honorable mention at least to the pungent horse-radish and the odor- 
iferous alliums. The former is a somewhat common wild plant in eastern 
Europe, in Finland and Russia and in western Siberia and Turkey. 
Horse-radish is another one of the many vegetables we have received 
through the medieval gardens of medicinal herbs. Gerarde, an old 
herbalist, tells of the antipathy between the horse-radish and the grape- 
vine. He writes: “Divers thinke that this Horse Radish is an enimie to 
Vines, and that hatred between them is so great that if the rootes heerof 
be planted neere to the vine, it bendeth backward from it as not willing 
to have fellowship with it.” Another 16th century authority writes 
advising the use of the roots as a condiment in case only of strong labor- 
ing men, as “it is too strong for tender and gentle stomaches.” 
The onion tribe has been long with us, all of them except chives 
being of ancient cultivation. The Romans avoided garlic on account of 
its offensive odor, but the Emperor Nero used leeks and oil for his voice. 
In some countries they were associated with religious ceremonies, and in 
Egypt, the garlic was sacred to the swearing of oaths. At least seven 
distinct species, no doubt including many forms, have contributed the 
numerous cultivated varieties. Allium Cepa is the most important of 
these, for from it the many ordinary kinds of onions have been derived. 
This species, as well as the others, are still common in a wild state in 
Eurasia. 
In the more or less haphazard process of finding suitable vegetables, 
many species have been tried out and for some reason cast aside, so that 
our present common vegetables are a selected lot, even though the selec- 
tion has been often largely determined by chance. 
A table of the various vegetables giving their names, scientific names, 
probable antiquity of cultivation and their country of origin, is appended. 
The letters indicate the probable length of cultivation. 
A — a species cultivated for more than 4,000 years. 
B — a species cultivated for more than 2,000 years. 
C— a species cultivated for less than 2,000 years. 
D — a species cultivated very anciently in America. 
E — a species cultivated in America before 1492 without giving evi- 
dence of great antiquity of culture. 
F — a species or subspecies of very recent domestication. 
