ERVUM LENS (lENTIL) 125 



ERVUM LENS (LENTIL). 



From the remotest times the lentil has been known to 

 serve as food for man. We know, in fact, that Esau 

 exchanged his birthright for the seeds of this leguminous 

 plant. Pliny, in Book XVIII, justified this exchange when 

 he stated that the lentil imparts an ecjuable temperament 

 to those who eat it {cequanimitateni fieri vesccntibus ea). 



It was known to the Greeks as facos, and the Romans 

 called it lens. 



According to de Candolle, the lentil {Erviiiu lens) seems 

 to have existed in Western temperate Asia, in Greece, and in 

 Italy. In some prehistoric time men thought of cultivating 

 it and carried it to Egypt. Thence, at some date less remote 

 but still perhaps prehistoric, it spread both East and West^ 

 to Europe and the Indies. Thence, again, as trade increased, 

 it no doubt spread to other colonies around. 



It would thus seem that this leguminous plant, like so 

 many others, came to us from India, and although the 

 lentils of that countrv are largely used for food, those from 

 Mauritius are much more highly valued, not only because 

 of their rarity, but because of their much superior flavour. 



From Cossigny, in 1802, we learn that lentils were grown 

 in ec|ual quantity, but were reserved for the white man's 

 table. 



The lentil is planted over very large areas in India, and 

 these are the sources of supply for certain countries, such 

 as Mauritius, for instance, where, owing to the fact that 

 the lentil only thrives well in particular districts, its cultiva- 

 tion cannot be extended. It requires water, and localities 

 capable of being irrigated are best adapted to it. It is not 

 suited to damp and cold situations. 



The seeds differ in colour and weight according to the 

 variety, as can be seen from the following average weights 

 for 100 seeds from lentils of different localities, given by 

 M. Balland : — 



