Saturday, August 20, 2016

1890 - Parsnip Chervil to Pepper - Part 15 of Sturtevant's HISTORY OF GARDEN VEGETABLE


 (Continued from p. 48. Vol. XXIV., 1890.) 

Remember, to see the footnotes to find the books he used, go to the link above.  
When I insert my two cents into Sturtevant's text I try to remember to do it in red type.

Parsnip Chervil. Chesrophyllum bulbosum L. 

 THE roots of this plant, appearing almost like a short carrot, but generally smaller, are eaten boiled; a sub-variety has the roots nearly round. 

The wild plant is described by Camerarius in 1588, and by Clusius  in 1601, and is also named by Bauhinan 1623.     

1856 - Revue horticole
As a cultivated plant it seems to have been first noted about 1855, when the root is described as seldom so large as a hazel nut, while in 1861 it had attained the size and shape of the French round carrot. 

 It appeared in American seed catalogues in 1884 or earlier, and was described by Burr for American gardens in 1863. 
It was known in England in 1726, but was not under esculent culture. 

 The Parsnip chervil, turnip-rooted chervil or tuberous-rooted chervil, is called
  • in France, cerfeuil tubéreux, cerfeuil bulbeux 
  • in Germany, korbelrube, kerbelrube 
  • in Flanders and Holland, knoll- kervel 
  • in Denmark, kjorvelroe 
  • in Spain, perifollo bulboso 





Patience Dock. Rumex patientia L. 



  This species is less acid than the common sorrel, and is occasionally grown for the same purposes. De Candolle  thinks it the Rumex sativus of Pliny. 


The name monk's rhubarb, or rhabarbarum monachorum of Tragus, 1552, indicates its presence in the gardens of the monasteries.  It was called patientia by Parkinson in 1640, and is noted by Turner in 1538, as having in England the common name of Patience

Go here for nice Rumex page with
a comparison chart for species's seeds.



It is noted as cultivated and its use as a vegetable in nearly all the early botanies, and is recorded in American gardens in 1806.  There are no varieties described. 





Patience Dock or Herb Patience is called: 

  • in France, oseille spinard, patience, parelle, epinard immortel, choux de Paris, doche, dogue; 
  • in Germany, Englischer spinat, winter-spinat 
  • in Flanders, blijvende spinazie ; 
  • in Denmark, engelsk spinat ;
  • in Italy, lapazio, rombice ; 
  • in Spain, romaza, acedera espinaca, espianaca perpetua ; 
  • in Portugal, labaca ; 
  • in Norway, have-syre; 
  • in the Mauritius, patience 

Find the peas :-)

Pea. Pisum sativum D.C.     

 The history of the garden pea is difficult to trace, as its separation from the field pea cannot be expected to have been noted in early and popular reference. The use of the seed as an esculent, however, dates from a very remote antiquity, as pease have been excavated from the ruins of ancient Troy, and have been recovered from tombs at Thebes.  

Its culture among the Romans is evident from the mentions by Columella, Pliny and Palladius.  There is every reason to believe from the paucity of description that peas were not then in their present esteem as a vegetable, and were considered inferior to other plants of the leguminous order. The first distinct mention of the garden pea that I find is by Ruellius in 1536, who says there are two kinds of peas, one the field pea and trailing ; the other a climbing pea, whose fresh pods with their peas were eaten. 

Green peas, however, were not a common vegetable at the close of the 17th century. The author of a life of Colbert, 1695, says : "It is frightful to see persons sensual enough to purchase green peas at the price of 50 crowns per litron.   This kind of pompous expendi- ture prevailed much at the French Court, as will be seen by a letter of Madame de Maintenon, dated May 10, 1696."

(50 crowns in 1695 had the same buying power as $2236.49 current dollars!)

This subject of peas continues to absorb all others,says she; "the anxiety to eat them, the pleasure of having eaten them and the desire to eat them again, are the three great matters which have been discussed by our princes for four days past. Some ladies, even after having supped at the Royal table, and well supped too, returning to their own homes, at the risk of suffering from indigestion, will again eat peas before going to bed. It is both a fashion and a madness." 

In England garden peas appear to have been rare in the early part of Elizabeth's reign, as Fuller observes they were seldom seen, except those which were brought from Holland, and "these", says he, "were dainties for ladies, they came so far and cost so dear."  These references may, however, refer to peas out of season, but in 1683, Worlidge  says the meaner sort " have been long acquainted with our English air and soil, but the sweet and delicate sorts of them have been introduced into our gardens only in this latter age." 

