1887] History of Garden Vegetables, 125 
dinate beds, occupies almost the whole of Columbia, Rensselaer, 
and Washington Counties, and is of immense thickness.” He 
describes it “ from Lansingburgh to the Sparry limestone on the 
east” as having a breadth of at least twenty miles, and, while 
signalizing repetitions in the section, still supposes that its vol- 
ume “exceeds that of all the members of the New York system 
put together,” adding that, “without doubt, this immense rock 
admits of subdivision.” He declares that in the breadth of 
fifteen or twenty miles across this belt “the observer will pass 
several times over the same beds, which are brought to the sur- 
face by successive uplifts.” 
The nature of the uplifts by which these subdivisions of the 
Taconic slate group are thus repeated is further shown by an 
ideal section, afterwards published in his “ American Geology,” 
ii. 48. The real order of succession, as then defined, was, at the 
base, greenish, chloritic-looking sandstones, followed, upwards, by 
a great variety of different colored slates, sandstones, and con- 
glomerates, including, moreover, what is designated as sparry 
limestone, black shaly limestone, and, at the summit, fine black 
slates. 
(To be continued.) 
HISTORY OF GARDEN VEGETABLES. 
BY E. LEWIS STURTEVANT, A.M., M.D." 
(Continued from page 59.) 
ARACACHA. Aracacha esculenta De C. 
L Sheers South American plant is yet included among garden 
i vegetables by Vilmorin. It was introduced to notice in 
Europe in 1829 and again in 1846, but trials in England, F rance; 
and Switzerland were unsuccessful? in obtaining eatable roots.3 
It was grown near New York in 1825,4 and at Baltimore in 1828 
or 1829,5 but was found to be worthless. Lately introduced to 
_ India, it is now fairly established there, and Mr. Morris*® considers 
it a most valuable plant-food, becoming more palatable and de- 
* Director of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva. 
2 Heuze, Les Pl. Alim., ii. 509. 
3 Decaisne & Naudin, Man., iv. 137. 4N. Eng. Farmer, July 22, 1825. 
5 Farmers’ Library, 1847, 94. € Gard. Chron., July 10, 1886, 50. 
\ 
