Excerpt from The Culture of Vegetables and Flowers From Seeds and Roots
Horticulture has a full share in the ceaseless activity of the age. Changes have been effected in the Kitchen Garden which are quite as remarkable as the altered methods of locomotion, lighting and sanitation. Vegetables are grown in greater variety, of higher quality, and are sent to table both earlier and later in the season than was considered possible by gardeners of former generations.
When Parkinson directed his readers to prepare Melons for eating by mixing with the pulp "salt and pepper and good store of wine, he must have been familiar with fruit differing widely from the superb varieties which are now in favour. A kindred plant, the Cucumber, is more prolific than ever, and the fruits win admiration for their symmetrical shape.
The Tomato has ceased to be a summer luxury for a few wealthy epicures, and is now prized as a delicacy throughout the year by all classes of the community. Apart from its edible value, the fruit has been developed into many beautiful forms, and it can be employed with brilliant effect as a table ornament.
As a result of the hybridiser"s skill modern Potatoes produce heavier crops, less liable to succumb to the attacks of disease, than the old varieties, and the finest table quality has been maintained. This vegetable alone has contributed in a marked degree to the reformation of the national dietary.
Peas are not what they were because they are so immensely better. While the powers of the plant have been concentrated, with the result that it occupies less room and occasions less trouble, its productiveness has been augmented and the quality improved.
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