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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Culinary Herbs: Their Cultivation
+Harvesting Curing and Uses, by M. G. Kains
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Culinary Herbs: Their Cultivation Harvesting Curing and Uses
+
+Author: M. G. Kains
+
+Release Date: May 11, 2007 [EBook #21414]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CULINARY HERBS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Tom Roch, Janet Blenkinship and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images produced by Core Historical
+Literature in Agriculture (CHLA), Cornell University)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ CULINARY HERBS
+
+ Their Cultivation, Harvesting, Curing and Uses
+
+
+ By
+
+ M. G. KAINS
+
+ _Associate Editor American Agriculturist_
+
+
+
+
+ Ah, Zephyrus! art here, and Flora too!
+ Ye tender bibbers of the rain and dew,
+ Young playmates of the rose and daffodil,
+ Be careful, ere ye enter in, to fill
+ Your baskets high
+ With fennel green, and balm, and golden pines,
+ Savory, latter-mint, and columbines,
+ Cool parsley, basil sweet, and sunny thyme;
+ Yea, every flower and leaf of every clime,
+ All gather'd in the dewy morn: hie
+ Away! fly, fly!
+
+ --_Keats, "Endymion"_
+
+[Illustration: Herbs and Children, a Happy Harmony]
+
+
+
+
+ NEW YORK
+ ORANGE JUDD COMPANY
+
+ LONDON
+ KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUeBNER & CO., Limited
+ 1912
+
+ Copyright, 1912
+ ORANGE JUDD COMPANY
+ _All Rights Reserved_
+
+ ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL, LONDON, ENGLAND
+
+ Printed in U. S. A.
+
+
+ * * * * *
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+A small boy who wanted to make a good impression once took his little
+sweetheart to an ice cream parlor. After he had vainly searched the list
+of edibles for something within his means, he whispered to the waiter,
+"Say, Mister, what you got that looks tony an' tastes nice for nineteen
+cents?"
+
+This is precisely the predicament in which many thousand people are
+today. Like the boy, they have skinny purses, voracious appetites and
+mighty yearnings to make the best possible impression within their
+means. Perhaps having been "invited out," they learn by actual
+demonstration that the herbs are culinary magicians which convert cheap
+cuts and "scraps" into toothsome dainties. They are thus aroused to the
+fact that by using herbs they can afford to play host and hostess to a
+larger number of hungry and envious friends than ever before.
+
+Maybe it is mainly due to these yearnings and to the memories of
+mother's and grandmother's famous dishes that so many inquiries
+concerning the propagation, cultivation, curing and uses of culinary
+herbs are asked of authorities on gardening and cookery; and maybe it is
+because no one has really loved the herbs enough to publish a book on
+the subject. That herbs are easy to grow I can abundantly attest, for I
+have grown them all. I can also bear ample witness to the fact that they
+reduce the cost of high living, if by that phrase is meant pleasing the
+palate without offending the purse.
+
+For instance, a few days ago a friend paid twenty cents for soup beef,
+and five cents for "soup greens." The addition of salt, pepper and other
+ingredients brought the initial cost up to twenty-nine cents. This made
+enough soup for ten or twelve liberal servings. The lean meat removed
+from the soup was minced and mixed with not more than ten cents' worth
+of diced potatoes, stale bread crumbs, milk, seasoning and herbs before
+being baked as a supper dish for five people, who by their bland smiles
+and "scotch plates" attested that the viands both looked "tony" and
+tasted nice.
+
+I am glad to acknowledge my thanks to Mr. N. R. Graves of Rochester, N.
+Y., and Prof. R. L. Watts of the Pennsylvania State Agricultural
+College, for the photographic illustrations, and to Mr. B. F.
+Williamson, the Orange Judd Co.'s artist, for the pen and ink drawings
+which add so much to the value, attractiveness and interest of these
+pages.
+
+If this book shall instill or awaken in its readers the wholesome though
+"cupboard" love that the culinary herbs deserve both as permanent
+residents of the garden and as masters of the kitchen, it will have
+accomplished the object for which it was written.
+
+ M. G. KAINS.
+ New York, 1912.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+ Page
+
+ Preface v
+
+ A Dinner of Herbs 7
+
+ Culinary Herbs Defined 11
+
+ History 12
+
+ Production of New Varieties 15
+
+ Status and Uses 19
+
+ Notable Instance of Uses 21
+
+ Methods of Curing 22
+
+ Drying and Storing 25
+
+ Herbs as Garnishes 30
+
+ Propagation, Seeds 32
+ Cuttings 34
+ Layers 36
+ Division 37
+
+ Transplanting 39
+
+ Implements 41
+
+ Location of Herb Garden 44
+
+ The Soil and Its Preparation 45
+
+ Cultivation 47
+
+ Double Cropping 48
+
+ Herb Relationships 49
+
+ The Herb List:
+ Angelica 55
+ Anise 59
+ Balm 63
+ Basil 65
+ Borage 71
+ Caraway 73
+ Catnip 77
+ Chervil 79
+ Chives 80
+ Clary 81
+ Coriander 82
+ Cumin 84
+ Dill 87
+ Fennel 89
+ Finocchio 93
+ Fennel Flower 94
+ Hoarhound 95
+ Hyssop 96
+ Lavender 97
+ Lovage 99
+ Marigold 100
+ Marjoram 101
+ Mint 105
+ Parsley 109
+ Pennyroyal 119
+ Peppermint 119
+ Rosemary 120
+ Rue 122
+ Sage 125
+ Samphire 129
+ Savory, Summer 131
+ Savory, Winter 132
+ Southernwood 133
+ Tansy 134
+ Tarragon 134
+ Thyme 137
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+ Page
+
+ Herbs and Children, a Happy Harmony _Frontispiece_
+
+ Spading Fork 1
+
+ Barrel Culture of Herbs 2
+
+ Transplanting Board and Dibble 5
+
+ Assortment of Favorite Weeders 8
+
+ Popular Adjustable Row Marker 10
+
+ Popular Spades 13
+
+ Lath Screen for Shading Beds 16
+
+ Harvesting Thyme Grown on a Commercial Scale 18
+
+ Garden Hoes of Various Styles 20
+
+ Dried Herbs in Paper and Tin 22
+
+ Herb Solution Bottle 24
+
+ Paper Sacks of Dried Herbs for Home Use 26
+
+ Hand Cultivator and Scarifier 27
+
+ Flat of Seedlings Ready to Be Transplanted 32
+
+ Glass Covered Propagating Box 34
+
+ Flower Pot Propagating Bed 35
+
+ Holt's Mammoth and Common Sage 38
+
+ Marker for Hotbeds and Cold Frames 39
+
+ Leading Forms of Trowels 40
+
+ Wooden Dibbles 43
+
+ Combination Hand Plow 45
+
+ Surface Paring Cultivator 47
+
+ Thinning Scheme for Harvesting 48
+
+ Center Row Hand Cultivator 50
+
+ Hand Plow 52
+
+ Prophecy of Many Toothsome Dishes 56
+
+ Anise in Flower and in Fruit 60
+
+ Sweet Basil 66
+
+ Borage, Famous for "Cool Tankard" 70
+
+ Caraway for Comfits and Birthday Cakes 74
+
+ Catnip, Pussy's Delight 78
+
+ Coriander, for Old-Fashioned Candies 82
+
+ Dill, of Pickle Fame 86
+
+ Sweet Fennel 90
+
+ Sweet Marjoram 102
+
+ Mint, Best Friend of Roast Lamb 106
+
+ Curled Parsley 110
+
+ Rue, Sour Herb of Grace 124
+
+ Sage, The Leading Herb for Duck and Goose Dressing 126
+
+ Holt's Mammoth and Common Sage Leaves 129
+
+ Dainty Summer Savory 130
+
+ Tarragon, French Chef's Delight 135
+
+ Thyme for Sausage 137
+
+
+
+
+CULINARY HERBS
+
+
+In these days of jaded appetites, condiments and canned goods, how
+fondly we turn from the dreary monotony of the "dainty" menu to the
+memory of the satisfying dishes of our mothers! What made us, like
+Oliver Twist, ask for more? Were those flavors real, or was it
+association and natural, youthful hunger that enticed us? Can we ever
+forget them; or, what is more practical, can we again realize them? We
+may find the secret and the answer in mother's garden. Let's peep in.
+
+The garden, as in memory we view it, is not remarkable except for its
+neatness and perhaps the mixing of flowers, fruits and vegetables as we
+never see them jumbled on the table. Strawberries and onions, carrots
+and currants, potatoes and poppies, apples and sweet corn and many other
+as strange comrades, all grow together in mother's garden in the utmost
+harmony.
+
+[Illustration: Spading Fork]
+
+All these are familiar friends; but what are those plants near the
+kitchen? They are "mother's sweet herbs." We have never seen them on the
+table. They never played leading roles such as those of the cabbage and
+the potato. They are merely members of "the cast" which performed the
+small but important parts in the production of the pleasing _tout
+ensemble_--soup, stew, sauce, or salad--the remembrance of which, like
+that of a well-staged and well-acted drama, lingers in the memory long
+after the actors are forgotten.
+
+[Illustration: Barrel Culture of Herbs]
+
+Probably no culinary plants have during the last 50 years been so
+neglected. Especially during the "ready-to-serve" food campaign of the
+closed quarter century did they suffer most. But they are again coming
+into their own. Few plants are so easily cultivated and prepared for
+use. With the exception of the onion, none may be so effectively
+employed and none may so completely transform the "left-over" as to
+tempt an otherwise balky appetite to indulge in a second serving without
+being urged to perform the homely duty of "eating it to save it."
+Indeed, sweet herbs are, or should be the boon of the housewife, since
+they make for both pleasure and economy. The soup may be made of the
+most wholesome, nutritious and even costly materials; the fish may be
+boiled or baked to perfection; the joint or the roast and the salad may
+be otherwise faultless, but if they lack flavor they will surely fail
+in their mission, and none of the neighbors will plot to steal the cook,
+as they otherwise might did she merit the reputation that she otherwise
+might, by using culinary herbs.
+
+This doleful condition may be prevented and the cook enjoy an enviable
+esteem by the judicious use of herbs, singly or in combination. It is
+greatly to be regretted that the uses of these humble plants, which seem
+to fall lower than the dignity of the title "vegetable," should be so
+little understood by intelligent American housewives.
+
+In the flavoring of prepared dishes we Americans--people, as the French
+say, "of one sauce"--might well learn a lesson from the example of the
+English matron who usually considers her kitchen incomplete without a
+dozen or more sweet herbs, either powdered, or in decoction, or
+preserved in both ways. A glance into a French or a German culinary
+department would probably show more than a score; but a careful search
+in an American kitchen would rarely reveal as many as half a dozen, and
+in the great majority probably only parsley and sage would be brought to
+light. Yet these humble plants possess the power of rendering even
+unpalatable and insipid dishes piquant and appetizing, and this, too, at
+a surprisingly low cost. Indeed, most of them may be grown in an
+out-of-the-way corner of the garden, or if no garden be available, in a
+box of soil upon a sunny windowsill--a method adopted by many foreigners
+living in tenement houses in New York and Jersey City. Certainly they
+may be made to add to the pleasure of living and, as Solomon declares,
+"better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox with
+contention."
+
+It is to be regretted that the moving picture show and the soda water
+fountain have such an influence in breaking up old-fashioned family
+evenings at home when everyone gathered around the evening lamp to enjoy
+homemade dainties. In those good old days the young man was expected to
+become acquainted with the young woman in the home. The girl took pride
+in serving solid and liquid culinary goodies of her own construction.
+Her mother, her all-sufficient guide, mapped out the sure, safe, and
+orthodox highway to a man's heart and saw to it that she learned how to
+play her cards with skill and precision. Those were the days when a
+larger proportion "lived happy ever after" than in modern times, when
+recreation and refreshment are sought more frequently outside than
+inside the walls of home.
+
+But it is not too late to learn the good old ways over again and enjoy
+the good old culinary dainties. Whoever relishes the summer cups that
+cheer but do not inebriate may add considerably to his enjoyment by
+using some of the sweet herbs. Spearmint adds to lemonade the pleasing
+pungency it as readily imparts to a less harmful but more notorious
+beverage. The blue or pink flowers of borage have long been famous for
+the same purpose, though they are perhaps oftener added to a mixture of
+honey and water, to grape juice, raspberry vinegar or strawberry acid.
+All that is needed is an awakened desire to re-establish home comforts
+and customs, then a little later experimentation will soon fix the herb
+habit.
+
+[Illustration: Transplanting Board and Dibble]
+
+The list of home confections may be very pleasingly extended by candying
+the aromatic roots of lovage, and thus raising up a rival to the candied
+ginger said to be imported from the Orient. If anyone likes coriander
+and caraway--I confess that I don't--he can sugar the seeds to make
+those little "comfits," the candies of our childhood which our mothers
+tried to make us think we liked to crunch either separately or sprinkled
+on our birthday cakes. Those were before the days when somebody's name
+was "stamped on every piece" to aid digestion. Can we ever forget the
+picnic when we had certain kinds of sandwiches? Our mothers minced sweet
+fennel, the tender leaves of sage, marjoram or several other herbs,
+mixed them with cream cheese, and spread a layer between two thin slices
+of bread. Perhaps it was the swimming, or the three-legged racing, or
+the swinging, or all put together, that put a razor edge on our
+appetites and made us relish those sandwiches more than was perhaps
+polite; but will we not, all of us who ate them, stand ready to dispute
+with all comers that it was the flavors that made us forget "our
+manners"?
+
+But sweet herbs may be made to serve another pleasing, an aesthetic
+purpose. Many of them may be used for ornament. A bouquet of the pale
+pink blossoms of thyme and the delicate flowers of marjoram, the
+fragrant sprigs of lemon balm mixed with the bright yellow umbels of
+sweet fennel, the finely divided leaves of rue and the long glassy ones
+of bergamot, is not only novel in appearance but in odor. In sweetness
+it excels even sweet peas and roses. Mixed with the brilliant red
+berries of barberry and multiflora rose, and the dark-green branches of
+the hardy thyme, which continues fresh and sweet through the year, a
+handsome and lasting bouquet may be made for a midwinter table
+decoration, a fragrant reminder of Shakespeare's lines in "A Winter's
+Tale":
+
+ "Here's flowers for you;
+ Hot lavender, mints, savory, marjoram;
+ The marigold, that goes to bed wi' the sun
+ And with him rises weeping."
