* The staple food of Russian peasants consists of black rye-bread and cabbage broth thickened with oatmeal, to which salt fish is sometimes added,

Next to ordinary cabbage, the savoy ranks as a favourite for winter use, and is best when seen with frost shining on its outer wrinkled leaves: whilst the different varieties of cauliflower and brocoli now appear in the market all the year round, the latter being sent up to Covent Garden during the winter from Cornwall, where it has become a great source of profit since the railway has allowed of its rapid transmission to London. The favourite manure employed for the brocoli fields is old rags, which are sent over by the shipload from Ireland, and stacked for use, being spread over the fields as required, without further manipulation - a practice which appears open to objection on sanitary grounds, although we have never heard any complaint on that score. Certainly the brocoli seems to thrive luxuriantly amidst the old coats of 'Paddy from Cork.'

Seakale (Crambe maritima) grows wild on our sea coasts, and we are told in Rhind's 'History of the Vegetable Kingdom' that bundles of it were seen in the Chichester market in 1753. Since that time it has been cultivated with care, and has now become one of the most delicate and highly-prized of our winter vegetables. Grown in darkness under pots made for the purpose, and covered up warmly, it comes to table white and tender, just at the time most needed; but its price makes it a luxury, so that it can never become a poor man's vegetable. A very good substitute for it may, however, be found in the sprouting brocoli, the tender stems and purple flowers of which in the early spring are almost equal in flavour to asparagus.

Cabbage of all kinds is highly nutritious and wholesome, and was prescribed by Hippocrates in cases of colic, but unless cooked fresh it is indigestible, and the smell of the water in which it is boiled is very offensive: this, however, may be obviated by boiling a crust of bread with it.

Sauerkraut, which may be looked upon as a German national dish, is made by pressing layers of cabbage and salt in a vessel. An acid fermentation ensues, which is completed in a few days; the vessel is then covered tightly, and the sauerkraut kept for use as required.

Spinach as a vegetable is more eaten and esteemed in London than in the provinces, but it has been known for centuries, and was cultivated by the monks as early as 1351. Its name is supposed to denote the country from which it was derived, that is hispanach, or Spanish plant. Two sorts appear in the market, a summer and a winter spinach; but there is a wild plant known as Good King Henry, which both here and on the Continent is frequently eaten as spinach, which it much resembles, although rather coarser and tougher. It is, however, an excellent substitute, especially in mountainous regions where the cultivated plant is unattainable. Nettles used also to be boiled and eaten in the spring as a substitute for spinach, and are even now sometimes used medicinally by our peasantry.

There are two other favourite vegetables which must be mentioned, although they do not belong to the cabbage tribe.' These are asparagus and artichokes, both maritime plants, and both supposed to have come to us from the shores of the Mediterranean, where they grow wild. The wild asparagus is still often served at table in Venice, but it is strong in flavour and less succulent than the cultivated plant. There are two sorts of this delicious vegetable, one pinkish-white and the other green; the latter is certainly to be preferred, although the pink is earliest in the market, being often forced. It is grown largely in France and the Channel Islands as well as in Cornwall, and is ready for table long before the green variety - which is that chiefly grown in England - can be produced, which is a great advantage, as it prolongs the season of a vegetable almost universally esteemed, but which was formerly unattainable before the middle of April or beginning of May. Some of the asparagus now cultivated is of immense size, but hardly equals that grown by the ancient Romans, of which, according to Pliny, three stalks would weigh a pound.

Roman cooks dried asparagus, and when wanted threw them into hot water and boiled them for a few minutes, when they became fresh and green.

Artichokes, unlike asparagus, have rather declined in public estimation of late years, although they are still largely cultivated on the Continent. The flavour is excellent, but the price at which they are sold renders them unfit for the tables of the people, who scarcely know them, and generally look upon the underground, or Jerusalem artichoke, as the only plant of the name. Artichokes appear to have been highly esteemed during the reign of Henry VIII., in whose privy purse expenses the following entry occurs: 'Paied to a servant of Maister Tresorer in rewarde for bringing archecokks to the king's grace to Yorke place iiijs.iiijd.

Mushrooms, which have always been so highly esteemed, were formerly known only in the wild state, but of late years their cultivation has been attempted with great success, and they are becoming every year more abundant, tons being sent to market that have been grown in prepared beds.

In France and Germany many strange and highly-coloured mushrooms, which we should reject, are freely eaten, but they are always inspected before being allowed to be offered for sale, and I am informed that an onion is always boiled with them, and if this becomes black, the whole contents of the pot is thrown away as poisonous. It is certain that we often reject as unwholesome and dangerous many varieties of mushroom which might be eaten with impunity, but the frequent illnesses and sometimes fatal cases of poisoning which have from time to time occurred through deleterious fungi, render people over-cautious in eating those which are really wholesome and highly nutritious. Among these may be reckoned the puff-balls, which were formerly regarded as very poisonous, but are now known to be delicious and wholesome when gathered young, cut into slices and fried, but when they are at all yellow inside they should not be eaten. It was formerly believed that all mushrooms grown under a fig-tree, well manured and watered, were wholesome.

Truffles, so highly belauded by all cooks for their excellent flavour, are underground mushrooms, found by the help of dogs or pigs. They grow principally under elms, and were as much prized by the Romans as by modern cooks. Anciently they were served with meat, gravy, wine, skirrets, pepper, and honey, but Avicenna says they were peeled, cut in pieces, cooked in salt and water, and dished up with oil, benzoin, and spices. Leo Africanus says the Arabs cook them in milk. They are now chiefly used as a flavouring in various dishes. The giant mushroom, known as the vegetable beefsteak, is by many looked upon as equal in flavour to real beefsteak.