Chaps. 37-44.

Chap. 37.—Plants of Which There Is but a Single Kind. Plants of Which There Are Several Kinds.

Of ocimum, lapathum, blite, cresses, rocket, orage, coriander, and anise respectively, there is but a single kind, these plants being the same everywhere, and no better in one place than in another. It is the general belief that stolen [This puerility, Fée observes, runs counter to the more moral adage, that “stolen goods never prosper.”] rue grows the best, while, on the other hand, bees [See B. xi. c. 15.] that have been stolen will never thrive. Wild mint, cat-mint, endive, and pennyroyal, will grow even without any cultivation. With reference to the plants of which we have already spoken, or shall have occasion to speak, there are numerous varieties of many of them, parsley more particularly.

(8.) As to the kind of parsley [This variety, Fée says, is the Apium graveolens of Linnæus.] which grows spontaneously in moist localities, it is known by the name of “helioselinum;” [Or marsh-parsley.] it has a single leaf [Pliny has mistranslated, or rather misread, the passage of Theophrastus, who says, B. vii. c. 6, that this kind of parsley is μανόφυλλον, “thinly covered with leaves,” and not μονόφυλλον, “having a single leaf.” Palladius (In Aprili.) translates it, “molli folio,” “with a soft leaf;” but, though Fée commends this version, it is not correct.] only, and is not rough at the edges. In dry places, we find growing the kind known as “hipposelinum,” [Or “horse-parsley.” Hardouin takes this to be Macedonian parsley, the Bubon Macedonicum of Linnæus. Fée, following C. Bauhin and Sprengel, is inclined to identify it with Macerona, the Smyrnium olusatrum of Linnæus.] consisting of numerous leaves, similar to helioselinum. A third variety is the oreoselinum, [Or “mountain-parsley.” Probably the Athamanta oreoselinum of Linnæus. Some commentators, however, take it to be the Laserpitium formosum of Wilidenow. Sprengel identifies it with the Selinum oreoselinum of Linnæus.] with leaves like those of hemlock, and a thin, fine, root, the seed being similar to that of anise, only somewhat smaller.

The differences, again, that are found to exist in cultivated parsley, [The Apium petroselinum, probably, of Linnæus.] consist in the comparative density of the leaves, the crispness or smoothness of their edges, and the thinness or thickness of the stem, as the case may be: in some kinds, again, the stem is white, in others purple, and in others mottled.

Chap. 38.—The Nature and Varieties of Twenty-three Garden Plants. The Lettuce; Its Different Varieties.

The Greeks have distinguished three varieties of the lettuce; [The Lactuca sativa of Linnæus. This account of the Greek varieties is from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 4.] the first with a stalk so large, that small garden gates, [This, no doubt, is fabulous, and on a par with the Greek tradition that Adonis concealed himself under the leaves of a lettuce, when he was attacked and killed by the wild boar. The Coss, or Roman, lettuce, as Fée remarks, is the largest of all, and that never exceeds fifteen to twenty inches in height, leaves, stalk and all.] it is said, have been made of it: the leaf of this lettuce is somewhat larger than that of the herbaceous, or green lettuce, but extremely narrow, the nutriment seeming to be expended on the other parts of the plant. The second kind is that with a rounded [This would seem not to be a distinct variety, as the rounded stalk is a characteristic of them all.] stalk; and the third is the low, squat lettuce, [“Sessile.” A cabbage-lettuce, probably; though Hardouin dissents from that opinion.] generally known as the Laconian lettuce.

Some persons [Columella more particularly. There are still varieties known respectively as the black, brown, white, purple, red, and blood-red lettuce.] have made distinctions in reference to their respective colours, and the times for sowing them: the black lettuce is sown in the month of January, the white in March, and the red in April; and they are fit for transplanting, all of them, at the end of a couple of months. Those, again, who have pursued these enquiries even further than this, have distinguished a still greater number of varieties of them—the purple, the crisped, the Cappadocian, [Martial, B. v. Epig. 79, gives to this lettuce the epithet of “vile.”] and the Greek lettuce, this last having a longer leaf than the rest, and a broad stalk: in addition to which, there is one with a long, narrow leaf, very similar to endive in appearance. The most inferior kind, however, of all, is the one to which the Greeks, censuring it for its bitterness, have given the name of “picris.” [It has been suggested that this may have been wild endive, the Cichoreum intubus of botanists.] There is still another variety, a kind of white lettuce, called “meconis,” [Or “poppy-lettuce.” See B. xx. c.. The Lactuca virosa, probably, of modern botany, the milky juice of which strongly resembles opium in its effects.] a name which it derives from the abundance of milk, of a narcotic quality, which it produces; though, in fact, it is generally thought that they are all of them of a soporific tendency. In former times, this last was the only kind of lettuce that was held in any esteem [For its medicinal qualities, most probably.] in Italy, the name “lactuca” having been given it on account of the milk [“Lac.”] which it contains.

