1865.] KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 41 



Romans, the Celts and Germans, cultivated the turnip ; its origi- 

 nal country is doubtful on account of the facility with which it 

 becomes naturalized outside of cultivated ground. M. Fries says 

 that Brassica campestris and Brassica rapa grow spontaneously in 

 the Scandinavian peninsula; and within the last few years the ex- 

 plorations of the French naturalist, M. Ledebow, in northern and 

 eastern Europe, have shown that both these plants are spontaneous 

 through the whole of Russia and Siberia. 



The Horseradish (Gochlearia Armoracea, L.) — This is the 

 last of the crucifers whose natural history we shall discuss. It is 

 cultivated for its root, the merits of which are well-known in con- 

 nection with the " Roast Beef of Old England." We shall not 

 occupy the time of our readers with a botanical description of this 

 well-known plant, the cultivation of which is of undoubted anti- 

 quity, as it was used in the time of Pliny, the Roman historian. 

 When planted in gardens it is very difficult to eradicate, as the 

 rhizome is furnished with many eyes, each of which will give rise 

 to a new plant. The horseradish is very frequently found grow- 

 ing outside of cultivated ground, on the banks of rivers, and in 

 most situations, but it is very doubtful whether it is indigenous in 

 England. It is, however, a native of many parts of Europe. The 

 root owes its qualities to the presence of a volatile oil which is dis- 

 sipated by drying. There is no difference between the wild and 

 cultivated plant, except that the root of the former is smaller and 

 more stringy if it happens to grow in a poor soil ; but if the soil 

 should be moist and rich in which it is found, then the root of the 

 wild plant is equally good. 



We would recommend our readers, if they have leisure, to prose- 

 cute this inquiry, as it will be found most interesting in connec- 

 tion with the early periods of human history. It is also an im- 

 portant inquiry, because it has a direct bearing on those formida- 

 ble questions as to the "Origin of ^Species," as to the amount of 

 variability of which species are susceptible, and the causes by 

 which that variability is produced : and lastly, as to the geological 

 epoch at which existing species were first introduced — questions 

 which the best naturalists find it so difficult to answer, and which 

 will only be understood when natural history is much more 

 advanced, and the links discovered which unite the present plant- 

 forms with those which have preceded them. 



We have historical evidence that existing species have not varied 

 for several thousand years, and the reason is plain enough, because 



