Radish

“ Râs Mâlâ, ii. 82; [ed. 1878, p. 418] .
JAVA-RADISH, s. A singular variety (Raphanus caudatus, L.) of the common radish (R. sativus, L.) , of which the pods, which attain a foot in length, are eaten and not the root. It is much cultivated in Western India, under the name of mugra [see Baden-Powell, Punjab Products, i. 260] . It is curious that the Hind. name of the common radish is mūlī, from mūl, 'root,' exactly analogous to radish from radix.
[JAVA-WIND, s. In the Straits Settlements an unhealthy south wind blowing from the direction of Java is so called. (Compare SUMATRA, b.) ]
JAWAUB, s. ”

“ Push the point of the paper neck into the slit at the large end of the potato. That finishes the baby alligator, which is wonderfully true to life.
What to Make of a Radish
A crisp, fresh, clean radish is very tempting, but don't eat it this time; turn it into something else by the magic your ten fingers can work.
The Radish Imp
Fig. 160 shows a round white radish which, with its long, slender root and leaves still on it, has been changed into a queer little radish imp by using strong broom-straws to stiffen his leaf arms, his leaf legs, and his leaf body. ”

“ The roots, which are the edible part, consist of a watery fibrous pulp, which is comparatively bland, and of an external skin furnished with a pungent volatile aromatic oil which acts as a condiment to the phlegmatic pulp. "Radishes are eaten with salt alone as carrying their pepper in them." The oil contained in the roots, and likewise in the seeds, is sulphuretted, and disagrees with persons of weak digestion. A young Radish, which is quickly grown and tender, will suit most stomachs, especially if some of the leaves are masticated together with the root ”

“ The radish is commonly cited as indigestible, but for all that it is commended by old writers as a potent remedy for stone. If not too old, well masticated, and eaten at the beginning of a meal, I do not think it is more indigestible than the majority of vegetables.
A syrup made with the juice expressed from pounded radishes and cane sugar is recommended for rheumatism, bronchial troubles, whooping-cough, and pustular eruptions.
Dr. Fernie notes that the black radish is especially useful against whooping-cough, probably by reason of its volatile, sulphureted oil. ”

“ When the balls are perfectly dry, they are ready for use; and are employed, not only in dyeing blue, but also as the basis of several other colours.
185. HORSE-RADISH (Cochlearia armoracia) is a well-known kitchen-garden plant, which grows wild by the sides of ditches and the banks of rivers, in several parts of the north of England.
The root of horse-radish is much used for culinary purposes. It is remarkable for great pungency both of smell and taste. When scraped, it is mixed with pickles to heighten their flavour, and is eaten with roast beef, fish, and several other kinds of food. ”

“ Rarely the flowers are all purplish. The entire plant is rough to the touch; the leaves, similar to those of the garden radish, are deeply cleft (lyrate-pinnatifid) ; the seed pods, which soon follow the flowers up the spike, are nearly cylindric when fresh, but become constricted between the seeds, as they dry, until each little pod looks like a section of a bead necklace.
The GARDEN RADISH of the market (R. sativus) , occasionally escaped from cultivation, although credited to China, is entirely unknown in its native state. ”

“ The radish is a vegetable which is found throughout the whole year in all the principal markets of the United States, being grown under cover during the cold weather. It is ready for market within a short time after sowing, so that crop after crop can be grown during the year on the same soil. It is most highly prized when it is young, as it tends to acquire a pungent and bitter taste as it approaches maturity. ”

“ A decoction of the rind of radishes in wine, taken in the morning in doses of three cyathi, has the effect of breaking and expelling calculi of the bladder. A decoction, too, of this rind in vinegar and water, is employed as a liniment for the stings of serpents. Taken fasting in the morning with honey, radishes are good1351 for a cough. Parched radish-seed, as well as216 radishes themselves, chewed, is useful for pains in the sides.1352 A decoction of the leaves, taken in drink, or else the juice of the plant taken in doses of two cyathi, is an excellent remedy for phthiriasis. ”

