55$ GENERAL REVIEW. 



for soups. Several forms of the Common Parsley have been 

 obtained by careful selection. 



Daucus (Carrot). The Carrot appears to have been intro- 

 duced into this country by the Dutch about 1558 in a culti- 

 vated state, but it has been long known by the ancients. Pliny 

 tells us the best were brought to Rome from Candia. This 

 crop is easily raised from seeds sown in March or April, or in 

 August for a winter crop. The seeds are fringed with curled 

 or hooked hairs ; and to prevent them sticking together and 

 coming up unevenly in the drills, rub them well together with 

 dry sand, earth, or ashes previous to sowing. For seed, plant 

 the finest and cleanest roots, and thin out the umbels when in 

 flower. 



Miller, the celebrated gardener at Chelsea, and M. Decaisne, 

 both failed in their efforts to improve the wild inland form of 

 Daucus carota by culture and selection. In 1860, however, 

 Prof. Buckman (see ' Sc. and Prac. of Farm Cult.,' p. u) 

 "gathered some seeds of the seaside form (D. carota, var. 

 maritima) at Bognor, which, on being sown in a prepared 

 plot the following spring, resulted in fairly succulent roots, 

 which on being cooked were pronounced to be excellent. 

 While on this subject, it may be mentioned as not a little re- 

 markable that so many of our garden esculents should be 

 derived from seaside plants. Thus probably Carrot, but cer- 

 tainly Celery, Seakale, Asparagus, and Cabbage. This would 

 seem to point to the fact that cultivation requires a complete 

 change of the circumstances necessary to maintain a wild con- 

 dition ; and hence cultivated plants can only be kept up by 

 the labours of a cultivator." This last statement not only 

 shows us how valuable a complete change of soil and atmo- 

 sphere is to cultivated plants, but also leads one to inquire 

 whether valuable varieties of vegetables might not be origi- 

 nated from some of our inland plants by commencing their 

 culture and selection in a maritime locality. 



Pastinaca (Parsnip}. The Common Parsnip is a native 

 plant, and is also found in Southern Europe. As an esculent, 

 these vegetables have been long known ; and according to 

 Pliny, the Emperor Tiberius esteemed them so highly that he 

 had them brought to Rome annually from the banks of the 

 Rhine, where they were at that date cultivated. 



In 1847, Prof. Buckman gathered seeds of the wild Parsnip 

 from the Cotswold Hills, where it is one of the most frequent 

 of weeds; and after cultivation and selection for five years, the 

 result was a new esculent variety, now known as the " Student 

 or Hollow-Crowned Parsnip " of gardens. 



