284 



THE PRACTICAL GARDENER. 



Lr.TiucE,— Lrtc/j/ca satiim, (Z-jh/j.)— belongs to the class and order Syngeneaia 

 jEqualis, and natural order Cichoracea. It is not exactly known to what country 

 this excellent vegetable owes its origin, but from the names of many of the varie- 

 ties, they appear to have been brought from some of the Greek islands, and the 

 coast of the Levant. It was cultivated or introduced in 15G2. Some authors con- 

 sider it only a variety of one of the native species. It is the best, and the most uni- 

 versally cultivated salad that we have. " It contains, like all the other species of 

 this genus, a quantity of opium juice, from which, of late years, a medicine has been 

 prepared by Dr. Duncan, senior, of Edinburgh, under the title of Lactucarium, and 

 which can be administered with effect when opium is inadmissible." 



The varieties arc numerous, of which the following are in general culture : — green 

 cos, white cos, silver cos, spotted cos, Egyptian early cos, black-seeded green cos, « 

 white-seeded green cos, brown cos (-r Bath, red cos, Florence cos, Paris cos, lap, 

 brown Silesia, green Silesia, white Silesia, common white cabbage, large white cab- 

 bage, brown Dutch cabbage, imperial cabbage, grand admiral cabbage, tennis-ball 

 cabbage, hardy green cabbage or capuchin, Malta cabbage, large Roman, Prussian, 

 Mogul, Hammersmith, New Cape cos ; of these, it may be admitted, that the New 

 Cape cos is the best for general crops, as it grows very large, and is tender and crisp. 

 The brown Dutch for being hardy, the lap to be drawn and used young in small 

 salads ; the spotted cos is curious. The hardy green, tennis-ball, and brown Dutch, 

 are the most backward in starting to seed, therefore are highly useful for summer 

 crops. To the brown Dutch, as being a hardy sort, we may add the hardy green, 

 the common white, and the tennis-ball, any of which will stand the winter in ordi- 

 nary cases. The cos lettuces, have upright, oval, or oblong heads ; and the cabbage 

 lettuces have round leaves, and squat, flat, full heads, but are white, firm, and close, 

 when full grown. 



Love Apple, or Tomato, — Sulanum Lycopersicum, (Limi.) — belongs to the claaa 

 and order Pcntandria Monoiiyilia, and to the natural order Solanaccce. Is a native 

 of South America, and introduced in 1596. Gerrard and Parkinson, the former 

 writing in 1597, and the latter in 1656, describe it as a plant kept only for ornament 

 and curiosity. They were, ho\^ever, aware, that the fruit was used in the wanner 

 countries of Europe for culinary purposes. Dodoens, in 1583, describes it as culti- 

 vated in the continental gardens, and says, that the fruit was eaten, dressed with 

 pepper, salt, and oil. A white variety is mentioned by Besler, who wrote in 1618, 

 This sort is also noticed by Tournefort, but is now lost. The fruit, when ripe, is used 

 in soups and sauces, and the juice is preserved for w inter, like catsup ; it is also used 

 in confectionery, as a preserve, and when green as a pickle. The French and 

 Italians are particularly attached to this fruit, and scarcely a dinner is served in 

 Rome or Naples, without this fruit being introduced in some shape or other. To 

 supply this demand, whole fields, in the vicinity of those cities, are annually covered 

 with Tomatoes. There arc two varieties cultivated here, if colour be sufficient to 

 mark them as such ; the red and yellow, each of which has its sub-varieties, such 

 as the large, small, cherry, and pear-shaped reds, and the large, the small, or cherry- 

 shaped yellow. Of these, the large red, and large yellow are the best ; the pre- 

 ference, however, may be given to the former. 



Maujoram, — Origanum, {Linn.) — belongs to the class and order Didynamia 

 Gymnnspermia, and natural order Labiatir. There are different species cultivated, 

 which are as follow : — 



Sweet MaPvJORAM, — Origanum Marjorana. Is a native of Portugal, and intro- 

 duced in 1573. 



Winter Sweet Marjoram, — Origanum Heradeoticum. A native of Greece, and 

 was introduced in 1640. 



