C 133 ] 



XII. Description of the different Varieties of Endives cul- 

 tivated in the Garden of the Horticultural Society of 

 London, in the Year 1824. By Mr. Andrew Mathews. 



Read December 21, 1824. 



1 ii e Cichorium Endivia of Botanists, a plant said to be a 

 native of the Northern provinces of China, and of other parts 

 of Asia, is the parent of all the Endives now cultivated in 

 Europe. It appears to have been introduced into use as an 

 esculent at a very early period, for it is noticed as such by 

 Caspar Bauhin and other writers on plants in the beginning 

 of the seventeenth century, and even earlier. Communication, 

 during the last few years, with the gardeners of the other 

 parts of Europe, has brought us acquainted with several 

 kinds of peculiar excellence, which are novelties in England, 

 but which, from their superior qualities, deserve cultivation. 

 As these have all been grown in the two last seasons, in the 

 Garden of the Horticultural Society, I have availed myself 

 of the opportunity afforded by my situation, as Clerk in the 

 Society's Garden, to prepare the following account of them. 

 I have arranged the different varieties under the two prin- 

 cipal heads of Batavian and Curled-leaved, considering them 

 as forms of one of these two principal divisions. 



Batavian Endives. 



Under the Batavian Endives are included all the varieties 

 with broad leaves, generally rounded at the points, with the 