The purple kind, with a very large root, is generally known as the Cæcilian [So called, Columella informs us, from Cæcilius Metellus, Consul A.U.C. 503.] lettuce; while the round one, with an extremely diminutive root and broad leaves, is known to some persons as the “astytis,” [Meaning “antaphrodisiac.” The other name has a kindred meaning.] and to others as the “eunychion,” it having the effect, in a remarkable degree, of quenching the amorous propensities. Indeed, they are, all of them, possessed of cooling and refreshing properties, for which reason it is, that they are so highly esteemed in summer; they have the effect, also, of removing from the stomach distaste for food, and of promoting the appetite. At all events, we find it stated, that the late Emperor Augustus, when ill, was saved on one occasion, [A.U.C. 731.] thanks to the skill of his physician, Musa, [Antonius Musa. For this service he received a large sum of money, and the permission to wear a gold ring, and a statue was erected by public subscription in honour of him, near that of Æsculapius. He is supposed to be the person described by Virgil in the Æneid, B, xii. l. 390, et seq., under the name of Iapis. See B. xxix. c. 5 of this work.] by eating lettuces, a food which the excessive scruples of his former physician, C. Æmilius, had forbidden him. At the present day, however, lettuces have risen into such high estimation, that a method has been discovered even of preserving them during the months in which they are out of season, by keeping them in oxymel. [Vinegar and honey; a mixture very ill-adapted, as Fée observes, to preserve either the medicinal or alimentary properties of the lettuce.] It is generally supposed, also, that lettuces have the effect of making blood.

In addition to the above varieties, there is another kind of lettuce known as the “goats’ lettuce,” [“Caprina lactuca.” See B. xx. c..] of which we shall have occasion to make further mention when we come to the medicinal plants: at the moment, too, that I am writing this, a new species of cultivated lettuce has been introduced, known as the Cilician lettuce, and held in very considerable esteem; the leaf of it is similar to that of the Cappadocian lettuce, except that it is crisped, and somewhat larger.

Chap. 39.—Endive.

Endive, though it cannot exactly be said to be of the same genus as the lettuce, still cannot be pronounced to belong to any other. [Endive, in fact, belongs to the same family as the lettuce.] It is a plant better able to endure the rigours of the winter than the lettuce, [This is not the case; unless, indeed, under the name “lactuca,” Pliny would include several plants, that in reality are not lettuces.] and possessed of a more acrid taste, though the flavour of the stalk [The stalk, in fact, is more intensely bitter than the leaves.] is equally agreeable. Endive is sown at the beginning of spring, and transplanted at the end of that season. There is also a kind of spreading [“Erraticum.” Wild endive.] endive, known in Egypt as “cichorium,” [From which comes the French “chicorée,” and our “chicory,” or “succory.”] of which we shall have occasion [In B. xx. c. 29, and B. xxi. c. 52.] to speak elsewhere more at length.

A method has been discovered of preserving all the thyrsi or leaves of the lettuce in pots, the object being to have them fresh when wanted for boiling. Lettuces may be sown all the year [The usual times for sowing the lettuce are before winter and after February.] through in a good soil, well-watered and carefully manured; [An excess of manure is injurious to the lettuce.] two months being allowed to intervene between sowing and transplanting, and two more between transplanting and gathering them when ripe. The rule is, however, to sow them just after the winter solstice, and to transplant when the west winds begin to prevail, or else to sow at this latter period, and to plant out at the vernal equinox. The white lettuce is the best adapted for standing the rigours of the winter.

