KITCHEN VEGETABLES. 3f>I

alike, having white umbellse. Daucon may, therefore, be apeculiar kind of this genus.

Lastly, pastinaca, or carrots, were also named carottz byApicius, lib. iii. cap. 21, p.101, which last word is derivedfrom kctpTGv, which, in Athenaeus , denotes the large roots ofthis plant: also from xtpa;, which occurs in Hesychius andApuleius , as a synonym of pastinaca, staphylinus, and dau-cion; but it may be possible that all these words havebeen corrupted by transcribers. From thence, however,the Germans as well as French have derived the appellation,of carrottes; the English have from thence their carrots.From the mode in which Galen described it, there canscarce remain a doubt but he meant our caraway, and whichhe termed xapaq, and names it along with staphylimis anddaucus. Dioscorides himself sa)s, that the spices andaromatic seeds of the xapos were used, and that the roots alsowere boiled and eaten like carrots. Lib. iii. cap. GG, p. 200.Pliny calls the plant careum: from hence, and other in-stances, a doubt cannot exist that the Greeks as well asRomans, were well acquainted with our carrots; but it may-be with probability conjectured, that they were far less usedin cookery than they are at present: the ancients unques-tionably used them for foddering their cattle; had they beenas familiar to their tables as they are io ours, there is reasonto believe mention of them would more frequently occur intheir works.

Whether under the term pastinaca, the ancients did notsometimes understand our parsnip, though some may con-ceive it questionable, we think little doubt can be enter-tained. However, should this be questioned, a doubtcannot remain, but that this root is recognised by Diosco-rides in the following description. He calls it elaphoboscon rdescribes it with umbella, that it had yellow flowers, andlarge sweet roots fit to be eaten. Lib. iii. cap. 80, p. 205.Pliny has also, as is usual wfith him, followed this author in.his nomination; as it appears among all our umbelliferousplants, besides dill, fennel, and lovage, the parsnip appearsthe only one which has yellow flowers; at most, we know ofno other which has yellow flowers, with esculent roots, andwhich so perfectly answers the above description. Should theparsnip have had no other names at Athens or Rome , itmust have been very little used by the Greeks and Romans;for the only authors who have named them, which have beendiscovered, are the two above named. At present it affordsan excellent fodder for cattle of several species, as well asfurnishing an agreeable variety for the table.