 I propose, however, to only trace out the antiquity of the various forms which include varieties, not the history of the species, nor the varieties themselves. The varieties noted are innumerable, and occur with white and green seed, with smooth and with wrinkled seed, with seed black spotted at the hilum, with large and small seed ; as well as with plants with large and small aspect ; on dwarf, trailing and tall plants, and those with edible pods. 

 I. WHITE AND GREEN PEAS. 

 Lyte, in his edition of Dodonseus, 1586, mentions the trailing pea, or what Vilmorin classifies as the half-dwarf, as having round seed, of color sometimes white, sometimes green. 

 II. SMOOTH SEEDED. 

 Dodonaeus, in his Frumentorum, 1566, describes this form under Pisum minus, a tall pea, called 
  • in Germany erweyssen
  • in Brabant, erwiten
  • in France, pots
  • by the Greeks, ochron
the pods containing eight to ten round peas of a yellow color at first, then green. 
This pea was called in England Middle Peason in 1591.  

Below is the Pisum Minus of Rembert Dodoens, mentioned above as Dodonseus.

III. WRINKLED SEED. 

 The first certain mention I find is by Tragus in 1552, under Phaseolus. These are also recorded in Belgian and German gardens by Dodonaeus in his Frumentorum, 1566, under Pisum majus, the dry seed angular, uneven, of a white color in some varieties, of a sordid color in others. 

He calls them roomsche erwiten, groote erwiten, stock erwiten, and the plant he says does not differ from his Pisum minus, and indeed he uses the same figure for the two. 

The Herbal
Pena and Lobel in 1570, describe the same pea as in Belgian and English gardens, under the name Pisum angulosum hortorum quadratum Plinii, but the seed of a ferruginous and reddish color, and Lobel  in 1591 figures the seed, using the name Pisum quadratum, and it seems to be the Great Peason, Garden Peason, or Branch Peason of Lyte in 1586, as he gives Dodonaeus' common names as synonyms. 

In 1686, Ray describes this class under the name of Rouncival, and refers to Gerarde's picture of Pisum majus, or Rowncivall Pease, in 1597, as being the same. 

This word Rouncival, in white and green varieties, was used by McMahon in America in 1806, and Rouncivals by Gardiner and Hepburn in 1818, and Thorburn in 1828. The first good description of the seed is, however, in 1708, when Lisle calls it honey-comb or pitted. 

Mr. Knight, a nurseryman of Bedfordshire, before 1726 did much for the improvement of the pea, and sent out several wrinkled varieties.  Up to this time the wrinkled peas do not seem to have been in general esteem. The Knight pea, the seed rough, uneven and shrivelled, the plant tall, was in American gardens in 1821, and quite a list of Knight's peas are under present cultivation. 




 IV. BLACK-EYED PEAS. 








These are mentioned as of an old sort by Townsend in 1726, and are grown now under the name of Black-eyed Marrowfat









 V. DWARF PEAS. 
These are mentioned by Tournefort in 1700, and are referred by him to 1665. 
I find no earlier distinct reference. 

 VI. HALF-DWARFS. 

 These are the ordinary trailing peas as mentioned by the earlier botanies, as for instance the Pisum minus of Camerarius, 1586, etc. 

 VII. TALL PEAS. 

 These are the forms described by the early botanies as requiring sticking, as the Pisum majus of Camerarius, 1586; the Pisum of Fuchsius, 1542;   Phasioli or faselen of Tragus, 1552, etc. 

 VIII. EDIBLE-PODDED OR SUGAR PEAS. 

 The pods and peas of the large climbing pea are recorded as eaten, as also the green pods of the trailing form, by Ruellius in 1536, and this manner of eating is recorded by later authors.  We now have two forms, those with straightish and those with contorted pods. 

The first of these is figured by Gerarde in 1597, is described by Ray in 1686, Tournefort in 1700, etc. 

 The second form is mentioned by Worlidge in 1683 as the Sugar pease with crooked pods, by Ray  as Sickle pease

In the Jardinier Français, 1651, Bonnefonds describes them as the Dutch pea, and adds that until lately they were very rare, and Roquefort says they were introduced to France by the French ambassador in Holland about 1600. 

In 1806, McMahon includes three kinds among American esculents. 

