214 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  5,  1901. 
same  as  those  which  received  the  attention  of  the  Gauls  and^Beigse, 
from  whom  they  learned  the  art  of  husbandry.  The  Carrot  grows 
wild  in  Britain,  as  it  does  in  France  ;  from  the  latter  it  was  imported 
into  Italy,  being  only  improved  by  cultivation ;  at  least,  such  is  the 
inference  of  the  best  critics  upon  this  passage  in  Pliny: — “There  is 
a  fourth  kind  of  Parsnip,  by  our  people  (the^Romans)  it  is  called 
Gallica,  while  the  Greeks,  who  have  distinguished  four  varieties 
of  it,  give  it  the  Dame  of  Damns.*'  Unless  it  has  been  employed  by 
the  natives,  we  can  scarcely  conceive  so  useless  a  weed,  as  it  is  in  a 
wild  strte,  would  have  gained  the  attention  of  the  Roman  legionaries. 
Turnips  were  particularly  abundant  in  Gaul  ;  so  extensively  indeed 
were  they  cultivated  as  to  be  given  to  cattle.  “Turnips,”  says 
Columella  (lib.  ii.,  c.  10),  “are  focd  not  only  for  men,  but  for  oxen 
als\  especially  in  Gaul,  where  this  kind  of^root  affords  nourishment 
for  the  cattle  in  winter.” 
We  quote  these  facts,  because  the  practices  of  the  Gauls  must 
have  been  known  to  the  Cantii,  or  inhabitants  of  Kent,  whom  Caesar 
especially  describes  as  more  advanced  than  the  other  Britons  in  the 
habits  of  civilised  life,  and  as  little  differing  from  the  people  of  Gaul. 
We  have,  however,  direct  evidence  of  the  similarity  of  their 
practices  in  cultivating  the  soil,  in  this  notice  of  their  use  of  marl  as 
a  fertiliser.  Pliny  says  (lib.  xvii.,  c.  4),  “  It  is  only  right  that  I 
should  be  rather  exact  in  noticing  this  marl,  which  tends  so  greatly 
to  enrich  the  soil  of  the  Gallic  provinces  and  the  British  Isles. 
Another  kind  is  the  white  chalk,  used  for  cleaning  silver  (modern 
whiting)  ;  it  is  taken  from  pits  sunk  a  considerable  depth  in  the 
ground  ;  it  is  in  Britain  more  particularly  that  this  chalk  is  employed. 
The  good  effects  of  it  are  found  to  la9t  full  eighty  years,  and  there  is 
no  instance  known  of  a  farmer  putting  it  twice  on  the  same  land 
during  his  life.” 
If  we  turn  to  what  we  can  glean  relative  to  one  of  the  most 
important  of  our  hardy  fruits,  we  are  justified  in  concluding,  even 
from  the  etymology  of  its  name,  that  it  was  cultivated  by  the  Britons 
before  the  arrival  of  the  Romans. 
In  the  Welsh,  Cornish,  Armorican,  and  Irish  languages,  ordialects, 
the  Apple  was  denominated  the  Avail  or  Aball.  In  Welsh,  the  wild 
Crab  tree  is  still  called  A/alwydden,  and  in  the  Gaelic,  Albol- 
fladhaich.  The  Hedui,  who  dwelt  in  the  modern  Somersetshire,  appear 
then, as  now,  particularly  to  lave  cultivated  this  fruit,  and  their  town, 
which  stood  upon  the  site  of  the  present  Glastonbury,  was  known, 
when  the  Remans  first  visited  it,  by  the  name  of  Avallonia  (Apple 
Orchard). — (“  Richard  of  Cirencester,”  lib.  i.,  c.  6,  s.  14.) 
