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281 



much of. a variety of this vcgetahle ; however, it was known to 

 have niajvelous cooling quahties and was often used to reduce 

 fever. There was no attempt to cultivate lettuce in England 

 until the. fourth year of Queen Elizabeth's reign (1562). 



MUSKMELON {Cwniiiiis mrJo). — A native of Soulhcrn Asia, 

 cultivated from a very remote period of antiquity, perhaps having 

 come from the ol)long fruit of the Per.sian melon, the date of 

 its first culture lieing unknown. It is considered to he as old 

 as any of the alimentary vegetables. That the Egyptians knew 

 and grew melons seems to be well established liy certain well- 

 known verses in the eleventh chapter of the Book of Xumbers of 

 the Bible. The Romans and Greeks were familiar with it in its 

 cultured form, as it appears to have been brought from Persia 

 at least before the first century. Pliny speaks of it at length, 

 describing the difficulties of obtaining melons for the Emperor 

 Tiberius all months of the year. There are many and various 

 classes of melons, one of the oldest and best being the cantalouppi, 

 which, according to M. Jacquin. derives its name from Cantaloupe, 

 a seat belonging to the Pope near Rome, where this sort, brought 

 from Armenia by the missionaries, was first cultivated. 



ONION {AlUuin cefa). — A native of Western Asia, having 

 been cultivated from the most remote period, from the references 

 to it in Sanskrit and Hebrew. It is also represented on Egyptian 

 monuments. Numerous references to it in Biblical history speak 

 of the remarkable sweetness of the onions from Egypt. The name 

 onion is no doubt derived from the Latin word iiiiio, meaning 

 a single root. The Greeks and Romans, according to Pliny, name 

 the different sorts after the countries or cities from which they 

 came, such as Scalian which, no doubt, is responsible for our 

 common word scallion. We are told that the Cypress Onion 

 "drew the most tears." Although ancient scientists were never 

 able to locate the onion in its wild form, Vihnorin states that a 

 Frenchm&n, M. Regale, discovered a plant in Turkistan which 

 has the appearance of being a wild form. A similar discovery 

 has also been made in recent years in the Himalayas. Unques- 

 tionably, the onion is one of the oldest vegetables known to man. 



POTATO [Sohuium tuberosum ) . — Native of the high valleys 

 of the Andes : Chile, Peru and Mexico. The name has evidently 

 been given it from the word batata, the Indian name for sweet 

 potato. It was also called paf^as. Apparently the first specimens 

 to be brought from the New World came from Quito, and from 

 Spain they were gradually disseininated through Europe, first to 

 Italy, thence to Mons, Belgium. The governor of Mons, recog- 

 nizing the great possibilities of the new genera, sent specimens 

 to the celebrated botanist Clusius in Vienna in 1598. During this 

 time, however, the English had also discovered the great value 

 of potatoes as a vegetable. Sir Walter Raleigh has credit for 

 bringing the potato to Ireland in 1586. They were planted in Sir 

 Walter's estate in Cork and soon had a reputation throughotit 

 all of Ireland, where it was known many years in advance of 

 England. This fact no doubt accounts for the common expres- 

 sion Irish potato. 



PE.\S iPisiiiii satiiiMii). — Of uncertain origin, but probably a 

 native of Central Europe or the mountains of Central Asia. They 

 have been cultivated by man from a very remote time. They 

 take their name from the Greek word Pisa, a town of Elis, where 

 peas grew very plentifully. In 1596, they were spelled peson 

 in England, thence the present spelling. Pliny, in the first century, 

 refers to ancient writers having spoken of peas and we have 

 numerous references to them in Biblical history, especially 

 amongst the Hebrews. We are told that at Damascus there 

 were many shops where people did nothing else but fry peas, 

 as they were considered to be especially fine for travelers. Dios- 

 coridcs, the physician to .Anthony ancl Cleopatra, recommended 

 them very highly. A. de Candolle is of the opinion that peas 

 were known to the Aryans 2.000 years before Christ, and that 

 they, perhaps, brought them into Greece and Italy. Peas have 

 also been found in the Swiss Lake dwellings of the Bronze 

 Period. Peas were further introduced in England during the 

 reign of Henry VIII. However, they were very rare until at 

 least the time of Gerard in Elizalieth's reign. 



PEPPER (Caf'sicuiii ). — .A native of South .\merica, the 

 generic name of this plant Iicing derived from the Greek word 

 signifying to bite. This plant was first incntioned by Martyr in 

 1493, according to Irving's Life of Columbus. His book states 

 that Columbus "brought back pepper more pungent than that 

 from Caucasus," apparently having compared it with the black 

 pepper of commerce from the oriental countries. There is evi- 

 dence to show that it was cultivated by the natives in Tropical 

 and South .America, long before Columbus' discovery. .Accord- 

 ing to Gerard it was brou,ght into European gardens about 1600. 