+
+The rare aroma of sweet marjoram reminds so many city people of their
+mother's and their grandmother's country gardens, that countless muslin
+bags of the dried leaves sent to town ostensibly for stuffing poultry
+never reach the kitchen at all, but are accorded more honored places in
+the living room. They are placed in the sunlight of a bay window where
+Old Sol may coax forth their prisoned odors and perfume the air with
+memories of childhood summers on the farm.
+
+Other memories cling to the delicate little lavender, not so much
+because the owner of a well-filled linen closet perfumed her spotless
+hoard with its fragrant flowers, but because of more tender
+remembrances. Would any country wedding chest be complete without its
+little silk bags filled with dried lavender buds and blooms to add the
+finishing touch of romance to the dainty trousseau of linen and lace?
+What can recall the bridal year so surely as this same kindly lavender?
+
+
+
+
+A DINNER OF HERBS
+
+
+In an article published in _American Agriculturist_, Dora M. Morrell
+says: "There is an inference that a dinner of herbs is rather a poor
+thing, one not to be chosen as a pleasure. Perhaps it might be if it
+came daily, but, for once in a while, try this which I am going to tell
+you.
+
+"To prepare a dinner of herbs in its best estate you should have a bed
+of seasonings such as our grandmothers had in their gardens, rows of
+sage, of spicy mint, sweet marjoram, summer savory, fragrant thyme,
+tarragon, chives and parsley. To these we may add, if we take herbs in
+the Scriptural sense, nasturtium, and that toothsome esculent, the
+onion, as well as lettuce. If you wish a dinner of herbs and have not
+the fresh, the dried will serve, but parsley and mint you can get at
+most times in the markets, or in country gardens, where they often grow
+wild.
+
+"Do you know, my sister housewife, that if you were to have a barrel
+sawed in half, filled with good soil, some holes made in the side and
+then placed the prepared half barrel in the sun, you could have an herb
+garden of your own the year through, even if you live in a city flat? In
+the holes at the sides you can plant parsley, and it will grow to cover
+the barrel, so that you have a bank of green to look upon. On the top of
+the half barrel plant your mint, sage, thyme and tarragon. Thyme is so
+pleasing a plant in appearance and fragrance that you may acceptably
+give it a place among those you have in your window for ornament.
+
+[Illustration: Assortment of Favorite Weeders]
+
+"The Belgians make a parsley soup that might begin your dinner, or
+rather your luncheon. For the soup, thicken flour and butter together as
+for drawn butter sauce, and when properly cooked thin to soup
+consistency with milk. Flavor with onion juice, salt and pepper. Just
+before serving add enough parsley cut in tiny bits to color the soup
+green. Serve croutons with this.
+
+"For the next course choose an omelette with fine herbs. Any cookbook
+will give the directions for making the omelette, and all that will be
+necessary more than the book directs is to have added to it minced
+thyme, tarragon and chives before folding, or they may be stirred into
+the omelette before cooking.
+
+"Instead of an omelette you may have eggs stuffed with fine herbs and
+served in cream sauce. Cut hard-boiled eggs in half the long way and
+remove the yolks. Mash and season these, adding the herbs, as finely
+minced as possible. Shape again like yolks and return to the whites.
+Cover with a hot cream sauce and serve before it cools. Both of these
+dishes may be garnished with shredded parsley over the top.
+
+"With this serve a dish of potatoes scalloped with onion. Prepare by
+placing in alternate layers the two vegetables; season well with salt,
+pepper and butter, and then add milk even with the top layer. This dish
+is quite hearty and makes a good supper dish of itself.
+
+"Of course you will not have a meal of this kind without salad. For this
+try a mixture of nasturtium leaves and blossoms, tarragon, chives, mint,
+thyme and the small leaves of the lettuce, adding any other green leaves
+of the spicy kind which you find to taste good. Then dress these with a
+simple oil and vinegar dressing, omitting sugar, mustard or any such
+flavoring, for there is spice enough in the leaves themselves.
+
+"Pass with these, if you will, sandwiches made with lettuce or
+nasturtium dressed with mayonnaise. You may make quite a different thing
+of them by adding minced chives or tarragon, or thyme, to the
+mayonnaise. The French are very partial to this manner of compounding
+new sauces from the base of the old one. After you do it a few times you
+also will find it worth while.
+
+[Illustration: Popular Adjustable Row Marker]
+
+"When it comes to a dessert I am afraid you will have to go outside of
+herbs. You can take a cream cheese and work into it with a silver knife
+any of these herbs, or any two of them that agree with it well, and
+serve it with toasted crackers, or you can toast your crackers with
+common cheese, grating above it sage and thyme."
+
+Whether this "dinner of herbs" appeals to the reader or not, I venture
+to say that no housewife who has ever stuffed a Thanksgiving turkey, a
+Christmas goose or ducks or chickens with home-grown, home-prepared
+herbs, either fresh or dried, will ever after be willing to buy the
+paper packages or tin cans of semi-inodorous, prehistoric dust which
+masquerades equally well as "fresh" sage, summer savory, thyme or
+something else, the only apparent difference being the label.
+
+To learn to value herbs at their true worth one should grow them. Then
+every visitor to the garden will be reminded of some quotation from the
+Bible, or Shakespeare or some other repository of interesting thoughts;
+for since herbs have been loved as long as the race has lived on the
+earth, literature is full of references to facts and fancies concerning
+them. Thus the herb garden will become the nucleus around which cluster
+hoary legends, gems of verse and lilts of song, and where one almost
+stoops to remove his shoes, for
+
+ "The wisdom of the ages
+ Blooms anew among the sages."
+
+
+
+
+CULINARY HERBS DEFINED
+
+
+It may be said that sweet or culinary herbs are those annual, biennial
+or perennial plants whose green parts, tender roots or ripe seeds have
+an aromatic flavor and fragrance, due either to a volatile oil or to
+other chemically named substances peculiar to the individual species.
+Since many of them have pleasing odors they have been called sweet, and
+since they have been long used in cookery to add their characteristic
+flavors to soups, stews, dressings, sauces and salads, they are
+popularly called culinary. This last designation is less happy than the
+former, since many other herbs, such as cabbage, spinach, kale,
+dandelion and collards, are also culinary herbs. These vegetables are,
+however, probably more widely known as potherbs or greens.
+
+
+HISTORY
+
+It seems probable that many of the flavoring herbs now in use were
+similarly employed before the erection of the pyramids and also that
+many then popular no longer appear in modern lists of esculents. Of
+course, this statement is based largely upon imperfect records, perhaps,
+in many cases only hints more or less doubtful as to the various
+species. But it seems safe to conclude that a goodly number of the herbs
+discussed in this volume, especially those said to be natives of the
+Mediterranean region, overhung and perfumed the cradle of the human race
+in the Orient and marked the footsteps of our rude progenitors as they
+strode more and more sturdily toward the horizon of promise. This idea
+seems to gain support also from the fact that certain Eastern peoples,
+whom modern civilization declares to have uneducated tastes, still
+employ many herbs which have dropped by the wayside of progress, or like
+the caraway and the redoubtable "pusley," an anciently popular potherb,
+are but known in western lands as troublesome weeds.
+
+Relying upon Biblical records alone, several herbs were highly esteemed
+prior to our era; in the gospels of Matthew and Luke reference is made
+to tithes of mint, anise, rue, cummin and other "herbs"; and, more than
+700 years previously, Isaiah speaks of the sowing and threshing of
+cummin which, since the same passage (Isaiah xxviii, 25) also speaks of
+"fitches" (vetches), wheat, barley and "rie" (rye), seems then to have
+been a valued crop.
+
+[Illustration: Popular Spades]
+
+The development of the herb crops contrasts strongly with that of the
+other crops to which reference has just been made. Whereas these latter
+have continued to be staples, and to judge by their behavior during the
+last century may be considered to have improved in quality and yield
+since that ancient time, the former have dropped to the most subordinate
+position of all food plants. They have lost in number of species, and
+have shown less improvement than perhaps any other groups of plants
+cultivated for economic purposes. During the century just closed only
+one species, parsley, may be said to have developed more than an
+occasional improved variety. And even during this period the list of
+species seems to have been somewhat curtailed--tansy, hyssop, horehound,
+rue and several others being considered of too pronounced and even
+unpleasant flavor to suit cultivated palates.
+
+With the exception of these few species, the loss of which seems not to
+be serious, this absence of improvement is to be regretted, because with
+improved quality would come increased consumption and consequent
+beneficial results in the appetizing flavor of the foods to which herbs
+are added. But greatly improved varieties of most species can hardly be
+expected until a just appreciation has been awakened in individual
+cultivators, who, probably in a majority of cases, will be lovers of
+plants rather than men who earn their living by market gardening.
+
+Until the public better appreciates the culinary herbs there will be a
+comparatively small commercial demand; until the demand is sufficient to
+make growing herbs profitable upon an extensive scale, market gardeners
+will devote their land to crops which are sure to pay well; hence the
+opportunity to grow herbs as an adjunct to gardening is the most likely
+way that they can be made profitable. And yet there is still another;
+namely, growing them for sale in the various prepared forms and selling
+them in glass or tin receptacles in the neighborhood or by advertising
+in the household magazines. There surely is a market, and a profitable
+one if rightly managed. And with right management and profit is to come
+desire to have improved varieties. Such varieties can be developed at
+least as readily as the wonderful modern chrysanthemum has been
+developed from an insignificant little wild flower not half as
+interesting or promising originally as our common oxeye daisy, a
+well-known field weed.
+
+Not the least object of this volume is, therefore, to arouse just
+appreciation of the opportunities awaiting the herb grower. Besides the
+very large and increasing number of people who take pleasure in the
+growing of attractive flowering and foliage plants, fine vegetables and
+choice fruits, there are many who would find positive delight in the
+breeding of plants for improvement--the origination of new
+varieties--and who would devote much of their leisure time to this
+work--make it a hobby--did they know the simple underlying principles.
+For their benefit, therefore, the following paragraphs are given.
+
+
+PRODUCTION OF NEW VARIETIES
+
+Besides the gratification that always accompanies the growing of plants,
+there is in plant breeding the promise that the progeny will in some way
+be better than the parent, and there is the certainty that when a stable
+variety of undoubted merit has been produced it can be sold to an
+enterprising seedsman for general distribution. In this way the amateur
+may become a public benefactor, reap the just reward of his labors and
+keep his memory green!
+
+The production of new varieties of plants is a much simpler process than
+is commonly supposed. It consists far more in selecting and propagating
+the best specimens than in any so-called "breeding." With the majority
+of the herbs this is the most likely direction in which to seek success.
+
+Suppose we have sown a packet of parsley seed and we have five thousand
+seedlings. Among these a lot will be so weak that we will naturally
+pass them by when we are choosing plantlets to put in our garden beds.
+Here is the first and simplest kind of selection. By this means, and by
+not having space for a great number of plants in the garden, we probably
+get rid of 80 per cent of the seedlings--almost surely the least
+desirable ones.
+
+[Illustration: Lath Screen for Shading Beds]
+
+Suppose we have transplanted 1,000 seedlings where they are to grow and
+produce leaves for sale or home use. Among these, provided the seed has
+been good and true, at least 90 per cent will be about alike in
+appearance, productivity and otherwise. The remaining plants may show
+variations so striking as to attract attention. Some may be tall and
+scraggly, some may be small and puny; others may be light green, still
+others dark green; and so on. But there may be one or two plants that
+stand out conspicuously as the best of the whole lot. These are the ones
+to mark with a stake so they will not be molested when the crop is being
+gathered and so they will attain their fullest development.
+
+These best plants, and only these, should then be chosen as the seed
+bearers. No others should be allowed even to produce flowers. When the
+seed has ripened, that from each plant should be kept separate during
+the curing process described elsewhere. And when spring comes again,
+each lot of seed should be sown by itself. When the seedlings are
+transplanted, they should be kept apart and labeled No. 1, No. 2, No. 3,
+etc., so the progeny of each parent plant can be known and its history
+kept.
+
+The process of selecting the seedlings the second year is the same as in
+the first; the best are given preference, when being transplanted. In
+the beds all sorts of variations even more pronounced than the first
+year may be expected. The effort with the seedlings derived from each
+parent plant should be to find the plants that most closely resemble
+their own parents, and to manage these just as the parents were managed.
+No other should be allowed to flower.
+
+This process is to be continued from year to year. If the selection is
+carefully made, the grower will soon rejoice, because he will observe a
+larger and a larger number of plants approaching the type of plant he
+has been selecting for. In time practically the whole plantation will be
+coming "true to type," and he will have developed a new variety. If his
+ideal is such as to appeal to the practical man--the man who grows
+parsley for money--and if the variety is superior to varieties already
+grown, the originator will have no difficulty in disposing of his stock
+of seed and plants, if he so desires, to a seedsman, who will gladly pay
+a round price in order to have exclusive control of the "new creation."
+Or he may contract with a seedsman to grow seed of the new variety for
+sale to the trade.
+
+[Illustration: Harvesting Thyme Grown on a Commercial Scale]
+
+It may be said, further, that new varieties may be produced by placing
+the pollen from the flowers of one plant upon the pistils in the
+flowers of another and then covering the plant with fine gauze to keep
+insects out. With the herbs, however, this method seems hardly worth
+while, because the flowers are as a rule very small and the work
+necessarily finicky, and because there are already so few varieties of
+most species that the operation may be left to the activities of
+insects. It is for this reason, however, that none but the choicest
+plants should be allowed to bloom, so none but desirable pollen may
+reach and fertilize the flowers of the plants to be used as seed
+producers.
+
+
+STATUS AND USES
+
+Some readers of a statistical turn of mind may be disappointed to learn
+that figures as to the value of the annual crops of individual herbs,
+the acreage devoted to each, the average cost, yield and profit an acre,
+etc., are not obtainable and that the only way of determining the
+approximate standing of the various species is the apparent demand for
+each in the large markets and stores.
+
+Unquestionably the greatest call is for parsley, which is used in
+restaurants and hotels more extensively as a garnish than any other
+herb. In this capacity it ranks about equal with watercress and lettuce,
+which both find their chief uses as salads. As a flavoring agent it is
+probably less used than sage, but more than any of the other herbs. It
+is chiefly employed in dressings with mild meats such as chicken,
+turkey, venison, veal, with baked fish; and for soups, stews, and
+sauces, especially those used with boiled meats, fish and fricassees of
+the meats mentioned. Thus it has a wider application than any other of
+the culinary herbs.