 These are mentioned by Tournefort in 1700, and are referred by him to 1665. 
I find no earlier distinct reference. 





About 1683, Meager names nine kinds in English culture; 
in 1765 Stevenson, thirty-four kinds; 
in 1783 Bryant names fourteen ; 

1806 McMahon has twenty-two varieties; 




Thorburn's Calendar, 1821, contains eleven sorts, and his seed catalogue of 1828 had twenty-four sorts ; 
in 1883 Vilmorin describes one hundred and forty-nine ; 
in the report of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station for 1884, ninety-three varieties are described in full. 

Peas and peason are named in America in 1535, 1540, 1562, etc., but we cannot be sure from the references whether peas or beans of the pea-shape were intended. 

In 1602, however, peas were sown by Gosnold in the Elizabeth Islands off the coast of Massachusetts, were grown from French seed by the Indians of the Ottawa river in 1613, were grown in excellent quality by the colonists of Massachusetts in 1629, and in 1779 were among the Indian foods destroyed by General Sullivan in western New York.  

The pea is called: 
  • in France, pois ; 
  • in Germany, erbse
  • in Flanders and Holland, erwt ; 
  • in Denmark, haveoert
  • in Italy, pisello
  • in Spain, guisante ; 
  • in Portugal, ervilha; 
  • in Norway, ert ; 
  • in Greece, pizelia, aukos
  • in Russia, gorock.
  • in Bengali, matar, burra-mutur ; 
  • in Ceylon, rutagoradia ; 
  • in Cochin China, dau-tlon
  • in Egyptian, besilleh
  • in Hindustani, muttir, matar, dana, buttani; 
  • in India, mutur 
  • in Japan, wan, nora mame
  • in Sanscrit, harenso
  • in Tamil, puttanie
  • in Telinga, goondoo sani gheloo


 Peanut. Arachis hypogaea L. 
I can't resist!  Sorry!

This is rather a plant of field than garden culture, yet it is included by Vilmorin among his kitchen garden esculents. It seems to be of New World origin, as jars filled with the nuts have been found in the mummy pits of Peru and Pachacamac, as I have myself verified at the National Museum, and Bentham inclines to the same belief, as the other known species of the genus, five in number, are all Brazilian. 

Garcilasso de la Vega, who was a boy at the time of the conquest of Peru, speaks of this plant under the name of ynchic, called mani by the Spaniards. The first writer who notes it is Oviedo in his Cronica de las Indias, who says the Indians cultivate very much the fruit mani; a little later Monardes (1569) describes a plant which is probably this.      Before this the French colonists, sent in 1555 to the Brazilian coast, became acquainted with it under the name of mandobi, which Jean de Lery describes.

It was figured by Laet in 1625, and by Marcgrav in 1648 as the anchic of the Peruvians, the mani of the Spaniards. 

It was included among garden plants by McMahon in 1806, and Burr in 1863 describes three varieties, but Jefferson speaks of its culture in Virginia in 1781. 

Its culture was introduced to France in 1802, and it was described among pot-herbs by Noi- sette , 1829.  


The peanut, earth nut, ground nut, grass nut, pindar, or earth almond, is called 
  • in France arachide, pistache de terre, souterraine, anchic, arachine , feve de terre, noisette de terre, pistache d'Amerique, pois de terre
  • in Germany, erdnuss, erdeichel
  • in Italy, cece di terra ; 
  • in Spain, chufa, cocahueta, alfonsigo ; 
  • in Portugal, amen-duinas
  • in the Mauritius, pistache
  • Birdwood gives a Sanscrit name boochanaka ; 
  • Hindustani, moongphulli, booe-moong ; 
  • Tamil, vayer, nelay-cordalay ; 
  • Telinga, nela senaglu, veru-sanaga ; 
  • in Sumatra, cachang-goring. 
  • In Angola, mpinda or ginguba
  • in Egypt, foul sennar, sennar-bean. 
  • In Tagalo, mani
  • in Burma, myae-bai. 



Pennyroyal. Mentha pulegium L. 

 The leaves of pennyroyal are sometimes used as a condiment. Mawe, in England, in 1778, calls it a fine aromatic, and it was among American pot-herbs in 1806. 

It was in high repute among the ancients, and had numerous virtues ascribed to it by both Dioscorides and Pliny, and from the frequent reference to it in Anglo-Saxon and Welsh works on medicine, we may infer that it was much esteemed in northern Europe. 
 It has now fallen into disuse. 



