THE PIA. 



285 



icating drink or another. The leaves of this 

 plant are also boiled and eaten by the Indians. 



Such is the productiveness of the cassava plant, 

 tl\at it has been calculated that an acre planted 

 with it will yield nourishment to more human 

 beings tlian six acres of wheat. 



The tapioca of this country is the produce of 

 the cassava root. It is in every respect identical 

 with pure farina. 



The Pia (tacia pinnatifida). This is an 

 herbaceous plant, indigenous to the South sea 

 islands, from the dried roots of which the natives 

 prepare a farinaceous substance, very muclr re- 

 sembling arrow root. The plant grows wild, 

 but is also cultivated in their gardens. In pre- 

 paring the farina the root is first beaten to a 

 pulp, and subjected to repeated washings, by 

 which it becomes tasteless and colourless. It is 

 tlien dried in the sun, and becomes fit for Use. 



CHAP. XXXI. 



DMBELLIFER^, IN'CLUDING THE CARROT, PARSNIP, 

 &C. 



Under the natural family of umbelliferse, are 

 comprehended a number of edible roots and cu- 

 linary plants of considerable importance, as arti- 

 cles of food. The same family contains, how- 

 ever, plants of a very opposite nature, possessing 

 all the properties of acrid and virulent poisons. 

 The members of this family are generally recog- 

 nised by their hollow stems and deeply notched 

 leaves, with a sheathing petiole. Their flowers 

 are mostly white, or greenish sometimes, but 

 rarely of a pinkish hue. The inflorescence is 

 what is called umbellate, 

 and the seed or fruit con- 1 1 5. 



sists of two ribbed portions, 

 which are joined together 

 by a common axis, and a 

 thickened discus. All are 

 inhabitants of moist ditches 

 or damp way-sides, in the 

 colder parts of the earth, and 

 temperate zones. In the 

 tropics they are either ex- 

 tremely rare, or wholly unknown; and when 

 present have generally a character different in 

 most respects from the European species. The 

 simplicity of their structure, and uniformity of 

 their appearance, have rendered their classifica- 

 tion a matter of difficulty. The culinary and 

 agricultural importance of many species is fam- 

 iliar to all. The parsnip and carrot form a large 

 part of the winter store of the inhabitants of 

 Europe, as the arrachaches do of those of South 

 America; and the prangos of Thibet is supposed 



P. 72. 



to bo the most important and productive of any 

 in the whole world as a forage plant. 



The medicinal properties of some species of this 

 family, of which we shall treat afterwards, are 

 of various and powerful natures. While the 

 seeds of some are aromatic and highly stimulat- 

 ing, the fresh roots of others are strongly nar- 

 cotic and sedative. This has been supposed to 

 arise from the difference in the state of the sap 

 in different parts of the plant; and it has been 

 thought that the narcotic principle is only to be 

 found in tlie ascending sap; while the aromatic 

 stimulating properties are found in the juices 

 which are fully elaborated and matured. It is 

 a singular fact that cultivation destroys the 

 dangerous properties of some species. The com- 

 mon celery is a familiar example of this; but the 

 most i-emarkable, a species of CEnanthe, a most 

 poisonous kind, when wild, is cultivated about 

 Angers for the sake of its roots, which are there 

 called jouanettes; and about Samur, where they 

 are known by the name of mechons. The 

 roots of some umbelliferse contain a large pro- 

 portion of sugar; those of the carrot when dried, 

 contain more than an eighth, those of the pars- 

 nip an eighth exactly; and those of the chervil 

 about eight per cent. The umbelliferse are a num- 

 erous family, and have been divided into nine 

 tribes. They all belong to the Linnaean class 

 and order .Pentandria digynia. We shall in the 

 mean time, describe those species whicli are 

 used as food. 



Earth Nut, (buniurn, bulbocastanum.) This 

 is a plant very common on elevated and hilly grass 

 pastures; hence its name of bunium, the Greek 

 word for a hill. It has a few deeply pinnated 

 root leaves, and a slender stem with a white 

 cluster of flowers at the top. The tuber is found 

 about four or six inches below the surface, at the 

 termination of a long slender root. It is about 

 the size of a chestnut, of an irregular figure, and 

 covered with a brown cuticle. It is of a 

 sweetish farinaceous nature, resembling in taste 

 the common chestnut; being more amylaceous 

 on being subjected to heat. Swine are very fond 

 of them, and fatten rapidly where they are pro- 

 cured in abundance. 



We do not know what effect cultivation migiit 

 have in increasing the size and edible qualities 

 of this root, or whether any attempts have been 

 made to raise them artificially. It is not im- 

 probable, however, but that frequent transplant- 

 ing and a genial soil, might render them worthy 

 the attention of man, as an article of food. 



The Carrot, (daucus carota.) The wild car- 

 rot is indigenous to Britain, and is found grow- 

 ing in waste plains and by the way-sides. Its 

 root is small, hard, and fibrous, and of a white 

 colour; the leaves and inflorescence are similar to 

 the cultivated species. It is a matter of some 

 doubt whether the garden carrot has been de- 



