. An encyclopædia of gardening; . h constitutethe object of gardening and of agriculture, have time out of mind accompanied manfrom one end of the globe to the other. In Europe, the vine followed the Greeks ; thewheat, the Romans; and the cotton, the Arabs. In America the Tultiques carriedwith them the maize; the potatoe and the quinoa {^Chenopodium quinoa, of which theseeds are used,) are found wherever have migrated the ancient Condinamarea. Themigration of these plants is evident; but their first countrj is as little known as that ofthe different races of men, which have been found in all p
. An encyclopædia of gardening; . h constitutethe object of gardening and of agriculture, have time out of mind accompanied manfrom one end of the globe to the other. In Europe, the vine followed the Greeks ; thewheat, the Romans; and the cotton, the Arabs. In America the Tultiques carriedwith them the maize; the potatoe and the quinoa {^Chenopodium quinoa, of which theseeds are used,) are found wherever have migrated the ancient Condinamarea. Themigration of these plants is evident; but their first countrj is as little known as that ofthe different races of men, which have been found in all parts of the globe from the ear-liest traditions. {Geographie des Plantes, p. 25.) 949. The general effect of culture on j)lants is that of enlarging all their parts ; but itoften also alters their qualities, forms, and colors : it never, however, alters their pri-mitive structure. The potatoe, as Humboldt observes, cultivated in Chili, atnearly twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea, cairies the same flower as Book I. DISTRIBUTION OF VEGETABLES. 203 950. The cvHnary vegetables of our gardens, compared with tlie same species in theirwild state, afford striking proofs of the influence of culture on both the magnitude andqualities of plants. Nothing in regard to magnitude is more remarkable than in the caseof the Brassica tribe ; and notliing, in respect to quality, exceeds the change effected onthe celerj^ and carrot. 951. The vifluence of culture on fruits is not less remarkable. Tlie peach, in its wildstate in Media, is poisonous, but cultivated in the plains of Ispahan and Egypt, it be-comes one of the most deUcious of fruits. The effect of culture on the apple, pear,cherry, plum, and other fruits, is nearly as remarkable; for not only the fruit and leaves,but the general habits of the tree are altered in these and other species. Tlie historj^ ofthe migration of fruit-trees has been commenced by Sickler, in a work (Geschicte, See.)which Humboldt has prais
Size: 1546px × 1617px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade18, booksubjectgardening, bookyear1826