Pennyroyal, in old herbals puloil royal, a name derived from the Latin puleium regium, from its supposed efficacy in destroying fleas, is called 

  • in France menthe pouliot 
  • in Germany, polei; 
  • in Holland, poley ; 
  • in Italy, pulegio
  • in Greece, gluphone or vlehoni
  • by the Turks, filis cun
  • in Egypt, hobag. 




Peppermint
 Peppermint. Mentha piperita L.


 Peppermint is grown on a large scale for the sake of the oil which is obtained by distillation, and which finds large use for flavoring candies and cordials, but especially in medicine. There are large centres of its culture in the United States, Europe, and Asia, but we are now concerned with its appearance as a pot-herb, for which it is grown to a limited extent, the leaves used for seasoning. 

It is spoken of as if not a garden plant by Ray, in 1724, who describes two varieties, the broad and narrow leaved.   In 1778 it is included by Mawe among garden herbs; in 1806 noticed among American garden plants, and is now an escape from cultivation. 

I find no notice of the peppermint preceding 1700, when it is mentioned by Plukenet  and Tournefort, and is noted as a wild plant only. 


Peppermint is called 

  • in France menthe poivree ; 
  • in Germany, pfeffermunze
  • in Denmark, pebbermynte ;
  • in the Mauritius, pepermenthe ;
  • in India, beelluta or panee kula ; 
  • in Egypt, lemmane or nana; 
  • in Bengali and Hindustani, pudina, 
  • in Hindustani, nana
  • in Japan, faki. 








Peppers. Capsicum annuum L. 


 
LOC: New Mexico,
Lee, Russell, 1903-1986, photographer; 


This plant is of American origin, and is first mentioned by Peter Martyr in an epistle dated September, 1493, wherein he says Columbus brought home " pepper more pungent than that from the Caucasus".

It is also mentioned as a condiment by Chanca, physician to the fleet of Columbus in his second voyage to the West Indies, in a letter written in 1494 to the chapter of Seville.  It had already existed in tropical and southern America under cultivation in numerous varieties. These have been described under many specific names by Fingerhuth  and other botanists, but those varieties at present under northern cultivation can all be referred to the annual species, although differing exceedingly in the form, color, and quality of their fruits. 

These varieties furnish a number of groups which are quite distinctly defined, and which seem in many cases to present specific characters, and these groups or types have existed unchanged now for several centuries, despite the different conditions to which they have been exposed. 
1905 bottle of pepper sauce (LOC)

 In the varieties under our present cultivation, the only ones which I propose to notice, we have distinct characters in the calyx of several of the groups ; and in the fruit being pendulous and erect, and it is worthy of note that the pendulous varieties have a pendulous bloom as well as fruit, and the erect varieties have erect bloom, and some heavy fruits are erect, while some light fruits are pendulous; and in the quality of the fruit, as for instance all the sweet peppers having a like calyx ; and in the color of the fruit. 

While again there may seem at first to be considerable variability in the fruits even on the same plant, yet a more careful examination shows that this variability is more apparent than real, and comes from a suppression or distortion of growth, all really being of a similar type. 

 The history of the appearance of each of these groups can best be seen by the synonymy, which is founded upon figures given with the descriptions, and which is intended to be con- servative rather than complete. 

 I. The calyx embracing the fruit.

 (a.) Fruit pendulous. 

 This form seems to have been the first introduced, and presents fruits of extreme pungency, and is undoubtedly that described as brought to Europe by Columbus. 

 It presents varieties with straight and recurved fruit ; and the fruit when ripe is often much contorted and wrinkled. 

Fuchs, L., New Kreüterbuch, (1543)

