I • í r é :
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must be cut so as to leave a little of the skin to each piece, for by that alone they germinate ; the roots
having no apparent buds or eyes, but casting out their weakly stems from every part of th e surface alike.
They are planted commonly m August, and are ripe in November or December following.”
49G.5. The Sp a n ish , or Stveet Potato, is th e Convdlvulus Batatas L . {Ilheed. M a i. 7. t. 50.); P e n t.
Monog. L. and Gonuolvuldceis B. P . 849.). It is an herbaceous perennial, with a round stem,
hispid, prostrate, creeping, o f a whitish green, putting out scattered, oblong, acuminated tubers, purple
or pale, on the outsides. The leaves are angular, on long petioles ; the flowers purple on upright peduncles.
It is a native of hoth the Indies, and was introduced here, and cultivated by Gerard in 1597.
He calls the roots potatus, potades, or potatoes, and says, that theya re by some named skirrets of P eru .
They flourished in his garden till winter, when they perished and rotted. Batatas were then sold at th e
exchange in London, and are still annually imported into England from Spain and P ortugal. They
were, as already observed (3598.), the common potatoes of our old English writers ; the Solànum tube-
ròsum being then little known. The tubers o f the batatas are sweet, sapid, and nourishing. They arc
very commonly cultivated in all the tropical climates, where they eat not only the roots, but tho young
leaves and tender shoots boiled, There are several varieties, if not distinct species, differing in th e size,
figure, and taste of th e roots.
49G6. Pro p a g a tio n a n d c u ltu r e . In warm climates this plant is cultivated in the same manner as our
Eotato, hut requires much more room, for the trailing stalks extend 4 ft. or 5 ft. every way, sending out
irge tubers, forty or fifty to aplant. In the gardens at Paris, th ep lan tsa re propagated by cuttings struck
in a hotbed, and about the middle of May transplanted into th e open ground, where they are earthed up,
and otherwise treated like the potato.
49G7. The O'xalis c r e n a ta J ac. { S w .f i . ga n \ 9. s. 125. De cá n . P e n ta g . L. and Oxalidece J . ) was introduced
into England from Lima in 1829. It grows freely in the open air in the .summer season, but is
easily destroyed by frost. In autumn, when the weather begins to grow cold, the points of its underground
stolones form themselves into tubers, which are edible, and contain a good deal o f saccharine
matter. It has been proposed to use these tubers like the potato ; the foliage in salad ; and the stems in
tarts. The whole of th e herbage, some propose to be used as fodder for cattle, and the tubers as an
auxiliary to the potato and turnip in the feeding of live stock. There is abundance of room for experiments
850
on this plant.
4968. The Caper {C á p p a r is sp inósa L . ; P o lyá n . Monog. L . and
Cnpparuh'cE J .) {fig. 850.) is a trailing shrub, a native of the south
of Italy and Sicily, where it abounds on rocks, ruins, and old walls :
it has been long cultivated in France, and was introduced into this
country in 1.596, as a stove plant. The part used is the flower-bud,
which is chiefly imported from Sicily. It is cultivated in th e
neighbourhood of Paris, being trained against a low wall, and the
shoots in winter laid down and covered with litte r or fern, like
those of the fig. In the gai'den a t Camden House, Kensington, a
caper trees tood in the open air for nearly a century ; it had a southeast
aspect, and was well sheltered from the north ; it had no covering,
and was generally much injured by the frost ; but the roots
of this plant being particularly strong and vivacious,it made strong
shoots, and produced flower-buds every year. It is probable,
therefore, th a t a plantation, so situated, if covered every autumn
with litter, mats, or ferns, would succeed. Such a plantation, not
trained on walls, but planted in an open compartment, would, like
those near Toulon, in France, have the general appearance of a
plantation of brambles, and might be yearly covered with very
little trouble.
4969. Pro p a g a tio n a n d cuUure. It may either be raised from
seed, cuttings, or pieces of th e root. T h e authors of the Cours
Coynplct d 'A g r icu ltu r e prefer the mode by cuttings, and direct them
to be cut a foot long, and planted in autumn. The autumn following they will be fit to remove to a
general plantation. They describe two modes of culture : one, th a t of planting in walls, where no farther
care is wanting, but th at of gathering th e buds ; and the other, that of planting in quincunx in open
compartments, I'ke other fruit-shrubs : the latter mode is greatly to be preferred.
