806 



HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



king we find several entries regarding artichokes. 

 Thus: — "Paled to a servant of maister Tresorer 

 in rewarde for bringing Archecokks to the king's 

 grace to Yorlie place, iiijs. iiijc?." A treatise, 

 written in the reign of Mary, on "the best set- 

 tynge and keepynge of artichokes," is still pre- 

 served in the Harleian library, of which it forms 

 the 645th number. Though in very common 

 culture in this country this plant is not held in 

 as much estimation here as on the continent. 



The artichoke has large thick perennial roots 

 and annual stems, rising to three feet or more in 

 height. The leaves are large and pinnatifid, or 

 cut in deep, horizontal, convex segments; these 

 are covered with an ash-coloured down. In the 

 midst of them rise the upright stalks, which 

 are sunnounted by large, scaly heads, composed 

 of an involucrum, having numerous oval leaves 

 or scales, enclosing the florets, and placed on a 

 broad, fleshy receptacle; this, and the lower part 

 or talus of the scales, are the only edible portions 

 of the plant used in the early stage of their 

 growth, before the central leaves of the calyx 

 are separated, or the flowers in any way exposed. 

 A large portion of the centre is occupied by what 

 is vulgarly called the choke, which consists of 

 the young flowers and seed-down, having the 

 appearance of bristles or prickly filaments, and 

 from which the receptacle, or bottom, must be 

 entirely freed before it can be eaten. 



Artichokes are most readily propagated by 

 offsets from the roots of the old plants, from 

 which they may be separated, and planted out 

 anew in March or Apiil, when they have at- 

 tained a height of about five inches. They will 

 produce a crop the same year, but not an abun- 

 dant one, commencing in August, and continuing 

 till November; the second year they will be in 

 full bearing, and produce two months earlier. 

 Thus by planting fresh otFsets every year, a suc- 

 cession of artichokes may be obtained from June 

 to November. The old plants, however, will 

 continue productive for many years, provided 

 the ground be annually manured at the winter 

 dressing. But although the heads may be ob- 

 tained from roots twenty years old, they degen- 

 erate in size and abundance with the age of the 

 plant, and therefore it is advisable often to renew 

 the plantation. 



The artichoke is one of those plants most par- 

 tial of drought. Once in the 17th century, and 

 again, about 1709, most of the artichokes in 

 England were destroyed by frost, but were re- 

 placed from France. There are three varieties 

 in cultivation, the conical or oval, the globe 

 with a large dusky, purplish head; and the dwarf 

 globe, a smaller variety, but verjr prolific. 



The Caedoon, (ct/nara carduncuhis,J is a na- 

 tive of Candia, whence it was introduced into 

 England, but not until more than a century after 

 tlie artichoke. Its cultivation has never, how- 



ever, been an object of much attention in Britain, 

 where it is considered of little value. On the 

 continent this vegetable takes a higher rank, 

 and is much more extensively used. The stems 

 of the young leaves, rendered mild and crisp by 

 blanching, are the only edible parts of the plant; 

 these are stewed or used as an ingredient in 

 soups and in salads. 



The cardoon very much resembles the arti- 

 choke in appearance; but it is of a larger and 

 more regular growth. 



ScoKZONERA (scorzoiiera hispanica), is indi- 

 genous to Spain. It was introduced into this 

 country some years after the skin-et, and, like 

 it, was formerly more cultivated than it is at 

 present. Its root has not, however, the peculiar 

 sweetness of the latter, but is extremely delicate, 

 and when properly prepared makes so pleasant 

 an addition to the list of culinary vegetables, 

 that it appears to be xmjustly excluded from our 

 gardens. It has shared the fate of those veget- 

 ables which, according to Beckmann, have been 

 banished by fashion; "for this tyrant, which 

 rules with universal sway, commands the taste, 

 as well as the smell, to consider as intolerable 

 articles to which our ancestors had a peculiar 

 attachment." 



Scorzonera was first known on account of its 

 supposed medicinal properties, but was after- 

 wards cultivated as food in consequence of its 

 agreeable flavour. It was applied to this first 

 purpose, in the middle of the sixteenth century, 

 in Spain, where it was esteemed as an antidote 

 to the poison of a snake, called there scurzo. A 

 Moor, it is said, who had learnt in Africa that 

 this plant possessed so valuable a propert}', 

 availed himself of the knowledge in efi^ecting 

 many cures with the juices of the leaves and 

 roots upon peasants who had, while momng, 

 been bitten by these venomous reptiles ; but he 

 carefully concealed the plant, that he might re- 

 tain to himself all the honour and the profit at- 

 tendant on the discovery. He was, however, 

 clandestinely followed to the mountains, where 

 he was observed to collect this plant, to which 

 the name of scurzonera, or scorzonera, was then 

 given, from the name of the snake, the venom of 

 which it was believed to render innocuous. The 

 knowledge was quickly disseminated. Petrus 

 Cannlzer transmitted the plant, together with a 

 drawing of it, to John Oderick Melchion, phy- 

 sician to the queen of Bohemia ; and he, in his 

 turn, lost no time in sending it to Matthioli, 

 who had not any previous knowledge of the 

 plant.* Soon after this Nicholas Monardes pub- 

 lished a tract, in which the particular virtue of 

 these roots was panegyrized. It is probable that 

 in Spain their adaptation as an edible substance 

 was likewise first discovered ; and thence, about 



* Jhittliioli Epiatol. lMedi.;iral. 



