Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-11-22
HISTORIC GARDEN SASS.
o,a.r,me Notions About Peas, Beans
Onions and AsPsrsgus-

HISTORIC GARDEN Sass.
o,d-rime Notions About Peas Beans
Onions and AsPsrsgus'
The word pea comes from the Greek
c;tv pisa. in Ellis. where they were
crown in large quantities. The mess
Of pottape for which fsau sold his
birthright was a dish OF peas. They
were called lentils then. and 1t Is SAID
that in Middlesex and Oxfordshire.
England. the common people still call
them "tills." dropping the lien. y In
the reign of Mary they were called
"peason." and in the reiga OF Charles
l. "pease.
The uses of beans were anciently
rather more sacred than culinary.
Among the Egyptians it was held to be
some sort of a crime to look at them.
and Pythagoras forbade them to be
eaten. In Athens a judicial as well as
a sacred character is attached to them,
and they were used in gathering the
votes of the people in electing magis-
trates and in drawing lots. In En-
gland they we're unknown until 1909.
Asparagus, brought to England in
Elizabeth's reign, was cultivated so
assiduously by the Romans that Pliny
says in his time three heads weighed
one pound. 1t was cooked by rapid
boiling, and Augustus in requiring
haste on any business is reported as
saying: LET that be done quicker
than you would boil asparagus.
Judea was famous not only for its
gardens of cucumbers." but for the
great size of its radishes. The Tai
mud speaks of fox following out q
radish of Judea for its lair. but this is
rather more than a skeptical age is
willing to accept. The Greeks offered
radishes of gold, beets of silver and
turnips of lead to Apollo at Delphos.
They usually boiled their radishes. and
the French peasants at the present day
roast them under ashes.
Radishes suggest lettuce, which has
an equal antiquity. The Hebrews ate
it with their paschal lamb, and it was
favorite vegetable with the Greeks
and Romans. Aristoxenus, the philos-
opher and gastronomist, watered his
lettuces with the rarest wine. Cab
bage used to be endowed with mar
velous medicinal and nutritive virtues.
Cato considered the red kind to be a
cure for drunkenness, and said that
.sBy the use of cabbage alone Rome
had done without physicians for six
hundred years" Cauliaower was also
abundantly cultivated. Both it and cab
bage were plentiful in England in
Mary's reign.
The onion was once the deity by
whom the Egyptians swore. The
mother OF Apollo was particularly
fond of this esculent, and preferred it
raw. Leeks are probably indigenous
to England. Garlic is dear to the
Spanish heart. Parsley, a few leaves
of which eaten raw will effectually
neutralize the odor of the onion. is
well known in history. BY Anacrecn
it was made the emblem of JOY and
fes.ivity. Hercules was crowned with
it in preference to laurels. and q
wreath of parsley was one of the prizes
at the Nempan and Isthmian games.
While the ancients were SO we'll
supplied with vegetables it seems a
great pity that they did not know how
to cook them. Fancy seasoning a
boiled turnip with honey. vinegar.
gravy, boiled grapes and a little oil!
This was the custom among the
Romans. Carrots they ate raw with
salt and vinegar. A recipe for cook
ing onions left by Apicius reads as fol-
lows: Cover the onions with young
cabbage leaves, cook under hot en-
bers and season with gravy, oil and
wine" And here are the same writer $
directions among others for preparing
lettuce: boil the young leaves with
onions in water wherein little nitre
has been scattered. drain dry and cut
them small, mixing with them pepper.
parsley seed. dried mint and onions,
adding gravy. oil and wine" Such a
conglomeration as this could leave