The Gardeners Chronicle notes that "it is not surprising, therefore, that this prolific grain should have accompanied the colonists of various nations over the whole of America from Chili to the chain of lakes. It was introduced into gardens on this side of the Atlantic within fifty years of the first voyage of Columbus. It entered the Mediterranean by way of Spain, and before the death of Queen Elizabeth and her counsellors - two of whom were noted gardeners, it reached the Levant, where it became an important item in the trade of the Venetians. It afterwards passed up the Danube to Hungary, and traveling eastward with the merchandise of caravans, it gradually entered the rice countries, and reached China and Japan."