The Project Gutenberg eBook of Useful Knowledge: Volume 2. Vegetables
Title: Useful Knowledge: Volume 2. Vegetables
Author: William Bingley
Release date: September 23, 2018 [eBook #57954]
Language: English
Credits: Produced by Keith Edkins, Chris Curnow and the Online
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USEFUL KNOWLEDGE:
OR
A FAMILIAR ACCOUNT
OF THE
VARIOUS PRODUCTIONS
OF
Nature,
MINERAL, VEGETABLE, AND ANIMAL,
WHICH ARE CHIEFLY EMPLOYED FOR THE USE OF MAN.
Illustrated with numerous
Figures, and intended as a Work
both of Instruction and Reference.
BY THE
Rev. WILLIAM BINGLEY, AM. FLS.
LATE OF PETERHOUSE, CAMBRIDGE,
AND AUTHOR OF
ANIMAL BIOGRAPHY.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. II. VEGETABLES.
FOURTH EDITION.
LONDON: PRINTED FOR BALDWIN,
CRADOCK, AND JOY;
HARVEY AND DARTON;
AND C. AND J. RIVINGTON.
1825.
EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES
OF THE
SECOND VOLUME.
| FRONTISPIECE: PLATE I. | |||
| Fig. | Fig. | ||
| 1. | Olive. | 7. | Scammony plant. |
| 2. | Ginger plant. | 8. | Jalap plant. |
| 3. | Black pepper. | 9. | Coffee-tree. |
| 4. | Cardamom plant. | 10. | Peruvian bark tree. |
| 5. | Sugar cane. | 11. | Tobacco plant. |
| 6. | Saffron. | 12. | Annual capsicum. |
| PLATE II. | |||
| 13. | Wheat. | 20. | Meadow fox-tail grass. |
| 14. | Oats. | 21. | Cat's-tail grass. |
| 15. | Barley. | 22. | Fiorin, or Orcheston long |
| 16. | Rye. | grass. | |
| 17. | Vernal grass. | 23. | Canary grass. |
| 18. | Cotton grass. | 24. | Purple melic grass. |
| 19. | Bull-rush. | ||
| PLATE III. | |||
| 25. | Meadow soft grass. | 31. | Flote fescue grass. |
| 26. | Reed meadow grass. | 32. | Sheep's fescue grass. |
| 27. | Smooth-stalked meadow | 33. | Common reed. |
| grass. | 34. | Sea matweed. | |
| 28. | Annual meadow grass. | 35. | Rye, or Ray grass. |
| 29. | Crested dog's-tail grass. | 36. | Couch, or Squitch grass. |
| 30. | Hard fescue grass. | ||
|
PLATE IV. |
|||
| 37. | Flax. | 43. | Logwood-tree. |
| 38. | Socotrine Aloe. | 44. | Mahogany-tree. |
| 39. | Rice. | 45. | All-spice, or Pimento-tree. |
| 40. | Cinnamon-tree. | 46. | Almond-tree. |
| 41. | Camphor-tree. | 47. | Pomegranate. |
| 42. | Cashew Nut tree. | 48. | Caper plant. |
| PLATE V. | |||
| 49. | Tea-tree. | 55. | Orange-tree. |
| 50. | Clove-tree. | 56. | Lemon-tree. |
| 51. | Tamarind-tree. | 57. | Bread-fruit-tree. |
| 52. | Cotton plant. | 58. | Maize, or Indian corn. |
| 53. | Cowhage plant. | 59. | Cucumber. |
| 54. | Chocolate-tree. | 60. | Indian rubber tree. |
| PLATE VI. | |||
| 61. | Common elm. | 67. | Hazel. |
| 62. | Broad-leaved elm. | 68. | Oak. |
| 63. | Alder. | 69. | Walnut-tree. |
| 64. | Beech-tree. | 70. | Sycamore. |
| 65. | Sweet chesnut. | 71. | Plane-tree. |
| 66. | Horse chesnut. | 72. | Mulberry-tree. |
| PLATE VII. | |||
| 73. | Hornbeam. | 79. | Ash-tree. |
| 74. | White poplar. | 80. | Nutmeg-tree. |
| 75. | Black poplar. | 81. | Hop plant. |
| 76. | Flowering ash. | 82. | Hemp. |
| 77. | Lignum-vitæ tree. | 83. | Fig-tree. |
| 78. | Quassia-tree. | 84. | Morell. |
USEFUL KNOWLEDGE.
VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS.
INTRODUCTION.
1. Vegetables or Plants are natural bodies endowed with organization and life, but destitute of voluntary motion and sense; and Botany is that branch of natural science which treats of their structure and functions, the systematical arrangement and denomination of their several kinds, and their peculiar properties and uses.
2. The principal parts of plants are the root; the herb or plant itself; and the fructification, or flower and fruit.
3. As it is the sole object of this introduction to describe, in a concise manner, the Linnæan arrangement of plants, for the purpose of explaining the classification adopted in the present volume, the parts of fructification only will be mentioned. These are the calyx, corolla, stamens, pistil, seed-vessel, seeds, and receptacle.
4. The CALYX, or flower cup, is the green part which is situated immediately beneath the blossom. In some plants this consists of one, in others of several leaves; and it is frequently tubular, as in the polyanthus, and cowslip.
5. The COROLLA, or blossom, is that coloured part of every flower on which its beauty principally depends. The leaves that compose it are denominated petals. Some flowers, as the convolvolus and campanula, have only a single petal; and others, as the rose and peony, have several petals.
6. In the centre of the flower there are two kinds of organs on which the fructification and re-production of the species more particularly depend. These are the stamens, and the pistil. The STAMENS are slender, thread-like, substances, which surround the pistil. They each consist of a filament or thread, and an anther or summit: the latter contains, when ripe, a fine dust or powder called pollen. This, though, to the naked eye, it appears a fine powder, is so curiously formed, and is so various in different plants, as to be an interesting object for the microscope. Each grain of it is, commonly, a membranous bag, round or angular, rough or smooth, which remains entire till it meets with any moisture; it then bursts and discharges a most subtile vapour.
7. The PISTIL is a prominent part, immediately in the centre of each flower, which adheres to the fruit, and is destined for the reception of the pollen. Some flowers have only one pistil; others have two, three, four, &c. and others more than can be easily counted.
8. At the foot of the pistil is situated the germen. This, when grown to maturity, has the name of pericarp or SEED-VESSEL, and is that part of the fructification which contains the seeds: whether it be a capsule as in the poppy, a nut as the filbert, a drupe as the plum, a berry as the gooseberry, a pome as the apple, a pod as in the pea, or a cone as of the fir-tree.
9. That part of every vegetable, which, at a certain state of maturity, is separated from it, and contains the rudiments of a new plant, is called the SEED.
10. The RECEPTACLE is the base which connects all the parts of fructification together, and on which they are seated. In some plants this is very conspicuous; and in none more so than the artichoke, of which it forms the eatable part, called the bottom.
11. The Linnæan system of classification of plants is founded upon a supposition that the stamens represent the male, and the pistils the female parts of fructification. The whole vegetable creation has been distributed, by Linnæus, into twenty-four classes. These are divided into orders, which are subdivided into genera or tribes; and these genera are further divided into species or individuals.
