Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1882-09-21
History Of the Cucumber.

History of the Cucumber. Isl
The cucumber is known to have been
cultivated for over three thousand years.
In ancient Egypt it was extensively
grown and is so at the present day. The
want of this vegetable was one OF the
grievances complained of to Moses by
the Israelites in the wilderness. We
also find it mentioned in other parts of
Scripture. It is mentioned in a partic-
ular manner by some of the early Greek
writer's on plants. Cucumbers grown in
the neighborhood of Antioch were con-
sidered by the ancient Greeks the finest.
Columella mentions that the inhabitants
of Mendes, in Egypt, were accustomed
to take the largest bramble bush they
could find, transplant it to a warm, sun
ny spot; cut it down about the time of
the vernal equinox to within a couple OF
fingers of the ground, then insert seed
into the pith of the bramble, the roots
of which were well covered over with
fine manure to withstand the cold. By
this plan they were enabled to have GU
cumbers all the year round. This same
author states that cucumbers ought to
be propagated from seed that has beer
stepped in milk aud honey for a couple
of days, this method having the effect of
rendering them sweeter and pleasanter
to the taste. -sr. ,s,.... ...s.,., ...4.sr a..
Pliny states that in Italy the cucum-
bers are small, but in some countries
are large and of a wax color or black.
He tells us that the Emperor Tiberius
was so fond of this vegetable that. it was
served up at his table all the year round.
The same author appears to have con-
sidered the cucumber unwholesome in
an uncooked state, as he tells us it will
live in the stomach until the next day,
and can not be reduced to food; but,
when boiled and served up with oil,
vinegar and honey, it makes delicious
salad he also recommends pinch of
the seed beaten up with cumin and
taken with wine as good remedy for
cough. ff -.'t-
The precise date at which the Gu
cumber was first cultivated in England
is unknown. 1t was probably intro
duced with other fruits and vegetables
at the time the Romans were masters of
the country. 1t became neglected in
time and entirely lost, but was at length
introduced again at the latter part of
the reign of Henry VIII. Parkinson, in
his ''Paradisus'' (1656), tells us that in
many countries they eat cucumbers as
we do pears and apples, pairing and Civ
ing slices of them as we would to our
friends of dainty apple or pear. The
cucumber was not generally cultivated
till almost the middle of the seventeenth
century, and it is stated that the first
successful forcer of this plant in Eng
land was Thomas Fowler, gardener to
0f C+oB DO
ton. Some years ago the cucumber was
cultivated in large quantities in the out
skirts of London, and is stated in DR..
Wynter's "Curiosities of Civilization"
that fourteen acres might be seen under
that it has been known that two hum
dred thousand gherkins have been cut
in morning for the pickle merchants.
grown in the fields of Hertfordshire,
without the aid of glass, for the London
markets during the summer months.
The village of Sandy, in Bedfordshire,
has been known to furnish ten thousand
picking purposes.
tensive use, is considered unwholesome
ny IuOSU lucOlCchl IAcu. LIZ. DO(du, HI Ills
"Table Traits" mentions that in the
days of Evelyn Q699) the cucumber
was looked upon as only one remove
from poison, and adds that it had better
be eaten and enjoyed with that opinion
in ones memory. Abernethy also gave
quaint recipe for its use, which was
to peel the cucumber, slice it, pepper
it, put vinegar to it, then throw it out
of the window. ="
The extent to which this vegetable is
consumed by the inhabitants of Egypt
and the southwest of Asia, and also in
European Russia and Germany, would
scarcely seem credible to this country.
You never see Russian peasant at din
ner but you see the lump of black bread
and cucumber. The vegetable seems
certainly singular dish to be so national
in a country with climate like that of
Russia. Some writer's say that there
used to be great annual fair at Leipsic
for cucumbers, when the streets were
heaped up a story high with that
precious element of German cookery.
In Germany barrels Of half and also full
grown cucumbers are preserved from
one year to another by immersion in
deep wells, where the uniform tenn
perature and exclusion from air seem
to be the preserving agents. Tartarv
has been assigned as the native country
of the cucumber, but upon what authority
is equally questionable with that of the
melon. No modern traveller appears to
have found it growing Wild Western
Rural.
There was one woman, young and
very demure, among the passengers in
an Arizona stage coach and when a