Retrospective Criticism* 107 



TurnbuU's nursery, at Perth ; and another at Mi*. Raid's, at Aberdeen. Pri- 

 vate gentlemen are also forming arboretums ; and I am just informed by my 

 friend Mr. Taylor, tha*;, through the kindness and enlightened liberality of his 

 master, he is about to commence one at Thainston. — Jas. Deans. Arbroath, 

 Nov. 30. 1834. 



Art. IV. Retrospective Criticism. 



Dates of the Introduction of Culinary Vegetables and Fruits. — While in Lon- 

 don, last spring, I was induced, by a remark in that excellent weekly paper 

 the Athe7iceum, when reviewing the several publications of the but too imper- 

 fect remnants which exist of the household expenses of Elizabeth of York and 

 Henry VIII., by Sir H. Nicolas; and of Henry VII. and Queen Mary, by 

 Sir Henry Madden, to examine more minutely into them : and I here subjoin 

 the result, in as far as relates to the subjects embraced by your Magazine. By 

 this you will find the introduction of several of our vegetables and fruits car- 

 ried back to a considerably earlier period than that which has been generally 

 assigned to them ; and I have little doubt but that, had we as ready access to 

 other ancient and similar records, a still earlier mention of them might be 

 found. Indeed, it seems to me very improbable that those noted lovers of 

 good living, the monks, who, we are all well aware, spared no pains, in their 

 later days, to indulge their sensual appetites, should have neglected so ready a 

 means of gratifying their fastidious palates as the productions of the garden 

 afford. We know that they were, in early times, most assiduous horticul- 

 turists : they had vineyards, which we no longer possess ; and it seems pro- 

 bable enough that they may have cultivated many vegetables and fruits which 

 may have been lost at the general demolition and confiscation of the monas- 

 teries, and may afterwards have been again introduced as new. Such appears 

 to have been the case with the Kentish cherry ; which, Camden states, was 

 brought over by one Richard Harris, who was employed by Henry VIII. for 

 the purpose ; and yet nine cherry trees are noted in these memoranda as 

 existing in 1502. If this were the case with trees, we may reasonably suppose 

 that annual productions, which require so much greater attention, should have 

 been lost, and subsequently again imported as new. The several entries that 

 occur are of monies given to the servants or persons themselves who brought 

 the fruit, &c., as presents to the king ; or of rewards to one or other of the 

 gardeners attached to the different royal seats : — 



Apples and pears (pearys) are frequently mentioned, first in 1502, and, in 

 one instance, particularised as " queue apples." On this account 1 have 

 noted it ; as it is not my intention to do so of any which have been known to 

 have been previously cultivated, though many such occur. Artichokes (arti- 

 chokks) are frequently mentioned in 1530, 1531, and 1532. In one instance, 

 the name " Chersaye artichokks " occurs. The date, in your Hortus Britannicus, 

 is 1548. Cucumbers (cocombers) occur in 1530: earliest date, Sept. 7. ; 

 1531, Sept. 21. ; 1532, Aug. 6. ; 1537, end of July : evincing an improvement 

 in the mode of culture. The reviewer in the Athenceum states that these and 

 melons are mentioned only once : drawing the inference that they were scarce, 

 and only very recently introduced ; whereas, entries frequently occur of 

 cucumbers, and twice of melons. The date in Hortus Britanniciis is 1573. 

 Dates: "To one that brought the king date treesse : " 1500. Frequent 

 entries occur of money given to persons that brought the fruit of lymons, 

 swete oranges, sydrons, pomegranates, and figs ; but, as the names of those 

 persons never coincide with those who brought other horticultural produc- 

 tions, and as they were sometimes accompanied by " swetem.eats," these 

 fruits must have been of foreign importation, sent by some confectioner, or 

 from what we now call an Italian warehouse. Grapes, frequent mention : 1502, 

 1530, 1531, 1537. Lettuce (lettuze), frequent mention; July 1. 1530: the 

 date in your Hort. Brit, is 1562. Melons (myllones) from Hamoton Court, 



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