12. Of the CLASSES the discriminating characters are taken from the number, connexion, length, or situation of the stamens. In each of the first twenty classes there are stamens and pistils in the same flower; in the twenty-first class, the stamens and pistils are in distinct flowers on the same plant; in the twenty-second, in distinct flowers on different plants; in the twenty-third, in the same flower and also in distinct flowers; and in the twenty-fourth class they are not at all discernible. Thus:
| Number |
|
CLASSES | One | 1. | Monandria. | |||||||
| Two | 2. | Diandria. | ||||||||||
| Three | 3. | Triandria. | ||||||||||
| Four | 4. | Tetrandria. | ||||||||||
| Five | 5. | Pentandria. | ||||||||||
| Number only | Six | 6. | Hexandria. | |||||||||
| Seven | 7. | Heptandria. | ||||||||||
| Eight | 8. | Octandria. | ||||||||||
| Nine | 9. | Enneandria. | ||||||||||
| Ten | 10. | Decandria. | ||||||||||
| The stamens considered according to their |
About twelve | 11. | Dodecandria. | |||||||||
| and their |
|
Insertion | On the calyx: more than nineteen |
12. | Icosandria. | |||||||
| Not on the calyx: more than nineteen |
13. | Polyandria. | ||||||||||
| Proportion unequal |
Four: two long and two short |
14. | Didynamia. | |||||||||
| Six: four long and two short |
15. | Tetradynamia. | ||||||||||
| Connexion by |
|
Filaments united |
In one set | 16. | Monadelphia. | |||||||
| In two sets | 17. | Diadelphia. | ||||||||||
| In three or more sets | 18. | Polyadelphia. | ||||||||||
| Anthers united | 19. | Syngenesia. | ||||||||||
| Stamens upon the pistil | 20. | Gynandria. | ||||||||||
| Separation of Pistils |
On the same plant | 21. | Monœcia. | |||||||||
| On two plants | 22. | Diœcia. | ||||||||||
| With flowers of both sexes | 23. | Polygamia. | ||||||||||
| Not being discernible | 24. | Cryptogamia. | ||||||||||
13. The characters of the ORDERS are most commonly taken from the number of the pistils; but sometimes from circumstances relative to the stamens, pistils, or seed. Those of the first thirteen classes are taken from the number of pistils, thus:
| Monogynia | 1 | pistil. | Heptagynia | 7 | pistils. |
| Digynia | 2 | pistils. | Octagynia | 8 | pistils. |
| Trigynia | 3 | pistils. | Enneagynia | 9 | pistils. |
| Tetragynia | 4 | pistils. | Decagynia | 10 | pistils. |
| Pentagynia | 5 | pistils. | Dodecagynia | about 12 | pistils. |
| Hexagynia | 6 | pistils. | Polygynia | many | pistils. |
The orders of the fourteenth class, Didynamia, are taken from the situation of the seeds; and are
| Gymnospermia | naked seeds. |
| Angiospermia | seeds in a capsule. |
The orders of the fifteenth class, Tetradynamia, are formed from a difference in the shape of the seed-vessel:
| Siliculosa | a broad pod. |
| Siliquosa | a long pod. |
In the classes Monadelphia, Diadelphia, Polyadelphia, and Gynandria, the orders are taken from the number of stamens:
| Pentandria | 5 stamens. |
| Hexandria, &c. | 6 stamens, &c. |
In the nineteenth class, Syngenesia, the orders are taken from the structure of the flower:
Polygamia æqualis,—all the florets alike.
Polygamia superflua,—the florets of the centre perfect or united; those of the margin with pistils only, but all producing perfect seeds.
Polygamia frustranea,—the florets of the centre perfect or united; those of the margin, in general, without either stamens or pistils.
Polygamia necessaria,—the florets of the centre with stamens only; those of the margin with pistils only.
The classes Monœcia and Dicœcia take their orders from the number and other peculiarities of the stamens:
| Monandria | 1 stamen. |
| Diandria, &c. | 2 stamens, &c. |
| Polyandria | 7 stamens. |
| Monadelphia | stamens united into one set. |
| Polyadelphia | stamens united into several sets. |
| Gynandria | stamens upon the pistil. |
In the class Polygamia there are three orders:
Monœcia. Diœcia. Triœcia.
The twenty-fourth class, Cryptogamia, has five orders:
1. Ferns.
2. Mosses.
3. Liverworts.
4. Flags.
5. Mushrooms.
The Linnæan system is professedly artificial. Its sole aim (observes Sir J. E. Smith) is to help any one to learn the name and history of an unknown plant in the most easy and certain manner. This is done by first determining its class and order; after which its genus is to be made out, by comparing the parts of fructification with all the generic characters of that order; and, finally, its species, by examining all the specific definitions of the genus.
CLASS I.—MONANDRIA.
MONOGYNIA.
14. GINGER is the dried root of a somewhat reed-like plant (Amomum zingiber, Pl. 1. Fig. 2.) which grows wild in several parts of Asia; and is much cultivated both in the East and West Indies.
The flowers of the ginger plant issue from stalks distinct from those which support the leaves, and form a kind of ear or spike, of beautiful colours and very fragrant smell.
