Some illustrations are just optimistic in feel.
This is one of them, from a 1907 Buckbee's catalog. :-)
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Monday, June 20, 2016
1834 - Right Man, Right Time: Walter Hood Fitch, Botanical Illustrator
Fitch is an interesting man in an interesting time. The world was bubbling over with botanical discoveries and the journals and publications to disseminate the knowledge, interest in the scientific community and the general public was high, and Fitch, the artist, seems to have caught the wave.
WALTER HOOD FITCH
THE death of Mr. W. H. Fitch, which was briefly mentioned in this Journal for January, has removed from among us one who, although not a botanist in the strict sense of the word, was so long and intimately associated with botanical literature that some record of his work may be expected in these pages.
Walter Hood Fitch was born in Glasgow on the 28th of February, 1817. The family not long after removed to Leeds, where his father became book-keeper to a large firm of flax merchants; but they returned to Glasgow when Walter was about eight years old. Somewhat later, his taste for drawing having developed, he was set to work at drawing patterns for calicoes, muslins, &c.
I've found a good obituary is a great help in researching a person...this one from The Journal of Botany, British and Foreign is exceptional. I have added links and illustrations to it as I followed this and that I was interested in.
THE death of Mr. W. H. Fitch, which was briefly mentioned in this Journal for January, has removed from among us one who, although not a botanist in the strict sense of the word, was so long and intimately associated with botanical literature that some record of his work may be expected in these pages.
Walter Hood Fitch was born in Glasgow on the 28th of February, 1817. The family not long after removed to Leeds, where his father became book-keeper to a large firm of flax merchants; but they returned to Glasgow when Walter was about eight years old. Somewhat later, his taste for drawing having developed, he was set to work at drawing patterns for calicoes, muslins, &c.
He employed his evening leisure in glueing down plants for Dr. (afterwards Sir William) Hooker, who lent him a book of outline plates, and was so pleased with his copies that he secured his services by paying back his apprentice-fee to the master of the print works where he was engaged. From this time the career of Fitch as a botanical artist may be said to date. (Talk about being the right person in the right place at the right time!!)
Under so competent an instructor, and in a position so suited to his tastes, young Fitch made rapid progress. His name first appears in the Botanical Magazine, in connection with which much of his best work was done, in October, 1834, on plate 3553 (Mimuius roseus). (The full-size image is worth looking at to assess his style.)
His most recent folio plates are those to Mr. Elwes's Monograph of Lilium. (1880), on the title-page of which Fitch’s name stands as illustrator.
The New Zealand, Antarctic, and Tasmanian Floras of Sir Joseph Hooker, the Transactions and Journal of the Linnean Society (the former including such important works as Welwitsch’s Sertum Angolense, the Botany of the Speke and Grant Expedition, Bentham’s monographs of Mimosa and Cassia, and Triana’s Mélastomacées—(the plates of which Fitch once told us had given him more trouble than anything he had ever undertaken), the Botany of the Biologia Centroll-Americana, the Botany of the ‘Herald,’ and Flora Vitiensis—these are only some of the more important of the works illustrated by Fitch.
Many gardening and horticultural journals were from time to time illustrated by Fitch, and examples of his work will be found in our own earlier volumes. He prepared the very charming figures for the illustrated edition of Bentham’s Handbook, and the Illustrations of the Natural Orders issued by the Science and Art Department in 1874.
From time to time he contributed large groups of roses, lilies, and the like to the Gardeners’ Chronicle, as well as woodcuts of British plants in their natural habitats—the least satisfactory examples of his work. In the Chronicle, too, he published in 1869 an admirable series of lessons on “Botanical Drawing”—so far as we know, his only contribution to literature. It has long been a matter of wonder to us that these lessons have never been reprinted, and we mention the fact in the hope that they may yet be brought out in an accessible form. (I plan to clean up the files and post them.)
The long connection of Fitch with two of the works already mentioned—the Botanical Magazine and the Icones Plantarum—came to an end in 1877. In 1869, Sir Joseph Hooker had dedicated a volume of the former to him, as “ the accomplished artist and lithographer of upwards of 2500 plates already published of the Botanical Magazine,” and it seemed likely that the number would be indefinitely augmented. But a regrettable difference arose between Fitch and his employers, which resulted in the withdrawal of the former from his connection with the Kew serials. Into the merits of the dispute we have neither wish nor occasion to enter; letters from Fitch now before us show that he considered himself seriously aggrieved, and with some appearance of reason; and the botanical and horticultural public were certainly losers by the event. (I haven't turned up any more information than this...)
From this time Fitch’s health began to fail, and although his work became less frequent, in 1880 a Government pension of £100 was awarded him. The remainder of his days were spent with his family at Kew, one of whom, Mr. F. W. Fitch, carries on his father's work as a lithographer, in which connection his nephew, Mr. J. N. Fitch, is also well known.
He died, after a long and trying illness, on Jan. 14th, and was buried at Kew. His name was commemorated in 1845 in Fitchia Hook. f., a handsome genus of Compositae. He became F.L.S. in 1857.
