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Instead of cutting all our cabbage plants, we shall leave a few in the ground until the end of the summer. Soon the heart of each plant will open, and long stems will grow up from its centre. Small yellow flowers then appear on these stems. Each flower has four little yellow leaves or petals, which grow in the form of a cross.
我們不應該把所有的卷心菜都割下來，而是應該留幾株在土里，一直留到夏末。很快，每一株卷心菜的菜心就會打開，從中心長出一些長長的莖，莖上會生出小黃花。每一朵花，都有四片小小的黃色花瓣，長成十字形。
For this reason, the cabbage and many other plants, such as the turnip, the mustard, and the wallflower, which have flowers of the same shape, get the name of "cross-bearers. " It is well to know that none of the plants in this class are poisonous.
因為這個原因，卷心菜，還有其他很多植物，比如郁金香、芥菜、紫羅蘭，這些植物的花都是這個形狀，因此叫“十字花科”。而且幸運的是，這一類植物都沒有毒。
There are several other useful plants that grow in our gardens which are really cabbages, although we call them by other names. One of these is the cauliflower, and another is the broccoli. A great mass of white flower-buds grows in the middle of each of these plants; and when this mass of buds is boiled, it is good to eat.
我們的菜園里還有幾種其他有用的植物，也屬于卷心菜一類，但名字是不一樣的。其中之一是“白菜花”，另一種是“西蘭花”。這些植物中間長著大量的白色花蕾，煮著吃是很好吃的。
Another kind of cabbage sends up a tall stem, on the sides of which little bundles of green leaves grow in balls: these are called brussels sprouts.
另外一種卷心菜長著高高的莖，莖的側面有球形的綠葉，長成一小叢一小叢的，這種植物名叫“球芽甘藍” 。
Then we have the cabbage called kale, which has long curly leaves; and the savoy cabbage, with short wrinkledleaves. A kind of cabbage grows in Jersey which has a stem taller than a man. Walking-sticks are sometimes made from its stems.
還有一種卷心菜叫“羽衣甘藍”，長著長長的卷葉；還有“抱子甘藍”，葉子很短，還皺皺巴巴的。有一種卷心菜長在英國的澤西島，莖居然比一個人還高，有時候用它的莖來做手杖。
It is a good thing that there are so many kinds of cabbages; for some are ready for eating at one time, and some at another, so that we can have cabbages for dinner all the year round.
有這么多種卷心菜是一件好事，因為一年當中，有些時間，這種植物成熟，有些時間，那種植物成熟，所以我們一年到頭都吃得上卷心菜。
