SALAD HERBS. 57 



in darkness the rib seems to attain its normal size, while the leaf- 

 blade itself is greatly reduced in breadth. This fact is particularly 

 striking in Witloof , where the head seems to be made up almost entirely 

 of the imbricated leaves." He adds, ''The eatable part of Witloof is 

 4 to 5 inches long, not quite 2 inches across, in the shape of the head 

 of a small cos lettuce; it is almost pure white, very solid and firm." 



Messrs. Button's ' Combination ' or Christmas Salad has the interior 

 leaves runcinate and the outer entire, forming a combination of Barbe 

 ile Capucin and Witloof. 



FIG. 24. WILD ENDIVE FROM A CORN-FIELD, EGYPT. 



Endive, notwithstanding its being blanched, retains a good deal of 

 its bitterness. " It contains in 100 parts: 94 of water, 1 of albu- 

 minoids, 1 of sugar, 2 of starch, &c., and 0.8 of mixed matter," so 

 that it has no nutrient value of any consequence. 



CUCUMBER. 



Cucumis sativus is now believed to be the cultivated form of 

 C. Hardwiclcii, Royle, wild from Kumoon to Sikkim. It has been 

 cultivated in India for some three thousand years, and spread weet : 

 wards. The Greek name was sikuos. Pliny describes the Italian 

 fruit as " very small," probably like our " gherkin "; the same form 

 is figured in herbals of the sixteenth century, but " those grown in 

 some of the provinces are remarkably large and of a wax colour or 

 black " ; by this Pliny means dark green. Gardeners to-day speak of 