  • Capsicum longum. D.C. ex., Fing., t, VI. 
  • Siliquastrum tertium. Langer Indianischer pfeffer. Fuch., 1542, 733- 
  • Siliquastrum minus. Fuch., 1. c, 732. 
  • Indianischer pfefferSiliquastrum. Roszlin, 1550, 214. 
  • Indianischer pfeffer. Trag., 1552, 928. 
  • Piper indicum. Cam. epit, 1586, 347. 
  • Capsicum oblongius Dodonaei. Lugd., 1587, 632. 
  • Piper indicum minus recurvis siliquis. Hort. Eyst, 1613, 17 1 3. 
  • Piper indicum maximum longum. Hort. Eyst, 161 3, 17 13. 
  • Capsicum recurvis siliquis. Dod., 16 16, 716. 
  • Piper Calecuticum, sive Capsicum oblongius. J. Bauh., 1650, II., 943. 
  • Siliquastrum, Ind. pfeffer. Pancov., 1673, 11. 296. 
  • Piper Capsicum. Chabr., 1677, 297. 
  • Piment de Cayenne. Vilm., 1885, 151. 
  • Long Red Cayenne. Ferry. 
  • Mexican Indian, four varieties, one the exact variety of Fuchsius, 1542. 
  • Siliquastrum majus. Fuch., 1542, 732. 
  • Long Yellow Cayenne. Hend. 
  • Capsicum longum luteum. Fing., t. VII.


 According to Sloane the following are additional synonyms as taken from non-botanical writers. 

  • Poivre indic. cornu. Lery, 205. 
  • Axi longum acre, Martyr
  • Axi lungo. F. Colon, Vit., 74. 
  • Axi, or West Indian Pepper
  • Purchas, 1100, 1106. 
  • White and red long pepper. Carder, ib., 1 1 go. 
  • Pepper growing on trees in a picked length running out. Layfield, ib., 1 173. 
  • Pepper growing in long pods. Smith's Obs., 54. 81 Sloane. Cat., 1696, 39. 154 
  • The Red pepper like a child's coral two inches long. Ligon, 79. 
  •  Quein-boucoup. Thevet, Cosm., 938. 



 (b.) Fruits erect. 
  • Capsicum annuum acuminatum. Fing., t. II. 
  • Piper ind. minimum erectum. Hort. Eyst, 1613, 17 13. 
  • Piper ind. medium longum erectum. Hort. Eyst., 161 3, 1713. 
  • Piper longum minus siliquis recurvis. Jonston, Dendrog., 1662, t. LVI. 
  • Piment du Chili. Vilm., 1883,410. 
  • Chili pepper. Vilm., 1885, 151. 
  • Red Cluster. Vilm., Alb. de CI. 
  • Yellow Chili. Hend. 

1887  

 II. Calyx pateriform, not covering the flattened base of the fruit. 
        (Hmm...another new word for me; pateriformHaving the shape of a shallow bowl.)

(a.) Fruit long, tapering, pendent. 

  • Piper indicum sive siliquastrum. Pin., 1561, 12. 
  • Capsicum actuarii. Lob. Obs., 1576, 172; ic, 1591, I., 316.  
  • Capsicum majus. Lugd., 1587, 632. 
  • Capsicum longioribus siliquis. Ger., 1597, 292.  
  • Piper indicum. Matth. Op., 1598, 434.  
  • Capsicum oblongioribus siliquis . Dod., 1616, 716. 
  • Pepe d' India. Cast. Dur., 16 17, 344. Figures 13 and 14, counting in order. 
  • Piso, de Ind., 1658, 226. 
  • Guinea pepper or garden coral. 
  • Pomet, 1 748, 125. 
  • Piper indicum bicolor. Blackw. Herb., 1754, n. 129, f. II. 
  • Piment rogue long. Vilm., 1883,409. 
  • Long red capsicum or Guinea. Vilm., 1885, 150. 

1620 - Bessler, Basilius, Hortus Eystettensis
 (b.) Fruit short, rounding, pendent. 

  • Siliquastrum quartum. Fuch., 1542, 734. 
  • Siliquastrum cordatum. Cam. Epit, 1586, 348. Fig. 2 and 6. Piso, 1658, 225. 
  • Piper cordatum. Jonston, Dend., 1662, t. LVI.  
  • Capsicum cordiforme, Mil. Fing., t. IX. 
  • Oxheart. Thorb. 
  • New Oxheart. Thorb. 1890.
1620 - Bessler, Basilius, Hortus Eystettensis
III. Calyx funnel form, not embracing base of fruit.

 

(a.) Fruit pendent ; long. 

  • Piper indicum medium. Hort. Eyst, 161 3, 1713.  
  • Piper siliquis flavis. Hort. Eyst., 161 3, 17 13. 
  • Piper indicum aureum latum. Hort. Eyst., 161 3, 17 13. Fig. in Hernandez. Nova Hisp., 165 1, 137. 
  • Piper indicum longioribus siliquis rubi. Swert, 1654, t. 35, f. 3. 
  • Piper vulgatissime. Jonston, 1662, t. LVI. 
  • Piper oblongum recurvis siliquis. Jonston, 1662, t. LVI. 
  • Capsicum fructu conico albicante, per maturitakem miniato, Dill., 1774, t. 60. 
  • Piment Jaune long. Vilm., 1883, 409. 
  • Long Yellow Capsicum. Vilm., 1885, 151. 


