References to Root Crops in
the Virginia Gazette:
Nov. 30, 1759; Christopher
Ayscough, Palace: Scarlet Radish,
Black turnip radish
March 26, 1767, William Wills,
Richmond, John Donley, Petersburg: Orange
Carrot, Parsnip, Red Beet, Scarlet Radish,
Salmon Radish
March 10, 1768, William Wills,
Richmond, John Donley, Petersburg: Short
Orange Carrot, Long Orange Carrot, Parsnip,
Red Beet, Scarlet Radish, Salmon Radish
Oct. 10, 1771; Campbell's Store,
Richmond: Carrot
Dec. 31,1772; John Carter Store:
Carrot, Salmon Radish
Dec. 16, 1773; John Carter
Store: Orange Carrot, Different
sorts of Radish
Jan. 3, 1774; James Wilson,
College of William and Mary:
Red and White Beet, Early Carrot, Skirret,
Salmon Radish, Short-topped Radish,
White and Black Spanish Radish
Mar. 7, 1792; Minton Collins,
Richmond: Large Orange Carrot,
Large Parsnips, Red and White Beet,
Salmon or short topped radish, White
turnip radish
Oct. 17, 1792; Minton Collins,
Richmond: Salmon short-topped
radish, Turnip radish
Jan. 4, 1799; Peter Bellet
Nursery: Carrots, Parsnip
Other Virginia references to Root Crops:
Nelson Letter Book, Feb. 27,
1767: Carrot, Parsnip
Nelson Letter Book, Aug. 29,
1771: Purple turnip, reddish
Wallace, Davidson & Johnson
Order Book, 1774: Salmon Radish
William Byrd II, Natural History,
c. 1730: Carrots, Beets, Radish,
Horse Radish, Parsnips, Many species
of potatoes
John Randolph, A Treatise on
Gardening, 1793: Orange Carrot,
White Carrot ,Scarlet Radish, Salmon
radish, London short topped Radish,
Turnep Radish, Salsify, Potato (Irish),
Parsnip
Josph Prentis, Monthy Kalender
& Garden Book, 1775 - 1788: Rhadish,
Carrots, Parsnip, Salsafy
Major Thomas Jones Diary, Essex
County, 1797: Carrots, Parsnip,
Beets, Irish Potatoes, Virginia Potatoes,
Salmon Radish, Short Top Radish, Turnip
Radish
Jefferson's Garden Book
(first citation) Carrots (1774), Early
Carrot (1812), Large Carrot (1812),
Orange Carrot (1809), Yellow Carrot
(1811), Radish (1767), Black Radish
(1812), English Scarlet (1794), Leather
Coal Radish (1824), Oil Radish (1809),
Rose Radish (1786), Salmon Radish (1774),
Scarlet Radish (1774), Summer Radish
(1809), Violet Radish (1817), White
Radish (1786), Parsnip (1774), Salsify
(1774), Sweet Potato (1782), Irish Potato
(1772), Red Beet (1774), Scarlet Beet
(1809), Jerusalem Artichoke (1794)
The root crops known to colonial Virginians have their origins
from throughout the world. Radishes and Skirrets from Asia. Parsnip
and Salisfy from Europe; Carrots from both Europe and the near
East. Red Beets seem to arise in Germany from the Chard or White
Beet. Jerusalem Artichokes from North America, both the white
and sweet Potatoes from South America. Some crops, such as Radish,
Carrots and Parsnip seem to be almost universal elements of the
kitchen garden of all classes of people because of their easy
culture, keeping ability and nutritional value. The use of others,
such as salsify and Jerusalem Artichoke, seem to be affected more
by individual tastes and are not universally grown. The white
potato does not become a staple until late in the 18th century
in America and probably has more legend and misinformation concerning
its introduction to Europe and America than any other crop plant.
The Skirret falls out of fashion by the 18th century, just as
the Beet comes into fashion. The Jerusalem Artichoke enjoys a
brief period of popularity early in the 17th century, falls out
of favor in the 18th and is rediscovered in the 19th. Many of
these crops are as important for feeding livestock as they are
for feeding people.
Root crops, as group, have been a staple food for societies around
the globe and throughout time although the popularity of several
of the crops discussed here varies between cultures and individuals
with a given culture or nation. Unlike crops such as cabbage,
which everyone in the 18th century seems to eat and enjoy, there
is a far wider scope of preference for the various types of root
crops. An interesting letter from George Divers to Thomas Jefferson
in 1809 gives an idea of one man's preferences for several of
the root crops. "I sow 200 feet each of parsnip and beet.
320 feet each salsafy and carrots…which is a very ample
provision for my table and indeed, more than sufficient."
Carrots (Daucus carota) have probably been known and used since
prehistoric times. The wild carrot of Europe is white and branched
and was originally used as a medicinal plant and perhaps as a
fragrance herb. The purple and yellow varieties seem to originate
in Afghanistan. The yellow or carotene carrot appears to be a
mutant of the more common purple or anthocyanin carrot (Evolution
of Crop Plants, Simmonds, 1995). The purple and the yellow carrots
were not as bitter as the white carrot of Europe and these types
form the earliest culinary carrots. It is from the yellow carrot
that all modern varieties arise. In later years the French, in
particular, develop very sweet forms of the white carrot, which
are probably better known in Europe than in this country. In Williamsburg,
John Randolph records in A Treatise on Gardening (1793); "there
are two sortes, the Orange and white, the former being generally
used, tho' the latter is much the sweetest kind." This is
taken from Philip Miller's, The Gardeners Dictionary, written
in England and from which Randolph borrows heavily and reflects
a European rather than American sentiment as the orange carrot
is almost exclusively used in this country.
The early history of the carrot in Europe is difficult to trace
because the carrot and the parsnip both carry the name Pastinaca
by Roman writers. This probably derives from the Latin verb pastinare,
"to dig up" although it has also been speculated that
it comes from the Latin noun pastinum, which was a two pronged
dibble. In the first century AD Pliny, in his Natural History,
describes a root; "resembling a pastinac asomewhat, called
by us Gallicam, but by the Greeks daucon." The modern genus
name Daucus derives from the Greek daucon while the species, carota,
derives from the Latin word of the same name. The Dioscoridae
Pharmacorum, written by Dioscorides in the first century AD and
translated by Ruellius in 1529 uses carota to refer to Pastinaca
silvestris. Pliny's description of the root as Gallicam may indicate
that the improved, or less bitter carrot had its source in modern
day France. This carrot is distinguished by Galen as Daucus pastinaca
in the second century AD when he writes that the wild carrot is
less fit to be eaten than the domestic sort (Edible Plants of
the World, Sturevant, 1919). Apicus Czclius who writes a book
on cookery title De Re Coquin in 230 AD is one of the first to
adopt the word Carota to the plant.
The Roman carrot was almost certainly the white form of the root
and as the wild carrot is native throughout much of Europe it
was likely used by Europeans from a very early date. The Capitulare
de Villis, prepared for Charlemagne around 800 AD includes carrots.
The white carrot may have been carried to England by the Romans
in the 2nd century AD and archeological excavations at the Viking
settlement at Jorvile, (modern York) England has uncovered evidence
of what may be carrot seeds. Aelfric, who writes a Latin vocabulary
in England in 995 cites carrots. The purple carrot has probably
been known in Afghanistan since 5000 BC and Eqyptian tomb illustrations
from 2000 BC show what appears to be a purple carrot. The Egyptian
king Merodach-Baladan has what may be a carrot listed among scented
herbs from the 8th century BC so it is possible that the first
use of the carrot was not as a culinary plant but rather as a
fragrance or medicinal herb.
It has long been held that Moorish invaders first brought the
purple, and perhaps yellow, carrot to Spain in the 12th century
and the purple is recorded in France and Germany by the 13th century.