The value of Fitch’s work appears to us to consist in that skill in “seizing the natural characters of plants” to which Sir Joseph Hooker referred more than forty years ago. He had also a keen sense of form, and the arrangement of the leaves in most of his plates would be in itself a lesson to a young botanical artist: his colour appears to us less satisfactory. He himself thought that his gifts lay rather in the direction of landscape, in which few were found to agree with him; and to this, as well as to the production of coloured sketches of a mildly humorous kind, he devoted some time. The originals of the drawings of the Botanical Magazine are in the Kew Herbarium.
"He himself thought that his gifts lay rather in the direction of landscape, in which few were found to agree with him;..."
above article: 1892 - The Journal of Botany, British and Foreign ..., Volume 30
Under so competent an instructor, and in a position so suited to his tastes, young Fitch made rapid progress. His name first appears in the Botanical Magazine, in connection with which much of his best work was done, in October, 1834, on plate 3553 (Mimuius roseus). (The full-size image is worth looking at to assess his style.)
 |
| Fitch's illustration in Curtis's Botanical Magazine |
In 1836, Sir William Hooker began the Icones Plantarum, and, although Fitch’s name does not appear upon them, we believe that he was responsible for the plates. When Sir William went to Kew in 1841, Fitch went with him, and there spent the remainder of his life: the two were associated in many undertakings. The list of publications which Fitch illustrated during the succeeding forty years would be a long one—too long, indeed, for insertion here ; and it is only possible to glance at a few of them.
Fitch was a lithographer as well as an artist, and his published plates therefore have not, as is sometimes the case, failed to represent the meaning of the draughtsman. Among his earlier work may be named the plates of the Genera Filicum (1842) taken from Francis Bauer’s beautiful drawings; of these Sir William says in the preface:
 |
| Icones Plantarum |
Fitch was a lithographer as well as an artist, and his published plates therefore have not, as is sometimes the case, failed to represent the meaning of the draughtsman. Among his earlier work may be named the plates of the Genera Filicum (1842) taken from Francis Bauer’s beautiful drawings; of these Sir William says in the preface:
“ [they] have been all executed under my own eye, in zincography, by a young artist, Walter Fitch, with a delicacy and accuracy which I trust will not discredit the figures from which they were taken.”
Of his larger work, good examples may be found in Sir William Hooker’s Victoria regia (1851) and Dr. (now Sir) J. D. Hooker’s Illustrations of Himalayan Plants (1855) ; in the preface to the latter, Sir Joseph speaks of the “unrivalled skill in seizing the natural characters of plants” of this “incomparable botanical artist," thus showing the very high estimate which had been formed of Fitch's work.
His most recent folio plates are those to Mr. Elwes's Monograph of Lilium. (1880), on the title-page of which Fitch’s name stands as illustrator.
The New Zealand, Antarctic, and Tasmanian Floras of Sir Joseph Hooker, the Transactions and Journal of the Linnean Society (the former including such important works as Welwitsch’s Sertum Angolense, the Botany of the Speke and Grant Expedition, Bentham’s monographs of Mimosa and Cassia, and Triana’s Mélastomacées—(the plates of which Fitch once told us had given him more trouble than anything he had ever undertaken), the Botany of the Biologia Centroll-Americana, the Botany of the ‘Herald,’ and Flora Vitiensis—these are only some of the more important of the works illustrated by Fitch.
 |
| J. Triana’s Mélastomacées |
From time to time he contributed large groups of roses, lilies, and the like to the Gardeners’ Chronicle, as well as woodcuts of British plants in their natural habitats—the least satisfactory examples of his work. In the Chronicle, too, he published in 1869 an admirable series of lessons on “Botanical Drawing”—so far as we know, his only contribution to literature. It has long been a matter of wonder to us that these lessons have never been reprinted, and we mention the fact in the hope that they may yet be brought out in an accessible form. (I plan to clean up the files and post them.)
The long connection of Fitch with two of the works already mentioned—the Botanical Magazine and the Icones Plantarum—came to an end in 1877. In 1869, Sir Joseph Hooker had dedicated a volume of the former to him, as “ the accomplished artist and lithographer of upwards of 2500 plates already published of the Botanical Magazine,” and it seemed likely that the number would be indefinitely augmented. But a regrettable difference arose between Fitch and his employers, which resulted in the withdrawal of the former from his connection with the Kew serials. Into the merits of the dispute we have neither wish nor occasion to enter; letters from Fitch now before us show that he considered himself seriously aggrieved, and with some appearance of reason; and the botanical and horticultural public were certainly losers by the event. (I haven't turned up any more information than this...)
From this time Fitch’s health began to fail, and although his work became less frequent, in 1880 a Government pension of £100 was awarded him. The remainder of his days were spent with his family at Kew, one of whom, Mr. F. W. Fitch, carries on his father's work as a lithographer, in which connection his nephew, Mr. J. N. Fitch, is also well known.
He died, after a long and trying illness, on Jan. 14th, and was buried at Kew. His name was commemorated in 1845 in Fitchia Hook. f., a handsome genus of Compositae. He became F.L.S. in 1857.