All the garden plants are fond of moisture; lettuces thrive, more particularly, when well manured, and endive even more so. Indeed, it is found an excellent plan to plant them out with the roots covered up in manure, and to keep up the supply, the earth being cleared away for that purpose. Some, again, have another method of increasing their size; they cut them [As already stated in a previous Note (p. 179), lettuces when cut down will not grow again, with the exception of a few worthless lateral branches.] down when they have reached half a foot in height, and cover them with fresh swine’s dung. It is the general opinion that those lettuces only will admit of being blanched which are produced from white seed; and even then, as soon as they begin to grow, sand from the sea-shore should be spread over them, care being taken to tie the leaves as soon as ever they begin to come to any size.

Chap. 40.—Beet: Four Varieties of It.

Beet [From Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 4.] is the smoothest of all the garden plants. The Greeks distinguish two kinds of beet, according to the colour, the black and the white. The last, which is the kind generally preferred, has but very little seed, and is generally known as the Sicilian [Not the Beta sicla of modern botany, Fée thinks. The black beet of the ancients would be one of the dark purple kinds.] beet; just as it is the white lettuce that is held in the highest degree of esteem. Our people, also, distinguish two varieties of beet, the spring and the autumn kinds, so called from the periods of sowing; although sometimes we find beet sown in June even. This is a plant, too, that is sometimes transplanted; and it thrives all the better, like the lettuce, if the roots are well covered with manure, in a moist soil. Beet is mostly eaten [It was only the leaf of beet, and not the root, that was eaten by the ancients. From Martial, B. xiii. Epig. 10, we learn that the leaves were preserved in a mixture of wine and pepper.] with lentils and beans; it is prepared also in the same way as cabbage, with mustard more particularly, the pungency of which relieves its insipidity. Medical men are of opinion that beet is a more unwholesome [Though not positively unwholesome, the leaves would form an insipid dish, that would not agree with all stomachs. Galen says that it cannot be eaten in great quantities with impunity, but Diphilus the physician, as quoted by Athenæus, B. ix. c. 3, says the reverse. Some MSS. read here “innocentiorem,” “more harmless.”] vegetable than cabbage; hence it is that I never remember seeing it served at table. Indeed, there are some persons who scruple to taste it even, from a conviction that it is a food suitable only for persons of a robust constitution.

Beet is a vegetable with twofold characteristics, partaking of the nature of the cabbage in its leaves and resembling a bulb in the root; that which grows to the greatest breadth being the most highly esteemed. This plant, like the lettuce, is made to grow to head by putting a light weight upon it the moment it begins to assume its proper colour. Indeed, there is no garden plant that grows to a larger head than this, as it sometimes spreads to a couple of feet in breadth, the nature of the soil contributing in a very considerable degree to its size: those found in the territory of Circeii attain the largest size. Some persons [Columella says the same, De Re Rust. B. xi. c. 3.] think that the best time for sowing beet is when the pomegranate is in flower, and are of opinion that it ought to be transplanted as soon as it has thrown out five leaves. There is a singular difference—if indeed it really exists—between the two varieties of beet, the white kind being remarkable for its purgative qualities, and the black being equally astringent. When wine in the vat has been deteriorated by assuming a flavour like [Fée would seem to render this, “when wine has been spoiled by cabbage leaves being mixed with it.”] that of cabbage, its original flavour is restored, it is said, by plunging beet leaves into it.

Chap. 41—Cabbages; the Several Varieties of Them.