However, an illustrated English translation of Dioscorides' manuscript
from late in the eleventh century titled De virtutibus bestiarum
in arte medicinae show what appears to be a purple carrot but
little definitive evidence for the carrot, as a culinary plant,
in England has been found until the 16th century. A Feat of Gardening
by Master John Gardener (c 1400) does not list carrots among the
vegetables he describes but Fromonds, Herbys necessary for a gardyn
by letter (c. 1500) does include "karettes." Turners,
The Names of Herbes (1548) writes; "Pastinaca is called…in
englishe a Carot…Carettes growe in al countreis in plenty."
In France, Ruellius in De natura stirpium (1536) describes purple
and red carrots and in Germany, Fuchs, in De historia stirpiumm
(1542) illustrates red and yellow carrots, although the red is
definitely shaded towards purple. The half-long carrot, which
eventually becomes the horn carrot, is first described by Matthiolus
in Commentarii secuno (1558).
By the 17th century both the purple and yellow carrot are well
established in England. John Gerard writes in the Herball (1597);
"The root is long, thicke and single, of a faire yellow colour,
pleasant to be eaten, and very sweet in taste. There is another
kind hereof like to the former in all parts, and differeth from
it only in the colour of the root, which in this is not yellow,
but of a blackish red colour." This seems to indicate that
the yellow carrot starts to replace the purple by the beginning
of the 17th century. After this time there is a development of
many colors and shapes. Parkinson writes in Paradisi in sol (1629);
"the roote is round and long, thicke above and small below,
wither red or yellow, eyther shorter of longer, according to his
kinde; for there is one kinde, whose roote is wholly red quite
throughout; another whose root is red without for a pretty way
inward, but the middle is yellow." He describes several yellow
varieties with both long and short roots saying that one of the
long yellow varieties is; "of a deepe gold yellow colour,
and is the best."
The evolution of the orange carrot is confusing
because the color cited by various authors as either orange or
yellow are not always reliable. One of the earliest references
to the orange carrot in Europe comes from the Menagier of Paris
who, in the 14th century, writes a series of instructions for
his wife. The carrot at this time was apparently fairly new to
the market for he feels it is necessary to describes for her how
one may recognize the carrot and adds that they are either white
or orange. This is carrot would probably be considered yellow today.
The Dutch develop the orange carrot, which we are familiar with
today, from the yellow carrot in the early 17th century. Popular
legend has it that the orange carrot was developed as a tribute
to the House of Orange, or the royal Dutch family, but it is
more likely that the impetus behind the development of the orange
varieties was that they would not give the purple brown coloration
to soups that the more ancient purple varieties would. The orange
carrot is introduced to England from Holland in the late 17th
century (Weaver, Heirloom Vegetable Gardening, 1997). The earliest
orange carrots had a long tapered root but by 1740 the Early Horn
carrot is developed in Holland. This is a shorter carrot that
terminates in a blunt point rather than the long tapered point
of earlier carrots. By 1763 carrots were classed as one of four
varieties. The long orange, and the three varieties of Horn carrot;
Late Half Long, Early Half Long and Early Scarlet Horn. The modern
carrots all derive from these four types (Simmonds, Evolution
of Crop Plants, 1995).
By the 18th century the orange carrot is the primary variety
grown for the table though other varieties are known. Stephen
Switzer records in The Practical Kitchen Gardiner (1727) yellow
or Sandwich, red and orange carrots. Bradley, in the Dictionarium
Botanicum (1728) writes;"we have four or five Sorts of 'em,
but I esteem the Orange-Carrot, and a kind which they have in
the Isle of Wight, to be the best; besides which, we have the
white Carrot, which one would not be without for the Rarity of
it." Even in the 18th century the confusion over color descriptions
persist in that yellow often seems to mean what we would call
orange and red seems to refer to purple. For example, in Batty
Langley's New Principles of Gardening (1728) he describes the
two primary varieties of carrots this way: "Yellow Carrots…The
root is of an Orange (rather than a limon) Colour." He also
records that the root of this carrot is 22" long and 12 ½"
in diameter. The red carrot he describes as; "its Root of
a Blackish red without, and yellowish within; and is very seldom
cultivated in our Gardens." This is probably in reference
to the purple carrot, which by this time is disappearing in England.
By 1768, when Philip Miller writes in The Gardeners Dictionary;
"the Orange Carrot is generally esteemed in London, where
the yellow and the white Carrots are seldom cultivated."
Carrots are introduced to Virginia with the first colonists.
They are recorded by Whitacker, Good Newes from Virginia (1612),
Berkeley, A Perfect Description of Virginia (1649), Bannister's
Natural History (1681) and Glover's An Account of Virginia (1688).
By the 18th century the orange carrot is the primary garden carrot
of Virginia, the most common sorts being the Long Orange and the
Horn. In Philadelphia, Bernard McMahon records in American Gardener's
Calendar (1806); "There are several varieties, of the garden
carrot; differing in the colour of their roots; such as orange,
white, yellow and dark red. There is another variety called the
horn-carrot, differing in the form of its root, the lower part
terminating in a round, abrupt manner, and not tapering off gradually,
like the others; this is the earliest sort, is of an orange colour,
and very delicious; and should always been sown for the a first
crop. The long orange carrot, is the best for a principle crop."
While always a popular crop, Americans never develop the sophisticated
taste for carrots that the Europeans do. In 1865 Fearing Burr
records in Field and Garden Vegetables of America; "though
not relished by all palates, carrots are extensively employed
for culinary purposes." Henderson writes of carrots in Gardening
for Profit (1867);"This may be classed more as a crop of
the farm than the garden, as a far larger area is grown for the
food of horses and cattle than for culinary purposes."
Varieties that we can still obtain today that would best approximate
the 18th century carrot are the Scarlet Horn and the Long Orange.
A small presence of white carrots in the homes of gentry or experimental
gardeners would lend variety.
There has been much speculation over the years about the ancestral
home of the radish (Raphanus sativus). Early writers give the
near east as it place of origin and as late as 1928 a study done
in Japan by Sinskaja concluded that the near east was the likely
home of the radish. This has since been disputed by later studies
showing a greater diversity of the wild forms in China. There
is a wide diversity of the wild forms of Raphunus raphanistrum,
maritimus and landra that occur between the Mediterranean and
Caspian Sea so it is possible that it evolved in both the near
east and China (Evolution of Crops Plants, Simmonds, 1995). Egyptian
tomb illustrations from 2000 BC may show black skinned radishes
and the Greek Historian Herodotus (648 - 625 BC) writes of the
radish being known to the early Egyptians but this has been called
into question in recent years (Heirloom Vegetable Gardening, Weaver,
1997). Whatever their origin, the ancient Greeks knew at least
three varieties of radish and they were esteemed as the most important
of the root crops. In offerings to Apollo at Delphi, turnips were
presented on lead platters, beets on silver ones and radish on
gold (History of Cultivated Vegetables, Phillips, 1822). The Greek
physician Moshion wrote an entire book on the radish. Columela,
in De re Rustica from the first century AD names the radish, radicula,
from the Latin radix, or root.
Radishes were, perhaps, the most common of all root crops in
Europe after the Roman period and are listed by virtually all
references. The Capitulare de Villis (800AD), prepared in modern
day France lists radish. The Hortulus written by the Benedictine
monk Walahfrid Strabo "Wahahfrid the squint-eyed"(c.809-848)
written in modern day Germany says under Radix; "Here in
the last row of all, the radish - roots itself strongly and raises
its leaves in a broad canopy. Chew the root - though it's rather
hot - to check a spasm of coughing." In England the radish
is recorded in Aelfric's Latin Vocabulary (995), Alexander Neckam's
De Naturis Rerum (1200) and Friar Henry Daniel's De re Herbaria
(1375). Master Jon Gardiner lists Radish in the Feat of Gardening
(c. 1400) and it is included in Fromonds Herbys necessary for
a garden by letter under Also Rotys for a gardyn (c.1500). By
1577 Thomas Hill writes in The Gardener's Labyrinth; "The
Garden Radish with us, is better knowne, then I with pen can utter."
