NATURE 



241 



THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, i336 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 

 The Vegetable Garden. Illustrations, Descriptions, and 

 Culture of the Gar-den Vegetables of Cold and Tem- 

 perate Climates. By MM. Vilmorin-Andrieux, of Paris. 

 English Edition. Published under the direction of 

 W. Robinson, Editor of the Garden. Svo, pp. 601. 

 (London : Murray, 18S6.) 

 'T^HIS is an English edition of a book which under its 

 original title of " Les Plantes Potag&res " has been 

 received with encomiums alike by gardeners and by men 

 of science. Professedly addressed solely to practical 

 gardeners, it is so conscientiously elaborated that it has 

 become, and will remain, a standard book of reference for 

 the naturalist. This is a great triumph for the author, M. 

 Henry Vilmorin. The botanist would at first glance natu- 

 rally be disposed to consider such a book as at best merely 

 a descriptive trade catalogue of an eminent seed firm, and 

 the biologist might perhaps look askance at the notion of 

 deriving any information of value for purposes of pure 

 science from its pages. But on further examination, it 

 will be found that the merely trade element is ignored, 

 and that the descriptions of the several plants treated of 

 are so carefully drawn up that they will as far as they go 

 meet the requirements of the naturalist. 



These descriptions are founded, as we have personal 

 reasons for knowing, not only on the observation of 

 plants growing in the author's seed grounds near Paris, 

 but also on the inspection and comparison of the same 

 or allied forms in the market gardens of Europe gene- 

 rally. The experimental garden of our own Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society at Chiswick has been utilised in this way, 

 while even the smaller market gardens in the vicinity 

 of Continental towns have not been left unvisited. 



Those who have not previously attended to the matter 

 will possibly experience a feeling of surprise at the large 

 number of varieties here enumerated. They are familiar, 

 perhaps, with broccolis and cauliflowers, though they 

 would find it hard to distinguish between them. They 

 might pick out savoys from cabbages, but for the most 

 part they would roughly class such things as " greens," 

 and not pursue the subject further. 



While all vegetables are grown for food, subdivisions 

 may be created among them in accordance with special 

 requirements. There are, for instance, the supply of the 

 markets, the exigencies of the exhibition table, the de- 

 mands of private establishments, and, we might add, the 

 demands resulting from the eager competition of com- 

 mercial men. The rule of the survival of the fittest has 

 to be applied with special modifications to each of these 

 cases. 



Quality is not so much an object of solicitude to the 

 market grower as early or quick growth and abundant 

 produce. The man who can send his produce to market 

 earUer than his fellows has a distinct advantage, and 

 thus it is that foreign competition is so serious an 

 affair for the English grower. Not only from the 

 Channel Islands but from the South of France and 

 Algeria come immense quantities of salads, vegetables, 

 and fruits to our markets. The smaller cost of labour 

 Vol. xxxiii.— No. 846 



and t'.io higli prices obtained balance the expense of the 

 long transit. The home-grower, on the other hand, can 

 continue the supply after the Continental sources have 

 become exhausted, and thus in some cases late varieties 

 are preferred by our growers. But in any case for market 

 purposes on a large scale — for the supply of the general 

 public — the crops must be large, and hence it is that a 

 market gardener will grow what he knows to be " a good 

 cropper " rather than a plant of better quality but which 

 is less productive. 



The exhibition tables at our flower and fruit shows, 

 although they foster a good deal of fantastic extravagance, 

 nevertheless eftect much good by allowing of the exhi- 

 bition of numerous varieties, so that the grower may see 

 which is good and which less good, or which is specially 

 suited to his conditions and requirements. They also 

 stimulate the zeal of the growers and powerfully promote 

 good cultivation. This must have been remarked by many 

 at the exhibitions held by the Royal Horticultural Society 

 for the last two years in connection with the " Health " 

 and with the " Inventions " Exhibitions. Such displays 

 render great services to cottagers and others by bringing 

 under their notice new and improved varieties often just 

 as easy to cultivate as those of inferior quality. On the 

 other hand, the " prize system " too often leads to the 

 devotion of an inordinate amount of attention to mere 

 size and external appearance. The bigger and the more 

 symmetrical the exhibit the better the chance of a prize. 

 The huge roots seen at the cattle shows, for instance, are 

 in their way marvels of culture, but their feeding value is 

 considerably less in proportion to others of more moderate 

 size and perhaps less shapely appearance. Water, rather 

 than starch and sugar or nitrogenous compounds, is the 

 predominant element in these overgrown products. When 

 such vegetables as these get prizes the judges are to blame 

 and the societies are doing their work badly. 



In private establishments the case is different. While 

 the supply must of course be adequate, the quality of the 

 vegetables is a matter of greater consideration than the 

 mere quantity. 



The different requirements we have alluded to entail a 

 corresponding variation in the amount and character of 

 the supply. In addition differences of soil, climate, and 

 other local conditions necessitate other variations. What 

 is suitable for one place is not so for another. When 

 these facts are considered, the wonder that there should 

 be so many varieties will pass off. In most instances 

 these plants have been in cultivation for centuries. They 

 exhibit, some more, some less, the tendency to vary which 

 is the common attribute of all creatures. Having secured 

 a variation suitable for his purpose, whatever it may be, 

 the object of the grower is to fix it and perpetuate it, and 

 only those who have visited our great seed-farms know 

 with what jealous care and with what labour this is 

 eftected. When, as is the case with the Brassicas, the 

 facilities for intercrossing are great, the difficulty of pre- 

 serving a pure stock is intensified. 



For scientific purposes, for the purpose of ascertaining 

 the nature and possible range of variation within limited 

 periods, and either under the same or under difterent con- 

 ditions, a visit to an experimental garden like that at 

 Chiswick, or to one or other of the great commercial seed- 

 farms, is most instructive. 



