Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1855-07-25
EVENING STAR,
HISTORY OF SOME op OUR vEeETARrrs

Il H.
| BASIL, which now stands so high that London
| alderman would spuTn a b. IA # turtle made
| without IT, was 200 years Letore Christ, con-
| demned 5y Chrysyppup as an enemy to the
! slg5t, and a robber of the wits Piiny saws
| they sowed the seeds with maleiictions and
! Notwithstanding that the more it was
| cursed, the better IL would prosper. as i sail
| Of pigs in ireland in the present day. s.
! hlShIy was the cabbage esteemed by the ar
! ctentS that two Of their leading physic lars
each wrote book upon it; and PhiIp say :
| that the ancient Romans, having bani,hei
9PctoTs out oi their enitOries, preserved their
I health TOR SIX hundred years and sOothe5
| their infrmities by the use of this vegetable
| alone From an anecdote related by Herodo-
| tus, IT Is evident that lcttuces were served at
| tie royal tables of the Persian kings for five
| or SIX hundred years before the Christian era
out they only knew one sort which was A
oiack variety. According to Ovid, mint was
ISed Dy tne ancients TO perfume their ta-
Dies: by rubbing the leaves upon them before
| serving the supper; and PliDy says, at the
consultation Of physicians in his chamber il
was decided that a chaplet of pennyroyaI was
better for giddiness and swimming in the head
! than one Uf roses. Mushrooms were a great
| dainty with the voluptuous Romans; and one
| OF the poisonous sorts was used by Ayrippina
| to destroy her husband Tiberius Claadius.
! Mustard must have been cultivated upon the
|! earth, In Syria at the time of our SaViour-as
1t Is mentioned In one Of his beautiful para
/ bles as being the least seed that WAS sown I'm
the heid. Garile was ~ use as early as the
| onion, ana The want OF both was lamcuted by
| the lsraelites in the wilderness. The Egypt-
ians worShipped garlic, and were said to wish
| that they might enjoy 1t in Paradise while
| the GreekS held II In such adherence that
! they regarded those who ate it as profane.
| The Romans gave it TO their laborers and SOL
diers TO strengthen them, and to their game
cocks previously to fighting them. Parsley
| was In great repute in the time Of Pljny. and
| the Emperor Tiberius held parsnips in such
! high esteem, that be had them annually
| brought from Germany, near the Rhine to
/ home. 90 highly did the Greeks esteem rad
| lshes, that they, in Offering Oblations to Ap-
! polio, presented turnips in wood, beet root in
| silver, and radishes in beaten gold. At that
period they far exceeded in size the radishes
OF the present day, and sCme weighed as much
as forty to eighty pounds. Thyme was i'm
| ported to Rome from Athens for the sake of
the bees, and water-creSS was eaten with
salad, to counteract the cold effects of the lat
| ter vegetable
| The large drum-headed cabbage is used ex-
| tenslVely throughout Germany and the north
| oi Europe for making SOur-kraUt. As we have
| Introduced and netuTaiiEed the German Christ
mas tree, We know GOt how soon the voHy-E Erq5tt
| Way follow, and here, therefore, l. the receipt
| The cabbage heads are cut into small shreds
| ana are packed IN barrels Jr tub, sioIy W..
| vinegar, ID which salt and cloves ase added
Ii THIS state they are preserved il excellent
| condition till late In the spring. When used
! 1t Is stewed over q slow fire. and served IN
| with most kinds Of meat. Asparagus comes
| from The salt water steppS vi the north of Ru--
| sla, and was said 10 attain extraordinary
| SIZE or the banks Of the Euphrstes The first
time we hear Of this vegetable is in the time of
Cato the Elder, 200 years before Christ. Tue
N 81
| AT Ravenna II grew 10 such a size that three
| neads weighed d pound Mr.. Grayson, of
Mortiake, near London, has produced 100
1 heads that weighed AZ pounds, perhaps the
largest ever grown In Great Britain; and
hundreds of acres around the metropolis are
| devoted to its cultivation. The small heads
| are sometimes cut INTO pieces and boiled rs a
| substitute for green peas. Incidentally it is
| considered antiscOrbUtic, ana very good In
| dropsical eases; but Is avoided by those hav-
| ing the gout. The most extraordinary virtue
| Is that aScribed to it by Antoine Miz",d. who
says, If the root Is put upon a tooth that aches
violently, il causes ii to come out without
| pain. Our modern dentists Will, we are sure
| thank Us for this information. In no country
are the salads more guilty ited than an France
The rich eat them as a luxury. the poor as a
| necessity. The artisans Ia our large manu-
featuring towns are every year becoming
greater consumers of lettuces, radishes. ami
England We never meet such excellent salads
| as are TO be had at til" table hotes la HoI-
Land, Belgium, and France. Waier-cress, we
| learn, Is one of the most wholesome of our
said herbs, and one of the oldest in use Its
qualities are warm and stimuating-the re-
verse OF nearly all other raw vegetable.
AenOphOn recommended ii to the Persians,
| and the Romans gave it to those whose minds
were deranged. Hence the Greek prUverb,
Eat cress, and have more wit" 1t is al
excellent antiscorbutic and a said 50 easily
produced, AID SO important to the health OF
towns people, cannot be too highly recon-
mended: The daily supply at Covent Gar
den is about 5000 punches; but it is said if
twice as many more bunches were brought in,
they would be all sold.
Carrots come from Holland; and, in the
time of Queen Elizabeth, the leaves were used
in the head dresses of the ladies of her court.
Excellent bread can made of the white car
rOts, The potato belongs to a class Of poison
Gus roots and the extract of the leaves and
stems is powerful narcotic, while the tubers
afford a wholesome and nutritive food. The
potato, when distilled, makes an agreeable
brandy; the starch of facula is palmed off as
substitute for sage, arrowroUt, tapiOca-
which Is, alter all, very harmless compost
ton. A lady accidentally discovered that
the potatO-iquor, in making starch, would
clean silk, wOollen, or cotton goods, without
injury to the texture or color. A size made
from the potato is very superior to the COM
mon size; and yeast, fit for the baker or
brewer, is made trom the roots Goblet called
it the accursed root; and, doubtless, much oi
the misery that took place in ireland and the
Highlands of Scotland may be traced to too
implicit reliance on this single article of
food ParsnipS contain large proportion of
sugar beer is made from them in the north
of ireland, and wine, closely approaching the
Malmsey Of Madeira, is made from the roots.
quantity of sugar, is said to excite appetite,
and is said to be very good food for csnva-
lescents The vine is of the highest antiqui-
ty, and always stood well in the worlds Opin
ion; that it was cultivated extensively in the
antediluvian world We have pretty good evil
dence, for Noah had no sooner escaped from
the general deluge than he set about planting
a vineyard, ard made wine-showing that he
was not ignorant of the plant, its culture, and
its use. The vine was at one time as much