The cultivation of ginger is nearly similar to that of potatoes. The land is first well cleansed from weeds: it is then dug into trenches similar to those which our gardeners make for celery; and the plants are set in these trenches in March or April. They flower about September; and, in January or February, when the stalks are withered, the roots are in a proper state to be dug up.
These are prepared for use in two ways. When intended for what is called white ginger they are picked, scraped, separately washed, and afterwards dried with great care, by exposure to the sun. For black ginger they are picked, cleansed, immersed in boiling water, and dried. This process is much less laborious and expensive than the last, consequently the price of the article is not so great. By boiling, the ginger loses a portion of its essential oil; and its black colour is owing to this.
The uses of ginger, both in medicine, and as a spice, are numerous and well known. In the West Indies this root is frequently eaten fresh in salads, and with other food: and the roots when dug up young, namely, at the end of three or four months after they have been planted, are preserved in syrup, and exported as a sweet-meat to nearly all parts of the world. The ginger which is brought into this country from the East Indies is much stronger than any we have from Jamaica.
15. CARDAMOMS are the seeds of an East Indian plant[1] (Fig. 4), which has shining reed-like stalks and spear-shaped glossy leaves. They are brought into Europe in their pods, which are small, oblong, triangular, and each divided into three cells.
The roots are thick, fleshy, and knotted. The stalks grow from seven to twelve feet high; and the flowers are of irregular shape, and, in colour, are green, pink, and white.
In those woody parts of India where cardamom plants spontaneously grow, the inhabitants form plantations of them by a very simple process. They clear, from particular spots, the greater number of the trees; and, towards the close of the fourth rainy season afterwards, they look for the first crop of cardamoms (raised from the scattered seeds which have lain dormant in the ground), and they are seldom disappointed.
The cardamom harvest usually commences in October, and lasts till December. Women or children pluck the fruit-stalks from the roots, carry them into the houses, and there spread them upon mats to dry. The pods are then separated from the stalks by stripping them with the fingers: they undergo some further processes of drying; after which they are packed for exportation, in large chests, which are well pitched at the joints and seams, to prevent them from being injured by moisture. It is estimated that about 15,000 pounds weight of these seeds are annually vended at the East India Company's sales.
Cardamoms have a pleasant aromatic smell; and, when chewed, impart to the mouth a warmth and pungency, which, to most persons, are extremely grateful. The Indians use them, in considerable quantity, in their food; and also mix them with betel (22), and chew them, under a belief that they tend to facilitate digestion. They are sometimes used with us in medicine, but more frequently for the purpose of concealing the nauseous taste of other medicines.
16. TURMERIC is a thick, fleshy, and solid East Indian root, which is usually seen in pieces from half an inch to two inches and upwards in length; has a yellowish and rugged surface, and is of a shining saffron brown colour within.
The flowers of the turmeric plant (Curcuma longa) are white, and form an ear or spike, which issues immediately from the root. The leaves are spear-shaped, and each eight or nine inches long.
This root, which has an aromatic smell somewhat resembling that of ginger, is much cultivated in the East Indies, where it is in common use as a seasoning for ragouts and other dishes. It constitutes a principal ingredient in curry powder; and, under this form, is used, in great quantities, both in India and Europe. Some years ago it had considerable repute as a medicine for the removal of jaundice, diseases of the liver, and other complaints: but the chief purpose for which it is now esteemed is its imparting a rich yellow dye to silks, linen, or woollen; and for heightening and rendering brighter the red colours dyed with cochineal and vermilion. It is in much request by glovers, for dyeing yellow gloves. Some of the Indian tribes use it in painting their bodies.
17. ARROW ROOT, in the state that we see it, is a kind of starch, manufactured from the root of a plant which is cultivated both in the East and West Indies.
This plant (Maranta arundinacea) is about two feet high, has broad, pointed, and somewhat hairy leaves; small white flowers in clusters, and a nearly globular fruit about the size of a currant.
The arrow-root plant has its name from the Indians using its juice as a remedy for wounds inflicted by poisoned arrows. They likewise consider it efficacious against the stings of those venomous insects with which the countries of nearly all hot climates abound.