“ If one wishes to devote a definite space to radishes and maintain a succession of plants it will be a good plan to drop a seed in the ground for each radish pulled; in this way there will be a constant supply of young, crisp radishes all summer. ”

“ Such a plant we have in the radish. The root is certainly a small one, but then it grows so rapidly that a good supply can be had within thirty days from the sowing of the seed, and a crop can be matured before the time for sowing turnips. Two crops may be easily obtained from land under potatoes—one before the tops cover the ground, the other after the tubers have been dug out. The yield of radishes, judging from the produce in the garden, would be at least six tons of roots and three tons of tops. I would suggest, then, that the radish should at once get a fair chance as a stolen crop. ”

“ Radish (Raphanus sativus) is a well-known plant, the root of which is a valuable salad; it has been cultivated from a remote period. It is now possible to have a supply the whole year round. Crisp, tender radishes with delicate flavor are only obtained by quick growth on rich, moist soil. The earliest crops are grown in frames on hotbeds, the crop being ready about five weeks from sowing. The earliest sowing outdoors can be made from December to February in sheltered sunny positions, the beds being covered with a thick layer of litter. ”

“ On some coasts we find the Sweet Alyssum (Koniga maritima) —a naturalised plant with procumbent stem, narrow lanceolate, acute leaves, and white flowers. It may be recognised by its compressed, pointed pouch with one-seeded cells. This species flowers towards the end of the summer.
The Sea Radish (Raphanus maritimus) is a much larger plant, growing three or four feet in height. In common with the Wild Radish of our corn-fields, it has a tapering pod divided into one-seeded joints, but it may be distinguished from the latter by its superior height and the deeply-divided radical leaves. ”

“ For a constant supply successive plantings should be made every two weeks, as the roots lose their crispness and delicate flavor if allowed to remain long in the open ground. As a rule a large percentage of radish seed will grow, and it is often possible by careful sowing to avoid the necessity of thinning, the first radishes being pulled as soon as they are of sufficient size for table use, thus making room for those that are a little later. Radishes will not endure hot weather and are suited to early spring and late autumn planting. ”

“ The radish succeeds in any well-worked not too heavy garden soil, but requires a warm, sheltered situation. The seed is generally sown broadcast, in beds 4 to 5 ft. wide, with alleys between, the beds requiring to be netted over to protect them from birds. The earliest crop may be sown about the middle of December, the seed-beds being at once covered with litter, which should not be removed till the plants come up, and then only in the daytime, and when there is no frost. If the crop succeeds, which depends on the state of the weather, it will be in use about the beginning of March. ”

“ Restaurants keep their supplies of horse-radish quite fresh for several months by planting the roots in cool cellars in moist sand, and the cuttings held over for the spring planting are kept in the same way. ”

“ When the plants have come up, admit the air every day in mild or tolerably good weather by tilting the upper end of the light, or sometimes the front, one, two, or three inches high, that the Radishes may not draw up long, pale, and weak. If they have risen very thick, thin them, while young, to about one inch apart. ”

“ The horseradish is probably a descendant of this gigantic ancestor. It had at one period a gigantic reputation. Dipped in poison, it rendered the draught innocuous, and rubbed on the hands, it made an encounter with venomed serpents mere play. In short, it was celebrated as being a cure for every evil in life, the only exception being that it destroyed the teeth. There was far more difference of opinion touching garlic than there was touching the radish. The Egyptians deified it, as they did the leek and the cabbage ”

“ If a fine light soil cannot be had for planting, it will pay to hoe or hand-plow furrows where the drills are to be—not many will be needed, and put in specially prepared soil, in which the seed may get a good start.
Radish:—To be of good crisp quality, it is essential with radishes to grow them just as quickly as possible. The soil should be rather sandy and not rich in fresh manure or other nitrogenous fertilizers, as this tends to produce an undesirable amount of leaves at the expense of the root. ”