The value of Fitch’s work appears to us to consist in that skill in “seizing the natural characters of plants” to which Sir Joseph Hooker referred more than forty years ago. He had also a keen sense of form, and the arrangement of the leaves in most of his plates would be in itself a lesson to a young botanical artist: his colour appears to us less satisfactory. He himself thought that his gifts lay rather in the direction of landscape, in which few were found to agree with him; and to this, as well as to the production of coloured sketches of a mildly humorous kind, he devoted some time. The originals of the drawings of the Botanical Magazine are in the Kew Herbarium.
"He himself thought that his gifts lay rather in the direction of landscape, in which few were found to agree with him;..."
above article: 1892 - The Journal of Botany, British and Foreign ..., Volume 30
I love oncidiums. I wonder what insect this looks like.
Above Oncidium from:
1869 - Refugium Botanicum: Or Figures and Descriptions from Living Specimens, of Little Known Or New Plants of Botanical Interest, Volume 1
1882 - Refugium botanicum; or, Figures and descriptions ... of little known or new plants, ed. by W.W. Saunders, the descriptions by H.G. Reichenbach, J.G. Baker and other botanists, the plates by W.H. Fitch, Volume 2
Above Oncidium from:
1869 - Refugium Botanicum: Or Figures and Descriptions from Living Specimens, of Little Known Or New Plants of Botanical Interest, Volume 1
Friday, June 17, 2016
1887 - Chinese Cabbage to Corn Salad - Part 7 of Sturtevant's HISTORY OF GARDEN VEGETABLES
It is raining outside on this June 11th and I just started a fire in the fireplace it felt so cold and damp in the house. Good day for starting the next installment of Mr. Sturtevant's work.
(Continued from page 712.)
https://archive.org/details/jstor-2451528
Chinese Cabbage. Brassica chinensis.
BUT little appears to be recorded concerning the varieties of this cabbage, of which the Pak choi and the Pe-tsai only have reached European culture. It has, however, been long under cultivation in China, as it can be identified in Chinese works on agriculture of the fifth, sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries.
Loureiro (1790) says also cultivated in Cochin China ; and varieties are named with white and yellow- flowers. The Pak choi has more resemblance to a chard than to a cabbage, having oblong or oval, dark, shining-green leaves upon long, very white, and swollen stalks. The Pe-tsai, however, rather resembles a Cos lettuce, forming an elongated head, rather full and compact, and the leaves a little wrinkled and undulate on the borders.
Both varieties have, however, a common aspect, and are annuals. Considering that the round-headed cabbage is the only sort figured by the herbalists, and that the pointed-headed early cabbages appeared only at a comparatively recent date, and certain resemblances between the Pe-tsai and the long-headed cabbages, it is not an impossible suggestion that these cabbage-forms appeared as the effect of cross-fertilization with the Chinese cabbage; but until the Cabbage family has received more study in its varieties, and the results of hybridization are better understood, no certain conclusion can be reached.
It is, however, certain that occasional rare sports or variables from the seed of our early long-headed cabbages show the heavy veining and the limb of the leaf extending down the stalk, and suggest strongly ,the Chinese type. At present, however, our views as to the origin of our various types of cabbage must be considered as largely speculative.
Chives. Allium schoenoprasum L.
These are small and unimportant members of the Onion family, found native throughout Europe, in Siberia even to Kamschatka, and in North America, upon the shores of Lakes Huron, Superior, and northward; but the form found in the Alps comes the nearest to that under cultivation.
Although probably known to the ancients, yet we seem unable to fully identify them with the varieties of the onion named by Theophrastus, Columella, and others.
They were planted in gardens in Europe in the sixteenth century, and were in American gardens preceding 1806.
In England, described by Gerarde 3(1597), called "a pleasant Sawce and good Pot-herb" by Worlidge in 1683, are among seedsmen's supplies in 1726, and are recorded as formerly in great request, but now of little regard, by Bryant in 1783.
Chives, sives, civet or sweth, are called,
The only indication of variety I find is in Noisette, who enumerates the civette, the cive d' Angleterre, and the cive de Portugal, but says these are the same, only modified by soil. The use of the leaves as a condiment is well known. The plant is an humble one, and is propagated by the bulbs, for, although it produces flowers, these are invariably sterile, according to Vilmorin.
Chufa. Cyperus esculentus L.
In Hungary it is grown for the seeds, used as a coffee substitute, but in general for its tubers, which are sweet, nutty, and palatable. These bulbs, says Bryant, are greatly esteemed in Italy and some parts of Germany, and are frequently brought to table by way of dessert. At Constantinople the tubers appear in the markets, and are eaten raw, or made into a conserve.
Gerarde, in 1633, speaks of their extensive use in Italy, being hawked about the streets, and, at Verona, eaten as dainties. They now appear in the English markets under the name of Zulu nuts. It must also have been esteemed in ancient times, for tubers have been found in Egyptian tombs of the twelfth dynasty, or from two thousand two hundred to two thousand four hundred years before Christ.
Laurembergius, in his "Apparatus Plantarum," 1632, calls them Gramen amygdalosum, commonly called Thrasi veronensium ; conveniently called Dulcichinum, Dulcinium, Cyperus esculentiis, Cyperus angustifolius, Juncus avellana, Margarita aegyptia, etc.