The earliest use of the radish was as a medicinal plant and it
continued to be recommended for its medicinal properties through
the 18th century. Leonard Fuchs writes in De historia stirpium
(1545); "Some people eat not only the stalk but the radishes
themselves boiled with it, like beets. Moreover, I am surprised
at the doctors, as well as ignorant laymen, who at dinner eat
them raw to aid digestion…no one can follow their example
without injury." In England, Thomas Hill records in The Gardener's
Labyrinth (1577) a long list of ailments that the radish will
cure and adds; "Tarentnius denieth that any can be harmed
of a serpent, if the person afore be anointed with the juyce of
a Radish, or that he hath eaten of the Radish...if any anointeth
the hands circumspectly with the juyce of the Radish, he may after
handle Scorpions, or any other venomous thing without danger."
The earliest radishes as well as those common in the 18th century
were generally long rooted, much like a carrot and generally white.
The white seems to be the earliest form used for culinary purposes.
Some of these radishes were of tremendous size. Pliny talks of
radishes that weigh 40 pounds in the first century AD. Fuchs writes
in De historia stirpium (1545); "I remember seeing radishes
of stupendous size at Erfurt, the famous city of Thuringia."
Hill writes in The Gardener's Labyrinth (1577); "In Germany
hath sometimes been seen a Radish, which grew in compasse so big
as an infants middle."
The round rooted radish seems to reach England in the second
half of the 16th century. William Turner writes in the Names of
Herbes (1548); "There are two kindes of radice, the one is
the commune radice with the longe roote…the other kynde
hath a rounde roote lyke a rape…the former kynde groweth
communely in Englande, but I have sene the seconde kynde no where
els onely in high Almany" (Germany). The Black rooted radish
also reaches England in the 16th century. Henry Lyte records in
the1586 English translation of Dodoens Herball; "The radish
with a black root has of late years been brought into England
and now biginnith to be common." By the time Gerard publishes
his Herball in 1597 there are several varieties of radish in England.
"There be sundrie sorts of Radish, whereof some be long and
white; others long and blacke; some round and white; others round,
or of the forme of a peare, and blacke of colour." He lists
and illustrates four sorts that seem to be the most common.
· "Garden Radish - leaves like a turnip but larger
with a root that is long and white."
· "Small Garden Radish - like the first sort in all
ways but smaller; except a little that sheweth it selfe above
ground of a reddish colour."
· "Radish with a round root - The root is round and
firme, nothing waterish like the common Radish, more pleasant
in taste."
·"The Radish with a root fashioned like a pear - of
a bright reddish colour." This is also a stronger, hotter
radish than the others.
John Parkinson, in Paradisi in Sol (1629) writes;"There
are two principall kindes of Garden Raddish, the one is blackish
on the outside, and the other white." Of the white radish
he writes; "the roote is long, white and of a reddish purple
colour on the outside toward the top of it, and of a sharpe biting
taste." Of the black he writes; "I have had brought
me out of the Countries, where they sell them in some places by
the pound and is accounted with them a rare winter sallet."
His illustration of this radish shows a pear shaped root, probably
the same as Gerard's, and after this the black radish becomes
the winter radish of later authors. He is also the first to mention
the propensity of the black radish of reverting to the white form,
which is recorded by many later authors. These become the common
Black and White Spanish radishes listed in all later works. The
trend towards a redder radish with smaller leaves, or the later
short-topped radish, begins with the red topped varieties of the
ordinary long white radish. John Evelyn writes in The Compleat
Gard'ner (1693), a translation of the French work by De la Quintinye
that seed should be saved only from those plants that have the
Reddest roots and fewest leaves. The round or turnip rooted radish
seems to be known from an early date but is never as common as
the long rooted radish during the 18th century. Stephen Switzer
writes in Practical Kitchen Gardiner (1727); "the round rooted
radish is not very plentiful in England. I had some seed from
Holland, about seven or eight years ago, and it is indeed a much
better kind that the common radish," observing that it is
not as hot and keeps better, by some call'd Hanover radishes,
in allusion to its turnep shape.
By 1768 Philip Miller, in The Gardeners Dictionary, describes
many varieties of radish including; "the smaller oblong or
common radish which includes the small topped, deep red, pale
red or Salmon and long topped striped." He also lists the
Round rooted or Naples or small round, Greater round called Turnep
rooted or White Spanish and Black Spanish. He writes that the
Spanish are used primarily as medicinal radishes. The Rev. William
Hanbury, in A Complete body of planting and gardening (1770) lists;
"Short Topped, Long Topped, Deep Red, Salmon, Sandwich, Turnep,
White Spanish and Black Spanish," observing that the last
two are the least planted. He also recommends that; "Radish
pods…are accounted excellent pickles."
There is some
confusion as to the difference between the Turnep and Spanish
radishes. Miller equates the Turnep radish and the White Spanish
while other authors record them as distinct varieties. Both are
used as winter radishes. By 1822 when Henry Phillips writes the
History of cultivated vegetables the turnep radish is described
as the Scarlet Turnip as distinct from the black and white forms
of the Spanish radish. The red topped turnip radish seems to arise late in the 18th century and is advertised in the Newport Mercury (Rhode Island) newspaper by Mary Dunbar as the “Red turnip rooted radish.” The Scarlet turnip radish available today is a
red radish with a large red root shading to white at the bottom.
In this country it is curious that the radish is not often included
in the early accounts of imported vegetables. "Raddish"
is included in Ralph Hamor's A true Discourse of the present State
of Virginia (1615) and it was almost certainly an early introduction
given its great popularity in England. By the 18th century it
is represented as frequently and in greater variety than the carrot
in the above survey of Virginia references. The varieties listed
in Virginia, in the 18th and early 19th century are very similar
to those known in England. In Williamsburg, Randolph lists, in
A Treatise on Gardening (1793), the "Scarlet or Salmon, London
short topped &c." as well a "Turnep Radish, being
very like one, called in England the round rooted radish."
In Washington DC, Gardener and Hepburn record in American Gardener
(1804); short top'd, salmon, turnip-rooted (white and red), Black
and White Spanish. In Philadelphia Bernard McMahon records in
American Gardener's Calendar (1806); Early Frame, Early Purple,
Short-top, Salmon Short-top, Common Salmon, White Short-top, White
Turnep-rooted, Red Turnep-rooted, White Winter Radish, Black Winter
do, White Naples, &c.
The Scarlet, Salmon and Short-topped
radishes are the most frequently cited radishes in the above survey. These are all long slender roots as described by Gardener and
Hepburn in American Gardener (1804) under instructions for saving
seed where they write; "choose long straight roots with short
tops, the roots of a pale red colour." Fearing Burr, in Field
and Garden Vegetables of America (1865), describes the Long Scarlet
Radish (syn. Early Scarlet, Short-Top, Early Frame) as; "of
a beautiful, deep-pink color, becoming paler towards the lower
extremity." This radish is 7 - 8" long with a 5/8 -
¾" diameter at its broadest dimension and is l
the most commonly cultivated radish in Americaat that time.. He also states that the Long Salmon is generally
considered as synonymous with the Long Scarlet although he feels
it is distinct in being of a paler red color.
Most of the long radish varieties have
disappeared. The Long Scarlet Radish
is still available although that offered
by seed companies today is a red throughout.
While most 18th century descriptions
of this radish seem to agree with Burr’s
description as red at the top and becoming
paler towards the bottom, the Radish
illustrated in Elizabeth Blackwell’s
Hebarium Blackwellianum published
between 1750 and 1773 shows a radish
that is a deep red throughout. The Long
Scarlet "Cincinnati" offered
through Seed Savers Exchange is a long,
slender red radish that becomes paler
towards the base and is probably the
best approximation to the 18th century
radish available today.