(b.) Fruit pendent ; round. 

  •  Siliquastrum rotundum. Cam. Epit, 1586, 348. 
  •  Piper rotundum majus surrectum. Jonston, 1662, t. LVI. (as figured.) Figure 5. Piso, 1658, 225. 
  •  Cherry Red, of some seedsmen. 



Great article on peppers
Mother Earth News
(c.) Fruit erect ; round. 

  •  Piper minimum siliquis rotundis. Hort. Eyst., 16 1 3, 1713. 
  •  Capsicum cersasiforme. Fing., t. V. 
  •  Piment cerise. Vilm., 1883,411. 
  •  Cherry Pepper. Burr, 1863,621; Vilm., 1885, 152. 




According to Sloane, l.c., this is the axi rotundum of P. Martyr, the axi rotondo of F. Colon, the carive sive axi montense of Laet, the caribe of J. Acosta, etc. 

 

To the left: From Burpee, 2016 -McMahon's Bird Pepper 

A tangy hot pepper ... Producing tiny, shiny,
 round-red peppers, this variety was introduced
in 1813 by Bernard McMahon from seeds
 given to him by Thomas Jefferson...





IV. Calyx funnel form, as large as base, but the fruit more or less irregularly swollen ; not pointed ; pendent. 
  •  Capsicum luteum. Lam. Fing., t. VIII. 
  •  Prince of Wales, of some seedsmen (yellow). 
  • (Perhaps) Capsicum latum Dodancei. Lugd., 1587, 632. 
  •  Capsicum latis siliquis. Dod., 1616,717. 
  •  Capsicum siliquis latiore and rotundiore. J. Bauh, 165 1, II.
  • Piper capsicum siliqui latiori et rotundiore. Chabr., 1677, 297. 

 V. Calyx set in concavity of fruit. This character is perhaps produced only by the swollen condition of the fruit as produced by selection and culture. As, however, it appears constant in our seedsmen's varieties, it may answer our purpose here.

 (a.) Fruit very much flattened. 
  •  Piper indicum rotundum maximum. Hort. Eyst, 16 13, 17 13. 
  •  Solanum mordeus, etc., Bonnet Pepper. Pluk. Phyt, 1691, t. 227, p. 1. 
  •  Capsicum tetragonum, Fing., t. 10. 
  •  Piment tomato. Vilm., 1886, 413. 
  •  Red Tomato capsicum or American bonnet. Vilm., 1885, 154. 




 (b.) Fruit, squarish, angular, very much swollen, large. 

 This class includes the Bell, Sweet Mountain, Monstrous, Spanish mammoth, of Vilmorin; the Giant Emperor, Golden Dawn, etc., of American seedsmen. 




The varieties of this class seem referable to 

  • Capsicum annuum rugulosum, Fing., 
  • C. grossum pomiforme, Fing., and 
  • C. angulosum, Fing., 

but I have not as yet sufficiently studied them.

This class V. embraces the sweet peppers, and none other. A sweet kind is noted by Acosta  in 1604, and it is perhaps the rocot uchu of Peru, as mentioned by Garcilasso de la Vega. Sweet peppers are also referred to by Piso in 1648. 

Occasionally Capsicum baccatum L. is grown, but the species is too southern for general use in the north. 

Its synonymy follows : 
  • Capsicum, Piper indicum brevioribus siliquis. Lob. Obs., 1576, 172; ic., 1591, I., 317. 
  • Capsicum brasilianum. Lugd., 1587,633; Pancov., 1673, n. 297. 
  • Capsicum minimis siliquis. Ger., 1597, 292 ; Dod., 16 16, 717. 
  • Piper siliqua parva brasilianum. J. Bauh., 165 1, II., Fig. 8. Piso, de Ind., 1658,- 225. 
  • Piperis capsici varietas, siliqua parva, etc. Chabr., 1677, 297.
  • Capsicum baccatum L. Fing., t. IV. 
  • Small Red Cayenne.  Briggs' Seed Cat, 1874. 