Cabbage and coleworts, which at the present day are the most highly esteemed of all the garden vegetables, were held in little repute, I find, among the Greeks; but Cato, [De Re Rust. cc. 156, 157.] on the other hand, sings the wondrous praises of the cabbage, the medicinal properties of which we shall duly enlarge [In B. xx. c. 33.] upon when we come to treat of that subject. Cato distinguishes three varieties of the cabbage; the first, a plant with leaves wide open, and a large stalk; a second, with crisped leaves, to which he gives the name of “apiaca;” [Or “parsley” cabbage, so called from its crisped leaves: the curled colewort, or Brassica viridis crispa of C. Bauhin.] and a third, with a thin stalk, and a smooth, tender leaf, which with him ranks the lowest of all. Cabbages may be sown the whole year through, as we find that they are cut at all periods of the year; the best time, however, for sowing them is at the autumnal equinox, and they are usually transplanted as soon as five leaves are visible. In the ensuing spring after the first cutting, the plant yields sprouts, known to us as “cymæ.” [The same as our Brussels sprouts. Columella, however, B. xi. c. 3, and B. xii. c. 7, speaks of the Brassica cyma as a distinct variety of cabbage.] These sprouts, in fact, are small shoots thrown out from the main stem, of a more delicate and tender quality than the cabbage itself. The exquisite palate, however, of Apicius [See B. viii. c. 77.] rejected these sprouts for the table, and his example was followed by the fastidious Drusus Cæsar; who did not escape, however, the censures of his father, Tiberius, for being so over-nice. After the cymæ have made their appearance the cabbage throws out its summer and autumn shoots, and then its winter ones; after which, a new crop of cymæ is produced, there being no plant so productive as this, until, at last, it is quite exhausted by its extreme fertility. A second time for sowing cabbages is immediately after the vernal equinox, the plants of this growth being transplanted at the end of spring, that they may not run up into sprouts before coming to a top: and a third sowing takes place about the summer solstice, the transplanting being done in summer if the soil is moist, but, if too dry, in autumn. When moisture and manure are supplied in small quantities, the flavour of the cabbage is all the more agreeable, but when they are supplied in greater abundance, the plants attain a larger size. Asses’ dung is the best adapted for its growth.

The cabbage, too, is one of those articles so highly esteemed by epicures; for which reason it will not be amiss if we speak of it at somewhat greater length. To obtain plants equally remarkable for their size and flavour, care must be taken first of all to sow the seed in ground that has had a couple of turnings up, and then to follow up the shoots as they appear above ground by moulding them up, care being taken to throw up the earth over them as they increase in luxuriance, and to let nothing but the summit appear above the surface. This kind is known as the Tritian [The Brassica oleracea capitata of Lamarck, and its varieties.] cabbage: in money and labour it costs twice as much as any of the others.

The other varieties of the cabbage [The ordinary cabbage, or Brassica oleracea of Linnæus.] are numerous—there is the Cumanian cabbage, with leaves that lie close to the ground, and a wide, open head; the Aricinian [A variety, Fée thinks, of the Lacuturrian cabbage.] cabbage, too, of no greater height, but with more numerous leaves and thinner—this last is looked upon as the most useful of them all, for beneath nearly all of the leaves there are small shoots thrown out, peculiar to this variety. The cabbage, again, of Pompeii [The Brassica oleracea botrytis of Linnæus, the cauliflower.] is considerably taller, the stalk, which is thin at the root, increasing in thickness as it rises among the leaves, which are fewer in number and narrower; the great merit of this cabbage is its remarkable tenderness, although it is not able to stand the cold. The cabbage of Bruttium, [Or Calabrian cabbage: it has not been identified.] on the other hand, thrives all the better for cold; the leaves of it are remarkably large, the stalk thin, and the flavour pungent. The leaves, again, of the Sabine [The Brassica oleracea Sabellica of Linnæus, or fringed cabbage.] cabbage are crisped to such a degree as to excite our surprise, and their thickness is such as to quite exhaust the stem; in sweetness, however, it is said to surpass all the others.

There have lately come into fashion the cabbages known as the “Lacuturres;” [Or “Lake-towers.” The turnip-cabbage or rape-colewort, the Brassica oleracea gongyloides of Linnæus.] they are grown in the valley of Aricia, where there was formerly a lake, now no longer in existence, and a tower which is still standing. The head of this cabbage is very large, and the leaves are almost without number, some of them being round and smooth, and others long and sinewy; indeed, there is no cabbage that runs to a larger head than this, with the sole exception of the Tritian variety, which has a head sometimes as much as a foot in thickness, and throws out its cymæ the latest of all.

In all kinds of cabbages, hoar-frost contributes very materially to their sweetness; but it is apt to be productive of considerable injury, if care is not taken to protect the pith by cutting them aslant. Those plants which are intended for seed are never cut.

