variety of cabbage in which the stem, just above ground, swells into a fleshy turnip-like mass. It is much cultivated in certain districts as a food for cattle. The varieties of cabbage, like many other Cruciferous plants, are possessed of anti-scorbutic properties; but unless eaten when very fresh and tender they are difficult of digestion, and have a very decided tendency to produce flatulence.

Several species of palm, from the fact of yielding large sapid central buds which are cooked as vegetables, are known as Cabbage Palms. The principal of these is Areca oleracea, but other .species, such as the Coco Palm, the Maximiliana regia, Arenga saccharifera, &c., yield similar edible leaf-buds.