They are figured or described by nearly all the early botanists. The chufa, earth-almond, or rush-nut is called,
Notwithstanding the long-continued culture of this plant, I find no varieties described.
Clary. Salvia sclarea L.
(Continued from page 712.)
https://archive.org/details/jstor-2451528
Chinese Cabbage. Brassica chinensis.
BUT little appears to be recorded concerning the varieties of this cabbage, of which the Pak choi and the Pe-tsai only have reached European culture. It has, however, been long under cultivation in China, as it can be identified in Chinese works on agriculture of the fifth, sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries.
Loureiro (1790) says also cultivated in Cochin China ; and varieties are named with white and yellow- flowers. The Pak choi has more resemblance to a chard than to a cabbage, having oblong or oval, dark, shining-green leaves upon long, very white, and swollen stalks. The Pe-tsai, however, rather resembles a Cos lettuce, forming an elongated head, rather full and compact, and the leaves a little wrinkled and undulate on the borders.
Both varieties have, however, a common aspect, and are annuals. Considering that the round-headed cabbage is the only sort figured by the herbalists, and that the pointed-headed early cabbages appeared only at a comparatively recent date, and certain resemblances between the Pe-tsai and the long-headed cabbages, it is not an impossible suggestion that these cabbage-forms appeared as the effect of cross-fertilization with the Chinese cabbage; but until the Cabbage family has received more study in its varieties, and the results of hybridization are better understood, no certain conclusion can be reached.
It is, however, certain that occasional rare sports or variables from the seed of our early long-headed cabbages show the heavy veining and the limb of the leaf extending down the stalk, and suggest strongly ,the Chinese type. At present, however, our views as to the origin of our various types of cabbage must be considered as largely speculative.
Chives. Allium schoenoprasum L.
A master of botanical painting, Redouté is the artist who did this illustration.
 |
| Redouté, P.J., Les Liliacées, vol. 4: t. 214 (1805-1816) |
 |
| Redouté by Louis-Léopold Boilly |
Although probably known to the ancients, yet we seem unable to fully identify them with the varieties of the onion named by Theophrastus, Columella, and others.
They were planted in gardens in Europe in the sixteenth century, and were in American gardens preceding 1806.
In England, described by Gerarde 3(1597), called "a pleasant Sawce and good Pot-herb" by Worlidge in 1683, are among seedsmen's supplies in 1726, and are recorded as formerly in great request, but now of little regard, by Bryant in 1783.
Chives, sives, civet or sweth, are called,
- in France, ciboulctte, civette, appetit, cive, fausse echalote ;
- in Germany, schnittlauch, grasslatich ;
- Flanders and Holland, bieslook ;
- in Italy, cipollina ;
- in Spain, cebollino ;
- in Portugal, cebolinha ;
- in Denmark, graslog ;
- in Poland, luczer-lupny ?, szczypiorek says Google
The only indication of variety I find is in Noisette, who enumerates the civette, the cive d' Angleterre, and the cive de Portugal, but says these are the same, only modified by soil. The use of the leaves as a condiment is well known. The plant is an humble one, and is propagated by the bulbs, for, although it produces flowers, these are invariably sterile, according to Vilmorin.
 |
| Vilmorin's 1885 description of the chive |
Chufa. Cyperus esculentus L.
See my post "Ha!! Buckbee Sells Chufus..."The chufa was distributed from the United States Patent Office in 1854, and has received a spasmodic culture in gardens. It is much cultivated in Southern Europe, Asia, and Africa, becoming of importance at Valence, in Galicia, and in the environs of Rosetta and Damietta, in Egypt.
In Hungary it is grown for the seeds, used as a coffee substitute, but in general for its tubers, which are sweet, nutty, and palatable. These bulbs, says Bryant, are greatly esteemed in Italy and some parts of Germany, and are frequently brought to table by way of dessert. At Constantinople the tubers appear in the markets, and are eaten raw, or made into a conserve.
Gerarde, in 1633, speaks of their extensive use in Italy, being hawked about the streets, and, at Verona, eaten as dainties. They now appear in the English markets under the name of Zulu nuts. It must also have been esteemed in ancient times, for tubers have been found in Egyptian tombs of the twelfth dynasty, or from two thousand two hundred to two thousand four hundred years before Christ.
Laurembergius, in his "Apparatus Plantarum," 1632, calls them Gramen amygdalosum, commonly called Thrasi veronensium ; conveniently called Dulcichinum, Dulcinium, Cyperus esculentiis, Cyperus angustifolius, Juncus avellana, Margarita aegyptia, etc.
They are figured or described by nearly all the early botanists. The chufa, earth-almond, or rush-nut is called,
- in France, souchet comestible, amdnde de terre, souchet sultan, souchet tubereux, trasi;
- in Germany, erdmandel;
- in Flanders, aardmandel ;
- in Italy, mandorla di terra, dolcicchini ;
- in Spain, chufa, eotu/a;
- in the Soudan, nebbon ;
- in Egypt, ab-el-azis ;
- in Arabic, hab-el-a, — i.e., granum dilectum?