+
+Sage, which is a strongly flavored plant, is used chiefly with such fat
+meats as pork, goose, duck, and various kinds of game. Large quantities
+are mixed with sausage meat and, in some countries, with certain kinds
+of cheese. Throughout the United States it is probably the most
+frequently called into requisition of all herbs, probably outranking any
+two of the others, with the exception of parsley.
+
+[Illustration: Garden Hoes of Various Styles]
+
+Thyme and savory stand about equal, and are chiefly used like parsley,
+though both, especially the former, are used in certain kinds of
+sausage. Marjoram, which is similarly employed, comes next, then follow
+balm, fennel, and basil. These milder herbs are often mixed for much the
+same reason that certain simple perfumes are blended--to produce a new
+odor--combinations of herbs resulting in a new compound flavor. Such
+compounds are utilized in the same way that the elementary herbs are.
+
+In classes by themselves are tarragon and spearmint, the former of which
+is chiefly used as a decoction in the flavoring of fish sauces, and the
+latter as the universal dressing with spring lamb. Mint has also a more
+convivial use, but this seems more the province of the W. C. T. U. than
+of this book to discuss.
+
+Dill is probably the most important of the herbs whose seeds, rather
+than their leaves, are used in flavoring food other than confectionery.
+It plays its chief role in the pickle barrel. Immense quantities of
+cucumber pickles flavored principally with dill are used in the
+restaurants of the larger cities and also by families, the foreign-born
+citizens and their descendants being the chief consumers. The demand for
+these pickles is met by the leading pickle manufacturers who prepare
+special brands, generally according to German recipes, and sell them to
+the delicatessen and the grocery stores. If they were to rely upon me
+for business, they would soon go bankrupt. To my palate the dill pickle
+appeals as almost the acme of disagreeableness.
+
+
+NOTABLE INSTANCE OF USES
+
+The flavors of the various herbs cover a wide range, commencing with
+fennel and ending with sage, and are capable of wide application. In one
+case which came under my observation, the cook made a celery-flavored
+stew of some meat scraps. Not being wholly consumed, the surviving
+debris appeared a day or two later, in company with other odds and
+ends, as the chief actor in a meat pie flavored with parsley. Alas, a
+left-over again! "Never mind," mused the cook; and no one who partook of
+the succeeding stew discovered the lurking parsley and its overpowered
+progenitor, the celery, under the effectual disguise of summer savory.
+By an unforeseen circumstance the fragments remaining from this last
+stew did not continue the cycle and disappear in another pie. Had this
+been their fate, however, their presence could have been completely
+obscured by sage. This problem in perpetual progression or culinary
+homeopathy can be practiced in any kitchen. But hush, tell it not in the
+dining-room!
+
+[Illustration: Dried Herbs in Paper and Tin]
+
+
+METHODS OF CURING
+
+Culinary herbs may be divided into three groups; those whose foliage
+furnishes the flavor, those whose seed is used and those few whose
+roots are prepared. In the kitchen, foliage herbs are employed either
+green or as decoctions or dried, each way with its special advocates,
+advantages and applications.
+
+Green herbs, if freshly and properly gathered, are richest in flavoring
+substances and when added to sauces, fricassees, stews, etc., reveal
+their freshness by their particles as well as by their decidedly finer
+flavor. In salads they almost entirely supplant both the dried and the
+decocted herbs, since their fresh colors are pleasing to the eye and
+their crispness to the palate; whereas the specks of the dried herbs
+would be objectionable, and both these and the decoctions impart a
+somewhat inferior flavor to such dishes. Since herbs cannot, however,
+always be obtained throughout the year, unless they are grown in window
+boxes, they are infused or dried. Both infusing and drying are similar
+processes in themselves, but for best results they are dependent upon
+the observance of a few simple rules.
+
+No matter in what condition or for what purpose they are to be used the
+flavors of foliage herbs are invariably best in well-developed leaves
+and shoots still in full vigor of growth. With respect to the plant as a
+whole, these flavors are most abundant and pleasant just before the
+flowers appear. And since they are generally due to essential oils,
+which are quickly dissipated by heat, they are more abundant in the
+morning than after the sun has reached the zenith. As a general rule,
+therefore, best results with foliage herbs, especially those to be used
+for drying and infusing, may be secured when the plants seem ready to
+flower, the harvest being made as soon as the dew has dried and before
+the day has become very warm. The leaves of parsley, however, may be
+gathered as soon as they attain that deep green characteristic of the
+mature leaf; and since the leaves are produced continuously for many
+weeks, the mature ones may be removed every week or so, a process which
+encourages the further production of foliage and postpones the
+appearance of the flowering stem.
+
+To make good infusions the freshly gathered, clean foliage should be
+liberally packed in stoppered jars, covered with the choicest vinegar,
+and the jars kept closed. In a week or two the fluid will be ready for
+use, but in using it, trials must be made to ascertain its strength and
+the quantity necessary to use. Usually only the clear liquid is
+employed; sometimes, however, as with mint, the leaves are very finely
+minced before being bottled and both liquid and particles employed.
+
+[Illustration: Herb Solution Bottle]
+
+Tarragon, mint and the seed herbs, such as dill, are perhaps more often
+used in ordinary cookery as infusions than otherwise. An objection to
+decoctions is that the flavor of vinegar is not always desired in a
+culinary preparation, and neither is that of alcohol or wine, which are
+sometimes used in the same way as vinegar.
+
+
+DRYING AND STORING
+
+When only a small quantity of an herb is to be dried, the old plan of
+hanging loose bunches from the ceiling of a warm, dry attic or a kitchen
+will answer. Better, perhaps, is the use of trays covered with clean,
+stout manilla paper upon which thin layers of the leaves are spread.
+These are placed either in hot sunlight or in the warm kitchen where
+warm air circulates freely. They must be turned once a day until all the
+moisture has been evaporated from the leaves and the softer, more
+delicate parts have become crisp. Then they may be crunched and crumbled
+between the hands, the stalks and the hard parts rejected and the powder
+placed in air-tight glass or earthenware jars or metal cans, and stored
+in a cool place. If there be the slightest trace of moisture in the
+powder, it should be still further dried to insure against mold. Prior
+to any drying process the cut leaves and stems should be thoroughly
+washed, to get rid of any trace of dirt. Before being dried as noted
+above, the water should all be allowed to evaporate. Evaporation may be
+hastened by exposing the herbs to a breeze in a shallow, loose basket, a
+wire tray or upon a table. While damp there is little danger of their
+being blown away. As they dry, however, the current of air should be
+more gentle.
+
+The practice of storing powdered herbs in paper or pasteboard packages
+is bad, since the delicate oils readily diffuse through the paper and
+sooner or later the material becomes as valueless for flavoring
+purposes as ordinary hay or straw. This loss of flavor is particularly
+noticeable with sage, which is one of the easiest herbs to spoil by bad
+management. Even when kept in air-tight glass or tin receptacles, as
+recommended, it generally becomes useless before the end of two years.
+
+[Illustration: Paper Sacks of Dried Herbs for Home Use]
+
+When large quantities of herbs are to be cured a fruit evaporator may be
+employed, the herbs being spread thinly upon wire-bottomed trays so that
+an ample current of air may pass through them. Care must be taken to
+keep the temperature inside the machine below 120 degrees. The greatest
+efficiency can be secured by placing the trays of most recently gathered
+herbs at the top, the partially dried ones being lowered to positions
+nearer the source of heat. In this way the fresh, dry, warm air comes in
+contact first with the herbs most nearly dried, removes the last
+vestige of moisture from them and after passing through the intervening
+trays comes to those most recently gathered.
+
+[Illustration: Hand Cultivator and Scarifier]
+
+Unless the evaporator be fitted with some mechanism which will permit
+all the trays to be lowered simultaneously, the work of changing the
+trays may seem too irksome to be warranted. But where no changes of
+trays are made, greater care must be given to the bottom trays because
+they will dry out faster than those at the top. Indeed in such cases,
+after the apparatus is full, it becomes almost essential to move the
+trays lower, because if fresh green herbs, particularly those which are
+somewhat wet, be placed at the bottom of the series, the air will become
+so charged with moisture from them that the upper layers may for a time
+actually absorb this moisture and thus take longer to dry. Besides this,
+they will surely lose some of their flavoring ingredients--the very
+things which it is desired to save.
+
+No effort should be made to hasten the drying process by increasing the
+temperature, since this is likely to result as just mentioned. A
+personal experience may teach the reader a lesson. I once had a large
+amount of parsley to cure and thought to expedite matters by using the
+oven of a gas stove. Suffice it to tell that the whole quantity was
+ruined, not a pinch was saved. In spite of the closest regulation the
+heat grew too great and the flavor was literally cooked out of the
+leaves. The delicate oil saturated everything in the house, and for a
+week or more the whole place smelled as if chicken fricassee was being
+made upon a wholesale plan.
+
+Except as garnishes, herbs are probably more frequently used in a dry
+state than in all other ways put together. Perhaps this is because the
+method of preparing them seems simpler than that of infusion, because
+large quantities may be kept in small spaces, and because they can be
+used for every purpose that the fresh plants or the decoctions can be
+employed. In general, however, they are called into requisition
+principally in dressings, soups, stews and sauces in which their
+particles are not considered objectionable. If clear sauces or soups are
+desired, the dried herbs may still be used to impart the flavor, their
+particles being removed by straining.
+
+The method of preparing dill, anise, caraway and other herbs whose seed
+is used, differs from that employed with the foliage herbs mainly in the
+ripeness of the plants. These must be gathered as soon as they show
+signs of maturity but before the seeds are ready to drop from them. In
+all this work especial care must be paid to the details of cleaning. For
+a pleasing appearance the seed heads must be gathered before they become
+the least bit weather-beaten. This is as essential as to have the seed
+ripe. Next, the seed must be perfectly clean, free from chaff, bits of
+broken stems and other debris. Much depends upon the manner of handling
+as well as upon harvesting. Care must be taken in threshing to avoid
+bruising the seeds, particularly the oily ones, by pounding too hard or
+by tramping upon them. Threshing should never be done in damp weather;
+always when the air is very dry.
+
+In clear weather after the dew has disappeared the approximately ripe
+plants or seed heads must be harvested and spread thinly--never packed
+firmly--upon stout cloth such as ticking, sailcloth, or factory cotton.
+A warm, open shed where the air circulates freely is an admirable place,
+since the natural temperature of the air is sufficient in the case of
+seeds to bring about good results. Usually in less than a week the tops
+will have become dry enough to be beaten out with a light flail or a
+rod. In this operation great care must be taken to avoid bruising or
+otherwise injuring the seed. The beating should therefore be done in a
+sheet spread upon a lawn or at least upon short grass. The force of the
+blows will thus be lessened and bruising avoided.
+
+For cleaning herb seeds sieves in all sizes from No. 2 to No. 40 are
+needed. The sizes represent various finenesses of mesh. All above No. 8
+should be of brass wire, because brass is considerably more durable and
+less likely to rust than iron. The cloths upon which the herbs are
+spread should be as large as the floor upon which the threshing is to be
+done except when the floor is without cracks, but it is more convenient
+to use cloths always, because they facilitate handling and temporary
+storing. Light cotton duck is perhaps best, but the weave must be close.
+A convenient size is 10 x 10 feet.
+
+After the stalks have been removed the seed should be allowed to remain
+for several days longer in a very thin layer--the thinner the
+better--and turned every day to remove the last vestige of moisture. It
+will be even better still to have the drying sheet suspended so air may
+circulate below as well as above the seed. Not less than a week for the
+smallest seeds and double that time for the larger ones is necessary. To
+avoid loss or injury it is imperative that the seed be dry before it is
+put in the storage packages. Of course, if infusions are to be made all
+this is unnecessary; the seed may be put in the liquor as soon as the
+broken stems, etc. are removed subsequent to threshing.
+
+
+HERBS AS GARNISHES
+
+As garnishes several of the culinary herbs are especially valuable. This
+is particularly true of parsley, which is probably more widely used than
+any other plant, its only close rivals being watercress and lettuce,
+which, however, are generally inferior to it in delicacy of tint and
+form of foliage, the two cardinal virtues of a garnish.
+
+Parsley varieties belong to three principal groups, based upon the form
+of the foliage: (1) Plain varieties, in which the leaves are nearly as
+they are in nature; (2) moss-curled varieties in which they are
+curiously and pleasingly contorted; and (3) fern leaved, in which the
+foliage is not curled, but much divided into threadlike parts.
+
+The moss-curled varieties are far more popular than the other two groups
+put together and are the only ones used especially as garnishes with
+meat dishes in the hotels and restaurants of the large cities. The
+plain-leaved sorts cannot be compared in any way except in flavor with
+the varieties of the other groups. But the fern-leaved kinds, which
+unfortunately have not become commercially well known, surpass even the
+finest varieties of the moss-curled group, not only in their exquisite
+and delicate form, but in their remarkably rich, dark-green coloring and
+blending of light and shade. But the mere fact that these varieties are
+not known in the cities should not preclude their popularity in suburban
+and town gardens and in the country, where every householder is monarch
+of his own soil and can satisfy very many aesthetic and gustatory desires
+without reference to market dictum, that bane alike of the market
+gardener and his customer.
+
+Several other herbs--tansy, savory, thyme, marjoram, basil, and
+balm--make pretty garnishes, but since they are not usually considered
+so pleasant to nibble at, they are rarely used. The pleasing effect of
+any garnish may be heightened by adding here and there a few herb
+flowers such as thyme or savory. Other flowers may be used in the same
+way; for instance, nasturtium.
+
+There is no reason why herbs so used should not be employed several
+times over, and afterwards dried or bottled in vinegar if they be free
+from gravy, oils, fats, etc., and if in sufficient quantity to make such
+a use worth while. Other pretty garnishes which are easily obtained are
+corn salad, peppergrass, mustard, fennel, and young leaves of carrot.
+But surpassing all these in pleasing and novel effects are the curled,
+pink, red and white-leaved varieties of chicory and nasturtium flowers
+alone or resting upon parsley or other delicate foliage. So much by way
+of digression.
+
+
+PROPAGATION
+
+SEEDS
+
+[Illustration: Flat of Seedlings Ready to Be Transplanted]
+
+Most herbs may be readily propagated by means of seeds. Some, however,
+such as tarragon, which does not produce seed, and several other
+perennial kinds, are propagated by division, layers, or cuttings. In
+general, propagation by means of seed is considered most satisfactory.