The small, round radishes we are familiar
with today are not known in the 18th
century. Philip Miller writes in The
Gardeners Dictionary (1754);"The
small round-rooted Radish is not very
common in England; but in many Parts
of Italy it is the only short cultivated."
This is apparently a larger radish than
the modern types as he describes them
as being as large as a small turnip.
He also adds that; "The other round-rooted
Radishes are rarely cultivated in England."
Robert Squibb records in The Gardener's
Calendar for the Carolinas and Georgia
(1787) a small round radish which is
probably the same as Miller's variety.
Radishes that likely resemble the 18th
century Turnip Radish are still available
and probably very much like the 18th
century radish. Bernard McMahon describes
the Turnip Radish in American Gardener’s
Calendar (1806) as being; white
and red, but the former is preferable
to sow for the general supply: it grows
like a young Dutch turnep, is very mild,
agreeable to eat, and of early perfection.
The white form of the turnip radish
seems to have disappeared but the German
Bier Radish makes a very large, turnip
shaped white root that is probably similar
in appearance. The Scarlet Turnip Radish
available today has a red top fading
to white at the bottom and is also probably
similar to the 18th century root.
The Black Spanish radish is still available
in both the round and the oblong forms.
These, while not nearly as popular as
the above, make a very good winter radish.
The longer variety is the most ancient
and probably the most common form in
18th century Virginia but the rounder
or turnip rooted form is known by at
least the second half of the 18th century
in England.
The parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) is a native to Europe and Western
Asia (Evolution of Crop Plants, Simmonds, 1995). Legend has it
that the Roman Emperor Tiberius (14 - 37AD) got them as tribute
from Germany although this has also been ascribed to the Skirret.
While not as important as the radish to the Romans it was very
well known from at least the first century AD. The primitive parsnip
had a much smaller and woodier root than the later varieties and
the woody core of the plant was discarded in the prepartion of
the root for the table. Because the name Pastinaca was used for
both the carrot and the parsnip it is difficult to tell them apart
in Roman writings. Evidence of parsnips have been found in the
excavations of Swiss lake dwellings from the Stone Age and it
seems to be from the area of Switzerland and Germany that the
parsnip evolves in Europe although genetic evidence points to
the Italian peninsula as the home of the early parsnip (Heirloom
Vegetable Garening, Weaver, 1997). A plan for the Abby garden
at St. Gall, Switzerland (800), probably prepared by Abbot Haito
of Reichenau, shows what is likely a bed of parsnips although
it could also represent carrots.
The first definitive evidence for parsnips in Europe comes from
France in 1393 (Heirloom Vegetable Gardening, Weaver, 1997). Fuchs
seems to give contradictory accounts of the parsnip in Germany
when he records in the Historia stirpium (1542);"It grows
plentifully in Germany. Loves cold places," and then in the
following year, 1543, he records in the New Herbal; "Planted
in gardens but not yet common in Germany." Again, it is possible
that the second reference is for the carrot. In England, the Latin
Vocabulary written by the monk Aelfric (995) seems to include
parsnip. Fromonds, Herbys necessary for a garden (c. 1500), under
"Rotys," lists "Persenepez." William Turner
in the New Herball, first published in 1551 writes; "Persnepes,
and skirwortes are commune in Engalnde." By 1683 Worlridge
writes in Systema horti-culturae that the parsnip is a great favorite
and "a delicate, sweet food."
The parsnip does not develop into multiple varieties as does
the carrot and radish and for the most part authors list only
a single variety. However, John Parkinson, in Paradisi in Sol
(1629) records; "There is another sort of garden Parsnep,
called the Pine Parsnep, that is not common in every Garden…the
root is not so long, but thicker at the head and smaller below."
This was a plant he received from John Tradescant the Elder and
he says it is not as pleasant as the common sort. This is probably
the same as the parsnip advertised in William Lucas's catalog,
Lucas att the Naked Boy near Strand Bridge, London (1677) as the
"Swelling Parsnip." There are not many references to
this variety but as late as 1780 Gordon's nursery catalog in London
lists a swelling parsnip along with the common parsnip. By the
19th century several varieties of parsnip are developed but according
to Peter Henderson, in Gardening for Profit (1867);"A number
of varieties of Parsnips are enumerated in seed lists, but the
distinctions, as far as I have seen, are hardly worth a difference
in name."
The parsnip is brought to America with the first colonists. A
true declaration of the estate of the Colonie in Virginia, published
in London in 1610 lists the parsnip as among the food plants grown
by the colonists at Jamestown. In Williamsburg, Randolph gives
us two pieces of advice in A Treatise on Gardening (1793) that
are recognized by gardeners to this day. "They are not
sweet till bit by the frosts, and, Seed are not to be trusted
after a year old." While parsnips are listed by all authors
as an important and nourishing root I think it is safe to say
that they are never as universally popular as the radish and carrot.
This is particularly true today for the same reason given by the
Rev. William Hanbury in A Complete body of planting and gardening
(1770); "It is exceedingly wholesome; but possessed of such
a physical sweetness, that very few relish it."
The hollow crown parsnip is the variety universally grown today
and the only variety commonly available. It was developed in England
in the 1820's and differs from the 18th century parsnip in being
somewhat shorter with a sunken crown where the leaves emerge.
Fearing Burr, in Field and Garden Vegetables of America (1865)
describes the Common, Dutch or Swelling Parsnip as a root from
twenty to thirty inches in length, and from three to four inches
in diameter at the shoulder. The hollow crown parsnip typically
produces a root of about eighteen inches long.
Salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius) is a curious plant that seems
to fall in and out of favor several times over the course of history.
It is a European native of ancient cultivation, recorded by the
Greek writer Theophrastus (372 - 288 BC) and the Roman writers
Pliny (23 -79 AD) and Dioscorides (40 - 90 AD). There are several
species of Tragopogon native to Europe that go by the name of
Goats Beard. The yellow flowered T. pratensis was apparently the
first species used as a culinary plant, both for its roots and
young stems that are eaten like asparagus. This is the plant identified
by William Turner in The Names of Herbes (1548) as the "Barba
Hirci." He writes that it; "groweth in fieldes about
London plentuously…the duch herbe hath some bitternes in
the roote…but oures is swete…therefore oures is the
better herbe. It maye be called in englishe gotes bearde."
The purple flowered form was apparently developed in Italy in
the 16th century and introduced to England in the 17th century
(The Kitchen Garden, Stuart, 1984).
One of the earliest descriptions that seems to differentiate
between the cultivated purple variety from the wild T. pratensis
comes in Jacques Dalechamp's Historia generalis (1587). Gerard,
in the Herball (1597) describes the yellow flowered Goats Beard
or "Go to bed at noone" (an archaic name taken from
the fact that the flowers close by noon) and also the purple saying
it; "growes not wild in England that I could ever see or
heare of, except in Lancashire upon the banks of the river Chalder…grown
in gardens as an ornamental everywhere." As a culinary root
he observes that boiled in water; "are a most pleasant and
wholesome meate, in delicate taste farre surpassing either Parsenep
or Carrot." Parkinson, in Paradisi in Sol (1629) lists the
common Goats Beard with the yellow flower, observing, "of
a very good and pleasant taste," and then lists two other
varieties. "The other two kindes…the one with a purple
flower, and the other with an ash-coloured, have such rootes as
these here described and may serve also to the same purpose, being
of equall goodnesse." By the 18th century Bradley in Dictionarium
botanicum (1728) lists several varieties of common Goats Beard
with both yellow and purple flowers, a purple flowered form he
calls "Goatsbeard of Naples and a Rose-colour'd Goatsbeart…of
a pale-purplish Blush Colour, near unto a Damask-rose" In
The Gardeners Dictionary (1754), Philip Miller writes; "Goats
Beard with a leaf like Leeks, and a purple-blue Flower, commonly
call'd Salsaffy, or Sassafy…was formerly more in Esteem
than at present; this was brought from Italy, and cultivated in
Gardens for Kitchen-use, the Roots being by some People greatly
valued: but of late there is but little cultivated for the Markets."
