OUR COMMON VEGETABLES. 



115 



only two -seeded pods, with a deep constriction between the 

 seeds. This character, as well as the larger lobes to the 

 leaves, agrees better with those of B. maritimus, Sm., a plant 

 found on our shores from the Clyde southwards, so that it would 

 seem probable that both these species, if they be not varieties 

 only, have given rise to garden Radishes. 



With regard to the forms of the roots, M. Carriere found 

 that when seed was sown in a loose soil a greater proportion of 

 long-rooted forms were produced ; while the globular or 

 Turnip-rooted forms prevailed in a stiff soil.* Pliny records a 

 very similar fact, for he says of the "Rape": "The Greeks 

 have distinguished two principal species of Rape, the male (the 

 turnip-rooted) and the female (the long-rooted) ; and they have 

 discovered a method of obtaining both from the same seed, for 

 when it is sown in a hard, cloggy soil the produce will be male."t 

 Again : " Some authors have mentioned a plan of making a hole 

 with a dibble and covering it at the bottom with chaff, six fingers 

 in depth. Upon this the seed is put, and then covered over with 

 manure and earth. The result of which is that Radishes are 

 obtained fully as large as the hole is made." t 



It may be here added that very large-rooted Radishes are 

 apparently one result of the Mediterranean climate ; for enor- 

 mous roots may be seen in the markets of Gibraltar and Cairo, 

 and it is said also in Japan. The flavour appears to be some- 

 what inferior to that of our own produce. 



Paesnip. — Peucedanum (Pastinaca,~L.) sa^iwm, Benth., order 

 UmbellifercB, occurs wild from Durham and Lancaster south- 

 wards. It is common on the limestone of Gloucestershire 

 and on the chalk of Dorset, &c. It ranges from Europe to 

 Siberia. 



The Greeks and Romans cultivated Parsnips and Carrots, 

 which the former confounded under the name Staphylinos. It 

 appears from Pliny that " the wild Parsnip was eaten after 

 having been transplanted, or from seed; but it preserved its 

 strong, pungent flavour, which it is found quite impossible to get 

 rid of." § This seems to imply that the ancients did not know 



* This has been corroborated by M. Languet de Sivry with the Carrot 

 (Soc. Roy. et Cent. d'Agricult. 2nd ser. vol. ii. 1846-7, p. 539. 

 f Nat. Hist, xviii. 34 (Bohn's trans.). 

 X Nat. Hist. xix. 26. 

 § Nat. Hist. xix. 27. 



