COLE-SEED, the seed of the napus sativa, or long-rooted, narrow-leaved rape, called, in English, navew, and comprehended by Linnaeus among the brassicas, or cabbage-kind. See BRASSICA.
This plant is cultivated to great advantage in many parts of England, on account of the nape-oil expressed from its seeds. It requires a rich and strong soil, especially in marsh or fenny lands, those newly recovered from the sea, or indeed any other land that is rank and fat, whether arable or pasture. The best seeds are brought from Holland, and should be sown about Midsummer, the very day that the land is plowed: a gallon will serve an acre.
Besides the oil already mentioned, it is likewise cultivated for winter-food to cattle, and is a very good preparative of land for barley or wheat.