216 NA TURAL HTSTOR Y OF SELBORNE. 



a little to the sweetening their blood and correcting their juices ; for 

 the inhabitants of mountainous districts to this day are still liable 

 to the itch and other cutaneous disorders, from a wretchedness and 

 poverty of diet. 



As to the produce of a garden, every middle-aged person of 

 observation may perceive, within his own memory, both in town 

 and country, how vastly the consumption of vegetables is increased. 

 Green-stalls in cities now support multitudes in a comfortable state, 

 while gardeners get fortunes. Every decent labourer also has his 

 garden, which is half Jais support, as well as his delight ; and 

 common farmers provide plenty of beans, peas, and greens, for 

 their hinds to eat with their bacon ; and those few that do not are 

 despised for their sordid parsimony, and looked upon as regardless 

 of the welfare of their dependents. Potatoes have prevailed in 

 this little district by means of premiums within these twenty years 

 only ; and are much esteemed here now by the poor, who would 

 scarce have ventured to taste them in the last reign. 



Our Saxon ancestors certainly had some sort of cabbage, because 

 they call the month of February "sprout cale ;" but long after 

 their days the cultivation of gardens was little attended to.* The 

 religious, being men of leisure, and keeping up a constant corre- 

 spondence with Italy, were the first people among us that had 

 gardens and fruit-trees in any perfection within the wall of their 

 abbeys t and priories. The barons neglected every pursuit that 

 did not lead to war or tend to the pleasure of the chase. 



It was not till gentlemen took up the study of horticulture them- 

 selves that the knowledge of gardening made such hasty advances. 

 Lord Cobham, Lord Ila, and Mr. Waller, of Beaconsfield, were 

 some of the first people of rank that promoted the elegant science 

 of ornamenting without despising the superintendence of the 

 kitchen quarters and fruit walls. 



A remark made by the excellent Mr. Ray, in his "Tour of 

 Europe," at once surprises us, and corroborates what has been ad- 

 vanced above ; for we find him observing so late as his days, that 

 " The Italians use several herbs for sallets, which are not yet, or 



* As our Saxon ancestors called the month of February " sprout -cale," so the names of 

 many other months were equally significant : viz., March, St rmy Month ; May, Trirailki, 

 the c ws being milked three times a-day ; June, Dig-and-Weed Month ; September, 

 Barley Month," &c. MITFORD. 



t " In monasteries th; lamp of knowledge continued to burn, however dimly. In them 

 men of business were formed for the state : the art of writing was cultivated by the monks ; 

 they were the only pro fhients in mechanics, gardening, and architecture." DALRYMPLE s 

 Annals of Scotland . 