There is another kind, again, that is held in peculiar esteem, and which never exceeds the height of an herbaceous plant; it is known by the name of “halmyridia,” [Generally thought to be the Crambe maritima of botanists, sea-cabbage, or sea-kale. Some, however, take it to be the Convolvulus soldanella of Linnæus. See B. xx. c..] from the circumstance of its growing on the sea-shore [From ἅλς, the “sea.”] only. It will keep green and fresh during a long voyage even, if care is taken not to let it touch the ground from the moment that it is cut, but to put it into oil-vessels lately dried, and then to bung them so as to effectually exclude all air. There are some [He alludes to the statement made by Columella, probably, De Re Rust. B. xi. c. 3.] who are of opinion, that the plant will come to maturity all the sooner if some sea-weed is laid at the root when it is transplanted, or else as much pounded nitre as can be taken up with three fingers; and others, again, sprinkle the leaves with trefoil seed and nitre pounded together. [Fée remarks, that probably we here find the first germs of the practice which resulted in the making of sour-krout (sauer-kraut). Dalechamps censures Pliny for the mention of trefoil here, the passage which he has translated speaking not of that plant, but of the trefoil or three-leaved cabbage.] Nitre, too, preserves the greenness of cabbage when cooked, a result which is equally ensured by the Apician mode of boiling, or in other words, by steeping the plants in oil and salt before they are cooked.

There is a method of grafting vegetables by cutting the shoots and the stalk, and then inserting in the pith the seed of another plant; a plan which has been adopted with the wild cucumber even. There is another kind of wild cabbage, also, the lapsana, [The same as the “chara,” probably, mentioned by Cæsar, Bell. Civ. B. iii. Hardouin thinks that it is the common parsnip, while Clusius and Cuvier would identify it with the Crambe Tatarica of Hungary, the roots of which are eaten in time of scarcity at the present day. Fée suggests that it may belong to the Brassica napo-brassica of Linnæus, the rape-colewort. See B. xx. c..] which has become famous since the triumphs of the late Emperor Julius, in consequence of the songs and jokes of his soldiers more particularly; for in the alternate lines sung by them, they used to reproach him for having made them live on lapsana at the siege of Dyrrhachium, and to rally him upon the parsimonious scale on which he was in the habit of recompensing their services. The lapsana is nothing more than a wild cyma. [Or cabbage-sprout.]

Chap. 42.—Wild and Cultivated Asparagus.

Of all the garden plants, asparagus is the one that requires the most delicate attention in its cultivation. We have already [In B. xvi. c. 67. The Asparagus officinalis of Linnæus.] spoken at considerable length of its origin, when treating of the wild plants, and have mentioned that Cato [De Re Rust. c. 161.] recommends it to be grown in reed-beds. There is another kind, again, of a more uncultivated nature than the garden asparagus, but less pungent than corruda; [Or wild sperage. See B. xvi. c. 67; also B. xx. c..] it grows upon the mountains in different countries, and the plains of Upper Germany are quite full of it, so much so, indeed, that it was a not unhappy remark of Tiberius Cæsar, that a weed grows there which bears a remarkably strong resemblance to asparagus. That which grows spontaneously upon the island of Nesis, off the coast of Campania, is looked upon as being by far the best of all.

Garden asparagus is reproduced from roots, [“Spongiis.” Fée is at a loss to know why the name “spongia” should have been given to the roots of asparagus. Probably, as Facciolati says, from their growing close and matted together. See the end of this Chapter.] the fibres of which are exceedingly numerous, and penetrate to a considerable depth. When it first puts forth its shoots, it is green; these in time lengthen out into stalks, which afterwards throw out streaked branches from the head: asparagus admits, also, of being grown from seed.

Cato [De Re Rust. c. 161.] has treated of no subject with greater care than this, the last Chapter of his work being devoted to it, from which we may conclude that it was quite new to him, and a subject which had only very recently occupied his attention. He recommends that the ground prepared for it should be a moist or dense soil, the seed being set at intervals of half a foot every way, to avoid treading upon the heads; the seed, he says, should be put two or three into each hole, these being made with the dibble as the line runs—for in his day, it should be remembered, asparagus was only grown from seed—this being done about the vernal equinox. It requires, he adds, to be abundantly manured, and to be kept well hoed, due care being taken not to pull up the young plants along with the weeds. The first year, he says, the plants must be protected from the severity of the winter with a covering of straw, care being taken to uncover them in the spring, and to hoe and stub up the ground about them. In the spring of the third year, the plants must be set fire to, and the earlier the period at which the fire is applied, the better they will thrive. Hence it is, that as reed-beds [See B. xvii. c. 47.] grow all the more rapidly after being fired, asparagus is found to be a crop remarkably well suited for growing with them. The same author recommends, however, that asparagus should not be hoed before the plants have made their appearance above-ground, for fear of disturbing the roots; and he says that in gathering the heads, they should be cut close to the root, and not broken off at the surface, a method which is sure to make them run to stalk and die. They should be cut, he says, until they are left to run to seed, and after the seed is ripe, in spring they must be fired, care being taken, as soon as they appear again, to hoe and manure them as before. After eight or nine years, he says, when the plants have become old, they must be renewed, after digging and manuring the ground, by replanting the roots at intervals of a foot, care being taken to employ sheep’s dung more particularly for the purpose, other kinds of manure being apt to produce weeds.