+Since the seeds in many instances are small or are slow to germinate,
+they are usually sown in shallow boxes or seed pans. When the seedlings
+are large enough to be handled they are transplanted to small pots or
+somewhat deeper flats or boxes, a couple of inches being allowed between
+the plants. When conditions are favorable in the garden; that is, when
+the soil is moist and warm and the season has become settled, the
+plantlets may be removed to permanent quarters.
+
+If the seed be sown out of doors, it is a good practice to sow a few
+radish seeds in the same row with the herb seeds, particularly if these
+latter take a long time to germinate or are very small, as marjoram,
+savory and thyme. The variety of radish chosen should be a turnip-rooted
+sort of exceedingly rapid growth, and with few and small leaves. The
+radishes serve to mark the rows and thus enable cultivation to commence
+much earlier than if the herbs were sown alone. They should be pulled
+early--the earlier the better after the herb plantlets appear. Never
+should the radishes be allowed to crowd the herbs.
+
+By the narration of a little incident, I may illustrate the necessity of
+sowing these radish seeds thinly. Having explained to some juvenile
+gardeners that the radish seeds should be dropped so far apart among the
+other seeds that they would look lonesome in the bottoms of the
+rows--not more than six seeds to the foot--and having illustrated my
+meaning by sowing a row myself, I let each one take his turn at sowing.
+While I watched them all went well. But, alas, for precept and example!
+To judge by the general result after the plants were up, the seedsman
+might justifiably have guaranteed the seed to germinate about 500 per
+cent, because each boy declared that _he_ sowed _his_ rows thinly.
+Nevertheless, there was a stand of radishes that would have gladdened
+the heart of a lawn maker! The rows looked like regiments drawn up in
+close order and not, as was desired, merely lines of scattered
+skirmishers. In many places there were more than 100 to the foot!
+Fortunately the variety was a quick-maturing kind and the crop, for such
+it became, was harvested before any damage was done the slow-appearing
+seedlings, whose positions the radishes were intended to indicate.
+
+
+CUTTINGS
+
+[Illustration: Glass-Covered Propagating Box]
+
+No herbs are so easy to propagate by means of cuttings as spearmint,
+peppermint, and their relatives which have underground stems. Every
+joint of these stems will produce a new plant if placed in somewhat
+moist soil. Often, however, this ability is a disadvantage, because the
+plants are prone to spread and become a nuisance unless watched. Hence
+such plants should be placed where they will not have their roots cut by
+tools used close to them. When they seem to be extending, their borders
+should be trimmed with a sharp spade pushed vertically full depth into
+the soil and all the earth beyond the clump thus restricted should be
+shaken out with a garden fork and the cut pieces of mint removed.
+Further, the forked-over ground should be hoed every week during the
+remainder of the season, to destroy lurking plantlets.
+
+The other perennial and biennial herbs may be readily propagated by
+means of stem cuttings or "slips," which are generally as easy to manage
+as verbenas, geraniums and other "house plants." The cuttings may be
+made of either fully ripened wood of the preceding or the current
+season, or they may be of firm, not succulent green stems. After
+trimming off all but a few of the upper leaves, which should be clipped
+to reduce transpiration, the cuttings--never more than 4 or 5 inches
+long--should be plunged nearly full depth in well-shaded, rather light,
+porous, well-drained loam where they should remain undisturbed until
+they show evidences of growth. Then they may be transplanted. While in
+the cutting bed they must never be allowed to become dry. This is
+especially true of greenwood cuttings made during the summer. These
+should always have the coolest, shadiest corner in the garden. The
+cuttings taken in the spring should be set in the garden as soon as
+rooted; but the summer cuttings, especially if taken late, should
+generally be left in their beds until the following spring. They may,
+however, be removed for winter use to window boxes or the greenhouse
+benches.
+
+[Illustration: Flower Pot Propagating Bed]
+
+Often the plants grown in window boxes may supply the early cuttings,
+which may be rooted in the house. Where a greenhouse is available, a
+few plants may be transplanted in autumn either from the garden or from
+the bed of summer cuttings just mentioned, kept in a rather cool
+temperature during the winter and drawn upon for cuttings as the stems
+become sufficiently mature. The rooting may take place in a regular
+cutting bench, or it may occur in the soil out of doors, the plantlets
+being transplanted to pots as soon as they have rooted well.
+
+If a large number of plants is desired, a hotbed may be called into
+requisition in early spring and the plants hardened off in cold frames
+as the season advances. Hardening off is essential with all plants grown
+under glass for outdoor planting, because unless the plants be inured to
+outside temperatures before being placed in the open ground, they will
+probably suffer a check, if they do not succumb wholly to the
+unaccustomed conditions. If well managed they should be injured not at
+all.
+
+
+LAYERS
+
+Several of the perennial herbs, such as sage, savory, and thyme, may be
+easily propagated by means of layers, the stems being pegged down and
+covered lightly with earth. If the moisture and the temperature be
+favorable, roots should be formed in three or four weeks and the stem
+separated from the parent and planted. Often there may be several
+branches upon the stem, and each of these may be used as a new plantlet
+provided it has some roots or a rooted part of the main stem attached to
+it. By this method I have obtained nearly 100 rooted plants from a
+single specimen of Holt's Mammoth sage grown in a greenhouse. And from
+the same plant at the same time I have taken more than 100 cuttings.
+This is not an exceptional feat with this variety, the plants of which
+are very branchy and often exceed a yard in diameter.
+
+Layering is probably the simplest and most satisfactory method of
+artificial propagation under ordinary conditions, since the stems are
+almost sure to take root if undisturbed long enough; and since rooted
+plants can hardly fail to grow if properly transplanted. Then, too, less
+apparent time is taken than with plants grown from cuttings and far less
+than with those grown from seed. In other words, they generally produce
+a crop sooner than the plants obtained by the other methods set in
+operation at the same time.
+
+
+DIVISION
+
+Division of the clumps of such herbs as mint is often practiced, a sharp
+spade or a lawn edger being used to cut the clump into pieces about 6
+inches square. The squares are then placed in new quarters and packed
+firmly in place with soil. This method is, however, the least
+satisfactory of all mentioned, because it too frequently deprives the
+plants of a large amount of roots, thus impairs the growth, and during
+the first season or two may result in unsymmetrical clumps. If done in
+early spring before growth starts, least damage is done to the plants.
+
+[Illustration: Holt's Mammoth and Common Sage About Half Natural Size]
+
+Artificial methods of propagation, especially those of cuttage and
+layerage, have the further advantage over propagation by means of seeds,
+in the perpetuation of desired characters of individual plants, one or
+more of which may appear in any plantation. These, particularly if more
+productive than the others, should always be utilized as stock, not
+merely because their progeny artificially obtained are likely to retain
+the character and thus probably increase the yield of the plantation,
+but principally because they may form the nucleus of a choice strain.
+
+[Illustration: Marker for Hotbeds and Cold Frames]
+
+Except in the respects mentioned, these methods of propagation are not
+notably superior to propagation by means of good seed, which, by the
+way, is not overabundant. By the consumption of a little extra time, any
+desired number of plants may be obtained from seed. At any rate, seed is
+what one must start with in nearly every case.
+
+
+TRANSPLANTING
+
+No more care is required in transplanting herbs than in resetting other
+plants, but unless a few essentials are realized in practice the results
+are sure to be unsatisfactory. Of course, the ideal way is to grow the
+plants in small flower pots and when they have formed a ball of roots,
+to set them in the garden. The next best is to grow them in seed pans or
+flats (shallow boxes) in which they should be set several inches apart
+as soon as large enough to handle, and in which they should be allowed
+to grow for a few weeks, to form a mass of roots. When these plants are
+to be set in the garden they should be broken apart by hand with as
+little loss of roots as possible.
+
+[Illustration: Leading Forms of Trowels]
+
+But where neither of these plans can be practiced, as in the growing of
+the plants in little nursery beds, either in hotbeds, cold frames or in
+the garden border, the plants should be "pricked out," that is,
+transplanted while very small to a second nursery bed, in order to make
+them "stocky" or sturdy and better able to take care of themselves when
+removed to final quarters. If this be done there should be no need of
+clipping back the tops to balance an excessive loss of roots, a
+necessity in case the plants are not so treated, or in case they become
+large or lanky in the second bed.
+
+In all cases it is best to transplant when the ground is moist, as it
+is immediately after being dug or plowed. But this cannot always be
+arranged, neither can one always count upon a shower to moisten the soil
+just after the plants have been set. If advantage can be taken of an
+approaching rainfall, it should be done, because this is the ideal time
+for transplanting. It is much better than immediately after, which is
+perhaps next best. Transplanting in cloudy weather and toward evening is
+better than in sunny weather and in the morning.
+
+Since the weather is prone to be coy, if not fickle, the manual part of
+transplanting should always be properly done. The plants should always
+be taken up with as little loss of roots as possible, be kept exposed to
+the air as short a time as possible, and when set in the ground have the
+soil packed firmly about their roots, so firmly that the operator may
+think it is almost too firm. After setting, the surface soil should be
+made loose, so as to act as a mulch and prevent the loss of moisture
+from the packed lower layer. If the ground be dry a hole may be made
+beside the plant and filled with water--LOTS OF WATER--and when it has
+soaked away and the soil seems to be drying, the surface should be made
+smooth and loose as already mentioned. If possible such times should be
+avoided, because of the extra work entailed and the probable increased
+loss due to the unfavorable conditions.
+
+
+IMPLEMENTS
+
+When herbs are grown upon a commercial scale the implements needed will
+be the same as for general trucking--plows, harrows, weeder, etc.--to
+fit the soil for the hand tools. Much labor can be saved by using
+hand-wheel drills, cultivators, weeders and the other tools that have
+become so wonderfully popular within the past decade or two. Some
+typical kinds are shown in these pages. These implements are
+indispensable in keeping the surface soil loose and free from weeds,
+especially between the rows and even fairly close to the plants. In
+doing this they save an immense amount of labor and time, since they can
+be used with both hands and the muscles of the body with less exertion
+than the hoe and the rake require.
+
+Nothing, however, can take the place of the hand tools for getting among
+and around the plants. The work that weeding entails is tiresome, but
+must be done if success is to crown ones efforts. While the plants are
+little some of the weeders may be used. Those with a blade or a series
+of blades are adapted for cutting weeds off close to the surface; those
+with prongs are useful only for making the soil loose closer to the
+plants than the rake dare be run by the average man. Hoes of various
+types are useful when the plants become somewhat larger or when one does
+not have the wheel cultivators. In all well-regulated gardens there
+should be a little liberal selection of the various wheel and hand
+tools.
+
+Only one of the hand tools demands any special comment. Many gardeners
+like to use a dibble for transplanting. With this tool it is so easy to
+make a hole, and to press the soil against the plant dropped in that
+hole! But I believe that many of the failures in transplanting result
+from the improper use of this tool. Unless the dibble be properly
+operated the plant may be left suspended in a hole, the sides of which
+are more or less hard and impervious to the tiny, tender rootlets that
+strive to penetrate them. From my own observation of the use of this
+tool, I believe that the proper place for the dibble in the novices
+garden is in the attic, side by side with the "unloaded" shotgun, where
+it may be viewed with apprehension.
+
+[Illustration: Wooden Dibbles]
+
+In spite of this warning, if anyone is hardy enough to use a dibble, let
+him choose the flat style, not the round one. The proper way is to
+thrust the tool straight down, at right angles to the direction of the
+row, and press the soil back and forth with the flat side of the blade
+until a hole, say 2 or 3 inches across and 5 or 6 inches deep, has been
+formed. In the hole the plantlet should then be suspended so all the
+roots and a little of the stem beneath the surface will be covered when
+the soil is replaced. Replacing the soil is the important part of the
+operation. The dibble must now be thrust in the soil again, parallel and
+close to the hole, and the soil pushed over so the hole will be
+completely closed from bottom to top. Firming the soil completes the
+operation.
+
+There is much less danger of leaving a hole with the flat than with the
+round dibble, which is almost sure to leave a hole beneath the plant. I
+remember having trouble with some lily plants which were not thriving.
+Supposing that insects were at the roots, I carefully drew the earth
+away from one side, and found that the earth had not been brought up
+carefully beneath the bulbs and that the roots were hanging 4 or 5
+inches beneath the bulbs in the hole left by the dibble and not properly
+closed by the careless gardener.
+
+I therefore warn every dibble user to be sure to crowd over the soil
+well, especially at the lower end of the hole. For my own part, I rely
+upon my hands. Digits existed long before dibbles and they are much more
+reliable. What matter if some soil sticks to them; it is not
+unresponsive to the wooing of water!
+
+
+LOCATION OF HERB GARDEN
+
+In general, the most favorable exposure for an herb garden is toward the
+south, but lacking such an exposure should not deter one from planting
+herbs on a northern slope if this be the only site available. Indeed,
+such sites often prove remarkably good if other conditions are
+propitious and proper attention is given the plants. Similarly, a
+smooth, gently sloping surface is especially desirable, but even in
+gardens in which the ground is almost billowy the gardener may often
+take advantage of the irregularities by planting the moisture-loving
+plants in the hollows and those that like dry situations upon the
+ridges. Nothing like turning disadvantages to account!
+
+No matter what the nature of the surface and the exposure, it is always
+advisable to give the herbs the most sunny spots in the garden, places
+where shade from trees, barns, other buildings and from fences cannot
+reach them. This is suggested because the development of the oils, upon
+which the flavoring of most of the herbs mainly depends, is best in full
+sunshine and the plants have more substance than when grown in the
+shade.
+
+[Illustration: Combination Hand Plow, Harrow, Cultivator and Seed Drill]
+
+
+THE SOIL AND ITS PREPARATION
+
+As to the kind of soil, Hobson's choice ranks first! It is not necessary
+to move into the next county just to have an herb garden. This is one of
+the cases in which the gardener may well make the best of however bad a
+bargain he has.
+
+But supposing that a selection be possible, a light sandy loam,
+underlaid by a porous subsoil so as to be well drained, should be given
+the preference, since it is warmed quickly, easily worked, and may be
+stirred early in the season and after a rain. Clay loams are less
+desirable upon every one of the points mentioned, and very sandy soils
+also. But if Hobson has one of these, there will be an excellent
+opportunity to cultivate philosophy as well as herbs. And the gardener
+may be agreeably surprised at the results obtained. No harm in trying!
