Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-25
ORIGIN OF PLANTS {
LOST IN HISTORY
Migratory Races Of Antiquity
Extended Food Supply by
Interchanging.


nected with mans history. The move
ments Of races have accounted for the
histories Of many plants. and the tastes
of tribes have furnished the reason for
the domestication Of wild plants. The
migrationS of tribes 10 other lands have
resulted in the irterchanging Of foods
and the gradual extension OF food
plants.
There is an astonishing number of
widespread and ancient economic plants
whose original soils are not definitely
known. Theue are others whose his
tories are Obscure. AS to some OF these
the botanist and anthropologist now
stand corref,ted. The white potato was
not taken TO Great Britain by Raleigh
from North America, nor by Hawkins,
nor by DVake. 1t was not found here
when the colonistS firsts settled. That
Api0s.
History Of Irish Potato.
T,h irish potato did come from
South America to Europe through the
Syaniards, thence to Ireland; and, as
Stafford, who draws these conclusions.
lnfers, thence from Londonderry TO
Londonderry, N. H. The wild species
Solanum tuberosum has not vet been
found, but is generally credited to the
Andean region.
Botanically, one of the most inter-
esting groups is that of the cabpage.
Kale, brussels sprouts, savoy cabbage,
cabbage, red cabbage, collardS, kohl
rabi, caulifiower and the broccoli, now
popular in America, are varieties OF one
species.
Turnips are of a closely related
species. which may be found growing
wild in Russia and Siberia. Beets,
which are modern except in medicinal
way, are derived from a plant growing
wild in parts of Europe and North
Africa.
Who is not familiar with the Queen
AIMS lace or the wild carrot? Vilmorin
in three years developed from the wild
form plants with roots as large and
edible as the cultivated varieties of
carrot, proving that this plant was the
original of the carrot used today. Car
rots were eaten by the ancients. but
were not such favorites as they are, now.
They were common in the sixteenth
century in China, and were probably
cultivated long before that. Botanists
assert that most types of the carrot
may perhaps be found in nature. Thus
1t Is one of the vegetables most easily
adapted as food of man.
Lettuce Among Oldest.
Lettuce, our best salad. is fone of the
oldest Five hundred years ibefore the
Christian era it was eatent Aristotle
praised it highly, and the Romans had
named varieties of lettuce in the first
century. 1t is member of the chicory
family, related to the dSndelion and
the endive. The last napled vegetable
is Of uncertain origin. Il has been said
by some to be Wild in India by others,
in Sicily.
AS with man. of the vegetables, the
long and widespread cultivation since
the Egyptian glory has obscured any
history of its origin. The Greeks and
Romans did not knoFv spinach. and 1t
was new to Northern Europe In the six
tenth century. on the other hand, 1t
was introduced into China from Persia
100 years B. c.
It seems as if the Greeks and Romans
did not like 1t. but Southern Europe
probably appreciate and grew spinach
some time before the northern cotn-
tries adopted, IL. WatercreSs, growing
naturally in all north temperate regions,
has been eaten as a salad since the
Greek and Roman aScendency. and 1t
has been cultivated since the sixteenth
century.
Peas Used by Egyptians.
Peas were fused by the ancient Egyp-
tians and others, but were not common
food in Europe until the eighteenth
century. They were probably grown in
the earliest! American settlements and
nearly 100 varieties were described by
the New York Agricultural Experiment
Station In 1884.
In the tomato, on the other hand,
we have Ia vegetable from the Western
World. while the first cultivation dates
from England about 1895, IT was used
only astSa curiosity or in soups before
1850, end had only become common in
NorthGyn England in 1880. The tomato
was GROWN earlier in warm countries.
Matt'Rolus mentioned it as being in
background 1850.
Thomas Jefferson recorded the grow
1ng(of tomatoes in Virginia in 1881, yet
1t fs said that an Italian could not
persuade the people of Salem, Mass,
to taste the tomato in 1902.
! But the love apple" or gold apple"
Eof the herbalists soon after began to
: appear as a market vegetable. In the
early part of the eighteenth century
the tomato was q subject Of general
field culture in Italy and It is to the
people of that country that we must
accord its highest and earliest appre-
citation.
Rosemary Of Mint Family.
Rosemary is plant Of the mint
family, used for fiavoring 1t was men,
IlOneO III 1910 as y seasoning neTB TOT
sailed meat and was accorded many
virtues. Sage, which is a native of the
Mediterranean regions, has been culti-
waited since remote times, not only as
a seasoning herb, but also for Its medi-
cinal value. Thyme. from Southern
Europe. was domesticated in many
countries after 1850.
Fennel was grown by the Romans
and used to season meats and sauce
and spread rapidly with the various
civilizations. Foliage and seeds in va
rious varieties have been used or sea-
soning and the enlarged leafstalks for
the Florence fennel, favored In Italy,
are used as food.
Sweet basil, seasoning herb which
is grown on thousands Of window sills
of New York. comes from tropical Asia
and is very ancient herb. Parsley,
which the great physician Galen praised
as a food, was used for decorating the
dishes of the Greeks and Romans.
much as 1t is used today. It always
possessed magic seasoning properties.