Why is it improper to consider the turnip a real bulb?

Because it is an intermediate stem which swells into a bulbous form.  Turnips have not been cultivated in England, in fields, more than a century; but this agricultural practice now yields an annual return which probably exceeds the interest of our national debt.—­Sir Walter Scott.

Why is the Cauliflower so named?

Because of its origin from caulis, the stalk of a herb.  Colewort is of a similar origin.

Why are the stems of the Cabbage tribe considered wholesome food?

Because their acrid flavour is dipersed among an abundance of mucilage.  Cabbages were commonly used among the ancients, and Cato wrote volumes on their nature.  The Indians had so much veneration for them, that they swore by cabbages, and were therein as superstitious as the Egyptians, who gave divine honours to leeks and onions, for the great benefits which they said they received from them.—­Lemery on Food.

Why do Cabbages emit a strong animal odour?

Because they contain a great quantity of azote or nitrogen, one of the ultimate elements of animal matter, and strongly characterized in the destructive distillation of horn, hoofs, or bones.

Why do not the leaves of the Cabbage remain wet, after being immersed in water, and again taken out of it?

Because they are powdered with a slight layer of resinous matter, similar to that which covers certain fruits, and, in particular, plums and grapes.  Their sea-green colour is also attributed to this resinous layer.

Why is Quassia so called?  Because it was named in honour of a negro, Quassia, a drunken doctor, who discovered the virtue of the wood in curing malignant fevers.

Why is the Ice plant so called?

Because its stem is covered with soft tubercles, or excrescences, which have a crystalline appearance.

Why do the leaves of some trees fall very early?

Because they are articulated to the branch; that is, they do not unite with it by the whole of their base, but are simply fixed to it by a kind of contraction or articulation; as in the maple and horse chestnut.

Why do leaves fall at the approach of winter?

Because a separation takes place, either in the foot-stalk, or more usually at its base, and the dying part quits the vigorous one, which is promoted by the weight of the leaf itself, or the action of the gales that blow in autumn on its expanded form.  M. Richard explains the cause more philosophically:  “Although the fall of the leaves generally takes place at the approach of winter, cold is not to be considered as the principal cause of this phenomenon.  It is much more natural to attribute it to the cessation of vegetation, and the want of nourishment which the leaves experience at that season, when the course of the sap is interrupted.  The vessels of the leaf contract, dry up, and soon after, that organ is detached from the twig on which it had been developed.”