+Whatever the quality of the soil, it should not be very rich, because in
+such soils the growth is apt to be rank and the quantity of oil small in
+proportion to the leafage.
+
+The preparation of the soil should commence as soon as the grass in the
+neighborhood is seen to be sprouting. Well-decayed manure should be
+spread at the rate of not less than a bushel nor more than double that
+quantity to the square yard, and as soon as the soil is dry enough to
+crumble readily it should be dug or plowed as deeply as possible without
+bringing up the subsoil. This operation of turning over the soil should
+be thoroughly performed, the earth being pulverized as much as possible.
+To accomplish this no hand tool surpasses the spading fork.
+
+One other method is, however, superior especially when practiced upon
+the heavier soils--fall plowing or digging. In practicing this method
+care should be taken to plow late when the soil, moistened by autumn
+rains, will naturally come up in big lumps. These lumps must be left
+undisturbed during the winter for frost to act upon. All that will be
+necessary in the spring will be to rake or harrow the ground. The clods
+will crumble.
+
+[Illustration: Surface Paring Cultivator]
+
+I once had occasion to try this method upon about 25 acres of land which
+had been made by pumping mud from a river bottom upon a marsh thus
+converted into dry ground by the sedimentation. Three sturdy horses were
+needed to do the plowing. The earth turned up in chunks as large as a
+man's body. Contrary to my plowman's doubts and predictions, Jack Frost
+did a grand milling business that winter! Clods that could hardly be
+broken in the autumn with a sledge hammer crumbled down in the spring at
+the touch of a garden rake!
+
+
+CULTIVATION
+
+Having thoroughly fined the surface of the garden by harrowing and
+raking, the seeds may be sown or the plants transplanted as already
+noted. From this time forward the surface must be kept loose and open by
+surface cultivation every week or 10 days and after every shower that
+forms a crust, until the plants cover the whole ground. This frequent
+cultivation is not merely for the purpose of keeping the weeds in check;
+it is a necessary operation to keep the immediate surface layer powdery,
+in which condition it will act as a mulch to prevent the loss of water
+from the lower soil layers. When kept in perfect condition by frequent
+stirring the immediate surface should be powdery. Yes, _powdery_! Within
+1 inch of the surface, however, the color will be darker from the
+presence of moisture. When supplied with such conditions, failures must
+be attributed to other causes than lack of water.
+
+
+DOUBLE CROPPING
+
+When desired, herbs may be used as secondary crops to follow such early
+vegetables as early cabbage and peas; or, if likely to be needed still
+earlier, after radishes, transplanted lettuce and onions grown from
+sets. These primary crops, having reached marketable size, are removed,
+the ground stirred and the herb plants transplanted from nursery beds or
+cold frames.
+
+[Illustration: Thinning Scheme for Harvesting]
+
+Often the principal herbs--sage, savory, marjoram and thyme--are set
+close together, both the rows and the plants in them being nearer than
+recommended further on. The object of such practice is to get several
+crops in the following way: When the plants in the rows commence to
+crowd one another each alternate plant is removed and sold or cured.
+This may perhaps be done a second time. Then when the rows begin to
+crowd, each alternate row is removed and the remainder allowed to
+develop more fully. The chief advantages of this practice are not only
+that several crops may be gathered, but each plant, being supplied with
+plenty of room and light, will have fewer yellow or dead leaves than
+when crowded. In the diagram the numbers show which plants are removed
+first, second, third and last.
+
+
+HERB RELATIONSHIPS
+
+Those readers who delight to delve among pedigrees, genealogies and
+family connections, may perhaps be a little disappointed to learn that,
+in spite of the odorous nature of the herbs, there are none whose
+history reveals a skeleton in the closet. They are all harmless. Now and
+then, to be sure, there occur records of a seemingly compromising
+nature, such as the effects attributed to the eating or even the
+handling of celery; but such accounts, harrowing as they may appear, are
+insufficient to warrant a bar sinister. Indeed, not only is the mass of
+evidence in favor of the defendant, but it casts a reflection upon the
+credibility of the plaintiff, who may usually be shown to have indulged
+immoderately, to have been frightened by hallucinations or even to have
+arraigned the innocent for his own guilt. Certain it is that there is
+not one of the sweet herbs mentioned in this volumes that has not long
+enjoyed a more or less honored place in the cuisine of all the
+continents, and this in spite of the occasional tootings of some
+would-be detractor.
+
+Like those classes of society that cannot move with "the four hundred,"
+the herbs are very exclusive, more exclusive indeed, than their
+superiors, the other vegetables. Very few members have they admitted
+that do not belong to two approved families, and such unrelated ones as
+do reach the charmed circles must first prove their worthiness and then
+hold their places by intrinsic merit.
+
+[Illustration: Center Row Hand Cultivator]
+
+These two coteries are known as the Labiatae and the Umbelliferae, the
+former including the sages, mints and their connections; the latter the
+parsleys and their relatives. With the exception of tarragon, which
+belongs to the Compositae, parsley and a few of its relatives which have
+deserted their own ranks, all the important leaf herbs belong to the
+Labiatae; and without a notable exception all the herbs whose seeds are
+used for flavoring belong to the Umbelliferae. Fennel-flower, which
+belongs to the natural order Ranunculaceae, or crowfoot family, is a
+candidate for admission to the seed sodality; costmary and southernwood
+of the Compositae seek membership with the leaf faction; rue of the
+Rutaceae and tansy of the Compositae, in spite of suspension for their
+boldness and ill-breeding, occasionally force their way back into the
+domain of the leaf herbs. Marigold, a composite, forms a clique by
+itself, the most exclusive club of all. It has admitted no members! And
+there seem to be no candidates.
+
+The important members of the Labiatae are:
+
+ Sage (_Salvia officinalis_, Linn.).
+ Savory (_Satureia hortensis_, Linn.).
+ Savory, winter (_Satureia montana_, Linn.).
+ Thyme (_Thymus vulgaris_, Linn.).
+ Marjoram (_Origanum Marjoram_; _O. Onites_, Linn.; and
+ _M. vulgare_, Linn.).
+ Balm (_Melissa officinalis_, Linn.).
+ Basil (_Ocimum Basilicum_, Linn., and _O. minimum_, Linn.).
+ Spearmint (_Mentha spicata_, Linn., or _M. viridis_, Linn.).
+ Peppermint (_Mentha Piperita_, Linn.).
+ Rosemary (_Rosmarinus officinalis_, Linn.).
+ Clary (_Salvia Sclarea_, Linn.).
+ Pennyroyal (_Mentha Pulegium_, Linn.).
+ Horehound (_Marrubium vulgare_, Linn.).
+ Hyssop (_Hyssopus vulgaris_, Linn.).
+ Catnip (_Nepeta Cataria_, Linn.).
+ Lavender (_Lavandula vera_, D. C.; _L. spica_, D. C.).
+
+These plants, which are mostly natives of mild climates of the old
+world, are characterized by having square stems; opposite, simple leaves
+and branches; and more or less two-lipped flowers which appear in the
+axils of the leaves, occasionally alone, but usually several together,
+forming little whorls, which often compose loose or compact spikes or
+racemes. Each fertile blossom is followed by four little seedlike fruits
+in the bottom of the calyx, which remains attached to the plant. The
+foliage is generally plentifully dotted with minute glands that contain
+a volatile oil, upon which depends the aroma and piquancy peculiar to
+the individual species.
+
+The leading species of the Umbelliferae are:
+
+ Parsley (_Carum Petroselinum_, Benth. and Hook.).
+ Dill (_Anethum graveolens_, Linn.).
+ Fennel (_Foeniculum officinale_, Linn.).
+ Angelica (_Archangelica officinalis_, Hoofm.).
+ Anise (_Pimpinella anisum_, Linn.).
+ Caraway (_Carum Carui_, Linn.).
+ Coriander (_Coriandrum sativum_, Linn.).
+ Chervil (_Scandix Cerefolium_, Linn.).
+ Cumin or Cummin (_Cuminum Cyminum_, Linn.).
+ Lovage (_Levisticum officinale_, Koch.).
+ Samphire (_Crithmum maritimum_, Linn.).
+
+[Illustration: Hand Plow]
+
+Like the members of the preceding group, the species of the Umbelliferae
+are principally natives of mild climates of the old world, but many of
+them extend farther north into the cold parts of the continent, even
+beyond the Arctic Circle in some cases. They have cylindrical, usually
+hollow stems; alternate, generally compound leaves the basis of whose
+stalks ensheath the branches or stems; and small flowers almost always
+arranged in compound terminal umbels. The fruits are composed of two
+seedlike dry carpels, each containing a single seed, and usually
+separating when ripe. Each carpel bears five longitudinal prominent ribs
+and several, often four, lesser intermediate ones, in the intervals
+between which numerous oil ducts have their openings from the interior
+of the fruit. The oil is generally found in more or less abundance also
+in other parts of the plant, but is usually most plentiful in the
+fruits.
+
+The members of the Compositae used as sweet herbs are, with the exception
+of tarragon, comparatively unimportant, and except for having their
+flowers in close heads "on a common receptacle, surrounded by an
+involucre," have few conspicuous characters in common. No further space
+except that required for their enumeration need here be devoted to them.
+And this remark will apply also to the other two herbs mentioned further
+below.
+
+
+COMPOSITAE
+
+Marigold, Pot (_Calendula officinalis_, Linn.). Tansy (_Tanacetum
+vulgaris_, Linn.). Tarragon (_Artemisia Dracunculus_, Linn.).
+Southernwood (_Artemisia Abrotanum_, Linn.).
+
+
+RUTACEAE
+
+Rue (_Ruta graveolens_, Linn.).
+
+
+BORAGINACEAE
+
+Borage (_Borago officinalis_, Linn.).
+
+
+RANUNCULACEAE
+
+Fennel-flower (_Nigella sativa_, Linn.).
+
+Before dismissing this section of the subject, it may be interesting to
+glance over the list of names once more. Seven of these plants were
+formerly so prominent in medicine that they were designated "official"
+and nearly all the others were extensively used by physicians. At the
+present day there are very few that have not passed entirely out of
+official medicine and even out of domestic practice, at least so far as
+their intrinsic qualities are concerned. Some, to be sure, are still
+employed because of their pleasant flavors, which disguise the
+disagreeable taste of other drugs. But this is a very different matter.
+
+One of the most notable of these is fennel. What wonders could that
+plant not perform 300 years ago! In Parkinson's "Theatricum Botanicum"
+(1640) its "vertues" are recorded. Apart from its use as food, for
+which, then, as now, it was highly esteemed, without the attachment of
+any medicinal qualities as an esculent, it was considered efficacious in
+cases of gout, jaundice, cramps, shortness of breath, wheezing of the
+lungs; for cleansing of the blood and improving the complexion; to use
+as an eye-water or to increase the flow of milk; as a remedy for serpent
+bites or an antidote for poisonous herbs and mushrooms; and for people
+who "are growen fat to abate their unwieldinesse and make them more
+gaunt and lanke."
+
+But let us peep into the 19th edition of the United States Dispensatory.
+Can this be the same fennel which "is one of our most grateful
+aromatics," and which, because of "the absence of any highly excitant
+property," is recommended for mixing with unpleasant medicines? Ask any
+druggist, and he will say it is used for little else nowadays than for
+making a tea to give babies for wind on their stomachs. Strange, but
+true it is! Similar statements if not more remarkable ones could be made
+about many of the other herbs herein discussed. Many of these are spoken
+of as "formerly considered specific" for such and such troubles but "now
+known to be inert."
+
+The cause is not far to seek. An imaginative and superstitious people
+attached fanciful powers to these and hundreds of other plants which the
+intervening centuries have been unable wholly to eradicate, for among
+the more ignorant classes, especially of Europe, many of these relics of
+a dark age still persist.
+
+But let us not gloat over our superior knowledge. After a similar lapse
+of time, may not our vaunted wisdom concerning the properties of plants
+look as ridiculous to the delver among our musty volumes? Indeed, it
+may, if we may judge by the discoveries and investigations of only the
+past fifty years. During this time a surprisingly large number of plants
+have been proved to be not merely innocuous instead of poisonous, as
+they were reputed, but fit for human food and even of superior
+excellence!
+
+
+THE HERB LIST
+
+=Angelica= (_Archangelica officinalis_, Hoffm.), a biennial or perennial
+herb of the natural order Umbelliferae, so called from its supposed
+medicinal qualities. It is believed to be a native of Syria, from
+whence it has spread to many cool European climates, especially Lapland
+and the Alps, where it has become naturalized.
+
+[Illustration: Prophecy of Many Toothsome Dishes]
+
+_Description._ Its roots are long, spindle-shaped, fleshy, and sometimes
+weigh three pounds; its stems stout, herbaceous, fluted, often more than
+4 feet tall, and hollow; its leaves long-stalked, frequently 3 feet in
+length, reddish purple at the clasping bases, and composed, in the
+larger ones, of numerous small leaflets, in three principal groups,
+which are each subdivided into three lesser groups; its flowers
+yellowish or greenish, small and numerous, in large roundish umbels; its
+seeds pale yellow, membranous-edged, oblong flattened on one side,
+convex on the other, which is marked with three conspicuous ribs.
+
+_Cultivation._ Since the seeds lose their vitality rapidly, rarely being
+viable after the first year, they should be sown as soon as ripe in late
+summer or early autumn, or not later than the following spring after
+having been kept during the winter in a cold storeroom. The soil should
+be moderately rich, rather light, deep, well drained, but moist and well
+supplied with humus. It should be deeply prepared and kept loose and
+open as long as tools can be used among the plants, which may be left to
+care for themselves as soon as they shade the ground well.
+
+In the autumn, the seeds may be sown where the plants are to remain or
+preferably in a nursery bed, which usually does not need protection
+during the winter. In the spring a mild hotbed, a cold frame or a
+nursery bed in the garden may be used, according to the earliness of
+planting. Half an inch is deep enough to cover the seeds. The seedlings
+should be transplanted when still small for their first summer's growth,
+a space of about 18 inches being allowed between them. In the autumn
+they should be removed to permanent quarters, the plants being set 3
+feet apart.
