CAULIFLOWER

a cabbage in which the flower-buds and flower-stalks form a compact white ma , or ‘‘eurd,’’ this constituting the vegetable proper instead of the leaves. It has been considerably improved by modern selection and cultivation but it is not, as many suppose, a vegetable of modern, or even comparatively modern, origin, for if was grown along the Mediterranean for centuries before it found its way northward and via England into North America. <A fine cauliflower—-one with a large, close eurd—smooth. firm, and white—represents a great deal of care in plant selection, in cultivation, and in marketing—especially im protecting it from discoloration by sun or rain during its growth, and from dust and bruising after cutting and during shipment. A rough-surfaced, or ‘‘riey,’’ curd, or one divided by leaves or otherwise broken, or of yellow or green tint, indicates inferior quality, and dark or soft spots warn of stalene and decomposition. See also Brocco.