A similar root, Scorzonera (Scorzonera hispanica) comes into
common usage in the late 17th century. John Evelyn, in the English
translation of De la Quintinye's, Compleat Gard'ner (1693) writes;
"Spanish Salsifie, or Sassifie, otherwhise Scorzonere, is
one of our chiefest Roots…Common Salsifie…is not altogether
so very excellent." Switzer, in Practical Kitchen Gardiner
(1727), writes; "The Scorzonera (by original a Spaniard)
has of late met with great entertainment at the tables of the
curious. The Scozonera has its name from a viper or serpent, called
in Spain Scorzo." This plant also goes by the name of vipers
grass in England. Scorzonera was used in Spain from a very early
date. A Spanish derivation of Fuchs's Historia Stirpium titled
Historia de yervas, y planta (1557) includes scorzonera, which
is not found in the German work by Fuchs. Batty Langley in New
Principles of Gardening (1728) lists scorzornera but not salsify.
The early records of Virginia, that I can find, do not list Salsafy
among the root crops although it was likely found in a few 17th
century gardens, given its well known usage in England. In 18th
century Williamsburg it is found in the garden writings of both
John Randolph and Joseph Prentis. Thomas Jefferson is apparently
quite fond of the plant for in a 1812 letter to Charles Clay he
writes; " I do not remember to have seen Salsafia in your
garden, & yet it is one of the best roots for winter. Some
call it oyster plant." Oyster plant is commonly used to describe
the plant today for when breaded and fried it has a distinctly
oyster-like flavor. Bernard McMahon describes it in American Gardener's
Calendar (1806) as; "the salsafy is estimable both for its
roots as above, and for the young shoots rising in the spring
from year-old plants, being gathered while green and tender, are
good to boil and eat in the manner of asparagus. Some have carried
their fondness for it so far, as to call it a vegetable oyster."
A further indication of its history of falling in and out of favor,
particulary in comparison to the scorzonera is found in Peter
Henderson's Gardening for Profit (1867); "This vegetable
is coming rapidly into general use…As this vegetable will
be unknown to many, I will state that it is used in various ways,
but generally boiled, or stewed, like Parsnips or Carrots…has
a decided flavor of the Oyster." In contrast he says of Scorzonera
or the Black Salsify; "It is not, however, so generally esteemed
as the Oyster Plant."
Some of the references that seem to point to salsafy and scorzonera
falling in and out of fashion may reflect individual tastes of
the author. This was likely true among residents of Williamburg
in the 18th century so that for our use, the salsafy should have
less of a presence in our gardens than the carrot, radish or parsnip.
I can find no reference to scorzonera in 18th century Virginia.
The Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas) is a native of South America
and was evidently introduced to Polynesia from there at a very
early date. A legend among the Maori people of New Zealand says
that it first arrived on log boats. The evidence for sweet potatoes
on Easter Island was a primary argument by Thor Heyerdahl in his
theory that Easter Island and perhaps other Polynesian nations
were colonized by ancient peoples from South America. DNA evidence
seems to dispute this but the presence of the Sweet Potato on
Easter Island as a staple for the ancient Rapanui as well as a
long oral tradition for the Sweet Potato in the South Seas Islands
seems to suggest that there was contact with South America by
seafaring people.
The use of the sweet potato by the English in Virginia predates
the use of the white potato by at least one hundred years and
probalby longer. This is a source of much confusion among historians
and botanists who often mistake references to the sweet potato
for the white potato in 17th century Virginia. The Rev. John Bannister
records in the Natural History (1681); "We have potatoes,
white and red (I mean those you call Spanish ones) as for the
Virginia kind, I have not seen it in this country, nor can I hear
any news of it, though it be common in your European Gardens.
I am sure the Barbadians & other inhabitants of the Caribbe
Islands do not make their drink called Mobby of it: therefore
that note of Mr. Rays should be transferred from the Solanum tuberosum
esculentum to the Convolvulus Indicus Batatas dictus; for that
is it which both we and they send." John Ray is the foremost
English plant taxonomist of the 17th century and Bannister is
referring to a reference in Ray's Historia Plantarum, vol II.
The curious use of the name Virginia Potato to refer to the white
potato comes from Johnson's edition of Gerard's Herball (1633)
in which the white potato is called the Virginia Potato while
the Sweet Potato is simply called Potato. Gerard, himself, seems
to confuse the two for he gives "Skyrrets of Peru" as
a synonym for the sweet potato whereas the potato of Peru would
certainly be the white, or what he calls, Virginia Potato. The
sweet potato is difficult to grow in the English climate but Gerard
says; "The Potato roots are among the Spaniards, Italians,
Indians, [from India] and many other nations common and ordinarie
meate." The sweet potato was described, and perhaps collected
by Columbus and the Spaniards adopted it at a very early date
and introduced its culture throughout Southern Europe. The Portuguese
likely introduced the sweet potato to India where it was picked
up by Malay traders and introduced, or re-introduced, to South-east
Asia and Indonesia.
Parkinson, in Paradisi in Sol (1629) calls the sweet potato "The
Spanish kinde," which becomes its common name with most authors
after this time. It may be the sweet potato that Falstaff refers
to in The Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) when he says; "Let
the skie raine Potatoes…haile-kissing Comfits." Both
Gerard, in the Herball (1597) and Williams Coles in Adam in Eden;
or, nature's Paradise (1657) record the virtue of sweet potatoes
for provoking lust and the sweet potato was used for forming kissing
comfits in the 17th century (History of Cultivated Vegetables,
Phillips, 1822). Most English authors list the sweet potato but
as it is difficult plant to cultivate in England most sweet potatoes
available for use are imported. Philip Miller writes in The Gardeners
Dictionary (1754) that the sweet potato is cultivated in Spain
and Portugal and shipped to England; "and are by some Persons
greatly esteemed; tho' in general they are not so well liked as
the common Potato, being too sweet and luscious for most Palates."
Robert Beverly, in The History and Present State of Virginia
(1705) lists the sweet potato as one of the plants "our Natives
had originally amongst them" and writes as though he is not
very familiar with the white potato. "Their [the Natives]
Potatoes are either red or white, about as long as a Boy's Leg,
and sometimes as long and big as both the Leg and Thigh of a young
Child, and very much resembling it in Shape. I take these Kinds
to be the same with those, which are represented in the Herbals,
to be Spanish Potatoes. I am sure, those call'd English or Irish
Potatoes are nothing like these, either in Shape, Colour, or Taste."
The sweet potato is not listed by any of the Virginia references
cited above but it would probably not have been sold in stores
because it is propagated from slips or cuttings rather than seed.
This makes it difficult to judge its popularity as a garden or
field crop. It is certainly well known in the 17th century. Captain
Newport, in The Description of the New Discovered River (1607)
observes that the provisions available to the colonists are; "likewise
potatoes, pumpious & millions." Governor Berkeley writes
in A Perfect Description of Virginia (1648); "That they have
roots of several kinds, potatoes, etc." In 1669 Berkeley
receives a directive from King Charles II to send a 300 ton ship
laden with; "silk, hemp, flax & potatoes." In all
of these cases it is almost certainly the sweet potato that is
referred to. In the Journal of Francis Michel, a Swiss traveler
who visits the Tidewater region of Virginia in 1702, he records;
"there are potatoes in great quantities." In all of these cases it is almost certainly the sweet potato that is referred to.