The starch or powder of arrow-root is obtained by the following process. The roots, when a year old, are dug up, washed, and beaten to a milky pulp, in deep wooden mortars. This pulp is afterwards well washed in clean water, and the fibrous parts, that are found amongst it, are carefully separated and thrown away. It is next passed through a sieve, or coarse cloth, and suffered to stand for some time to settle. The water that remains is subsequently drawn off, and the white mass at the bottom is again washed. After this the water is entirely cleared away, and the pulp, when dried in the sun, is an extremely pure kind of starch; which requires only to be reduced to powder to attain the state in which we import it.
There is no European vegetable, if we except the salep or orchis root (219), which yields so large a proportion of nutritive mucilage as this. Consequently, as an article of diet for children, and persons recovering from illness, it has of late years been found extremely valuable. Care, however, should be taken to obtain it genuine, as the high price for which it is sold is frequently the cause of its being adulterated. It is even said that the article usually sold in London under the name of arrow-root, consists chiefly of starch made from potatoes.
CLASS II.—DIANDRIA.
MONOGYNIA.
18. The OLIVE (Olea Europea) is a low evergreen tree, which, in its general form and appearance, somewhat resembles a willow. It is cultivated in several parts of the continent, and has spear-shaped leaves, and clusters of small white flowers, that arise at the junction of the leaves and branches (Fig. 1.)
The fruit of this tree has the name of olives. These are usually about the size of a damson plum, and each contains a hard, rough stone. When first gathered they have an acrid, bitter, and unpleasant taste; and it is not until they have been steeped, for several days, in a ley of wood ashes, and then pickled in salt and water, that they are in the state to be introduced at table after dinner, in desserts. Lucca olives, being smaller than any others, have the weakest taste. The larger ones are imported from Spain, and are the strongest; but those most esteemed are the olives of Provence, which are of middle size. If olives be eaten by persons of delicate habits, especially after a solid or heavy dinner, they are considered injurious, on account of the great quantity of oil they contain.
It is to this fruit that we are indebted for the salad or olive oil, which is so much in use throughout every part of Europe. The preparation of it is as follows:—The olives, when sufficiently ripe, are carefully picked, by hand, off the trees, and those that are bad are taken out and thrown aside. After having been left a little while to wither, they are first bruised, and then more completely crushed, by an upright millstone rolling upon an horizontal plane. The paste thus formed is submitted to the operation of the press. The finest oil flows first: when no more is found to flow, the pulp is moistened with boiling water, and the mass is again pressed. This done, the remaining oil is drawn from the surface of the water, but it contains some impurities from which it cannot, without difficulty, be cleared. What remains of the pulp is squeezed into lumps or balls, and dried for fuel. If the olives be indiscriminately gathered and heaped together, sound and unsound, without selection, the oil is always bad. The wild trees yield a very small kind of fruit, which furnishes, though in less quantity, a peculiarly excellent oil.
The olive tree has ever been considered the symbol of peace; and the ancient poets have asserted that Minerva well merited the honour of giving her name to the city of Athens for having planted it in Attica. As a wood, this tree is in considerable request by cabinet makers, from its being beautifully veined, and taking an excellent polish. In some parts of Spain, ornamental boxes are made of the roots of the olive tree.
Olive oil is employed in various branches of culinary and domestic economy. When united with soda, it is manufactured into soap. It is likewise used in medicine; is adopted as a softening ingredient in almost all kinds of ointments and plasters, and is supposed to be efficacious as a remedy against the poison of the viper. Persons copiously anointed with oil are said to have escaped the infection of the plague and yellow fever.
TRIGYNIA.
19. THE COMMON JASMINE (Jasminum officinale) is a well known shrub, with white, salver-shaped flowers, and opposite, winged leaves, the leaflets somewhat pointed; and is a native of Malabar and other parts of the East.
As an ornamental shrub, jasmine has long been cultivated in Europe. It is chiefly trained against walls and trellis-work, and is interesting, not only from the elegance of its foliage, but also from the number of beautiful white flowers with which it is adorned throughout the summer and autumn. These exhale a sweet and penetrating odour, particularly after rain, and in the night.
The Italians, by a very simple operation, prepare from the flowers of jasmine a grateful perfume. They soak cotton-wool in some kind of scentless vegetable oil, and then place, in glass vessels, alternate layers of this and of the flowers. After having been left in this state some days, the flowers are found to have given the whole of their fragrance to the oil in the cotton: they are then separated, and the oil is pressed out and removed into small glass bottles for use.
