Download or read book Spade, Skirret and Parsnip written by Bill Laws and published by . This book was released on 2009-06 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vegetables may be associated with dull monotony, but, as Bill Laws reveals in this entertaining book, the humble vegetable has had a far from mundane history. There are garlic inscriptions on Egyptian pyramids; peas, leeks, lettuces and beans are among the oldest vegetables in the world; while maize was cultivated in Mexico 2,500 years ago. Potatoes were venerated by the ancient Peruvians yet caused division between Catholics and Protestants in the mid-1700s. From guinea gardens to genetic modification, from aphrodisiacs to allotments, from poets to pop stars, and from tales of the market trade to the wicked secrets of the vegetable shows, Laws unearths the curious, intriguing and entertaining story of the vegetable. Illustrations.