William Byrd II, in his Natural History (c.1730) lists "many
species of potatoes." There were several different varieties
of sweet potatoes available to the colonists. Philip Georg Friedrich
von Reck, a German immigrant to Georgia records in 1735-1736;
"Sweet potatoes are a kind of West Indian potato. They are
white, red or yellow and are cut into pieces and planted in earth
that has been piled up about a hand's breadth deep...The sweet
potatoes are sweet and healthy, and, when roasted in the ashes,
they can be used in the place of bread." Landon Carter does
not list sweet potatoes in his diaries but Jefferson in his Notes
on the State of Virginia (1782) says that both long (sweet) and
round (white) potatoes are cultivated. Bernard McMahon gives instructions
for cultivating the sweet potato in American Gardener's Calendar
(1806) and adds the interesting, and at least partially erroneous,
history that it is a native of both the Indies and China; "But
it is affirmed that it was unknown in the Philippine and Molucca
islands, before the Spaniards brought it there. It was first brought
into Spain from the West-Indies, or Spanish Main, and was there
cultivated, long before the Solanum tuberosum, or common potatoe,
was known in Europe."
The white potato (Solanum tuberosum) has more legends and myths
attached to its introduction to England and North America than
any other food crop. It is a native of South America and wild
forms are still found in Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Ecuador. Wild
forms of potato are bitter and contain toxic properties that were
apparently selected out by native peoples at a very early date.
Potato skins were found within a hearth at an archeological site
in Chile dating to 11,000 BC. Sites in Peru from around 5,000
BC show evidence of the potato used as a culinary plant and it
was probably on the high Andean plateau of Bolivia and Peru that
the potato was developed. The first European contact with the
Potato seems to come from a Spanish raiding party at the headwaters
of the Rio Magdalena in Columbia in 1537 where the Spanish found
stores of maize, beans and what the Spanish originally called
truffles. This became know by the Spanish as papa, taken from
the Quechua word for potato. The English "Potato" comes
from the Indian word for the sweet potato, batata.
The first European description of the potato is found in the
Spanish Conquistador Pedro Cieza de Leon's work Chronicle of Peru
(1553). By 1573 the inventory of a Spanish Hospital in Seville
includes sacks of potatoes, which seems, by the Spanish translation
to refer to white potatoes and from Spain the potato is disseminated
throughout Europe. Carmelite friars take the potato from Spain
into Italy and from there it spreads to the rest of Europe. A
1588 illustration of "Papas Peruanum" prepared by the
Plantin Prss in Antwerp, possibly for inclusion in the Clusius
watercolors, clearly shows a white potato.
There are many legends about how the potato was introduced to
the British Isle. One account says that Sir John Hawkins found
the potato on Margarita Island off the coast of present day Venezuela
in 1564 and records that it is; "the most delicate rootes
that may be eaten, and doe far exceede parsnips or carets."
Another accounts says that Hawkins found the potato in Santa Fe
de Bogata in 1565 and returned them to Ireland. Another has it
that Sir Francis Drake, after sacking Cartegena in 1586 returns
with potatoes, which are given to Raleigh who then plants them
on his Irish Estates or that Raleigh acquires them himself and
plants them at his Irish estate at Youghall in 1585. In the Drake
Manuscripts or Histoire des Indes there are three illustrations
of "Patates" probably done by French Huguenotrs who
accompanied him to the West Indies in the 1590's. While the illustrations
do not include foliage for identification, the third illustration
has an explanation that reads; "The Indians make them into
a beverage; after having boiled them in water, they squeeze them
out with their hands, and they get drunk as with wine." This
almost certainly in reference to the popular drink called Mobby
by the English which is made from the sweet potato. Jefferson
credits Raleigh with discovering them in Guiana and introducing
the potato to Ireland. In the minutes of the Royal Society from
Dec. 13, 1693, President Sir Robert Southwell says that it was
his grandfather who first brought the potato to Ireland, which
he received from Sir Walter Raleigh. A local Irish legend has
it that ships from the Spanish Armarda foundered off the coast
of Ireland with potatoes on board which were collected by the
Irish peasants and planted in the counties of Kerry and Cork.
Regardless of how the potato reached the British Isle it is certain
that it was in Ireland that they were first propagated. It is
apparently of minor importance to the Irish until the middle of
the 17th century when the general rebellion results in wide spread
hunger. An acre of potatoes produced more calories than an acre
of wheat and potatoes were less likely to be stolen by the British
forces than was wheat. The white potato is introduced to England
early in the 17th century. Busoni, chaplain to the Venetian Ambassador
in London records potatoes large and white in 1618 but, as in
Ireland, they take a while to become accepted by the general public.
Parkinson writes in Paradisi in Sol (1629); "The Potatoes
of Virginia…which some foolishly call the Apples of youth…are
rounder and much smaller than the former [sweet potatoes]…but
not altogether so pleasant." In 1663 Mr. Buckland, in an
address to the Royal Society, recommends planting the potato in
all parts of the kingdom to prevent famine but it is not until
the first quarter of the 18th century that the potato becomes
common in England. In 1708, Motimer records in Gardener's Kalender;
"The root is very near the nature of the Jerusalem artichoke,
although no so good and wholesome, but it may prove good to swine."
Richard Bradley writes in Dictionarium Botanicum (1728); "Potatoes
and Jerusalem Artichokes are Roots of less note than any I have
yet mention'd; but as they are not without their Admirers, so
I shall not pass by the Method or their Culture in Silence."
In contrast, the year before Bradley's work is published, Stephen
Switzer writes in Practical Kitchen Gardiner (1727); "the
potatoe, or batatta is propagated by the Irish, and from them…by
us here in England. The great produce and profit that arises from
these roots, cause many fields in and about London, and the West,
to be planted with them." In 1728, Batty Langley records
in New Principles of Gardening; "To describe Potatoes would
be a needless Work, seeing that they are now very well known by
most (if not every) Person in England." Langley is also one
of the first to describe individual varieties of potato.
· "white kidney Potatoe…which is the true form
of a Sheep or Hogs kidney"
· "white round Potatoe, like the first with thinner
skins"
· "Lancashire Potatoe…very pale reddish Colour,
and of very large Growth…watery and insipid in taste."
· "Red Potatoe, with a rough Coat, the very best of
any, and the greatest Bearer."
By the middle of the 18th century, at least, the potato is well
received by the general public. Philip Miller writes in The Gardeners
Dictionary (1754); "this Plant has been much propagated in
England within thirty years past; for although it was introduced
from America about the Year 1623, yet it was but little cultivated
till of late; these Roots being despised by the rich, and deemed
only proper Food for the meaner Sort of Persons; however, they
are now esteemed by most People."
The kidney and the white and red round potato seem to be the
common potato of the 18th century in England, and probably in
North America as well. Hanbury records in Complete body of planting
and gardening (1770) the White, Common Red and Purple potato adding;
"The Common Red, or Purple Potatoe is by far the best; though
the white, which has been but lately introduced into our Gardens,
come in earlier; on which account it is chiefly propagated."
Abercrombie records in Every man his own gardener (1776) the "early
red, called Wife's potato. Large round dark red, the best sort
for the full crop, Round white, White kidney."
There are almost as many legends about how the potato reaches
North America as there are for the British Isles. Robert Morison's
Plantarum historia (1699) gives North America as the origin of
the potato saying it was; "from Virginia called Openauck
or Apenauk brought into England and thence it was scattered throughout
Europe." This is most likely the source that Henry Phillips
draws on in his History of cultivated vegetables (1822) in which
he identifies the plant described by Thomas Hariot as Openauk
in A Brief and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia (1590)
as the white potato. It is much more likely that Hariot's plant
is the Jerusalem artichoke (see Jerusalem Artichoke for quote).
This confusion over the origin of the white potato lasts into
the 19th century in this country when Jefferson writes a letter
to correct a Mr Spafford in this misconception in 1809; "You
say in your General Geography the potato is a native of the United
States. I presume you speak of the Irish potato. I have inquired
much into the question, and think I can assure you that the plant
is not native of North America…the most probable account
I have been able to collect is, that a vessel of Sir Walter Raleigh's,
returning from Guiana, put into the west of Ireland in distress,
having on board some potatoes which they called earth apples.
