378 CULTIVATED VEGETABLES, 



MUSTARD.— SINAPI. 



Natural order, Siliquosce. A genus of the 

 Tetr adynamia Siliquosa class. 



In Greek this plant was called Na7ru, by 

 Aristophanes and others that use the Attic 

 dialect, but more commonly Xwnm, Sinapi, 

 on vivei vus cotols, because it injures the eyes. 



It was formerly called Senvie in English. 

 Egypt, that claims the honour of giving birth 

 to both Ceres and iEsculapius, was the bed 

 from whence the best mustard first sprang, 

 where, according to the opinion of the 

 heathen mythologist, it was nursed by the 

 goddess of seeds, and its qualities made 

 known to man by the god of medicine. We 

 will not enter into mythological dispute whe- 

 ther iEsculapius was the inventor of physic, 

 or whether he only perfected that part of the 

 art which relates to the regimen of the sick. 

 The brute creation are taught by instinct to 

 physic themselves by eating certain herbs. 

 From this observation, in all probability, the 



