STOKES SEED FARMS COMPANY 



MOORESTOWN 



NEW JERSEV 



The Ancient Origin of Vegetables and Its 

 Relation to Present Day Standards 



FULL appreciation of historic background is the foundation for true proportions and for deepened respect. Even 

 a cursors^ knowledge of a subject "will bring vdth it a keener interest which in turn increases one's possibilities 

 for larger success. Vegetables have been cultivated and eaten by man for about ten thousand years. Undoubtedly 

 many of them have been developing in their vnld state far back into Geologic Time, thousands, and perhaps hundreds 

 of thousands of years before the Glacial Period. Apparently the first cultivation of the products of the soil can be cred- 

 ited to the ancient tribes of Persia and of India^ — ^the first of the world's people to establish any pretense of civilization. 

 Further e\-idence is at hand to show that at least a mmiber of our commoner vegetables were well known before the 

 Aryan [Migration, Eighteenth Century B. C. Melons, onions and garhc are mentioned by Moses 1400 B. C. 



Historic realities of the past twenty-five centm-ies, beginning T\-ith Hellenic Culture, give us our first accurate 

 knowledge on the subject. The Greek and especially the Roman Civilization, advanced the art of horticulture far be- 

 yond all past efl'ort of man. "With the conquering of new lands, the culture of edible plants was passed on to new tribes 

 and races, they in tiirn very often exchanging species entirely unkno'v\'n to the ]Mediterranean World. Roman armies 

 were responsible for the cUssemination of many of the vegetables of Asia, Southern Europe and Africa. The fall of 

 Rome retarded vegetable culture seriously, but it is not thought that many of the old species were lost. The work 

 was carried on -u-ithout marked development until the discovery of the Xew World, which brought vrith. it several 

 new and valuable additions in vegetables, which were quickly adapted by Europeans, who in turn started varietal 

 improvements which greatly increased their desirability for edible purposes. The work of the French and English 

 in the past three hundred years probably surpasses the efforts of the pre^-ious fifteen hundred. Present-day varieties, 

 with slight exceptions, are all t^-pe developments of the past three centuries. This work has largely been accomplished 

 by scientists, gardeners and conmiercial seed growers. American horticulturists have made considerable progress during 

 the past hundred years in the development of new, and iu many instances, very worthy varietal introcluctions. 



A vegetable, perishable and tender as it is, seems not a thing of great antiquity, but when we consider through 

 its power to reproduce itself it has sur\'ived in its cultivated form through many ages, bias outUved the greatest empires, 

 has combatted all the pestilence, disease and drought of the world, and has come out the better for it, surely there 

 is cause for a deepened respect and a renewed sense of honor for the gardening profession. Plant life, as well as human 

 life, is always seeking higher levels. There is a profound dignity in scientific plant improvement work. The American 

 seed trade has now passed through its first hundred years of development, a period which should be ample time in 

 which to arrive at definite standards. Unfortunately, during this time there has been no sentiment agaiust the renam- 

 ing of varieties having fixed names. As a result, there are approximately ten thousand different varietal names, cover- 

 ing perhaps one thousand separate and distinct varieties — a duplication of nine hundi-ed per cent. For instance, the 

 Earliana Tomato, as introduced by Johnson & Stokes eighteen years ago. is now probably sold by seedsmen imder 

 one hundi-ed different names. This confusion not only is unfair to the seed buyer, but it has a tendency to lower t}'pe 

 standards all along the line, inasmuch as there cannot be the concentrated effort which would othem-ise be possible. 

 In this catalog we are not only gi^"ing brief histories of the vegetables themselves, but we have made an effort to locate 

 either the originator or the introducer of the individual varieties, standardizing on the name as given it by the persons 

 responsible. Surely the sentiment of the seed buyer is against deception of any kind. He wants to know definitely 

 what he is buA-ing. and he does not want to pay a fabulous price for some (perhaps inferior) strain of a well-estabhshed 

 variety. The position we take on this matter does not exclude the offering of private strains under the standard varietal 

 name. Neither does it exclude the offerings of distinct varieties when they are proven out as such after thorough and 

 complete investigation by responsible persons. The spirit of the times calls for clear-cut business policies. We in 

 America too often forget our ancestors. Even a passing knowledge of the Old World arts will give us truer proportions, 

 eliminate manj' crude mistakes and enable us to establish standards more in keeping with the work in hand. 



^TGET.VBLE HISTORY 



Name of Vegetable Under Cultivation Origin 



Asparagus 2000 to 4000 years Europe and West Asia 



Bean, Bush Lima. . . About lOO years Eastern North America 



Bean, Pole Lima About 1000 years South America 



Bean, String 2000 to 4000 years West South America 



Beet, Chard 2000 to 4000 years Europe 



Beet, Root 2000 to 4000 years Mediterranean Region 



Brussels Sprouts 1000 to 2000 years North Europe 



Cabbage 4000 to 8000 years West Europe 



Cabbase, Chinese 2000 to 4000 years China and Japan 



Carrot 2000 to 4000 years Europe and West Asia 



Cauliflower 2000 to 4000 years Europe and West Asia 



Celeriac 1000 to 2000 years Europe 



Celerv 2000 to 4000 years South Europe 



Com, Field 2000 to 4000 years Tropical America 



Com, Sweet About 100 years New England 



Cress, Garden 2000 to 4000 years Probably Persia 



Cress, Water . 2000 to 4000 years Europe and North Asia 



Cucumber 4000 to 8000 years India 



Cucumber, Gherkin About 100 years Jamaica 



Dandelion 1000 to 2000 years Europe and Asia 



Egg Plant 4000 to 8000 years South America or East Indies 



Endive 1000 to 2000 years East Indies and Asia 



Horse-radish 1000 to 2000 years East Europe and West Asia 



Kale 2000 to 4000 years Europe 



Kohl-rabi 2000 to 4000 years Europe 



Name of Vegetable Under Cultivation 



Leek 2000 to 4000 vears 



Lettuce 2000 to 4000 vears 



Melon, Musk 4000 to 8000 years 



Melon, Water 2000 to 4000 vears 



Mushroom . 1000 to 2000 years 



Okra 1000 to 2000 years 



Onion 4000 to 8000 years 



Parsley 1000 to 2000 vears 



Parsnip 1000 to 2000 years 



Pea, Garden 4000 to 8000 vears 



Pepper 1000 to 2000 years 



Potato lOOO to 2000 vears 



Potato, Sweet 1000 to 2000 ^ears 



Pumpkin Probably less than 



Radish 4000 to 8000 years 



Rhubarb 2000 to 4000 vears. 



Rutabaga 1000 to 2000 vears 



Salsify About 1000 years. . 



Spinach 1000 to 2000 vears, 



Spinach,New Zealand 100 to 200 vears. . 



Squash, Winter 1000 to 2000 years 



Squash, Summer Probablv less than 



Tomato 1000 to 2000 years 



Turnip 4000 to 8000 years 



Origin 



Mediterranean Region 



Asia 



Southern Asia 



West Africa 



Northern World 



North Africa 



Persia and Central Asia 



Sardinia 



Europe 



Asia 



South America 



South America 



Tropical America 



1000 yeeurs Tropical America 

 Asia 



South Siberia (River Volga) 



Europe 



Mediterranean Region 



Persia 



Ne\> Zealand 



Tropical America 



1000 years Temperate America 



Pern 



Europe 



