786 



' PRACTICE OF GARDENING. 



PART III. 



In the garden at Camden House, Kensington, a caper-tree stood alive in the open air for 

 near a century : it had a south-east aspect, and was well sheltered from the north ; it 

 had no covering, and was generally much injured by the frost ; but the roots of this 

 plant being particularly strong and vivacious, it made strong shoots, and produced 

 flower-buds every year. It is probable, therefore, that a plantation, so situated, if 

 covered every autumn with litter, mats, or ferns, would succeed. Such a plantation, not 

 trained on walls, but planted in an open compartment, would, like those near Toulon, in 

 France, have the general appearance of a plantation of brambles, and might be yearly 

 covered with very little trouble. Neill suggests, that a hardy variety might possibly In- 

 obtained by repeatedly raising from seed, at first in Guernsey or Jersey, and the plant 

 thus gradually inured to this country. The part used is the flower-bud, which forms a 

 well known pickle , and an article of considerable commerce from Sicily, and otlier 

 islands in the Mediterranean. 



6029. Propagation and culture. It may either be raised from seed, cuttings, or pieces 

 of the root. The authors of the Cours complet d 1 Agriculture prefer the mode by cuttings, 

 and direct them to be cut a foot long, and planted in autumn. The autumn following, 

 they will be fit to remove to a general plantation. They describe two modes of cul- 

 ture ; one, that of planting in walls, where no farther care is wanting, but that of gathering 

 the buds ; and the other, that of planting in quincunx in open compartments, like other 

 fruit-shrubs ; the latter mode is greatlyto be preferred. 



6030. The salsilla, or edible alstrocmeria. Alstrccmeria 

 Salsilla, B. M. (Bot. Mag. 1613.) ; and S. edulis. (Hort. 

 Trans. voL ii.) Hex. Monog. L. and AsphodeletE, B. P. This 

 is a herbaceous plant of great beauty, a native of Peru, and 

 introduced in 1806. It is cultivated in the West Indies, 

 where its roots are eaten like the potatoe. It was flowered 

 here in 1811, in the Comte de Vande's garden at Bayswater. 

 It requires the temperature of the stove, and may be culti- 

 vated in a hot-bed like the early potatoe. 



6031. The bread-root. Psoralea esculenta, Ph. (Pursh. 

 Amer. t 22.) Diadelph. Decan. L. and Leguminoste, J. It 

 is a perennial herbaceous plant, a native of Missouri, and in- 

 troduced here in 1811. It will grow in the open air, but re- 

 quires the protection of a frame to produce abundant crops 

 of roots, which are used like those of the potatoe in the 

 countries where it is a nativa 



6032. The pi-tsi t or water-chestnut of the Chinese. 

 Scirpus tuberosus, Rox. (Rox. iii. 26.) Triand. Monog. L. and 

 Cyperacete, B. P. (fig. 538.) It is a stoloniferous rush, without 

 leaves, excepting a slender short sheath or two at the base 

 of each culm. On the stolones grow tubers which are in 

 high estimation among all ranks of the Chinese, not only as 

 a pot-root, but as a medicine. It is eaten either boiled or 

 raw. 



6033. Cultivation. " The maa-tai, pu-tsai, or pi-tsi, of Abbe 1 Grosier, grows in tanks ; these are ma- 

 nured for its reception about the end of March. Thus a tank being drained of its watery small pits are 

 dug in its bottom ; these are filled with human manure, and exposed to the sun for a fortnight ; their con- 

 tents are next intimately blended with the slimy bottom of the tank, and the slips or roots of the plant 

 deposited therein ; the water is now returned to the tank, and the new crop of tubers comes to perfection 

 by the first of September." (Rox. Corom.} 



6034. The earth-almond, or rush-nut, (Cyperus esculentus, L. Trian. Monog. L. and Cyperacets, J. 

 Souchet comestible, Fr. and Zizole di Terra, Ital.) is a fibrous-rooted grass, with small round tubers 

 hanging from the fibres, about the size of peas, which taste like chestnuts or almonds. It is a native of 

 Italy and Montpelier, and is cultivated in some parts of the south of Europe and Germany for food. The 

 tubers are planted in spring, and taken up in October, and preserved for winter use in the manner of 

 potatoes. It might probably be cultivated in this country in dry warm situations, or in a frame. (Bon 

 Jardinier.) 



6035. The eatable hibiscus. Hibiscus esculentus, L. Monadelph. Pdlyan. L. and Malvacece, J. Gom- 

 baud or Gombo, Fr. This is a stove annual, a native of the West Indies, and introduced in 1692. A soft 

 herbaceous stalk rises from three to five feet high, with crenate leaves, and axillary, pale sulphur-colored 

 flowers, succeeded by capsules. These, in the West Indies and the south of France, are put green into 

 soups, or eaten with butter. In the south of France it is cultivated in the open air for this purpose ; and 

 at Paris it is treated as we do the capsicum and love-apple. A similar treatment would, no doubt, suc- 

 ceed in this country. 



6036. The arracacha, of the order of Umbelltferee, J., is a South American plant, said to resemble the 

 Apium in habit ; probably Apium Americanum, D., possibly Ligusticum nova sp. The main roots divide 

 into four or five others, which grow to the size of cows' horns. These are used in the manner of potatoes 

 by the inhabitants of Santa F6 and the Caraccas. They are light, starchy, and easy of digestion. The 

 plant is said to thrive best in the elevated regions of mountains, where the medium heat does not exceed 

 58Q or 6Qo. (Annals of Bot. i. 400.) The name of this plant has not yet been determined, but, through 

 the exertions of the Horticultural Society, it has recently been introduced to England, and will soon 

 be subjected to examination and improvement 



6037. Other exotic esculents. To the above we might add, the Dahlia, recommended to be grown for 

 its tubers by Thtebaut-de-Berneaud. The Dolichos Soja, a stove annual, the seeds of which form, or ought 

 to form, the chief ingredient in the fish-sauce of that name. The earth-nut of South America (Arachis 

 hypogtea], a stove annual, raised in a few places near Paris, on hot-beds, and then transplanted in the open 

 ajr. The Convolvulus reptans, a shrubby stove plant, grown in China, in trenches filled with water, and 

 used as a spinaceous or oleraceous plant. The Basclla nigra, and other species, stove biennials, used for 

 the same purpose: the European and Chinese water-calhops (Trapa natans and bicornis], both green- 

 house annuals, but fruited by Lambert in the stove. (Hort. Trans, iv. .063.) The T. natans is grown in 

 the ponds in Holland, according to Professor Martyn, and the nuts arc used there as chestnuts both by men 

 and hogs ; and Neill informs us that the canal at Versailles is covered with the plant, and that the fruit 

 is sometimes served up at table. These, and a variety of others, the curious cultivator will find notked 

 in botanical works and books of travels, and will enjoy greater satisfaction in discovering them himself 

 than in finding them here ready named for his experimental enquiries. 