4970. Tk e Salsilla, or E dible A lstrc eme ria.—Alstrcemèr\& Salsilla J i. M . {B o t. Mag. 1613.), and A. cdhlis
{H o rt. T ra n s ., vol. ii.); He xán. Monog. L . and Ksphodèlcce B. P . This is an herbaceous plant of great
beauty, a native of P eru, and introduced in 1806. It is cultivated in the W est Inclies, where its roots are
eaten like the potato. It was flowered here in 1811, in the Comte de Vaiides’s garden at Bayswater. It
requires a temperature of th e stove, and may be cultivated in a hotbed like the early potato.
4971. The B r ca d -ro o t— P so rà lca e sculènta Ph. {P u r sh . A m e r . t. 22.) ; Diadé lph. D e cá n . L . and I .c g u -
minòsce J . It is a perennial herbaceous plant, a native of Missouri, and introduced here in 1811. It will
grow in the open air, but requires the protection of a frame to produce abundant crops of roots, which
are used like those of the potato in the countries where it is a native.
4972. The P i- ts i, or Wate r-C h e stììu t of the Chinese.— S c trp u s tube rbsus Rox. {B o x ., vol. iii. p. 26.) ;
T r iá n d . Monog. L . and Cype ràc e si B. P . {fig . 851.). It is a stoloniferous rush, without leaves, except a
slender short sheath or two a t the base of each culm. On
the stolones grow tubers, which are in high estimation
among all ranks o fth e Chinese, not only as a pot-root, but
as a medicine. It is eaten either boiled or raw.
4973. CuUivation. “ The maa-tai, pu-tsai, or pi-tsi, of
the Abbe Grosier, grows in tanks ; these are m anured for its
reception about the end of March. Thus, a tank beinir
drained of its water, small pits arc dug in its bottom ; these
are lilled with human manure, and exposed to the sun for
a forfoight ; their contents arc next intimately blended with
th e slimy bcittom of th e tank, and th e slips or roots of the
plant deposited therein ; the water is now returned to the
tank and the new crop of tubers comes to perfection by thé
1st of September.” {B o x . Corom..)
4974. The Earth-Almond,OT rush-nut{Cypcrusesculcntus
L . ; T r ia n . Monog. L . and Cype rk c eæ J . Soucbet cotnestible,
r r . ; ana. Z izo le d i T e r ra , Ital.), is a fibrous-rooted grass
with small round tubers hanging from the fibres, about the
size of peas, which taste like chestnuts or almonds. It is a
native of Italy and Montpelier, and is cultivated in some
parts of th e south of Europe and Germany for food. The
tubers are planted in spring, and taken up in October, and
preserved for winter use in th e manner of potatoes. It
might probably be cuitivatcd in this country in dry warm
situations, or in a frame. {B o n J a rd in ie r .)
c u ltu r a l|„ cT e ,T inÆ fe d g f f e f e :
CnAr. XI,
H o rtic u ltu ra l P rod uctions w hich m ay be expected fr o m a firs t-ra te K itch e n- Garden
managed in the best Style.
4978. Th e sources o f edible enjoyment afford ed by a firs t-ra te hitchen-qarden arc
numerous and varied; and consequently a proprietor, who spares no expense on this de-
partment, ought to be informed of what he has a riglit to expect, subject, however to the
drawbacks of bad situations, uncertain seasons, and unforeseen accidents Many aar-
deners object to tables of this kind, as leading to unreasonable expectations, disappointments,
and quarrels, and as, in short, enlightening too much their employers. On this
wc shall only observe, tbat the more a proprieter requires, the more he must conform to
the conditions on which alone these products are to be expected. As to the subiect of
enlightening masters, much might be said in its favour, and nothing founded in right
reason against it. It is only by a knowledge of gardening that a master can distinguish
a bad gardener from a good one; aud only from tliis appreciation that a good gai-dener
can be properly valued and rewarded. Community of knowledge must be better tliaii
no community at all. A man who employs a gardener, as he does a tailor, merely to
supply Ins wants, may look on him as a very convenient person, and useful to have
about his premises; but where a knowledge of, and taste for, gardening exist in the employer,
one point of union is formed between him and his seiwant, which must be productive
of a certain degree of humanity, if not of mutual respect and consideration It
IS only bad gardeners, therefore, that have to fear the dissemination of knoivledge amone-
their masters. ^ ^
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