No method of cultivating this plant that has since been tried has been found more eligible than this, with the sole exception that the seed is now sown about the ides of February, by laying it in heaps in small trenches, after steeping it a considerable time in manure; the result of which is that the roots become matted, and form into spongy tufts, which are planted out at intervals of a foot after the autumnal equinox, the plants continuing to be productive so long as ten years even. There is no soil more favourable to the growth of asparagus, than that of the gardens of Ravenna. [On the contrary, Martial says that the asparagus of Ravenna was no better than so much wild asparagus.]

We have already [In B. xvi. c. 67. See also c. of this Book.] spoken of the corruda, by which term I mean the wild asparagus, by the Greeks called “orminos,” or “myacanthos,” as well as by other names. I find it stated, that if rams’ horns are pounded, and then buried in the ground, asparagus will come up. [Dioscorides mentions this absurdity, but refuses to credit it.]

Chap. 43.—Thistles.

It really might have been thought that I had now given an account of all the vegetable productions that are held in any degree of esteem, did there not still remain one plant, the cultivation of which is extremely profitable, and of which I am unable to speak without a certain degree of shame. For it is a well-known fact, that some small plots of land, planted with thistles, [Probably the artichoke, the Cinara scolymus of Linnæus. See further on this subject, B. xx. c..] in the vicinity of Great Carthage and of Corduba more particularly, produce a yearly income of six thousand sesterces; [About £24 sterling. “Sestertia” has been suggested, which would make the sum a thousand times as much.] this being the way in which we make the monstrous productions even of the earth subservient to our gluttonous appetites, and that, too, when the very four-footed brutes [The ass, of course, excepted, which is fond of thistles.] instinctively refuse to touch them.

Thistles are grown two different ways, from plants set in autumn, and from seed sown before the nones of March; [Seventh of March.] in which latter case they are transplanted before the ides of November, [Thirteenth of November.] or, where the site is a cold one, about the time that the west winds prevail. They are sometimes manured even, and if [“Si Dîs placet.”] such is the will of heaven, grow all the better for it. They are preserved, too, in a mixture of honey and vinegar, [Oxymel.] with the addition of root of laser and cummin—so that a day may not pass without our having thistles at table. [This is evidently said contemptuously.]

Chap. 44.—Other Plants That Are Sown in the Garden: Ocimum; Rocket; and Nasturtium.

For the remaining plants a brief description will suffice. The best time for sowing ocimum, [See further as to the identity of this plant, B. xx. c..] it is said, is at the festival of the Parilia; [Twenty-second of April.] though some say that it may be done in autumn as well, and recommend, when it is sown in winter, to drench the seed thoroughly with vinegar. Rocket, [Brassica eruca of Linnæus. See B. xx. c..] too, and nasturtium [Cresses, or nosesmart, the Lepidium sativum of Linnæus. See B. xx. c..] may be grown with the greatest facility either in summer or winter. Rocket, more particularly, is able to stand the cold, and its properties are quite different from those of the lettuce, as it is a great provocative of lust. Hence it is that we are in the habit of mixing these two plants in our dishes, the excess of cold in the one being compensated by the equal degree of heat in the other. Nasturtium has received that name from [“Quod nasum torqueat.”] the smarting sensation which its pungency causes to the nostrils, and hence it is that a certain notion of smartness has attached itself to the word, it having become quite a proverbial saying, that a sluggish man should eat nasturtium, to arouse him from his torpidity. In Arabia, it is said, this plant attains a size that is quite marvellous.