“ Radishes grown slowly become tough, pungent and worthless. On the other hand, those which are grown quickly on rich, mellow ground are attractive in appearance, delicate in flavour, and as digestible as any salad in common use. It should be understood that earliness is of the very first importance, and that large Radishes are never wanted. To insure a quick growth and a handsome sample the ground must not only be good, but finely broken up. ”

“ The hard, yet fertile soil, I feel certain, is quite suited for our cucumbers, cabbage, turnip-cabbage, and radishes. Of radishes, the European sort succeeds better than the Egyptian, which belongs to quite an anomalous variety. ”

“ One inch between seeds is none too little.
In field culture and at the distances mentioned six or seven pounds of seed will be needed for the acre. For cultivation on a smaller scale an ounce may be found sufficient for 50 to 100 feet of drill. This quantity should be enough for any ordinary-sized family. In all open ground culture the radish is the parsley's best friend, because it not only marks the rows, and thus helps early cultivation, but the radishes break, loosen and shade the soil and thus aid the parsley plants. ”

“ As the children went from one well-kept farm to the next, something interesting was learned from each plot.
For instance the Blue Birds heard from Farmer [96] Jones that a radish was really a root. Because of its red color it could be mistaken for fruit or a bulbous vegetable, but it grows and produces stems with leaves, so it must be classed with root vegetables.
“Besides all this, a thin root tapers from the round bulb. It is this long tapering root that finds the food and drink in the deep, dark ground for the plant above ground to grow upon,” explained the Farmer. ”

“ The red ones are generally preferred, because they lend color to a dish or a meal, but the white and brown varieties are just as desirable so far as flavor is concerned.
99. Radishes contain very little food value, being about equal to celery and cucumbers in this respect. They do not supply anything valuable to a meal except mineral salts. Although some persons consider radishes difficult to digest, they contain almost nothing that has to be digested, for they are composed largely of cellulose, which does not digest, and water. ”

“ Your soil must be finely broken and raked before you sow your seed. If you live in a warm district you can make your first out-of-door sowing in February, but this would be too early in cold climates. Radishes must grow quickly and be eaten while they are young, or they are not worth having. On this account you should sow a tiny pinch of seed every fortnight, rather than a whole packet at once. They must be well thinned, as crowded plants make big leaves and poor Radishes. ”

“ Melt not away in rapture," Daucus Carota the First would say. "Near, near is the joyful day!"
It chanced that the schoolmaster had sent Fräulein Aennchen a present of some of the finest radishes from his garden. She was particularly pleased at this, as Herr Dapsul was very fond of radishes, and she could not get anything from the vegetable garden because it was covered by the silk marquee. Besides this, it now occurred to her for the first time that, among all the roots and vegetables she had seen in the palace, radishes were conspicuous by their absence. ”

“ Horseradish Sauce.
Have 1 cup of thick cream, thoroughly chilled, and whip it with an egg-beater till very stiff. It should keep its shape. Add 1⁄2 teaspoon salt, 1⁄2 salt-spoon pepper, 3 tablespoons grated horseradish. The radish should be fresh, if possible, add 2 tablespoons vinegar and 1 teaspoon sugar, put in ice-box until ready to use, as it should be very thick when served. Good with veal chops.—Mrs. ”

“ This might be a curious anomaly with no bearing, but the more we advance in the study of Nature the more we perceive that all phenomena, even the most insignificant, deserve to be examined. Similar results have been observed in varieties of radish (Raphanus raphanistrum) and of saffron (Crocus vernus) ; in the former the white flowers expand on an average of sixteen days earlier than the yellow ones (twelve years of observation) , and in the latter plant the difference is four days.
These changes of tint sometimes appear to depend on the temperature. ”

“ It is mentioned also by the same author (xvii. 37. §10) , that he ordered his patients to eat a radish as a preservative against intoxication, from having observed (it is said) that the vine always turned away from a radish if growing near it. It is very possible that this Androcydes may be the same person who is mentioned by Theophrastus (Hist. Plant. iv. 16 [al. 20] 20) , and also by Athenaeus. ”