The age-herald., 1899-12-26
VEGETABLE SMALL TALK
How Many People Know That Radishe'.First
 Grew in China
From the st. Louis Globe-Democrat.

From the St. Louis Globe-Democrat
 "How many houskeepers picking over the vegetables on the stall know anything about them?" asked a contemplative cus- toner of friend, as he watched his green grocer fill a small measure with potatoes.
 ''Lots of them," promptly replied the other marketer. 'Why, here are the po- tatoes in my hand, for instance. They are native American. guess Sir Walter Ral- eigh introduced them to Europe.
 "I guess he never ate one. for in his day they were not considered if to eat. They went to Europe from the hills of South America, and a strange matter Of fact, when you come to think of 1t, 1t that In the United States, where, barring a few sec tions, vegetables grow in greater abund- ance and beauty than any other part of the world, none save maize and the ground ar- tichokes are native products"
 ''Nonesense!" calculated the amazed Yankee.
 "No nonsense about it," continued the contemplative customer Europe, Asla Africa and South America are all more richly endowed than we. l used to think the watermelon was ours, but bless you! the North African tribes grew the big, juicy fellows and gave us our first seeds. As to the muskmelon, 1t is a vegetable of such ancient lineage that, like the cabbage and lettuce nobody knows just who were their first wild progenitors. The melon, at any rate, came out of Persia as deve- oped table delicacy, while the Adam of the cabbage family is agreed oy botanists to ~ have flourished way back there In Central Asia where they say the Caucasian race came from. The Romans ate cabbage salad, and, according to count, there are nearly as many varieties of this sturdy old green goods as there are different races of men.
 ''There is another Roman delicacy," con- tinued the customer, pointing to a box or beets. "They do say that the Greek phil osophers thought a dish of boiled beets, served up with salt and oil, a great aid to mental exercise. For my part, though, I don't know a vegetable that should be prouder of its family history than the radsh Radishes came from China, but a scientific journal the other day announced the discovery, from a translation of Egyp- tian hieroglyphics, that Pharoh fed his pyramid builders radishes. He ever went so far as to spend 1900 silver talents In order to regale his masons with tho crisp and spicy root. Again, If you reat the Old Testament carefully, you will bt sure to come across the announcement tha in Egypt the children of Israel ate melons beets, onions and garlic, and evidently, il travelling through the wilderness Nose had q great deal of difficulty in persuadins them to cease yearning after these Egyp tian dainties.
 Besides the melons and peaches and ger onlums," continued the garruious customer flor all of which we have to thank pro ductive Persia. water cress comes from he valleys and brooks and she taught tn world how to grow and head lettuce. How ever, the Roman gourmands who adopte, both these salads, ate green please an stringed beans that their gardners foun growing in France and South Germany and cucumbers were as popular with ther as with the Jews and Egyptians
 To Arabia honor is due for the burr arti choke. They ate it for liver difficulties and, as a matter of fact, there is no vege table so good for men and women who lea sedentary life, just as carrots. that gre, first in Belgium, are an admirable tonic fo the complexion, spinach for the blood, DC tatoes for the hair and celery for tn nerves. Rhubarb, they say, was nevt known until the fifteenth century, when tl Russians found 1t on the banks of th Volga, and if you will believe 1t, the onl European people that appreciate the egl plant as we do are the Turks. North A rica first produced this fruit; in France it eaten raw often as not. and in obstitna England they use it for decoration. Hoy ever, the potato had to make a despera struggle for popularity, and. for nearly
 century after it was imported and grow in Europe nobody could he persuaded
 touch 1t. Finally Parmentier gave it
 boom that in two centuries has not in u least diminished and twice this little tub has saved Europe from what promised
 be a cruel famine" Whereupon the GU toner hurried off down the street, leavlr the green grocer staring at his stock
 truck with a refreshing expression of prit and interest