OEIGIN AND HISTORY OF OUR GARDEN VEGETABLES. 



113 



Sea-kale (Cramhe maritima, L.). 



This is not at all common, but occurs in the sandy shores of Eng- 

 land and the continent. It was eaten by the ancients, for Pliny thus 

 speaks of it. " There is a kind of cabbage known by the name Halmy- 

 ridia, because growing only on the seashore. It will keep green and 

 fresh during a long sea voyage, put into oil-vessels lately dried. Nitre 

 preserves the greenness when cooked, a result which is equally ensured 

 by the Apician mode of boiling, or in other words', by steeping the plants 

 in oil and salt before they are cooked." This is somewhat suggestive of 

 " sour-krout. ' The first herbalist of the 16th century to distinguish 

 this plant and figure it was Lobel (1576), under the name Brassica 

 marina monosperma; Brassica being the true cabbage wuth a long pod 

 containing many seeds ; whereas the sea-kale has only one. He says 

 that Turner suggested the name; but no mention of it is in his Names 

 of Herbes " (1548) nor in his " Herbal " (1568) where Brassica marina 

 (as in other herbals) means the Convolvulus Soldanella. Gerard (1597) 

 describes it as B. marina Anglica, as if it were a native only of Eng- 

 land, but Hooker states its continental distribution is — " Coasts from 

 Finland to the Bay of Biscay and the Black Sea." Gerard does not 

 describe any use for it. Parkinson is the first to illustrate the charac- 

 teristic globular, one-seeded pods. Mr. W. B. Booth says: — "It 

 appears to have been known to the Eomans, who gathered it in the 

 wild state and preserved it in barrels for use during long voyages. 

 From a remote period it has been used in this country by residents near 

 the sea. ... It was sold in Chichester in 1753. It was not known 

 about London until 1767, when Dr. Lettsom cultivated it at Camberwell 

 and was the first to bring it into notice." ^ 



Sea-kale contains upwards of 93 per cent, of water, 1.4 per cent, of 

 albuminoids, 3.8 per cent, of mucilage and starch, &c., and 0.6 of 

 mineral matter. 



Spinach {Spinacia oleracea, L.). 



Spinach is first figured and described by Turner (1568). He 

 writes : — ' ' Spinage or Spinech is an herbe lately found and not long 

 in use, but it is so wel knowen amongest al men in al countreas that it 

 nedeth no description." He only alludes to its supposed medicinal 

 virtues. It is said to be a native of West Asia. Gerard (1597) 

 describes it as a medicinal ' ' pot-herb ' ' ; but adds that ' ' it is eaten 

 boiled. . . and is used in sallades when it is young and tender." 

 " Prickly " and " Pound " spinach are two varieties of the above. 



Spinach contains much nitre and is a wholesome vegetable. There 

 is 90 per cent, of water, 1.2 of albuminoids, 4.0 of carbohydrates, 2.0 of 

 mineral matter. 



Spinach, New Zealand (Tetragonia expansa). 



Closely allied to Mesemhryanthemum, the Ice-plant is a native of 

 Tasmania, Australia, and of South America as well as New Zealand, 



* The Trtasury of Botany, s.v. Crambe. 

 VOL. XXXVII. I 



