180 NEW EDIBLE ROOTS. 



for new edible roots. Among others brought under the notice of the 

 Academy of Sciences have been the bulbous-rooted cicely (Chceropliyllum 

 bulbosurri), an European plant of the most easy culture, which will grow 

 in any soil. It yields an abundance of tubers about an ounce each, very 

 wholesome, containing 21 per cent, of starch. The turnip-formed tubers, 

 when taken up early in the spring, are eaten in France and Germany, boiled 

 with oil and vinegar. The routs only contain 63 per cent, of water, while 

 the potato consists of 74 per cent, and more. We are not told, however, 

 whether the root can be presented at table in its native form, like the 

 potato, or without any other cooking than simple boiling. Comparative 

 analyses made by M. Payen show that it contains less water, more starch, 

 albumen, and other nitrogenous substances than the potato, and a small 

 proportion of cane sugar. Another plant brought under the notice of the 

 Academy was introduced from New Granada, under its native name of 

 Shicarra only, which has white, juicy, and sweet tubers, that can be eaten 

 raw. It is an annual shrub, growing to the height of about three feet, and 

 as it stands cold well, it was thought it might prove a rival to the beet- 

 root in Europe, being richer in sugar. 



The roots of Apios tuberosa are eatable, and are sold in some of the 

 German markets. Professor Eaton, in his " Manual of Botany for North 

 America," remarks that this nutritive root ought to be generally cultivated. 

 The tubers are, however, not larger than cherries, but very farinaceous, 

 with a large per centage of starch. The roots of Claytonia tuberosa are 

 eaten in Eastern Siberia : and an American species, C. acutiflora, has been 

 recommended for experimental culture. The tuberous roots of Buniuin 

 bulbocastanum in Europe, like those of our British species, B. denudatum, 

 contain well-known nutritious qualities. When boiled they are very sweet 

 and delicious. In Holland, the Alps, and in some parts of England, they 

 are used in soup, and also roasted under the embers, when they eat like 

 roasted chesnuts. The tubers of B. ferulaceum are used the same way 

 in Greece. The Apios (Arracacha esculentii), a perennial, is exten- 

 sively cultivated for culinary purposes in the temperate mountain regions 

 about Santa Fe de Bogota. The large roots are cooked and eaten like 

 parsnips, but considered better and easier of digestion. It has been intro- 

 duced into the South of Europe. A very promising tuber seemed to be the 

 Ocas of South America, various species of Oxalis, but they have not been 

 persevered in long enough to ascertain whether the roots could be 

 enlarged by continued culture. 0. crenata was introduced a few years ago 

 from Peru, as an object of cultivation in this country for its tubers. These, 

 however, are rarely more than two ounces in weight ; and although they 

 are of a mealy consistency, and by some considered, if not equal, at least a 

 good substitute for the potato, it has not been found profitable to devote 

 any attention to their culture as an esculent, since the average produce of a 

 plant did not exceed half a pound. Hence the experiment was dropped. O. 

 tuberosa is extensively cultivated in Bolivia for its numerous tubers, which 

 are like small potatoes, and about an inch in diameter. They have a slightly 



