Am.  Jour.  Pharra.  ) 
January,  1904.  / 
Gardens  of  Medicinal  Plants. 
2  I 
The  earliest  comparatively  authentic  records  of  botanic  gardens 
are  those  of  the  Romans.  The  first  described  is  that  of  Tarquinius 
Superbus  (534  B.  C),  adjoining  the  royal  palace  at  Rome.  Among 
other  plants,  roses,  poppies,  lilies,  peaches,  apricots  and  cherries 
were  cultivated.  The  villas  of  Cicero  at  Arpinum,  of  Sallust  on 
the  Quirinal  hill,  and  those  of  Nero  were  noted  for  their  beauty. 
In  addition  to  these  private  gardens  of  the  nobility  there  were  also 
gardens  established  about  temples,  places  of  worship,  and  burial 
places  which  may  be  compared  to  the  public  parks  and  cemeteries 
of  to-day.  The  term  hortus  as  defined  in  the  laws  of  the  decemviri 
included  a  garden  and  country  house.  The  garden  devoted  to 
kitchen  plants  was  known  as  hortus  pinguis.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that 
the  larger  Roman  gardens  were  chiefly  for  pleasure  and  recreation, 
they  contained  many  useful  fruit  trees,  shrubs  and  herbs,  besides 
flowers.  Flowers  were  greatly  prized  and  they  figured  very  signifi- 
cantly at  feasts,  frequently  enormous  sums  being  expended  for  them. 
The  following  useful  plants  were  introduced  and  grown:  The  fig  and 
almond  from  Syria,  the  citron  from  Media,  the  peach  from  Persia, 
the  pomegranate  from  Africa,  the  apricot  from  Epirus,  apples,  pears 
and  plums  from  Armenia,  cherries  from  Pontus.  They  cultivated 
sweet  and  sour  apples,  including  a  seedless  variety;  thirty-six  vari- 
eties of  pears,  as  early  and  late,  large  and  small,  hard  and  mellow ; 
three  varieties  of  quince ;  varieties  of  services  and  medlars ;  black, 
white  and  variegated  plums  ;  numerous  varieties  of  cherries,  several 
varieties  of  olives;  they  cultivated  varieties  of  grapes — some  were 
thick-skinned  (duracina),  others  thin-skinned;  one  vine  at  Rome  pro- 
duced enough  grapes  to  make  12  amphorae  (84  gallons)  of  wine. 
Some  grapes  were  spherical,  others  oval  or  elongated.  One  was 
called  dactylides,  because  the  fruits  were  long  like  fingers.  They  cul- 
tivated figs,  mulberries,  and  perhaps  also  raspberries  and  the  bramble- 
berry;  further,  hazelnuts,  filberts,  beech,  mast,  pistachias,  walnuts 
(Juglans,  from  Jovis  glans,  the  fruit  of  Jove),  chestnuts,  St.  John's 
bread  (Carob  bean  from  Ceratonia  siliqud),  pines,  gourd,  cucumber, 
melons,  cabbage,  pea,  bean,  kidney  bean,  turnip,  carrot,  parsnips, 
skirret,  radish,  sorrel,  asparagus,  onions,  garlic,  endive,  lettuce,  suc- 
cory, mustard,  parsley,  arache,  alisander,  dittander,  elecampane, 
fennel,  chervil  and  mushrooms.  This  catalogue  gives  some  idea  of 
the  extent  to  which  useful  plants  were  cultivated,  and  what  we  of  to- 
day owe  to  Roman  influence  and  effort.    There  is  no  record,  how- 