+
+If well grown, the leaves may be cut for use during the summer after
+transplanting; the plants may not, however, produce seed until the
+following season. Unless seed is desired, the tops should be cut and
+destroyed at or before flowering time, because, if this be not done, the
+garden is apt to become overrun with angelica seedlings. If the seeds
+are wanted, they should be gathered and treated as indicated on page 28.
+After producing seed, the plants frequently die; but by cutting down the
+tops when the flower heads first appear, and thus preventing the
+formation of seed, the plants may continue for several years longer.
+
+_Uses._ The stems and leaf stalks, while still succulent, are eaten as a
+salad or are roasted or boiled like potatoes. In Europe, they are
+frequently employed as a garnish or as an adjunct to dishes of meat and
+fish. They are also largely used for making candied angelica. (See
+below.) Formerly the stems were blanched like celery and were very
+popular as a vegetable; now they are little used in the United States.
+The tender leaves are often boiled and eaten as a substitute for
+spinach. Less in America than in Europe, the seeds, which, like other
+parts of the plant, are aromatic and bitterish, are used for flavoring
+various beverages, cakes, and candies, especially "comfits." Oil of
+angelica is obtained from the seeds by distillation with steam or
+boiling water, the vapor being condensed and the oil separated by
+gravity. It is also obtained in smaller quantity from the roots, 200
+pounds of which, it is said, yield only about one pound of the oil. Like
+the seeds, the oil is used for flavoring.
+
+_Angelica candied._ Green says: The fresh roots, the tender stems, the
+leaf stalks and the midribs of the leaves make a pleasing aromatic
+candy. When fresh gathered the plant is rather too bitter for use. This
+flavor may be reduced by boiling. The parts should first be sliced
+lengthwise, to remove the pith. The length of time will depend somewhat
+upon the thickness of the pieces. A few minutes is usually sufficient.
+After removal and draining the pieces are put in a syrup of granulated
+sugar and boiled till full candy density is reached. The kettle is then
+removed from the fire and the contents allowed to cool. When almost cold
+the pieces are to be taken out and allowed to dry.
+
+=Anise= (_Pimpinella Anisum_, Linn.), an annual herb of the natural order
+Umbelliferae. It is a native of southwestern Asia, northern Africa and
+south-eastern Europe, whence it has been introduced by man throughout
+the Mediterranean region, into Germany, and to some extent into other
+temperate regions of both hemispheres, but seems not to be known
+anywhere in the wild state or as an escape from gardens. To judge from
+its mention in the Scriptures (Matthew xxiii, 23), it was highly
+valued as a cultivated crop prior to our era, not only in Palestine,
+but elsewhere in the East. Many Greek and Roman authors, especially
+Dioscorides, Theophrastus, Pliny and Paladius, wrote more or less fully
+of its cultivation and uses.
+
+[Illustration: Anise in Flower and in Fruit]
+
+From their days to the present it seems to have enjoyed general
+popularity. In the ninth century, Charlemagne commanded that it be grown
+upon the imperial farms; in the thirteenth, Albertus Magnus speaks
+highly of it; and since then many agricultural writers have devoted
+attention to it. But though it has been cultivated for at least two
+thousand years and is now extensively grown in Malta, Spain, southern
+France, Russia, Germany and India, which mainly supply the market, it
+seems not to have developed any improved varieties.
+
+_Description._--Its roots are white, spindle-shaped and rather fibrous;
+its stems about 18 inches tall, branchy, erect, slender, cylindrical;
+its root leaves lobed somewhat like those of celery; its stem leaves
+more and more finely cut toward the upper part of the stem, near the top
+of which they resemble fennel leaves in their finely divided segments;
+its flowers yellowish white, small, rather large, in loose umbels
+consisting of many umbellets; its fruits ("seeds") greenish-gray, small,
+ovoid or oblong in outline, longitudinally furrowed and ridged on the
+convex side, very aromatic, sweetish and pleasantly piquant.
+
+_Cultivation._--The seeds, which should be as fresh as possible, never
+more than two years old, should be sown in permanent quarters as soon as
+the weather becomes settled in early spring. They should be planted 1/2
+inch deep, about 1/2 inch asunder, in drills 15 or 18 inches apart, and
+the plants thinned when about 2 inches tall to stand 6 inches asunder.
+An ounce of seed should plant about 150 feet of drill. The plants, which
+do not transplant readily, thrive best in well-drained, light, rich,
+rather dry, loamy soils well exposed to the sun. A light application of
+well-rotted manure, careful preparation of the ground, clean and
+frequent cultivation, are the only requisites in the management of this
+crop.
+
+In about four months from the sowing of the seed, and in about one month
+from the appearance of the flowers, the plants may be pulled, or
+preferably cut, for drying. (See page 25.) The climate and the soils in
+the warmer parts of the northern states appear to be favorable to the
+commercial cultivation of anise, which it seems should prove a
+profitable crop under proper management.
+
+_Uses._--The leaves are frequently employed as a garnish, for flavoring
+salads, and to a small extent as potherbs. Far more general, however, is
+the use of the seeds, which enter as a flavoring into various
+condiments, especially curry powders, many kinds of cake, pastry, and
+confectionery and into some kinds of cheese and bread. Anise oil is
+extensively employed for flavoring many beverages both alcoholic and
+non-spirituous and for disguising the unpleasant flavors of various
+drugs. The seeds are also ground and compounded with other fragrant
+materials for making sachet powders, and the oil mixed with other fluids
+for liquid perfumes. Various similar anise combinations are largely used
+in perfuming soaps, pomatums and other toilet articles. The very
+volatile, nearly colorless oil is usually obtained by distillation with
+water, about 50 pounds of seed being required to produce one pound of
+oil. At Erfurt, Germany, where much of the commercial oil is made, the
+"hay" and the seeds are both used for distilling.
+
+=Balm= (_Melissa officinalis_, Linn.), a perennial herb of the natural
+order Labiatae. The popular name is a contraction of _balsam_, the plant
+having formerly been considered a specific for a host of ailments. The
+generic name, _Melissa_, is the Greek for _bee_ and is an allusion to
+the fondness of bees for the abundant nectar of the flowers.
+
+Balm is a native of southern Europe, where it was cultivated as a source
+of honey and as a sweet herb more than 2,000 years ago. It is frequently
+mentioned in Greek and Latin poetry and prose. Because of its use for
+anointing, Shakespeare referred to it in the glorious lines (King
+Richard II., act iii, scene 2):
+
+ "Not all the water in the rough, rude sea
+ Can wash the balm from an anointed king."
+
+As a useful plant it received attention from the pen of Pliny. From its
+home it has been introduced by man as a garden plant into nearly all
+temperate climates throughout the world, and is often found as an escape
+from gardens where introduced--occasionally in this role in the earliest
+settled of the United States. Very few well-marked varieties have been
+produced. A variegated one, now grown for ornament as well as for
+culinary purposes, is probably the same as that mentioned by Mawe in
+1778.
+
+_Description._--The roots are small and fibrous; the stems, about 18
+inches tall, very numerous, erect or spreading, square; the leaves,
+green (except as mentioned), broadly ovate with toothed margins,
+opposite, rather succulent, highly scented; the flowers, few, whitish,
+or purplish, in small, loose, axillary, one-sided clusters borne from
+midsummer until late autumn; the seeds very small--more than 50,000 to
+the ounce.
+
+_Cultivation._--Balm is readily propagated by means of divisions,
+layers, cuttings, and by its seeds, which germinate fairly well even
+when four years old. Owing to its small size, the seed should be planted
+in a seedpan or flat in a greenhouse or hotbed, where all conditions can
+be controlled. The soil should be made very fine and friable, the thinly
+scattered seeds merely pressed upon the surface with a block or a brick,
+and water applied preferably through the bottom of the seedpan, which
+may be set in a shallow dish of water until the surface of the soil
+_begins_ to appear moist.
+
+When an inch tall the seedlings should be pricked out 2 inches apart in
+other, deeper flats and when about 4 inches tall set in the garden about
+1 foot asunder in rows about 18 inches apart. When once established they
+may be increased readily by the artificial means mentioned. (See page
+34.) Ordinary clean cultivation throughout the season, the removal of
+dead parts, and care to prevent the plants from spreading unduly, are
+the only requisites of cultivation. Preferably the soil should be poor,
+rather dry, little if at all enriched and in a sunny place. The foliage
+of seedling plants or plants newly spring-set should be ready for use by
+midsummer; that of established plants from early spring until late
+autumn. For home use and market it should be cured as recommended on
+page 25, the leaves being very thinly spread and plentifully supplied
+with air because of their succulence. The temperature should be rather
+low.
+
+_Uses._--The foliage is widely used for flavoring soups, stews, sauces,
+and dressings, and, when fresh, to a small extent with salads. Otto or
+oil of balm, obtained by aqueous distillation from the "hay," is a pale
+yellow, essential and volatile oil highly prized in perfumery for its
+lemon-like odor, and is extensively employed for flavoring various
+beverages.
+
+=Basil= (_Ocymum basilicum_, Linn.), an annual herb of the order Labiatae.
+The popular name, derived from the specific, signifies royal or kingly,
+probably because of the plant's use in feasts. In France it is known as
+herb royale, royal herb. The generic name is derived from _Oza_, a Greek
+word signifying odor.
+
+The plant is a native of tropical Asia, where for centuries, especially
+in India, it has been highly esteemed as a condiment. Probably the early
+Greek and Roman writers were well acquainted with it, but commentators
+are not decided. They suppose that the _Okimon_ of Hippocrates,
+Dioscorides and Theophrastus is the same as _Ocimum hortense_ of
+Columella and Varro.
+
+The plant's introduction into England was about 1548, or perhaps a
+little earlier, but probably not prior to 1538, because Turner does not
+mention it in his "Libellus," published in that year. It seems to have
+grown rapidly in popularity, for in 1586 Lyte speaks of it as if well
+known. In America it has been cultivated somewhat for about a century
+partly because of its fragrant leaves which are employed in bouquets,
+but mainly for flavoring culinary concoctions. In Australia it is also
+more or less grown, and in countries where French commerce or other
+interests have penetrated it is well known.
+
+[Illustration: Sweet Basil]
+
+There are several related species which, in America less than in Europe
+or the East, have attracted attention. The most important of these is
+dwarf or bush basil (_O. minimum_, Linn.), a small Chilian species also
+reported from Cochin China. It was introduced into cultivation in Europe
+in 1573. On account of its compact form it is popular in gardens as an
+edging as well as a culinary herb, for more than a century it has been
+grown in America. Sacred basil (_O. sanctum_), an oriental species, is
+cultivated near temples in India and its odoriferous oil extracted for
+religious uses. Formerly the common species was considered sacred by the
+Brahmins who used it especially in honor of Vishnu and in funeral rites.
+An African species, _O. fruticosum_, is highly valued at the Cape of
+Good Hope for its perfume.
+
+_Description._--From the small, fibrous roots the square stems stand
+erect about 1 foot tall. They are very branching and leafy. The leaves
+are green, except as noted below, ovate, pointed, opposite, somewhat
+toothed, rather succulent and highly fragrant. The little white flowers
+which appear in midsummer are racemed in leafy whorls, followed by small
+black fruits, popularly called seeds. These, like flaxseed, emit a
+mucilaginous substance when soaked in water. About 23,000 weigh an
+ounce, and 10 ounces fill a pint. Their vitality lasts about eight
+years.
+
+Like most of the other culinary herbs, basil has varied little in
+several centuries; there are no well-marked varieties of modern origin.
+Only three varieties of common basil are listed in America; Vilmorin
+lists only five French ones. Purple basil has lilac flowers, and when
+grown in the sun also purple leaf stems and young branches.
+Lettuce-leaved basil has large, pale-green blistered and wrinkled leaves
+like those of lettuce. Its closely set clusters of flowers appear
+somewhat late. The leaves are larger and fewer than in the common
+variety.
+
+The dwarf species is more compact, branching and dainty than the common
+species. It has three varieties; one with deep violet foliage and stems
+and lilac white flowers, and two with green leaves, one very dense and
+compact.
+
+East Indian, or Tree Basil (_O. gratissimum_, Linn.), a well-known
+species in the Orient, seems to have a substitute in _O. suave_, also
+known by the same popular name, and presumably the species cultivated in
+Europe and to some extent in America. It is an upright, branching
+annual, which forms a pyramidal bush about 20 inches tall and often 15
+inches in diameter. It favors very warm situations and tropical
+countries.
+
+_Cultivation._--Basil is propagated by seeds. Because these are very
+small, they are best sown in flats under glass, covered lightly with
+finely sifted soil and moistened by standing in a shallow pan of water
+until the surface shows a wet spot. When about an inch tall, the
+seedlings must be pricked out 2 inches apart each way in larger-sized
+flats. When 3 inches tall they will be large enough for the garden,
+where they should be set 1 foot asunder in rows 15 to 18 inches apart.
+Often the seed is sown in the mellow border as early in the spring as
+the ground can be worked. This method demands perhaps more attention
+than the former, because of weeds and because the rows cannot be easily
+seen. When transplanting, preference should be given to a sunny
+situation in a mellow, light, fertile, rather dry soil thoroughly well
+prepared and as free from weeds as possible. From the start the ground
+must be kept loose, open and clean. When the plants meet in the rows
+cultivation may stop.
+
+First gatherings of foliage should begin by midsummer when the plants
+start to blossom. Then they may be cut to within a few inches of the
+ground. The stumps should develop a second and even a third crop if care
+is exercised to keep the surface clean and open. A little dressing of
+quickly available fertilizer applied at this time is helpful. For seed
+some of the best plants should be left uncut. The seed should ripen by
+mid-autumn.
+
+For winter use plants may be transplanted from the garden, or seedlings
+may be started in September. The seeds should be sown two to the inch
+and the seedlings transplanted to pots or boxes. A handy pot is the
+4-inch standard; this is large enough for one plant. In flats the plants
+should be 5 or 6 inches apart each way.
+
+_Uses._--Basil is one of the most popular herbs in the French cuisine.
+It is especially relished in mock turtle soup, which, when correctly
+made, derives its peculiar taste chiefly from the clovelike flavor of
+basil. In other highly seasoned dishes, such as stews and dressings,
+basil is also highly prized. It is less used in salads. A golden yellow
+essential oil, which reddens with age, is extracted from the leaves for
+uses in perfumery more than in the kitchen.
+
+The original and famous Fetter Lane sausages, formerly popular with
+Cockney epicures, owed their reputation mainly to basil. During the
+reigns of Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth farmers grew basil in pots
+and presented them with compliments to their landladies when these paid
+their visits.
