602 History of Celery. fa {July, 
rather than food use, and J. Bauhin’s name, Apium vulgare in- 
gratus, does not promise much satisfaction in the eating. Accord- 
ing to Bretschneider' celery, probably smallage, can be identified 
in the Chinese work of Kia Sz’mu, the fifth century A. D., and is 
described as a cultivated plant in the Nung Cheng Ts’nan shu, 
1640. We have a mention, however, of a cultivated variety in 
France by Olivier de Serres in 1623 and in England the seed 
was sold in 1726 for planting for the use of the plant in soups 
and broths,’ and Miller‘ says, in 1722, that smallage is one of the 
herbs eaten in the spring to purify the blood. The cultivated 
smallage is even now grown in France under the name of Celert 
a couper, differing but little from the wild form. The number of 
names that are given to smallage indicate antiquity, such as 
Arabic Asalis, Italian apio, German Eppich, Spanish Ferexil dagoa, 
French ache’ Egypt Kerafs English smallage, etc. 
7 The prevalence of a name derived from one root indicates @ 
Sk recent dispersion of the cultivated variety. Vilmorin’ gives the 
f ` following synonyms: French Celeri, English celery, German Sel- 
u leree, Flanders Selderij, Denmark Selleri, Italy Sedano, Spain apu, 
i Portugal Aio, and M’Intoshê gives for the Spanish Apio hortensis. 
E The first mention, of the word celery that I have observed is in 
ae Walafridus Strabo’s poem entitled “ Hortulus,” where he give 
a the medicinal uses of Apium, and in line 335 uses the word as 
follows : 
ae “ Passio tum celeri cedit devicta medele.” 
y, as it 
trans- 
as de- 
The disease then to celery yields, conquered by the remed 
may be liberally construed, yet the word celeri here may be 
lated quick-acting, and this suggests that our word celery W 
„rived from the medicinal uses. Strabo wrote in the ninth century, 
__ having been born A. D. 806 or 807, and dying in France in 849: 
~ Targioni-Tozzetti® says it is certain that in the sixteenth century 
celery was already begun to be grown for the table in Tuscany: A 
cannot find any mention of celery in Fuchsius, 1542; Tragus, 1557? 
Matthiolus Commentaries, 1558; Camerarius’ Epitome, 1558; 
