4i8 
Burdock  as  a  Vegetable. 
J  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
t     August,  1897. 
anese  esteem  Lappa  for  similar  purposes.  It  is  used  in  many  pre- 
parations for  its  medicinal  properties,  which  they  believe — at  least 
the  old-fashioned  empirics  believe — consist  in  counteracting  the 
action  of  some  kinds  of  poisons.  Grated  and  made  into  pulp,  the 
roots  are  applied  as  a  poultice  in  eruptions  of  the  skin.  But  by 
far  the  more  important  use  is  made  in  the  kitchen.  As  regards  this 
plant  we  have  outstripped  the  pantophagous  Chinese,  for  they  have 
not  raised  the  plant  to  the  dignity  of  a  market  vegetable.  "  When 
young,"  says  a  Chinese  book  on  botany,  "  the  tender  leaves  of  the 
Lappa  are  cut  and  eaten  as  greens  ;  the  roots  may  be  boiled  or 
steamed  and  eaten,  but  people  nowadays  rarely  use  the  plant." 
Among  the  Japanese,  however,  it  has  been  under  cultivation  for 
years,  and  possibly  for  centuries.  It  enters  the  kitchen  of  every 
household,  not  being  ostracised  from  the  menu  of  the  most  high- 
toned  restaurant.  Thousands  of  acres  are  devoted  to  its  culture. 
Official  statistics  for  1888  give  the  total  production  of  Lappa  in  the 
country  at  about  72,000,000  pounds,  valued  at  422,134  yen.  The 
roots  average  350  grains  in  weight. 
The  production  of  so  large  a  quantity  is  not  at  all  to  be  wondered 
at  when  we  recollect  that  Lappa  ranks  high  in  the  scale  of  nutritive 
plants.  In  the  amount  of  nitrogen  it  stands  higher  than  potatoes, 
beets,  carrots  or  turnips  ;  in  fact,  few  roots  or  tubers  approach  it. 
I  append  here  its  chemical  composition,  as  compared  with  some 
other  commonly  used  vegetables  : 
H20 
N 
Ash 
K20 
Na20 
Cap 
MgO 
p2o5 
S03 
Si02 
CI 
750 
3:4 
9*5 
5-8 
o-3 
o-3 
o*5 
1  6 
o-6 
0'2 
o-3 
815 
r6 
yi 
3-8 
o-6 
0-4 
o-6 
0-9 
0'3 
0'2 
o'3 
720 
r8 
6-4 
29 
o-6 
07 
0'2 
o-8 
07 
O'l 
o"3 
850 
2"2 
8-2 
3'o 
17 
°"9 
0-4 
i'i 
o*5 
0*2 
0-4 
738 
5-6 
10-5 
4/3 
0-2 
I'i 
20 
0-9 
07 
01 
So  important  a  crop  as  burdock  has,  of  course,  many  varieties  de- 
veloped, but  the  best  known  among  them  are  few  in  number.  They 
are  usually  named  from  the  localities  where  they  were  first  devel- 
oped or  where  they  thrive  best.  A  variety  known  as  the  Takino- 
zawa,  raised  chiefly  near  Tokyo,  has  a  slender  root,  about  4  feet 
long,  and  is  of  very  fine  quality.  In  the  vegetable  market  of  Tokyo  it 
commands  a  respectable  price.  TheOwura  variety, named  from  a  small 