+
+[Illustration: Borage, Famous for "Cool Tankard"]
+
+=Borage= (_Borago officinalis_, Linn.), a coarse, hardy, annual herb of
+the natural order Boraginaceae. Its popular name, derived from the
+generic, is supposed by some to have come from a corruption of _cor_,
+the heart, and _ago_, to affect, because of its former use as a cordial
+or heart-fortifying medicine. _Courage_ is from the same source. The
+Standard Dictionary, however, points to _burrago_, rough, and relates it
+indirectly by cross references to _birrus_, a thick, coarse woolen cloth
+worn by the poor during the thirteenth century. The roughness of the
+full-grown leaves suggests flannel. Whichever derivation be correct,
+each is interesting as implying qualities, intrinsic or attributed, to
+the plant.
+
+The specific name indicates its obsolete use in medicine. It is one of
+the numerous plants which have shaken off the superstitions which a
+credulous populace wreathed around them. Almost none but the least
+enlightened people now attribute any medicinal virtues whatever to it.
+
+The plant is said to come originally from Aleppo, but for centuries has
+been considered a native of Mediterranean Europe and Africa, whence it
+has become naturalized throughout the world by Europeans, who grew it
+probably more for medicinal than for culinary purposes. According to
+Ainslie, it was among the species listed by Peter Martyr as planted on
+Isabella Island by Columbus's companions. The probability is that it was
+also brought to America by the colonists during Queen Elizabeth's time.
+It has been listed in American seedsmen's catalogues since 1806, but the
+demand has always been small and the extent to which it is cultivated
+very limited.
+
+_Description._--Borage is of somewhat spreading habit, branchy, about 20
+inches tall. Its oval or oblong-lanceolate leaves and other green parts
+are covered with whitish, rather sharp, spreading hairs. The flowers,
+generally blue, sometimes pink, violet-red, or white, are loosely
+racemed at the extremities of the branches and main stems.
+
+ "The flaming rose glooms swarthy red;
+ The borage gleams more blue;
+ And low white flowers, with starry head,
+ Glimmer the rich dusk through."
+
+ --_George MacDonald_
+ _"Songs of the Summer Night," Part III_
+
+The seeds are rather large, oblong, slightly curved, and a ridged and
+streaked grayish-brown. They retain their vitality for about eight
+years.
+
+_Cultivation._--No plant is more easily grown. The seed need only be
+dropped and covered in any soil, from poor to rich, and the plants will
+grow like weeds, and even become such if allowed to have sway. Borage
+seems, however, to prefer rather light, dry soils, waste places and
+steep banks. Upon such the flavor of the flowers is declared to be
+superior to that produced upon richer ground, which develops a ranker
+growth of foliage.
+
+In the garden the seeds are sown about 1/2 inch asunder and in rows 15
+inches apart. Shortly after the plants appear they are thinned to stand
+3 inches apart, the thinnings being cooked like spinach, or, if small
+and delicate, they may be made into salads. Two other thinnings may be
+given for similar purposes as the plants grow, so that at the final
+thinning the specimens will stand about a foot asunder. Up to this time
+the ground is kept open and clean by cultivation; afterwards the borage
+will usually have possession.
+
+_Uses._--More popular than the use of the foliage as a potherb and a
+salad is the employment of borage blossoms and the tender upper leaves,
+in company or not with those of nasturtium, as a garnish or an ornament
+to salads, and still more as an addition to various cooling drinks. The
+best known of these beverages is cool tankard, composed of wine, water,
+lemon juice, sugar and borage flowers. To this "they seem to give
+additional coolness." They are often used similarly in lemonade, negus,
+claret-cup and fruit juice drinks.
+
+The plant has possibly a still more important though undeveloped use as
+a bee forage. It is so easily grown and flowers so freely that it should
+be popular with apiarists, especially those who own or live near waste
+land, dry and stony tracts which they could sow to it. For such places
+it has an advantage over the many weeds which generally dispute
+possession in that it may be readily controlled by simple cultivation.
+It generally can hold its own against the plant populace of such places.
+
+=Caraway= (_Carum carui_, Linn.), a biennial or an annual herb of the
+natural order Umbelliferae. Its names, both popular and botanical, are
+supposed to be derived from Caria, in Asia Minor, where the plant is
+believed first to have attracted attention. From very early ages the
+caraway has been esteemed by cooks and doctors, between which a friendly
+rivalry might seem to exist, each vying to give it prominence. At the
+present time the cooks seem to be in the ascendancy; the seeds or their
+oil are rarely used in modern medicine, except to disguise the flavor of
+repulsive drugs.
+
+[Illustration: Caraway for Comfits and Birthday Cakes]
+
+Since caraway seeds were found by O'Heer in the debris of the lake
+habitations of Switzerland, the fact seems well established that the
+plant is a native of Europe and the probability is increased that the
+_Careum_ of Pliny is this same plant, as its use by Apicus would also
+indicate. It is mentioned in the twelfth-century writings as grown in
+Morocco, and in the thirteenth by the Arabs. As a spice, its use in
+England seems to have begun at the close of the fourteenth century. From
+its Asiatic home it spread first with Phoenician commerce to western
+Europe, whence by later voyageurs it has been carried throughout the
+civilized world. So widely has it been distributed that the traveler may
+find it in the wilds of Iceland and Scandinavia, the slopes of sunny
+Spain, the steeps of the Himalayas, the veldt of southern Africa, the
+bush of Australia, the prairies and the pampas of America.
+
+Caraway is largely cultivated in Morocco, and is an important article of
+export from Russia, Prussia, and Holland. It has developed no clearly
+marked varieties; some specimens, however, seem to be more distinctly
+annual than others, though attempts to isolate these and thus secure a
+quick-maturing variety seem not to have been made.
+
+_Description._--The fleshy root, about 1/2 inch in diameter, is
+yellowish externally, whitish within, and has a slight carroty taste.
+From it a rosette of finely pinnated leaves is developed, and later the
+sparsely leaved, channeled, hollow, branching flower stem which rises
+from 18 to 30 inches and during early summer bears umbels of little
+white flowers followed by oblong, pointed, somewhat curved, light brown
+aromatic fruits--the caraway "seeds" of commerce. These retain their
+germinating power for about three years, require about 10,000 seeds to
+make an ounce and fifteen ounces to the quart.
+
+_Cultivation._--Frequently, if not usually, caraway is sown together
+with coriander in the same drills on heavy lands during May or early
+June. The coriander, being a quick-maturing plant, may be harvested
+before the caraway throws up a flowering stem. Thus two crops may be
+secured from the same land in the same time occupied by the caraway
+alone. Ordinary thinning to 6 or 8 inches between plants is done when
+the seedlings are established. Other requirements of the crop are all
+embraced in the practices of clean cultivation.
+
+Harvest occurs in July of the year following the seeding. The plants are
+cut about 12 inches above ground with sickles, spread on sheets to dry
+for a few days, and later beaten with a light flail. After threshing,
+the seed must be spread thinly and turned daily until the last vestige
+of moisture has evaporated. From 400 to 800 pounds is the usual range of
+yield.
+
+If seed be sown as soon as ripe, plants may be secured which mature
+earlier than the main crop. Thus six or eight weeks may be saved in the
+growing season, and by continuing such selection a quick-maturing strain
+may be secured with little effort. This would also obviate the trouble
+of keeping seed from one year to the next, for the strain would be
+practically a winter annual.
+
+_Uses._--Occasionally the leaves and young shoots are eaten either
+cooked or as an ingredient in salads. The roots, too, have been esteemed
+in some countries, even more highly than the parsnip, which, however,
+largely because of its size, has supplanted it for this purpose. But the
+seeds are the important part. They find popular use in bread, cheese,
+liquors, salads, sauces, soups, candy, and especially in seed cakes,
+cookies and comfits. The colorless or pale yellow essential oil
+distilled with water from the seeds, which contain between 5% and 7-1/2%
+of it, has the characteristic flavor and odor of the fruit. It is
+extensively employed in the manufacture of toilet articles, such as
+perfumery, and especially soaps.
+
+=Catnip=, or =cat mint= (_Nepeta cataria_, Linn.), a perennial herb of the
+natural order Labiatae. The popular name is in allusion to the attraction
+the plant has for cats. They not only eat it, but rub themselves upon it
+purring with delight. The generic name is derived from the Etrurian city
+Neptic, in the neighborhood of which various species of the genus
+formerly became prominent.
+
+Like several of its relatives catnip is a well-known weed. It has become
+naturalized in America, and is most frequently observed in dry, waste
+places, especially in the East, though it is also often found in gardens
+and around dwellings throughout the United States and Canada.
+
+_Description._--Its erect, square, branching stems, from 18 to 36 inches
+tall, bear notched oval or heartshaped leaves, whitish below, and during
+late summer terminal clusters of white flowers in small heads, far
+apart below, but crowded close above. The fruits are small, brown,
+ovoid, smooth and with three clearly defined angles. An ounce contains
+about 3,400 seeds. Viability lasts for five years.
+
+[Illustration: Catnip, Pussy's Delight]
+
+_Cultivation._ Catnip will grow with the most ordinary attention on any
+fairly dry soil. The seed need only be sown in autumn or spring where
+the plants are to remain or in a nursery bed for subsequent
+transplanting. If to be kept in a garden bed they should stand 18 to 24
+inches apart each way. Nothing is needful except to keep down weeds in
+order to have them succeed for several years on the same spot.
+
+_Uses._--The most important use of the plant is as a bee forage; for
+this purpose waste places are often planted to catnip. As a condiment
+the leaves were formerly in popular use, especially in the form of
+sauces; but milder flavors are now more highly esteemed. Still, the
+French use catnip to a considerable extent. Like many of its relatives,
+catnip was a popular medicinal remedy for many fleshly ills; now it is
+practically relegated to domestic medicine. Even in this it is a
+moribund remedy for infant flatulence, and is clung to only by
+unlettered nurses of a passing generation.
+
+=Chervil= (_Scandix Cerefolium_, Linn.), a southern Europe annual, with
+stems about 18 inches tall and bearing few divided leaves composed of
+oval, much-cut leaflets. The small white flowers, borne in umbels, are
+followed by long, pointed, black seeds with a conspicuous furrow from
+end to end. These seeds, which retain their germinability about three
+years, but are rather difficult to keep, may be sown where the plants
+are to stay, at any season, about eight weeks before a crop is desired;
+cultivation is like that of parsley. During summer and in warm climates,
+cool, shady situations should be chosen, otherwise any situation and
+soil are suitable. The leaves, which are highly aromatic, are used,
+especially in France and England, for seasoning and for mixed salads.
+Chervil is rarely used alone, but is the chief ingredient in what the
+French call _fines herbes_, a mixture which finds its way into a host of
+culinary concoctions. The best variety is the Curled, which, though it
+has the same flavor as the plain, is a prettier garnish.
+
+=Chives= (_Allium Schoenoprasum_, Linn.), a bulbous, onion-like
+perennial belonging to the Liliaceae. Naturally the plants form thick
+tufts of abundant, hollow, grasslike leaves from their little oval bulbs
+and mat of fibrous roots. The short flower stems bear terminal clusters
+of generally sterile flowers. Hence the plants are propagated by
+planting the individual bulbs or by division of clumps in early spring.
+Frequently chives are planted in flower borders as an edging, for which
+purpose the compact growth and dainty flowers particularly recommend
+them. They should not be allowed to grow in the same place more than
+three years.
+
+Strictly speaking, chives do not belong with the herbs, but their leaves
+are so frequently used instead of onions for flavoring salads, stews and
+other dishes, and reference has been so often made to them in these
+pages, that a brief description has been included. For market the clumps
+are cut in squares and the whole plant sold. Treated in this way the
+greengrocers can keep them in good condition by watering until sold. For
+use the leaves are cut with shears close to the ground. If allowed to
+stand in the garden, cuttings may be made at intervals of two or three
+weeks all through the season.
+
+=Clary= (_Salvia sclarea_, Linn.), a perennial herb of the natural order
+Labiatae. The popular name is a corruption of the specific. In the
+discussion on sage will be found the significance of the generic name.
+Syria is said to be the original home of clary, but Italy is also
+mentioned. The presumption is in favor of the former country, as it is
+the older, and the plant was probably carried westward from it by
+soldiers or merchants. In England clary was known prior to 1538, when
+Turner published his garden lore, but in America, except in foreigners'
+gardens, it is rarely seen. It has been listed in seedsmen's catalogs
+since 1806.
+
+_Description._--The large, very broad, oblong, obtuse, toothed, woolly
+haired, radical leaves are grayish green and somewhat rumpled like those
+of Savoy cabbage. From among them rise the 2-foot tall, square,
+branching, sparsely leaved stems, which during the second year bear
+small clusters of lilac or white showy flowers in long spikes. The
+smooth brown or marbled shining seeds retain their germinating power for
+three years.
+
+_Cultivation._--The plants thrive in any well-drained soil. Seed may be
+sown during March in drills 18 inches apart where the plants are to
+remain or in a seedbed for transplanting 18 inches asunder in May. Clean
+cultivation is needed throughout the summer until the plants have full
+possession of the ground. In August the leaves may be gathered, and if
+this harvest be judiciously done the production of foliage should
+continue until midsummer of the second year, when the plants will
+probably insist upon flowering. After this it is best to rely upon new
+plants for supplies of leaves, the old plants being pulled.
+
+_Uses._--In America, the leaves are little used in cookery, and even in
+Europe they seem to be less popular than formerly, sage having taken
+their place. Wine is sometimes made from the plant when in flower. As an
+ornamental, clary is worth a place in the hardy flower border.
+
+[Illustration: Coriander, for Old-Fashioned Candies]
+
+=Coriander= (_Coriandrum sativum_, Linn.), "a plant of little beauty and
+of easiest culture," is a hardy annual herb of the natural order
+Umbelliferae. The popular name is derived from the generic, which comes
+from the ancient Greek Koris, a kind of bug, in allusion to the
+disagreeable odor of the foliage and other green parts. The specific
+name refers to its cultivation in gardens. Hence the scientific name
+declares it to be the cultivated buggy-smelling plant.