20. BLACK PEPPER is the dried berry of a climbing or trailing plant (Piper nigrum, Fig. 3) which grows in the East Indies, and in most of the islands of the Indian Sea.
Its stem has numerous joints, and throws out roots at every joint. The leaves, which are somewhat egg-shaped, and pointed, are of a brownish colour, and have each seven very strong nerves. The flowers are small and white.
In the cultivation of pepper it is customary to mark out the grounds into regular squares of about six feet each, which is the usual distance allowed for the plants. And, as these have not sufficient strength to support themselves in an upright growth, they are generally placed near a thorny kind of shrub, among the branches of which they creep like ivy. When they have run to a considerable height, the twigs, on which the berries hang, bend down, and the fruit appears in long slender clusters, of from twenty to fifty grains, somewhat resembling, but much more compact than, bunches of currants. The berries are green when young, but change to a bright red colour when ripe. As soon as they begin to redden, they are in a fit state to be gathered. When gathered, they are spread upon mats in the sun, where they are suffered to remain till they become dry, black, and shrivelled, as we see them. In this state they have the denomination of black pepper.
White pepper is nothing more than the best and soundest of the berries, gathered when they are fully ripe, and stripped of their external coat or skin. To effect this they are steeped, for about a week, in salt water, by the end of which time the skins burst. They are then dried in the sun, rubbed between the hands, and winnowed. Thus cleared from their skins they are rendered smaller and more smooth than black pepper.
As the acridity of pepper lies principally in the skin, this kind becomes, of course, much less pungent than the other; but it has one recommendation, that it can be made only of the best and soundest grains, taken at their most perfect state of maturity.
Pepper is an article of considerable traffic betwixt this country and the East Indies. That which is imported from Malabar is considered better than any other. The quantity of pepper vended at the East India Company's sales has, in some years, exceeded six millions of pounds' weight, of which seven or eight hundred thousand pounds have been retained for home consumption.
Both black and white pepper are in daily use, not only as a spice, but also in cookery. When coarsely ground, pepper is eaten with peas, cabbages, cucumbers, and other flatulent and cold vegetables; and occasionally also with fish. It is sometimes employed in medicine as a stimulant.
A singular imposition respecting pepper is occasionally practised in retail shops in London: artificial pepper-corns, both black and white, are mixed and sold with real pepper. The detection of this fraudulent mixture, however, is easy. If a handful of the suspected pepper be thrown into water, the artificial corns will fall to powder, or be partially dissolved, while the true pepper-corns will remain whole. The fraudulent grains are said to be made of peas-meal.
21. LONG PEPPER is the fruit of a slender climbing shrub (Piper longum) which grows in the East Indies.
It is of cylindrical shape, about an inch and half in length, and a quarter of an inch in thickness; and is formed by the union of a great number of small rounded grains. The shrub that produces it has dark green and heart-shaped leaves, each with seven strong nerves.
A considerable quantity of long pepper is annually imported in this country from Bengal and other parts of the East, for use, both in domestic economy and in medicine.
The inhabitants of India drink water in which long pepper has been infused, and esteem it a valuable remedy for some disorders of the stomach. They also distil an ardent spirit from it; and they pickle this fruit in vinegar, for use at table.
The fruit that is collected for exportation is gathered before it is quite ripe.
22. BETEL is the leaf of a climbing East Indian plant (Piper betel) which belongs to the same tribe as pepper; and, in shape and appearance, is not much unlike that of ivy, but is more tender, and full of juice.
There is an almost incredible consumption of betel over the whole continent of India. The inhabitants chew it almost incessantly, and in such quantity that their lips become quite red, and their teeth black, a colour greatly preferred by them to the whiteness which Europeans so much affect. They carry it, in little white boxes, about their persons, and present it to each other, by way of compliment and civility, in the same manner as the Europeans do snuff. This is done by women as well as by men: and it would be considered an offence if those to whom it was offered should refuse to accept of, and chew it. The leaves are sometimes used alone, but much more commonly covered with a kind of lime made of sea shells, and wrapped round slices of the areca nut (245).