That the season of the year, and circumstances of their being
already sprouted, induced them to give them all out there, and
they were no more heard or thought of, till they had spread considerably
into that island, whence they were carried over into England,
and, therefore, called the Irish potato. From England they came
to the United States bringing their name with them."
The first credible introduction of the white potato to North
America does not come until 1719 when it is introduced to Londonderry,
New Hampshire by Irish immigrants. This was a kidney shaped, yellow
fleshed potato (A history of horticulture in America to 1860,
Hedrick, 1950). The potato probably reaches the southern colonies
by the middle of the 18th century. An entry in the diary of Col.
James Gordon on Nov. 2, 1759 reads; "Got most of our potatoes
in the house." This very likely refers to the white potato.
John Randolph, who writes A Treatise on Gardening in Williamsburg,
probably in the 1760's, gives instructions for growing the white
potato. Landon Carter records in his diary on Oct. 27, 1766; "This
day housing my Irish potatoes." In the records of Exports
form the Upper District of James River for Oct. 1763 - Oct. 1764
there is included; "500 bushels potatoes." In the following
year it records "1 Barrel, 4 bushels potatoes" and the
year after, "200 bushels potatoes." Philip Vickers Fithian
records in his diary on April 10, 1774; "they [Carter's slaves]
are digging up their small Lots of ground allow'd by their Master
for Potatoes, Peas, &c." It is difficult to tell from
some of these references whether they are referring to the white
or the sweet potato but it does seem that after 1760 the white
potato starts to replace the sweet potato as the potato of choice.
The potato in North America is used by whites and blacks and also
becomes an important livestock food. It is also requisitioned
in great quantities to support the American troops during the
revolution.
Almost all of the pre-blight varieties from the 18th and first
half of the 19th century are extinct. The Lumper potato is still
available and was popular prior to 1840. This poptato looks remarkably
like the one illustrated in by the Plantin Press in 1588. The
Garnet Chile was developed after 1840 but is good approximation
of the 18th century types. Some of the older varieties of the
small red and kidney shaped potatoes could also be used to illustrate
the type of potatoes known to the colonistrs.
The Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) is one of the
few vegetables native to North America. Asa Gray, the great 19th
century American botanist postulates in the Flora of North America
(1838 - 1843) that the Jerusalem Artichoke originated west of
the Mississippi and was carried east by the Indian trade. It was
well established throughout the east coast of North America by
the time the first Europeans arrived. Thomas Hariot, who was part
of the second expedition to Roanoke Island (1585) records in Narrative
of the first English Plantation of Virginia (1588); "Openauk
are a kind of roots of round forme, some of the bignes of walnuts,
some far greater, which are found in moist & marish ground
growing many together one by another in ropes, or as thogh they
were fastened with a string. Being boiled or sodden they are a
very good meate." Some authors have interpreted this as an
early reference to the white potato but Hariot's description,
particularly that of being a plant found in wet soils, makes it
more likely that this was the Jerusalem Artichoke.
Its popular name is a corruption of the Italian Girasole, meaning
the flowers face towards the sun and its taste is said to resemble
the base, or heart of the true Artichoke (Cynara scolymus). This
root has always been of minor importance and its use has fallen
in and out of favor over the years. It is a large and attractive
plant that can become quite invasive through the spread of the
underground tubers. Johnson's edition of Gerard's Herball (1633)
states; "This wonderfull increasing plant hath growing up
from one root, one, sometimes two, three or more round green rough
hairy straked stalks, commonly about twelve foot high, sometimes
sixteene foot high or higher…producing from the increase
of one root, thirty, forty, or fifty in number or more."
It was introduced to England by the French and according to Phillips
in The history of cultivated vegetables (1822) it was first received
by John Goodyer in London from a Mr. Franquevill in 1617. Parkinson,
in Paradisi in Sol (1629) calls them Potatos of Canada, writing;
"We in England, from some ignorant and idle head, have called
them Artichokes of Jerusalem, only because the roote, being boyled,
is in taste like the bottome of an Artichoke head. The French
brought them first from Canada into these parts…from one
roote being set in the Spring, there hath been forty or more taken
up again…are of a pleasant good taste as many have tryed.
The Potato's of Canada are by reason of their great increasing,
grown so common here with us at London, that even the most vulgar
begin to despise them, whereas when they were first received among
us, they were dainties for a Queen." This may be in reference
to an inventory of items for the Queen's household of James I
in 1619 that includes potatoe at the very high price of 1 shilling/pound.
By 1768 Miller writes in The Gardeners Dictionary; "The
Jerusalem Artichoke is propagated in many gardens for the roots…are
by some people as much esteemed as Potatoes…are very subject
to trouble the belly by their windy quality, which hath brought
them almost in decline." To this day the Jerusalem Artichoke
has the reputation of being a windy vegetable. In Virginia it
is recorded by Berkeley in A Perfect Description of Virginia (1649)
and the Rev. John Banister records in his Natural History (1681);
"the Batatas Canadensis, or Jerusalem Artichokes are little
esteemed of here, yet it is sometimes used to brew with when corn
is scarce." By the end of the 18th century it is starting
to be used as livestock fodder. Jefferson, in an 1817 letter to
Tristan Dalton writes; "With respect to field culture of
vegetables for cattle, instead of the carrot and potato recommended
by yourself and the magazine, [Agricultural Magazine] and the
beet by others, we find the Jerusalem artichoke best for winter…the
Jerusalem artichoke far exceeds the potato in produce, and remains
in the ground thro' the winter to be dug as wanted."
While always a vegetable of minor importance, it is certainly
known by Virginians and likely used to some extent as a culinary
crop. In Philadelphia, Varlo includes it in A New System of Husbandry
(1785) as a kitchen garden plant and Gardener and Hepburn in American
Gardener (1804) writes that it is a good food for cattle &
hogs in winter as well as people, observing; "the roots taste
like artichokes…and are very good from fall to spring."
McMahon, in The American Gardener's Calendar (1806) writes that
it is; "as pleasant as the bottom of and artichoke…a
wholesome, palatable food." Curiously, he also writes; "It
is a native of Brasil, and a striking instance, of how tropical
productions may gradually and successfully, be introduced and
naturalized in colder climates." In one of the many examples
of the propagation of falsehoods from one garden writer to the
next, Henry Phillips in The History of Cultivated Vegetables (1822)
also maintains that it is a native of Brazil and then offers the
seemingly contradictory, but correct hypothesis, that it was first
introduced to Europe by the French.
It was probably used most commonly as animal fodder in 18th century Virginia. George Washington writes Clement Biddle on Dec. 5, 1786 to enquire: “Are the Artichoke of Jerusalem to be had in the neighborhood of Philada? Could as much of the root, or seed, be got as would stock an acre? I want to bring it in with my other experiments for the benefit of stock.” He is apparently inundated with the Jerusalem artichoke from several sources once word got out he was looking for it. A Feb. 11, 1787 letter to the same Mr. Biddle records: “Since writing to you I have met with, and obtained the quantity wanted, of Jerusalem Artichoke.” The next month he is fending off yet another supply of the roots: George Weeden, March 25, 1787 – “thank you for the trouble you have taken to procure for me the Jerusalem Artichoke” and then tells him to return what he has to Mr. Page.
In a Jan. 6, 1808 letter from Thomas Jefferson to John Taylor the President remarks on a French initiative to feed live stock with the Jerusalem Artichoke: “I see by the agricultural transactions of the Paris society, they are cultivating the Jerusalem artichoke for feeding their animals.” He apparently puts this advice to practice after retuning to private life as is suggested by a May 2, 1817 letter to Tristran Dalton: “With respect to field culture of vegetables for cattle, instead of the carrot and potato recommended by yourself and the magazine, and the beet by others, we find the Jerusalem artichoke best for winter.”
