t
"cauliflowers have of late years been so far improved in England as to
far exceed in goodness and magnitude what are produced in most parts of
Europe." Prior to the French Revolution, (which began in 1778)
cauliflower had, in fact, come to be largely exported from England into
Holland, Germany and France; but soon after this it came to be more
generally grown in those countries and was no longer imported, though
English seed was still used.

The numerous varieties of cauliflower now cultivated are of
comparatively recent origin. Although some of the earliest writers on
this vegetable mention two or more varieties, these were in some cases
merely different crops produced by sowing the seed at different periods.
In 1796, Marshall, in his English work on gardening, says that
"cauliflower is sometimes distinguished into an early and late sort;
though in fact there is no difference, only as the seed of that called
'early' is saved from the foremost plants." Phillips, in 1822, said:
"Our gardeners furnish us with an early and a late variety, both of
which are much esteemed."

In 1831, Don, of England, in his work on botany and gardening ("History
of Dichlamydeous Plants") describes fifteen varieties of broccoli and
three of cauliflower. The latter were known as Early, Later or Large,
and Red, the last being the most hardy. These three kinds differed but
little in general character, and were all inclined to sport into
inferior varieties.

In 1832 there was still a discussion in England as to whether the early
and late cauliflowers were really distinct, or differed only in time of
sowing.

John Rogers, in his "Vegetable Cultivator" (London, 1843), said: "There
are two varieties of the cauliflower, the early and the late, which are
alike in their growth and size, only that the early kind, as the name
implies, comes in about a week before the other, provided the true sort
has been obtained. There is, however, no certainty of knowing this,
unless by sowing the seed from the earliest sorts, as is the practice of
the London kitchen gardeners. The early variety was grown for a number
of years in the grounds called the Meat-house Gardens, at Millbank, near
Chelsea, and was of a superior quality, and generally the first at
market. The late variety is supposed to have originated from a stock for
many years cultivated on a piece of ground called the Jamaica level,
near Deptford, and which produced uncommonly fine heads, but later