Notwithstanding the long-continued culture of this plant, I find no varieties described.
Clary. Salvia sclarea L.
The common Clary was formerly much more cultivated in gardens than at present.
Townsend, in 1726, says "the Leaves of it are used in Omlets, made with Eggs, and so must be in a garden."
In 1778, Mawe gives three varieties, — the broad- leaved, the long-leaved, and the most wrinkled-leaved.
It is mentioned as cultivated in England by Ray, 1686; Gerarde, 1597; and it is the orminum of Turner, 1538. It was in American gardens preceding 1806, and now occurs wild in Pennsylvania, naturalized as an escape, its home being the East Mediterranean countries.
The leaves are used for seasoning, but their use with us has been largely superseded by sage, and, although the seed is yet sold by some of the seedsmen, I imagine that it is but little grown. The Clary is called, in France, sauge sclaree, sclaree, toute- bonne, orvale ; in Germany, muscateller salbei.
Claytonia. Claytonia perfoliata Don.
 |
| Wikipedia |
In 1778, Mawe gives three varieties, — the broad- leaved, the long-leaved, and the most wrinkled-leaved.
It is mentioned as cultivated in England by Ray, 1686; Gerarde, 1597; and it is the orminum of Turner, 1538. It was in American gardens preceding 1806, and now occurs wild in Pennsylvania, naturalized as an escape, its home being the East Mediterranean countries.
The leaves are used for seasoning, but their use with us has been largely superseded by sage, and, although the seed is yet sold by some of the seedsmen, I imagine that it is but little grown. The Clary is called, in France, sauge sclaree, sclaree, toute- bonne, orvale ; in Germany, muscateller salbei.
In 1810, the seedsman William Booth, of Baltimore, offered Clary under the name "Horminum - Clary". Search for Booth in this blog for more about this early American seedsman.
Claytonia. Claytonia perfoliata Don.
The leaves of this plant are eaten as salad, or cooked like ordinary spinage. It is a native of Cuba, as also of North America, where the variety exigua Torrey is in popular use in California as a potherb.
It was first described in 1794, but in 1829 was not named by Noisette for French gardens, and in 1855 is said by De Candolle to be occasionally cultivated as a vegetable in England.
It is now included by Vilmorin among French vegetables.
Its synonymy is:
Interesting plant with the flower coming up from the leaf!
Corchorus. Corchorus olitorius L
 |
| Wikipedia |
It is now included by Vilmorin among French vegetables.
- In England it is called winter purslane ;
- in France, claytone perfoliee, claytone de Cuba, pourpier d'hiver;
- in Flanders, doorwas ;
- in Holland, winter-postelijn ;
- in Spain, verdolaga de Cuba.
Its synonymy is:
- Claytonia perfoliata Don. Pursh, Fl. of N. Am., i. 170.
- C. perfoliata Don., var. exigua Torr. Brewer & Watson, Bot. of Cal.
- C. Cubensis, Humb. et Bonpl. Kunth, Syn., iii. 379.
Interesting plant with the flower coming up from the leaf!
Corchorus. Corchorus olitorius L
This plant is valued as a spinage plant in warm countries.
It is mentioned by Pliny among Egyptian potherbs, and Alpinus, in 1592, says that no herb is more commonly used among the Egyptian foods. Forskal also mentions its cultivation in Egypt, and notes it among the cultivated esculents of Arabia.
In India it occurs wild, and the leaves are gathered and eaten as spinage.
In tropical Africa it is both spontaneous and cultivated as a vegetable, and it is cultivated in the vegetable-gardens of the Mauritius.
In Jamaica the plant is frequently met with in gardens, but has, in a great measure, ceased to be cultivated, although the leaves are used as a spinage.
It is now cultivated in French gardens for its young leaves, which are eaten in salads. It is recorded by Burr as in American gardens in 1863, but I have never seen the plant growing.
This plant furnishes a portion of the Jute fibre of commerce.
The Jew's mallow, or Corchorus, is called,
I find no varieties recorded.
Coriander. Coriandrum sativum L.
It is mentioned by Pliny among Egyptian potherbs, and Alpinus, in 1592, says that no herb is more commonly used among the Egyptian foods. Forskal also mentions its cultivation in Egypt, and notes it among the cultivated esculents of Arabia.
In India it occurs wild, and the leaves are gathered and eaten as spinage.
In tropical Africa it is both spontaneous and cultivated as a vegetable, and it is cultivated in the vegetable-gardens of the Mauritius.
In Jamaica the plant is frequently met with in gardens, but has, in a great measure, ceased to be cultivated, although the leaves are used as a spinage.
It is now cultivated in French gardens for its young leaves, which are eaten in salads. It is recorded by Burr as in American gardens in 1863, but I have never seen the plant growing.
This plant furnishes a portion of the Jute fibre of commerce.