We  have  seen  how  the  inhabitants  of  Kent  approached  in  their 
manners  and  practices  their  continental  neighbours,  and  it  is  very 
improbable  that  they  did  not  thence  derive  any  improved  object  of 
cultivation.  Kent  has  immemorially  been  celebrated  for  its  orchards, 
and  we  may  conclude  that  these  contained  the  Belgic  varieties  of  the 
Apple.  That  the  Bt  lgae  had  such  varieties,  we  have  the  testimony 
of  Pliny,  who  says  (“  Natural  History,”  lib.  xv.,  c.  14),  “  The  Spayed 
Apple  ( Spadonium )  of  the  Belgse  is  so  nicknamed  from  its  having  do 
pips.”  Dalechamps  thinks  that  this  was  one  of  the  Apples  still 
known  in  France  as  the  Passe  Pomme  ;  but  there  is  no  sufficient 
reason  for  such  an  opinion  psome  of  the  varieties  of  Apples  so  called 
have  an  abundance  of  well-developed  pips,  and  there  are  others  in 
which  they  are  few  in  number,  but  none  are  absolutely  abortive.  There 
are,  however,  Apples  in  which  the  seeds  are  wholly  abortive,  and 
without  any  core  at  all  ;  but  we  would  look  with  suspicion  on  any 
attempt  to  identify  the  fruits  of  the  ancients  with  the  varieties  now 
in  cultivation. 
Other  fruits,  as  the  Pear,  Damson,  &c.,  being  known  by  names 
evidently  derived  from  the  Roman  appellations,  we,  on  the  other  hand, 
are  induced  to  consider  os  bemg  introduced  to  the  Britons  from  Italy. 
The  same  observation  may  apply  to  the  Rose  and  other  inhabitants  ol 
the  flower  garden,  of  which  there  is  little  doubt  the  Britons  were 
ignorant  before  their  introduction  by  the  Romans.  The  kitchen 
garden  is  similarly  indebted  for  most,  though  not  all,  of  its  inhabitants. 
The  Cabbage,  or  Kale,  tribe  is  an  example  of  the  exceptions.  Kavitch 
is  the  name  in  the  Cornish  dialect,  and  Cawl-wort  is  mentioned  in  the 
oldest  Anglo-Saxon  MSS.  They  are  names  not  derived  from  the 
Latin. 
Of  the  Roman  pleasure  grounds  during  the  decline  of  the  empire 
we  have  the  most  ample  accounts.  Highly  polished  as  were  the 
citizens  of  the  then  Mistress  of  the  World,  it  was  in  this  department  of 
horticulture  their  luxury  and  taste  was  displayed,  and  the  most 
poetical  subject  here  proffered  itself  to  the  pen  of  the  historian  and 
man  of  letters.  To  the  Briton,  just  emerging  from  his  barbarism,  that 
which  was  most  useful  seemed  most  worthy  of  attention;  hence  the 
fruit  garden  became  his  first  particular  care,  aod  it  is  of  this,  in 
the  earliest  periods  of  which  records  exist,  that  we  have  the  most 
particular,  though,  at  the  same  time,  Bcanty  notice. 
Tacitus,  as  already  noticed,  informs  us  that  all  fruit  trees  succeeded 
in  Britain,  except  such  as  required  a  warmer  climate.  It  is  evident, 
from  this  cursory  remark,  that  the  Romans  began  immediately  their 
endeavours  to  improve  the  place  of  their  settlement,  even  before  they 
had  penetrated  into  the  southern  and  more  mild  districts  of  the  island  : 
or  before  its  climate  could  be  ameliorated  by  the  removal  of  exuberant 
forests  and  accutnpanying  marshes,  the  never-failing  deteriorators  of 
the  climate  of  the  country  in  which  they  abound.  That  they  did 
begin  improving  their  new  settlement  is  proved  by  the  testimony  of 
Pliny,  who  informs  us  that  they  introduced  Cherries  into  our  island 
b.c.  42.  His  words  are  : — “  Cherries  were  not  in  Italy  before  the 
Mithridatic  victory  of  L.  Lucullus.  He  first  brought  them  to  Rome, 
out  of  Pontus,  in  the  year  (of  the  city)  680,  and  in  120  years  they 
have  crossed  the  ocean,  until  they  have  reached  even  Britain.” 
(To  be  continued.) 
Tlie  Penetrative  Power  of  Tree  Roots. 
