We have in the fruit catalogues, the distinction of good for market, or good for amateurs. We should have some such distinction among vegetables. In celery, for instance, there ought to be a distinction between a kind good for the kitchen, and a kind good for the table. For the former, where it may be required for stewing, chicken salad, soups and similar purposes, the actual pound weight for the price is all that need be considered. But for the table one does not desire four or five large and thick leaf stalks, but a dozen or more of them of moderate size; and for this purpose a variety that produces a large number of leaves on a plant, would be much preferred to one that had but a few, no matter how white or solid these few may be.

Again, flavor, though not often considered, is of great importance in reference to this division.

For the mere kitchen purposes, that with a somewhat pungent taste is more desirable. It enters better into combinations, especially for some soups. But for table mildness is essential, and the character which the epicure knows as a nutty flavor is a first essential.