Early in the 19th century several varieties are developed and
the Jerusalem Artichoke experiences a revival in interest. Fearing
Burr, in Field and Garden Vegetables of America (1865) writes;
"For a long period there was but as single variety cultivated,
or even known. Recent experiments in the use of seeds as a means
or propagation have developed new kinds, varying greatly in their
size, form, and color, possessing little of the watery and insipid
character of the heretofore grown Jerusalem Artichoke, and nearly
or quite equaling the potato in flavor and excellence." He
lists four varieties. The Jerusalem Artichoke now grows spontaneously
along Prince George street at the top of the Deane ravine which
is a very good and believable location for it.
The beet root (Beta vulgaris) has a somewhat confusing history
in that the term beet refers to both the Chard, grown for its
leaves as well as the Beet grown for its root in early literature.
It is not clear if the Romans knew the red beet root. Apicus Czclius,
in De Re Coquin (230 AD) has a recipe for beet root, but this
could possibly be the root of what we know today as Chard. The
first clear reference to the red beet root comes from Fuchs De
Historia Stirpium (1542) in which he says it is; "cultivated
almost everywhere in Germany." It is likely that it was from
Germany that the culture of the beet root spread through Europe.
Matthiolus records in Commentarii (1558) that white and black
chards are common in Italy but in Germany they have a red beet
with a turnip like root that is eaten.
The beet was probably introduced to England by the first quarter
of the 17th century. Again, this is difficult to track because
of the use of the word Beet to describe what we know now as Chard.
Beet is listed in England by Neckham (1200), Daniel (1375), Master
John Gardener (1400), and Fromond (1500) but all of these references
likely refer to the Chard beet. In Fromond's Herbys necessary
for a gardyn by letter (1500), beet is listed with "Of the
same Herbes for Potage" rather than with the root crops.
The Beete listed in Hill's The Gardener's Labyrinth (1577) is
clearly a Chard beet. One of the earliest definitive references
to beet root in England comes in Parkinson's Paradisi in Sol (1629);
"The Roman red Beete…is both for leafe and roote the
most excellent Beete of all others: his rootes bee as great as
the greatest Carrot, exceeding red both within and without, very
sweete and good, fit to be eaten the root is sometimes short like
a Turnep…and sometimes…like a carrot and long."
Evelyn writes in Acetaria, a Discourse of Sallats (1699); "The
Roots of the Red Beet, pared into thin Slices and Circles, are
by the French and Italians contriv'd into curious Figures to adorn
their Sallets."
This seems to imply that the Beet was introduced from Germany
to Italy and from there to France and England. All of the 17th
and 18th century beets were shaped like turnips or parsnips. The
modern round root was not known. The preferred beet in the 17th
and early 18th century had red leaves as well as red roots. John
Evelyn, in his translation of De la Quintinye's The Compleat Gard'ner
(1693), writes of the Beet-Raves, or Beet Radishes; "They
are the best that have the Reddest substance and the Reddest tops."
By 1754, Philip Miller records in The Gardeners Dictionary, the;
"common red Beet, turnep-rooted red Beet, great red Beet
and yellow Beet." He writes that there is a type of the common
red beet; "which has been introduced lately into the Kitchen-gardens
with a short Top, and green Leaves, with a very red Root: this
is preferred to the common red Beet." This may refer to the
early introduction of the Early Blood Turnip Beet, which becomes
the most common variety of beet in America by the beginning of
the 19th century.
In this country the Beet seems to be
slow to catch on, at least with the
residents of Williamsburg. Presumably,
it would have been brought to America
by German or Dutch immigrants but is
listed in Williamsburg only by Wills
and Donley in their advertisements in
the Virginia Gazette (1767,
1768) and by James Wilson at the College
in 1774. Jefferson records a red beet
in his Garden Book in 1774
and Col. Francis Taylor records planting
red beets in his diary in 1794). William
Byrd II records beets in his Natural
History (c. 1730) but there is no way
to know if this is a reference to the
beet root or to the chard and the reference
to Beets in the Jones Family
papers (1797) is equally imprecise.
The earliest reference to what seems
to be the beet root that I can find
in North America comes in John Lawson's
A new voyage to Carolina (1706) where
he records; "The garden roots that
thrive well in Carolina…Beet,
both sorts."
In the 19th century the beet becomes one of the most common root
crops in America. William Cobbett writes in The American Gardener
(1821); "This vegetable, which is little used in England,
is here in as common use as carrots are there." He lists
both round and turnep-rooted varieties that he feels are; "equally
good with the tap-rooted red beet." Peter Henderson, in Gardening
for Profit (1867) writes; "This is one of the leading and
most valuable crops of our Market gardens." Based on the
scarcity of references to the beet, it should have a very minor
presence in Williamsburg. The best variety for our use is the
Early Blood Turnip Beet, listed in Pennsylvannia in 1774 (Heirloom
Vegetable Gardening, Weaver, 1997).
The sugar beet was first developed in Germany in the early 19th
century. Robert Marggraf, a Berlin chemist first extracted sugar
from beets in experiments done in 1747. He discounted it as a
viable sugar source but fifty years later, one of his students,
a Mr. Archard revived his experiments and founded the first sugar
beet factory in Kunern, Germany in 1806. After this time varieties
of beets were selected for higher sugar content. In a 1813 letter
from Jefferson to André Thoüin, Jefferson requests
information on the beete-rave and asks about the prospect of producing
sugar from it.
The skirret (Sium sisarum) is an obscure root that is probably
native to eastern Asia. This, rather than, or perhaps with, the
parsnip, seems to be the root many authors speak of as forming
part of the tribute to the Roman Emperor Tiberius (14 -37 AD).
By all accounts it seems to be first propagated in Germany and
from there spreads to Italy and the rest of Europe. Gerard relates
in the Herball (1597); "Tiberius the Emperour commanded to
be conveied unto him from Gelduba a castle about the river of
Rhene, as Pliny reporteth." Pliny considers it a medicinal
herb so it is not clear what part of the plant was originally
used. It was introduced to England at an early date. A plant order
prepared in 1321-22 by Roger, the gardener to the archbishop of
Canterbury at Lambeth Palace includes; a "pennyworths of
skirret." Skirrets are also listed by Friar Henry Daneil
in De re Herbaria (1375).
The skirret has the curious history of being listed by most authors
as a very agreeable root that few people use. It was certainly
more common in England prior to the 18th century when it seems
to fall out of general use. Gerard, in the Herball (1597) writes;
"most commonly not a finger thick, they are sweet, white,
good to be eaten, and most pleasant in taste." Evelyn writes
is Acetaria (1699); "exceeding nourishing, wholesome and
delicate…so valued by the Emperor Tiverius that he accepted
them for Tribute." By 1726 when Richard Bradley writes New
Improvements he observes; "The Skirret has a very agreeable
Root, altho' it is propagated but in few Gardens; and it may be,
the Rarity of it is owing to the want of the right way of cultivating
it." Philip Miller records in The Gardeners Dictionary (1754);
"This is one of the wholsomest and most nourishing Roots
that is cultivated in Gardens; and yet it is at present very rare
to meet with it in the Gardens near London; what may have been
the Cause of its not being more commonly cultivated, I cant't
imagine." Part of the reason for its scarcity may be that
the skirret is very difficult to grow from seed; divisions from
an established plant are far more reliable.
In this county the skirret seems to be as scarce as it is in
England by the second half of the 18th century. In the journal
of Captain Newport while he is at Jamestown in 1607 he lists scarretts
as among the natural products of Virginia but as this seems to
be in reference to a native root it would not likely be the European
skirret. The only 18th century Virginia reference to skirret that
I can find is in the list of seeds offered for sale by James Wilson
at the College of William and Mary in 1774. The fact that it seems
to be known by America garden writers, ie, Varlo (1785) and McMahon
(1806) and by professional gardeners such as Wilson would seem
to indicate that it is known in American gardens but probably
rarely used.
Historic Triangle