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CHAP. 35.—CABBAGE-SPROUTS.

In all varieties of the cabbage, the part most agreeable to the taste is the cyma,1 although no use is made of it in medicine, as it is difficult to digest, and by no means beneficial to the kidneys. At the same time, too, it should not be omitted, that the water in which it has been boiled,2 and which is so highly praised for many purposes, gives out a very bad smell when poured upon the ground. The ashes of dried cabbage-stalks are generally reckoned among the caustic substances: mixed with stale grease, they are employed for sciatica, and, used as a liniment, in the form of a depilatory, toge- ther with silphium3 and vinegar, they prevent hair that has been once removed from growing again. These ashes, too, are taken lukewarm in oil, or else by themselves, for convulsions, internal ruptures, and the effects of falls with violence.

And are we to say then that the cabbage is possessed of no evil qualities whatever? Certainly not, for the same authors tell us, that it is apt to make the breath smell, and that it is injurious to the teeth and gums. In Egypt, too, it is never eaten, on account of its extreme bitterness.4

1 "Sprout," or "Brussels sprout." See B. xix. e. 41.

2 He is probably speaking of cabbage-water in general.

3 See B. xix. c. 15.

4 This bitter or pungent cabbage, Fée suggests, did not, probably, belong to the genus Brassica.

The Natural History. Pliny the Elder. John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S. H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A. London. Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street. 1855.

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