The Jew's mallow, or Corchorus, is called,
- in France, corette potagere, guimauve potagere, mauve des juifs, brede malabare ;
- in Germany, gemuse-Corchorus, nusskraut;
- in Arabia, melochia ;
- in Arabic, meloukhyeh ;
- in Bengali, pat, koshta, bhungee, bhunjee pat;
- in Hindustani, singin janaseha ;
- in Sanscrit, putta ;
- in Telegu, parinta?
I find no varieties recorded.
Coriander. Coriandrum sativum L.
The ripe fruits of the coriander have served as a spice and a seasoning from very remote times, its seeds having been found in Egyptian tombs of the twenty-first dynasty, and a thousand or so years later Pliny says the best came to Italy from Egypt.
Cato, in the third century before Christ, recommends coriander as a seasoning; and Columella, in the first century of our era, and Palladius, in the third, direct its planting.
The plant was well known in Britain prior to the Norman conquest, and was carried to Massachusetts before 1670.
In China it can be identified in an agricultural treatise of the fifth century, and is classed as cultivated by later writers of the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. In Cochin China it is recorded as less grown than in China.
In India it is largely used by the natives as a condiment, is grown at the Mauritius, and has even reached Paraguay, and is in especial esteem for condimental purposes in some parts of Peru.
Coriander, called coryander and colander by Turner in 1538, is called:
Corn. Zea mays L., var. saccharata.
 |
| Plantarum indigenarum et exoticarum Icones ad vivum coloratae,(1789) |
Cato, in the third century before Christ, recommends coriander as a seasoning; and Columella, in the first century of our era, and Palladius, in the third, direct its planting.
The plant was well known in Britain prior to the Norman conquest, and was carried to Massachusetts before 1670.
In China it can be identified in an agricultural treatise of the fifth century, and is classed as cultivated by later writers of the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. In Cochin China it is recorded as less grown than in China.
In India it is largely used by the natives as a condiment, is grown at the Mauritius, and has even reached Paraguay, and is in especial esteem for condimental purposes in some parts of Peru.
Coriander, called coryander and colander by Turner in 1538, is called:
- in France, coriandre ;
- in Germany, coriander ;
- in Flanders and Holland, koriander ;
- in Denmark, koriander ;
- in Italy, coriandorlo ;
- in Spain, culantro, cilantro.
- In Arabic, kouzbarak, kuzeerah ;
- in Bengali, dhnnya;
- in Ceylon, cotumbaroo ;
- in Malay, mety ;
- in Persian, knshneez ;
- in Tamil and Telegu, cottamillie ;
- in Sanscrit, dunya, dhanyaca?
 |
| Merian, M., Der Fruchtbringenden Gesellschaft, (1646) |
Corn. Zea mays L., var. saccharata.
The history of sweet corn, so far as we have discovered it, is given in the American Naturalist for July, 1885.
It is first noticed in 1779. In the "Report of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station" for 1884 I have described thirty-three sorts, and in the report for 1886 a new form collected from the Indians of Mexico is mentioned and partly described. This vegetable is grown far more in the United States than in Europe, and has become an object of field-culture for the supply of the canning industries.
The European names of sweet corn I do not find noted, except the mats sucre of the French. By Vilmorin the generic name of the species is applied to this variety in his synonymy.
The presence of three distinct types, varying not alone in appearance, but as well in their climatic adaptations, and the large number of varieties quite distinct in minor features, indicate a previous culture far more extended than appears in my recorded notes. It certainly does not seem reasonable to believe that sweet corn was confined until 1779 to North American aboriginal culture alone, and yet I have not even a clue that suggests otherwise.
Corn Salad. Valerianella olitoria Moench. (Synonyms -Valeriana locusta, Valerianella olitoria L.)
It is first noticed in 1779. In the "Report of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station" for 1884 I have described thirty-three sorts, and in the report for 1886 a new form collected from the Indians of Mexico is mentioned and partly described. This vegetable is grown far more in the United States than in Europe, and has become an object of field-culture for the supply of the canning industries.
The European names of sweet corn I do not find noted, except the mats sucre of the French. By Vilmorin the generic name of the species is applied to this variety in his synonymy.
The presence of three distinct types, varying not alone in appearance, but as well in their climatic adaptations, and the large number of varieties quite distinct in minor features, indicate a previous culture far more extended than appears in my recorded notes. It certainly does not seem reasonable to believe that sweet corn was confined until 1779 to North American aboriginal culture alone, and yet I have not even a clue that suggests otherwise.
Corn Salad. Valerianella olitoria Moench. (Synonyms -Valeriana locusta, Valerianella olitoria L.)
This annual plant has been found spontaneous in all temperate Europe as far as 60° north ; in Southern Europe to the Canary Isles, Madeira, and the Azores ; in North Africa, Asia Minor, and in the region of the Caucasus.
It seems quite a variable plant in nature, but as long ago as 1623 Bauhin records its variability in size, and occurring with narrow, broad, and entire leaves. It is described by Lobel in 1576, and by Dalechamp in 1587, as also by Camerarius in 1588, but as occurring in fields, and without mention of culture, although its value as a salad is recognized.
In 1597, Gerarde says it has grown in use among the French and Dutch strangers in England, and
"hath beene sower, in gardens as a sallad herbe." He figures two varieties.
