WHERE TABLE VEGETABLES CAME FROM.

Rodney and Otamatea Times, Waitemata and Kaipara Gazette, 7 August 1912, Page 7

WHERE TABLE VEGETABLES CAME FROM.

The potato, which was already cul-' tivated in America when the continent was discovered, is indigenous to Chili. It was introduced to Europe in 1580 by -the Spaniards and almost at the same time by the English, who brought it from Virginia, where it had appeared about 1550. The sweet potato and the Jerusalem artichoke are also supposed to have originated in America. Salsify is found in a wild state in Greece, Dalmatia, Italy, and AlgeriaAccording to Olivier de Serres, it has been cultivated in the South of France since the sixteenth century. Turnips and radishes came originally from Central Europe. The beet root and the beet, which have been greatly improved by cultivation, are considered as the same species by botanists. The beet, only the stalk of which is eaten, grows wild in the Mediterranean countries, Persia and Syria. Garlic, onions, shallots, and leeks have long been cultivated in almost all countries, and their origin is most uncertain. That of the scallion is bet. ter known. It grows spontaneously in Siberia1. The radish, greatly modified by cultivation, probably had its origin in the temperate zone, but from what wild species it is derived cannot with certainty be,determined. i The lettuce appears to have been derived from the endive, which is found wild in temperate and Southern Europe, in the Algeria, Abyssinia, and temperate Western Asia. Wild succory is spontaneous throughout Europe, even in Sweden, in Asia Minor, Persia, the Caucasus, Afghanistan and Siberia. Cultivated succory.is probably a form of endive having its origin in India. Cabbage, like all vegetables that have been cultivated from remote times, is believed to be of Eastern origin. The artichoke is the cultivated form of the wild cardoon, indigenous to Madiera, the Canaries, Morocco, the ,South of France, Spain, Italy, and the Mediterranean Islands. Asparagus had its origin in Europe and temperate Western Asia. The origin of the egg plant is India ; that of the broad bean is unknown; as also that of the lentil, the pea, the checkpea, and the haricot. The lastnamed is held by some to have come from America. The carrot grows spontaneously throughout Europe, Asia Minor, Siberia, Northern China, Abyssinia, Northern Africa, Madeira, and the Canary Islands.