Some  extraordinary  instances  at  times  occur  in  which  the  great 
power  displayed  by  tree  roots  is  found.  It  is  well  known  what  great 
persistence  there  has  been  found  in  Vine  roots  in  their  determination, 
to  pass  from  an  inside  border  to  the  open  ground  through  the  wall  of 
the  house.  Vine  roots,  too,  have  been  seen  actually  piercing  a  brick 
itself,  and  when  one  considers  for  a  moment  the  soft  and  brittle  nature 
of  a  Vine  root,  or  any  other  root,  it  is  scarcely  credible  that  they 
possess  such  resistive  force.  I  well  remember  the  late  Mr.  Pratt 
when  at  Longleat  discovered,  much  to  his  surprise,  that  the  roots  of 
the  far-famed  Vines  had  gone  through  the  walls  into  the  outer  soil, 
and  were  revelling  in  the  vegetable  quarters  with  the  Potatoes,  and 
this  despite  the  cost  of  providing  an  almost  inexhaustible  turf  border, 
and  skilful  attendance  in  watering  and  feeding.  The  walls,  in  this 
instance,  were,  1  believe,  14  inches  in  thickness,  a  strength  one  would 
Daturally  have  supposed  to  be  a  sufficient  barrier  to  Vine  roots.  As 
one  might  have  expected,  the  roots  passing  through  between  the  brick 
joints  became  flattened  and  distorted,  but  despite  this,  a  circulation  of 
sap  can  pass  this  interruption,  and  if  allowed  to  proceed  unmolested, 
the  roots  cover  a  large  area  with  feeding  fibres.  Not  that  such  a  state^ 
of  things  is  conducive  to  better  results ;  it  may  go  on  successfully  for  a 
time,  but  when  the  resources  of  the  Vines  are  taxed  by  periods  of 
drought  or  heavy  rain,  and  the  area  of  these  officious  roots  becomes 
extensive,  then  shanking  of  the  bunches  or  decay  of  berries,  and  a 
diminished  pleasure  and  profit,  becomes  inevitable.  Such  instances 
may  be  recounted  almost  every  day,  and  probably  there  are  many 
that  have  yet  to  be  discovered,  and,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Longleat 
Vines,  where  least  expected. 
A  curious  and  interesting  case  of  this  root-travelling  was  recently 
related  to  me  by  Sir  John  Wallington  of  Keevil  Manor,  near 
Trowbridge.  On  the  south  front  of  the  Manor  house,  which  apparently 
dates  far  back  into  the  past  century,  there  grows  a  Brown  Turkey  Fig, 
and  years  ago  its  crops  were  regular  and  heavy.  Severe  winters,, 
however,  dealt  harshly  with  it,  and  its  branches  were  reduced  fiom 
the  highest  extremity  of  the  walls  to  the  ground  line,  and  the  luscious 
fruit,  which  were  dealt  out  by  the  basketful  to  any  visitor  who  cared 
to  take  them,  became  only  a  matter  of  history.  Within  the  past  few 
years  the  tree  has  raised  its  head  again,  and  is  soaring  upward  to  its 
former  position,  and  bearing  fruit  freely,  but  the  remarkable  incident 
connected  with  it  is  that  a  few  years  since  a  Fig  shoot  was  seen  to 
protrude  through  the  masonry  joints  od,  or  slightly  above,  the  ground 
line.  This  is  lound  to  be  a  root  that  has  traversed  a  distance  of  some 
12  yards  below  the  foundations,  and  not  satisfied  in  its  search  there 
made  an  exit  through  the  wall,  which  is  more  than  1£  foot  in  thickness, 
and  now  a  second  tree  as  large  as  the  original,  clothes  another  portion  of 
the  house.  In  its  passage  through  the  stone  joint  it  became  flattened, 
and  protruding  through  on  to  the  soil  it  slowly  thickened,  until  now 
there  is  such  a  mass  of  congested  timber  that,  except  to  the  owner 
himself,  there  is  nothing  to  suggest  a  twin  relationship  with  the  original. 
The  latter  occupies  a  position  against  the  projecting  stone  built  lobby 
forming  the  entrance  to  the  Manor,  so  that  the  roots  have  gone 
beneath  the  ft  undations  of  this  and  the  main  building  beyond.  Sir 
John  Wallington  cut  off  the  first  tiDy  shoot  that  issued  between  the 
joints  of  the  masonry  with  his  pocket  knife,  without  suspecting  that 
it  was  a  fractional  part  of  his  favourite  fruit  tree.  Now,  of  course,  it 
has  an  independent  existence  from  roots  issuing  from  the  newly  made 
stock. — W.  S.,  Rood  Ashton. 