J. Bauhin describes two sorts, and gives Tabemae- montanus as a witness that it was found in gardens as well as in fields and vineyards. Ray, in 1686, quotes J. Bauhin only, and Chabraeus, in 1677, describes it as grown in gardens as a salad herb. Worlidge in 1683, Meager in 1683, Quintyne in 1693 and 1704, Townsend in 1726, Stevenson in 1765, Mawe in 1778, Bryant in 1783, — all refer to its culture in England. In France, according to Heuze, it is spoken of as cultivated by Olivier de Serres, and is referred to as if a well-known cultivated salad in "Le Jardinier Solitaire," 1612.
It was in American gardens previous to 1806. Vilmorin describes four varieties, which are tolerably distinct. All these have blunt leaves.
The variety quite frequently distributed for American gardens is that which is figured by the herbalists as having pointed leaves, as, for instance, —
The names of the Corn salad, or Fetticus, or Lamb's lettuce, are,
where there is information on each variety and culture in general.
(To be continued.)
http://horticultural-history.blogspot.com/2016/04/1860-good-mind-dr-e-lewis-sturtevant.html
HISTORY OF GARDEN VEGETABLES.
The variety quite frequently distributed for American gardens is that which is figured by the herbalists as having pointed leaves, as, for instance, —
- Phu minimum alterum. Lob., 1576,412; Lugd., 1587, 1127;
- Polypremnum. Lugd., 1587, 554;
- Lactuca agnina. Ger., 1597, 242; etc.
The names of the Corn salad, or Fetticus, or Lamb's lettuce, are,
- in France, maclte commune, accroupie, barbe de chanoine, blanchette, blanquette, boursette, chuquette, clairette, coquille, doucette, gallinette, laitue de brebis, orillette, pommette, potde grasse, rampon (a Geneve), salade de ble, salade de chanoine, salade royale;
- in Germany, ackersalat, feldsalat, lammersalat, mausohr, rabinschen, rapunzel, schafmaidchen;
- in Flanders and Holland, koornsalad, veldsalad ;
- in Holland, veldsla ;
- in Denmark, kropsalat ;
- in Italy, Valeriana, erba riccia, dolcetta, gallinelle, sarzet;
- in Spain, canonigos ;
- in Portugal, herva benta ;
- in the Mauritius, mache, doucette
- in Belgian, velt cropper, Lob., 1576; zvitmoes, veltecrop, elcerooge, Dod., 1616; gallo- belgian, sallade de chanoine, Lob., 1756;
- in English, lamb's lettuce, come sallade, Gerarde, 1597;
- in France, blanchette, potile grasse, Lugd., 1587; mache, " Le Jard. Solit," 1612.
where there is information on each variety and culture in general.
(To be continued.)
http://horticultural-history.blogspot.com/2016/04/1860-good-mind-dr-e-lewis-sturtevant.html
HISTORY OF GARDEN VEGETABLES.
BY E. LEWIS STURTEVANT, A.M., M.D.
Thursday, June 16, 2016
1918 - Romance of the Velvet Bean
 |
| Feedipedia |
I had never heard of this bean until the other day when I saw it in the 1938 Library of Congress photo. I have to confess that this bean's name is what first attracted me to it. But then I read it was originally used as a trellis plant to provide shade in Florida and that clinched it...I want this bean!! When I checked it out in a normal (not Google Books) search I see it is now being marketed as a libido enhancer 
as well as for various medicines.
as well as for various medicines.
In honor of E. Lewis Sturtevant's style I have to list the following from Feedipedia.
Velvet bean is called:
- in English - Mauritius velvet bean, Bengal bean, Florida velvet bean, Yokohama velvet bean, cowage, cowhage, cowitch, lacuna bean, Lyon bean, itchy bean, krame, buffalobean, pica-pica, kapikachhu;
- in French - pois mascate, dolic, haricot de Floride, haricot de Maurice, pois velus, haricot pourpre, pois du Bengale ;
- in Spanish - grano de terciopelo, fríjol terciopelo, picapica, chiporro, nescafe, mucuna, fogaraté, café incasa, café listo, fríjol abono ;
- in Portuguese - feijão-da-flórida, po de mico, fava coceira;
- in Dutch - fluweelboon;
- in German - Juckbohne [German];
- in Haitian creole - pwa grate ;
- in Indonesian - Kara benguk;
- in Vietnamese - đậu mèo rừng, móc mèo;
- in Bengali - আলকুশি ;
- in Burmese - ခွေးလှေယားပင်;
- in [Chinese - 刺毛黧豆;
- in Hindi - किवांच ;
- in Japanese - ハッショウマメ ;
- in Malayalam നായ്ക്കുരണ;
- in Nepali - काउसो ;
- in Persian مکونا پرورینز ;
- in Punjab - ਕੌਂਚ ਫਲੀ;
- in Russian - Мукуна жгучая ;
- in Telugu - దూలగొండి ;
- in Thai - หมามุ้ย
The story of the velvet bean is really one of the romances of agriculture. Introduced into Florida about 1875 from some unknown source, it first attracted attention as a forage crop about 1890. Until 1914 it was little grown outside of Florida. In 1915 the crop was certainly less than 1,000,000 acres. In 1916 it had increased to 2,500,000, and in 1917 to about 6,000,000 acres.
