Some Good Vegetables. 
BY DOCTOR DORAN. 
rftllE cabbage lias had a singular destiny; 
“i in one country an object of worship, 
in another, of contempt. The Egyptians 
made of it a god, and it was the first dish 
they touched at their repasts. The Greeks 
and Romans took it as a remedy for the lan¬ 
guor following inebriation. Cato sad that 
in the cabbage was a panacea for the ills of 
man. Erasistratus recommended it as a 
specific in paralysis ; Hippocrates accounted 
it a sovereign remedy, boiled with salt, for 
the colic ; and Athenian medical men pre¬ 
scribed it to young nursing mothers who 
wished to see lusty babies lying in their | 
arms. Diphilus preferred the beet to the 
cabbage, both as food and as medicine,—in 
the latter case, as a vermifuge. The same 
physician extols mallows, not for fomenta¬ 
tion, but as a good edible vegetable, appeas¬ 
ing hunger and curing the sore throat at the 
same time. The asparagus, as we are accus¬ 
tomed to see it. has derogated from its an¬ 
cient magnificence. The. original ‘‘grass” 
was from twelve to twenty feet high, and a 
dish of it could only have been served to the 
Brobdignagians. Under the Romans, stems 
Of asparagus were raised of three pounds’ 
weight,—heavy enough to knock down a 
slave in waiting with. The Greeks ate them 
of more moderate dimensions, or would 
have eaten them, but that the publishing 
doctors of their day denounced asparagus as 
injurious to the sight. But then it was also 
said that a slice or two of boiled pumpkin 
would re-invigorate the sight which had 
been deteriorated by asparagus. “Do that 
as quickly as thou should asparagus!” is a 
proverb descended from Augustus, and il¬ 
lustrative of the mode in which the vegeta¬ 
ble was prepared for the table. 
A still more favorite dish, at Athens, was 
turnips, from Thebes. Carrots, too, formed 
a distinguished dish at Greek and Roman ta¬ 
bles. Purslain was rather honored as a cure 
against poisons, whether in the blood by 
wounds, or in the stomachbfrom beverage. 
I have heard it asserted in France, that if 
you briskly rub a glass with fingers which 
have been previously rubbed with purslain, 
or parsley, the glass will certainly break. 
I have tried the experiment, but only t<> find 
that the glass resisted the pretended charm. 
Broccoli was the favorite vegetable food 
of Drusus. He ate greedily thereof, and 
as his father. Tiberius, was as fond of it as 
he. the master of the Roman world and his 
illustrious heir were constantly quarreling, 
like two clowns, when a dish of broccoli 
stood between them. Artichokes gnw le s 
rapidly into aristocratic favor; the dictum 
of Galen was against them; and, for along 
time, they were only used by drinkers, 
against headache, and by singers to strength¬ 
en their voice. Pliny pronounced artichokes 
excellent food foi poor people and donkeys 1 
For nobler stomachs he prefered the cucum¬ 
ber.—the Nemesis of vegetables. But peo¬ 
ple were at issue touching the merits of the 
cucumber. Not so regarding the lettuce, 
which has been universally honored. It was 
the most highly esteemed disli of the beauti¬ 
ful Adonis. It was presciibea as provoca¬ 
tive to sleep; and it cured Augustus of the 
malady which sits so heavily on the soul 
of Leopold of Belgium ,—hypochondria xis. 
Science and rank eulogized the lettuce, and 
philosophy sanctioned the eulogy in the per¬ 
son or Aristoxenus. who not only grew let¬ 
tuces as the pride of his garden, but irrigated 
them with wine, in order to increase their 
flavor. 
But we must not place too much trust in 
stories either of sages or apothecaries.— 
These pagans recommended the seductive, 
but indigestible, endive, as good against the 
headache, and young onions and honey as 
admirable preservers of health, when taken 
fasting; but this was a prescription for rus¬ 
tic swains and nymphs,—the higher classes, 
in town or country, would hardly venture 
on it. And yet the mother of Apollo ate 
raw leeks, and loved them of gigantic di- 
mersions. For this reason, perhaps, was the 
leek accounted, not only as salubrious, but 
as a beautifier. The love for melons was 
derive !, in similar fashion, probably, from 
Tiberius, who cared for them even more 
than he did for broccoli. The German Cae¬ 
sars inherited the taste of their Roman pre¬ 
decessor, carrying it, indeed, to excess; for 
more than one of them submitted to die af¬ 
ter eating melons, rather than live by re¬ 
nouncing them. 
