. An encyclopædia of gardening; comprising the theory and practice of horticulture, floriculture, arboriculture, and landscape-gardening, including all the latest improvements; a general history of gardening in all countries; and a statistical view of its present state, with suggestions for its future progress, in the British Isles. Gardening. Book I. EXOTIC ESCULENTS. 785. found to equal our best peaches, pears and plums, or even gooseberries and strawberries ; yet we cannot but wish to see this or the contrary proved by the wealthy and curious horticulturist. Sect. IV. Exotic Esculents, not
. An encyclopædia of gardening; comprising the theory and practice of horticulture, floriculture, arboriculture, and landscape-gardening, including all the latest improvements; a general history of gardening in all countries; and a statistical view of its present state, with suggestions for its future progress, in the British Isles. Gardening. Book I. EXOTIC ESCULENTS. 785. found to equal our best peaches, pears and plums, or even gooseberries and strawberries ; yet we cannot but wish to see this or the contrary proved by the wealthy and curious horticulturist. Sect. IV. Exotic Esculents, not hitherto cultivated as such. 6022. Of exotic esculents, some, as the yam and sweet potatoe, are worthy of being ex- perimented on with a view to their naturalisation as articles of food ; and even as fur- nishing a variety of esculent root, they deserve to be grown and sent to table, where there is a complete or extensive garden establishment. 6023. The West Indian yam (the inkame of the Portu- guese, and igname of the French,) is the name applied to several species, with their numerous varieties of the genus Dioscorea, L. Diccc. Hexan. L and Dioscorece, J. They are climbing, perennial, herbaceous plants, with tuberous roots, and axillary flowers in spikes or racemes. The name yam is more particularly applied to the D. sativa. (Rheed. Mai. 8. t. 51.) (fig. 535.) This plant has tender stalks, climbing to the height of eighteen or twenty feet, and furnished with smooth-nerved roundish leaves. From the base of the leaves arise spikes of small flowers of no beauty. The root is flat, brownish, a foot broad, and nearly palmated like those of some of the orchidea?. It is a native of, and cultivated exten- sively in, Africa and the East and West Indies, and was in- troduced here from the latter country in 1733. The roots are mealy, easy of digestion, palatable, and not inferior to any roots now in use, either for delicacy of flavor or nutriment. They are eateninstead of bread, either
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookpublisherlondonprinte, booksubjectgardening
