KAPHANUS SATIVUS. 



RAPHANUS SATIVUS, Linn. 



[Fide Plate XCIV.] 



Radish; muli, mula, mura, muri (Hind.) ; mulaka (Sans.) 

 Natural order Cruci/erce. 



De Candolle says : "It (the radish) appears to have come originally from W. Asia 

 between Palestine, Anatolia, and the Caucasus, perhaps also from Greece, its cultivation 

 spreading east and west from a very early period." 



The Indian radish is a good example of what can be done in the way of developing 

 size at the expense of quality. As usually grown in these Provinces it has a long, 

 coarse, pale-coloured root, of which only about half is covered by the soil. It is culti- 

 vated extensively, but to what extent in acres cannot be stated, as the area it occupies 

 is included under carrots and turnips in the annual agricultural returns. 



It is sown in August and September and is ready for use in October and Novem- 

 ber, i.e., a little earlier than carrots. The roots are eaten raw or cooked, and are some- 

 times pickled. The leaves as well as the young seed pods (singra ) are boiled and eaten 

 as a vegetable. 



The radish, like the carrot, is a useful crop to fall back upon in times of scarcity, 

 as it is easily grown and quickly gives a large return. The price of radish seed rose 

 very high i|i 1877, but the area under this crop was much less than in the case of 

 carrots. 



The seeds and the juice of the fresh leaves are used medicinally. 

 The English radish, when grown to perfection, is not reckoned to be a very whole- 

 some kind of food, but the muli of this country, judging from the following proverbs, 

 would appear to bear a still more evil reputation : — 



"If a man eats mula, or radish, on the 4th (day of the lunar fortnight) his wealth decreases." 

 — N. Indian Notes and Queries, No. 38. 



" Eat radishes, drink buttermilk and tank water ; these are the ways to get fever to stay witli 

 you." — Crooke's Glossary. 



" Eat bitter melons in Kuar, radishes in Savan, and coarse sugar in Chait, this is the way to 

 spend your money and buy an illness for yourself." — Crooke's Glossary. 



Explanation of Plate XCIV. 



1. A single leaf. I 3. Fruiting branch. 



2. Vertical section of flower. | 4. Vertical section of fruit. 



* References :— Fl. Br. Ind., I., ICG ; Koxb., PI. Ind. (Clarke's Ed.), 500 ; Watt, Diet. Econom. Trod., VI., Tart I., 

 898 1 Stewart, Punj. PI., 15 ; Atkinson, Econom. Prod., N.-W. Prov., V., 13 ; Ilini. Dist., I., 702, 748 ; Pharmacogr. Ind., I., 

 129 ; DC, L'Orig PI. Cult., 23. 