These early sports of the old Florida are most grown, but the Chinese velvet bean and the hybrids developed by the Florida Experiment Station are important. In spite of vigorous search, the native home of the Florida velvet bean yet remains unknown, but is probably in the Indo-Malayan region of Southern Asia.
The importance of the velvet bean to the livestock industry now developed in the South can scarcely be over-estimated. Grown with corn, it increases the corn crop year after year, and besides furnishes a large amount of nutritious feed to be eaten by the animals for market.
This year the velvet bean has been no small factor in helping out the great shortage of foodstuffs, quantities of them having been shipped to Texas. Finally, it has resulted in a new industry for the South, namely, the manufacture of velvet-bean meal which has already won for itself a large demand.
from FLORIDA: An Ideal Cattle State, Copyrighted 1918 by THE FLORIDA STATE LIVE STOCK ASSOCIATION
This year the velvet bean has been no small factor in helping out the great shortage of foodstuffs, quantities of them having been shipped to Texas. Finally, it has resulted in a new industry for the South, namely, the manufacture of velvet-bean meal which has already won for itself a large demand.
from FLORIDA: An Ideal Cattle State, Copyrighted 1918 by THE FLORIDA STATE LIVE STOCK ASSOCIATION
The VELVET BEAN By J. M. SANDERS, Atlanta
Florida claims to be the original home of this wonderful bean, at least it is the mother country where first grown in the United States. Some claim really the bean came from South America, or the West Indies. At any rate this bean flourished in Brazil, Cuba, Porto Rico, Jamaica, and all the Islands in that part of the world.
The first velvet beans grown in Florida were only used as trellis climbers, or to make shades over porches. The vines sometimes grow to a length of thirty feet.
The first velvet bean was known as far back as the '70's, (1870s) but the value of it as a land-builder and renovator and as food for cattle and hogs was not known until about 12 or 15 years ago. Since that time Florida has developed more than one variety, the most popular at that time was the Florida speckled velvet bean. The original family or species from which this bean came is known as the Mucuna Genus, originating in Brazil, and Mucuna utilis is the botanical name of the velvet bean.
The bean is now grown in all the Southern States to a certain extent and even as far North as Tennessee, North Carolina and Arkansas. It is now recognized to be the greatest soil-renovator and sweetener known. It will eradicate all weeds and foul growth; it is the greatest known source through which to supply humus and nitrogen into the soil. As compared with cowpeas, it is far more valuable.
It furnishes a better and cheaper supply of protein than any other foliage crop; the beans themselves will not rot in the field through the winter months when left as they grew. The bean vines after frost are greedily eaten by cattle and hogs, and they fatten fast without any other food. It has been estimated that an animal will fatten ready for market on one acre of good crop velvet beans. Good velvet bean hay contains 8 per cent of protein. Meal made from the beans and pods ground together furnish 17 per cent protein and about 5 per cent fat, and meal made from hulled beans contain 22% per cent protein and 6% per cent fat. The meal made from the beans alone should be mixed with some other more bulky food substance before feeding, as it would be too rich to feed alone. It has been claimed that in one instance one acre of velvet beans produced 49 bushels of shelled beans, but an average crop on medium land would be from 20 to 30 bushels yield per acre.
...
There are a number of varieties of the velvet beans already developed, but the most popular are the Florida Speckled, the l00 Days Speckled, the Yokahoma, the Lion, the Chinese and Oceola. The Florida Speckled, 100 Day and Yokahoma seem to be the most popular. The Speckled is a small round bean, the Yokahoma a flat white bean, similar to the Lima; the Lion is flat and white, but smaller than the Yokahoma; the Chinese is a plump, light bean as well as the Osceola. Not only has it been found that these beans are good for stock to eat, but it is claimed they are good human food and not many years hence people will be eating them.
To cook the velvet bean, put in boiling water for 60 minutes, then remove and place in cold water for 30 minutes; after this the skins will slip off by manipulating the beans with the fingers; then after the skins are removed boil another half hour. They are then ready to prepare in several different ways for the table.
Hon. Emmett A. Jones, of the Agricultural Department of Alabama, gave a velvet bean dinner to a number of his friends last winter, and the menu was as follows:
Velvet Bean Puree
Creamed Velvet Beans
Stuffing for Turkey
Baked Velvet Bean, Plain
Baked with Tomato Sauce
Velvet Bean Pudding
Velvet Bean Cheese
The velvet bean is a very hard bean to hull, the hulls being very tough and hard and it is difficult to free them from the hulls, but since a machine has been perfected for hulling these beans from the dry pods, it is possible to hull them without cracking, splitting or wasting the beans.
As the velvet bean does have chemical content that effects humans there is quite a bit of discussion on the web which I am not getting into, BUT this is an interesting cookbook!
For info on the medicinal effects try this link to The Magic Velvet Bean of Mucuna pruriens published by the US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
 |
| 1918 - Bean-bag, Volume 1 |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)