 First reference fif pepper to lie used as a condiment is apparently 

 'ly Chauca, physician to the fleet of Coluinbus. 



SPINACH (SpiiHicia olcracca). — Probably of Persian origin. 

 The works of the early Arabian physicians speak of the medical 

 properties only. It does not seem to have been introduced as a 

 vegetable until about the Fifteenth Century. The fact that 

 Spain was perhaps the first European country to introduce it as^ 

 a vegetable was no doubt responsible for its being known to 

 the older botanists as Ilispanach. Beckmann, who wrote about 

 1790, says the first use of spinach as a vegetable was in 1351, at 

 that time bemg eaten by the monks on fast days. Turner, an 

 English botanist, writing in 1538, states that it was known in 

 England at that time. By that time the name had developed 

 into spmage and spinech, both of which terms were used. 



"TOMATO (Lyciipcrsictiiii csculctitum. Var. I'lf/garc)-— Gale- 

 nus. a celebrated Greek physician, 200 .\. D., gave a minute descrip- 

 tion of Lycopcrsicum coming from Egypt. South America, prob- 

 ably Peru, however, gave the tomato to Europe in a highly cul- 

 tivated form. The name is derived from the Aztec word Xilo- 

 mafc. the vegetable having been prized and extensively cultivated 

 by the natives long before the discovery of the couiitry by the 

 Europeans. According to Dr. Tracy, "there is little doubt that 

 many of the plants as seen and described bv the Europeans as 

 wild species were largely garden varieties, originallv natives of 

 America, which are a variation or crossing of the original wild 

 species." It was first introduced into England in 1596, but for 

 many years was grown only as an ornamental plant, under the 

 common name of Love Apple, the prevailing opinion being that 

 they were poisonous to man. The tomato in Eurojie was first used 

 as a vegetable in Italy in the seventeenth century, later being 

 introduced into France and England as a table vegetable. The 

 first rnention of it in North .America as a vegetable, apparently, 

 was 1781. Seven years later a Frenchman in "Philadelphia mad'e 

 earnest eltorts to have people use the fruit as a vegetable, but 

 with httle or no success. The first record of this fruit being 

 regularly quoted on the market was in New Orleans, 1812 



THE MONTH'S WORK IN GARDEN AND 

 GREENHOUSE 



(Continued from page 279) 



If you have a vacant lot that you intend to turn into 

 a garden another year right now is the time to get 

 started, building it up with cover crops. In the warmer 

 states, one of the Summer cover crops may be sown, 

 then turn it under and plant one of the Fall crops. In 

 the Northern and colder states one will have to be con- 

 tent with getting in a Fall cover crop in the late Summer. 

 Rye is excellent, and a mixture of rye and hairv veitch is 

 even better. 



The question of cover crops on one side, the month's 

 big jobs are harvesting, or beginning to harvest and make 

 the most of every available vegetable in the garden. 



Onions may be pulled at any time now, let the tops die 

 down, and rake over every day until thoroughly dry. 

 Store in open shed until in danger from freezing, remove 

 tops, and store in cellar in open crates. Preparations 

 should be made to prolong the supply of salad by plant- 

 ing lettuce seeds now to be later transplanted to cold- 

 frames : vegetables may be planted under glass for Win- 

 ter sup]3lies, including beans, tomatoes, radishes, cucum- 

 bers and melons if wanted during the Winter. 



Flowers for wintering in frames should be sown at 

 once if not already done. Pansies, English daisies, 

 iiiyosotis, half hardy perennials and biennials. Those 

 sown during July are now ready for transplanting out- 

 door in the flower gardens. Many of the perennials may 

 be reset, after breaking up the old cluni]:)s. In the green- 

 houses, roses are now growing rapidly, and a t0]> dressing 

 of bone meal will be beneficial to them. See to it that 

 all diseased leaves are picked off, and do not let the sur- 

 face of the soil become baked and hard. Stir it up at 

 frecjuent intervals, but as the roots permeate the soil 

 more and more be careful not to stir too deep or one 

 may damage the roots. Watch carefully for mildew, and 

 tise sulphur on its first appearance. On cold, raw nights 

 a little fire heat will prove a valuable aid in keeping 

 mildew in check. Red spider should also be attended 

 with a good stream from a hose, in cajiable hands. 