I do not desire it to be understood that the classification used here is other than for convenience.
It has no claims for scientific accuracy, as it is only based upon such garden varieties as are known to me, and not upon a complete study of the species of this genus. 
It will however suffice to show that no type of our modern varieties can be considered of recent origin, but that they are probably all derivatives from the ancient American culture. 

The pepper or capsicum is called: 
  • in France piment, carive, corail des jardins, courats, poivre de Calicut, poivre d'Espagne, poivre de Guinee, poivre de Portugal, poivre d'Inde, poivre du Bresil, poivron ; 
  • in Germany, pfeffer; 
  • in Flanders and Holland, spaansche peper
  • in Italy, peperone
  • in Spain, pimiento ; 
  • in Portugal, pimento, pimentas
1890


Wednesday, August 17, 2016

1695 - A Pompous Expenditure on Peas


This article is from the 1850 Cottage Gardener and Country Gentleman's Companion, Volume 3.  I haven't found much more about this fad than a retelling of this article. Perhaps we should take it with a grain of salt?


It would not be either unamusing or uninstructive to trace the rise and progress of the taste for Green Peas.They were a luxury unknown to our early Saxon ancestors, for they had no varieties but the common grey pea; and though we have frequent mention of beans being eaten by them, we have never met with any such particular concerning the pea. Soon after the Norman Conquest, however, at monasteries and other establishments where gardening was cherished, we find that this vegetable was among those most desired. Thus, at Barking Nunnery, among other things, there were provided green peas against Midsummer.     

detail from a P.J. Redouté illustration




And, in the household book of a nobleman (Archaologia, xiii. 373), it is directed:
" If one will have Pease soone in the year following, such pease are to be sowen in the wane of the moone, at St. Andrew's tide, before Christmas." 
 “St. Andrew’s Tide”- on and around 30th November.


In the 17th century there seems to have been a mania in France for the Skinless pea (Pois sans parchmeine). Bonnefonds, in his Jardinier Francais published in 1651, describes them as the Dutch pea, or pea without skin, and adds:—
" Until very lately they were exceedingly rare."   

 Roquefort says, they were first introduced by M. de Buhl, the French ambassador in Holland, about 1600. 
The author of a Life of Colbert, 1695, says,

 "It is frightful to see persons sensual enough to purchase green pease at the price of 50 crowns per litron."

• In 2015, the relative value of  5s  from 1850 ranges from £24.11 to £840.40. Five shillings equal a crown so conservatively the peas cost £1,205.00.!   
• A litron was a little more than an English pint.)



This kind of pompous expenditure prevailed much at the French Court, as will be seen by a letter of Madame de Maintenon, dated May 10, 1696.

"The subject of peas continues to absorb all others: the anxiety to eat them, the pleasure of having eaten them, and the desire to eat them again, are the three great matters which have been discussed by our princes for four days past.   
Some ladies, even after having supped at the royal table, and well supped too, returning to their own homes, at the risk of suffering from indigestion, will again eat peas, before going to bed. It is both a fashion and a madness".

The taste was not confined to France; and when, upon the Restoration of Charles II, it 
became the popular and prudential habit to publish all the disadvantageous anecdotes, true and untrue, that could be collected, concerning the Cromwell dynasty, we rend, amongst others, 
"That Oliver was very fond of oranges to veal, and that the Protectress refused fourpence for one, just at the commencement of the Spanish war!  Moreover, that a poor woman, having a very early growth of peas, was persuaded to present some to the Protectress, though offered an angel (10s.) for them by a cook in the Strand. The Protectress only gave her 5s. for them ; and, upon the woman murmuring, returned them, with some severe remarks upon the increase of luxury." 
The taste, however, increased rather than abated, and extended to late green peas as strongly as to early; for on the 28th of October, 1769, it is recorded that four guineas were given for as many pottles of them in Covent Garden Market. Our memory fails us if we have not lately heard of as much as ten guineas a quart being paid by the civic authorities for shelled green peas.


I found a site that gives this range - In 2015, the relative value of £1   1s from 1850 ranges
    from £101.30 to £3,530.00.   (A guinea was £1 plus 1 shilling.)
• pottle: A former unit of volume, equivalent to half a gallon, used for liquids and corn; a
     pot of around this size. 

I must credit E. Lewis Sturtevant for the phrase "This kind of pompous expenditure prevailed much at the French Court, as will be seen by a letter of Madame de Maintenon, dated May 10, 1696" which I inserted into the original article.