+
+Coriander has been cultivated from such ancient times that its land of
+nativity is unknown, though it is said to be a native of southern Europe
+and of China. It has been used in cookery and of course, too, in
+medicine; for, according to ancient reasoning, anything with so
+pronounced and unpleasant an odor must necessarily possess powerful
+curative or preventive attributes! Its seeds have been found in Egyptian
+tombs of the 21st dynasty. Many centuries later Pliny wrote that the
+best quality of seed still came to Italy from Egypt. Prior to the Norman
+conquest in 1066, the plant was well known in Great Britain, probably
+having been taken there by the early Roman conquerors. Before 1670 it
+was introduced into Massachusetts. During this long period of
+cultivation there seems to be no record or even indication of varieties.
+In many temperate and tropical countries it has become a frequent weed
+in cultivated fields.
+
+_Description._--From a cluster of slightly divided radical leaves
+branching stems rise to heights of 2 to 2-1/2 feet. Toward their summits
+they bear much divided leaves, with linear segments and umbels of small
+whitish flowers, followed by pairs of united, hemispherical,
+brownish-yellow, deeply furrowed "seeds," about the size of a sweet pea
+seed. These retain their vitality for five or six years. The seeds do
+not have the unpleasant odor of the plant, but have a rather agreeable
+smell and a moderately warm, pungent taste.
+
+_Cultivation._--Coriander, a plant of the easiest culture, does best in
+a rather light, warm, friable soil. In Europe it is often sown with
+caraway, which, being a biennial and producing only a rosette of leaves
+at the surface of the ground the first year, is not injured when the
+annual coriander is cut. The seed is often sown in the autumn, though
+spring sowing is perhaps in more favor. The rows are made about 15
+inches apart, the seeds dropped 1 inch asunder and 1/2 inch deep and the
+plantlets thinned to 6 or 8 inches. Since the plants run to seed
+quickly, they must be watched and cut early to prevent loss and
+consequent seeding of the ground. After curing in the shade the seed is
+threshed as already described (see page 28). On favorable land the yield
+may reach or even exceed 1,500 pounds to the acre.
+
+_Uses._--Some writers say the young leaves of the plant are used in
+salads and for seasoning soups, dressings, etc. If this is so, I can
+only remark that there is no accounting for tastes. I am inclined to
+think, however, that these writers are drawing upon their imagination or
+have been "stuffed" by people who take pleasure in supplying
+misinformation. The odor is such as to suggest the flavor of "buggy"
+raspberries we sometimes gather in the fence rows. Any person who
+relishes buggy berries may perhaps enjoy coriander salad or soup.
+
+Only the seed is of commercial importance. It is used largely in making
+comfits and other kinds of confectionery, for adding to bread, and,
+especially in the East, as an ingredient in curry powder and other
+condiments. In medicine its chief use now is to disguise the taste of
+disagreeable drugs. Distillers use it for flavoring various kinds of
+liquors.
+
+=Cumin= (_Cuminum Cyminum_, Linn.), a low-growing annual herb of the Nile
+valley, but cultivated in the Mediterranean region, Arabia, Egypt,
+Morocco, India, China, and Palestine from very early times, (See Isaiah
+xviii, 25-27 and Matthew xxiii, 23.) Pliny is said to have considered it
+the best appetizer of all condiments. During the middle ages it was in
+very common use. All the old herbals of the sixteenth and the
+seventeenth centuries figure and describe and extol it. In Europe it is
+extensively cultivated in Malta and Sicily, and will mature seed as far
+north as Norway; in America, today, the seed is cataloged by some
+seedsmen, but very little is grown.
+
+_Description._--The plant is very diminutive, rarely exceeding a height
+of 6 inches. Its stems, which branch freely from the base, bear mere
+linear leaves and small lilac flowers, in little umbels of 10 to 20
+blossoms each. The six-ribbed, elongated "seeds" in appearance resemble
+caraway seeds, but are straighter, lighter and larger, and in formation
+are like the double seeds of coriander, convex on one side and concave
+on the other. They bear long hairs, which fold up when the seed is dry.
+
+After the seed has been kept for two years it begins to lose its
+germinating power, but will sprout reasonably well when three years old.
+It is characterized by a peculiar, strong aromatic odor, and a hot
+taste.
+
+_Culture._--As soon as the ground has become warm the seed is sown in
+drills about 15 inches apart where the plants are to remain. Except for
+keeping down the weeds no further attention is necessary. The plants
+mature in about two months, when the stems are cut and dried in the
+shade. (See page 28.) The seeds are used in India as an ingredient in
+curry powder, in France for flavoring pickles, pastry and soups.
+
+[Illustration: Dill, of Pickle Fame]
+
+=Dill= (_Anethum graveolens_, Linn.), a hardy annual, native of the
+Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, smaller than common fennel,
+which it somewhat resembles both in appearance and in the flavor of the
+green parts, which are, however, less agreeable.
+
+In ancient times it was grown in Palestine. The word translated, "anise"
+in Matthew xxiii, 23, is said to have been "dill" in the original Greek.
+It was well known in Pliny's time, and is often discussed by writers in
+the middle ages. According to American writings, it has been grown in
+this country for more than 100 years and has become spontaneous in many
+places.
+
+_Description._--Ordinarily the plants grow 2 to 2-1/2 feet tall. The
+glaucous, smooth, hollow, branching stems bear very threadlike leaves
+and in midsummer compound umbels with numerous yellow flowers, whose
+small petals are rolled inward. Very flat, pungent, bitter seeds are
+freely produced, and unless gathered early are sure to stock the garden
+with volunteer seedlings for the following year. Under fair storage
+conditions, the seeds continue viable for three years. They are rather
+light; a quart of them weighs about 11 ounces, and an ounce is said to
+contain over 25,000 seeds.
+
+_Cultivation._--Where dill has not already been grown seed may be sown
+in early spring, preferably in a warm sandy soil, where the plants are
+to remain. Any well-drained soil will do. The drills should be 1 foot
+apart, the seeds scattered thinly and covered very shallow; a bed 12
+feet square should supply abundance of seed for any ordinary family. To
+sow this area 1/4 to 1/2 ounce of seed is ample. For field use the rows
+may be 15 inches apart and the seed sown more thinly. It should not be
+covered much more than 1/4 inch. Some growers favor fall sowing, because
+they claim the seed is more likely to germinate than in the spring, and
+also to produce better plants than spring-sown seed.
+
+At all times the plants must be kept free from weeds and the soil loose
+and open. When three or four weeks old the seedlings are thinned to 9
+inches, or even a foot apart. As soon as the seed is ripe, shortly after
+midsummer, it must be gathered with the least possible shaking and
+handling, so as to prevent loss. It is well to place the stems as cut
+directly in a tight-bottomed cart or a wheelbarrow, with a canvas
+receptacle for the purpose, and to haul direct to the shade where drying
+is to occur. A good place for this is a barn, upon the floor of which a
+large canvas sheet is spread, and where a free circulation of air can be
+secured. (See page 28.)
+
+_Uses._--The French use dill for flavoring preserves, cakes and pastry.
+For these purposes it is of too strong and pronounced a character to be
+relished by American palates. The seeds perhaps more often appear in
+soups, sauces and stews, but even here they are relished more by our
+European residents than by native Americans. Probably they are most used
+in pickles, especially in preserving cucumbers according to German
+recipes. Thousands of barrels of such pickles are sold annually, more
+especially in the larger cities and to the poorer people; but as this
+pickle is procurable at all delicatessen stores, it has gained great
+popularity among even the well-to-do. An oil is distilled from the seeds
+and used in perfuming soap. The young leaves are said to be used in
+pickles, soups and sauces, and even in salads. For the last purpose they
+are rather strong to suit most people, and for the others the seeds are
+far more popular.
+
+Dill vinegar is a popular household condiment. It is made by soaking the
+seed in good vinegar for a few days before using. The quantity of
+ingredients to use is immaterial. Only a certain amount of the flavor
+can be dissolved by the vinegar, and as few samples of vinegar are
+alike, the quantities both to mix and of the decoction to use must be
+left to the housewife. This may be said, however, that after one lot of
+seed has been treated the vinegar may be poured off and the seeds
+steeped a second time to get a weaker infusion. The two infusions may
+then be mixed and kept in a dark cupboard for use as needed.
+
+=Fennel= (_Foeniculum officinale_, All.), a biennial or perennial herb,
+generally considered a native of southern Europe, though common on all
+Mediterranean shores. The old Latin name _Foeniculum_ is derived from
+_foenum_ or hay. It has spread with civilization, especially where
+Italians have colonized, and may be found growing wild in many parts of
+the world, upon dry soils near the sea coast and upon river banks.
+
+[Illustration: Sweet Fennel]
+
+It seems to be partial to limestone soils, such as the chalky lands of
+England and the shelly formation of Bermuda. In this latter community I
+have seen it thriving upon cliffs where there seemed to be only a pinch
+of soil, and where the rock was so dry and porous that it would crumble
+to coarse dust when crushed in the hand. The plant was cultivated by the
+ancient Romans for its aromatic fruits and succulent, edible shoots.
+Whether cultivated in northern Europe at that time is not certain, but
+it is frequently mentioned in Anglo-Saxon cookery prior to the Norman
+conquest. Charlemagne ordered its culture upon the imperial farms. At
+present it is most popular in Italy, and France. In America it is in
+most demand among French and Italians. Like many other plants, fennel
+has had a highly interesting career from a medical point of view. But it
+no longer plays even a "small part" in the drama. Hints as to its
+history may be found on page 54.
+
+_Description._--Common garden or long, sweet fennel is distinguished
+from its wild or better relative (_F. vulgare_) by having much stouter,
+taller (5 to 6 feet) tubular and larger stems, less divided, more
+glaucous leaves. But a still more striking difference is seen in the
+leaf stalks which form a curved sheath around the stem even as far up as
+the base of the leaf above. Then, too, the green flowers are borne on
+more sturdy pedicels in the broader umbels, lastly the seeds are double
+the size of the wild fennel seeds, 1/4 or 1/2 inch long. They are convex
+on one side, flat on the other, and are marked by five yellowish ribs.
+Though a French writer says the seed degenerates "promptly," and
+recommends the use of fresh seed annually, it will not be wise to throw
+away any where it is not wanted to germinate, unless it is over four
+years old, as seed as old even as that is said to be satisfactory for
+planting.
+
+_Cultivation._--In usual garden practice fennel is propagated by seeds,
+and is grown as an annual instead of as a biennial or a perennial. The
+plants will flourish in almost any well-drained soil, but seem to prefer
+light loams of a limy nature. It is not particular as to exposure. The
+seed may be sown in nursery beds or where the plants are to remain. In
+the beds, the drills may be 6 inches apart, and not more than 1-3 inch
+deep, or the seed may be scattered broadcast. An ounce will be enough
+for a bed 10 feet square. When the plants are about 3 inches tall they
+should be transplanted 15 or 18 inches asunder in rows 2 to 2-1/2 feet
+apart. Some growers sow in late summer and in autumn so as to have early
+crops the following season; they also make several successional sowings
+at intervals of one or two weeks, in order to supply the demands of
+their customers for fresh fennel stalks from midsummer to December or
+even later. The plants will grow more or less in very cold, that is, not
+actually freezing weather.
+
+If sown in place, the rows should be the suggested 2 to 2-1/2 feet
+apart, and the plants thinned several times until the required distance
+is reached. Thinnings may be used for culinary purposes. For family use
+half an ounce of seed, if fairly fresh, will produce an ample supply of
+plants, and for several years, either from the established roots or by
+reseeding. Unless seed is needed for household or sowing purposes, the
+flower stems should be cut as soon as they appear.
+
+_Uses._--Fennel is considered indispensable in French and Italian
+cookery. The young plants and the tender leaves are often used for
+garnishes and to add flavor to salads. They are also minced and added to
+sauces usually served with puddings. The tender stems and the leaves are
+employed in soups and fish sauces, though more frequently they are eaten
+raw as a salad with or without dressing. The famous "Carosella" of
+Naples consists of the stems cut when the plant is about to bloom.
+These stems are considered a great delicacy served raw with the leaf
+stalks still around them. Oil, vinegar and pepper are eaten with them.
+By sowing at intervals of a week or 10 days Italian gardeners manage to
+have a supply almost all the year.
+
+The seeds are used in cookery, confectionery and for flavoring liquors.
+Oil of fennel, a pale yellow liquid, with a sweetish aromatic odor and
+flavor, is distilled with water. It is used in perfumery and for
+scenting soaps. A pound of oil is the usual yield of 500 pounds of the
+plant.
+
+=Finocchio=, or =Florence fennel= (_F. dulce_, D. C.), deserves special
+mention here. It appears to be a native of Italy, a distinct dwarf
+annual, very thick-set herb. The stem joints are so close together and
+their bases so swelled as to suggest malformation. Even when full grown
+and producing seed, the plant rarely exceeds 2 feet. The large, finely
+cut, light green leaves are borne on very broad, pale green or almost
+whitish stalks, which overlap at their bases, somewhat like celery, but
+much more swelled at edible maturity, to form a sort of head or
+irregular ball, the "apple," as it is called, sometimes as large as a
+man's fist. The seeds are a peculiar oblong, much broader than long,
+convex on one side and flat on the other, with five conspicuous ribs.
+
+Cultivation is much the same as for common fennel, though owing to the
+dwarf nature of the plant the rows and the plants may be closer
+together. The seedlings should be 5 or 6 inches asunder. They are very
+thirsty things and require water frequently. When the "apple" attains
+the size of an egg, earth may be drawn up slightly to the base, which
+may be about half covered; cutting may begin about 10 days later.
+Florence fennel is generally boiled and served with either a butter or a
+cream dressing. It suggests celery in flavor, but is sweeter and is even
+more pleasingly fragrant. In Italy it is one of the commonest and most
+popular of vegetables. In other European countries it is also well
+known, but in America its cultivation is almost confined to Italian
+gardens or to such as supply Italian demands in the large cities. In New
+York it is commonly sold by greengrocers and pushcart men in the Italian
+sections.
+
+=Fennel Flower= (_Nigella sativa_, Linn.), an Asiatic annual, belonging to
+the Ranunculaceae, grown to a limited extent in southern Europe, but
+scarcely known in America. Among the Romans it was esteemed in cookery,
+hence one of its common names, Roman coriander. The plant has a rather
+stiff, erect, branching stem, bears deeply cut grayish-green leaves and
+terminal grayish-blue flowers, which precede odd, toothed, seed vessels
+filled with small, triangular, black, highly aromatic seeds. For garden
+use the seed is sown in spring after the ground gets warm. The drills
+may be 15 to 18 inches apart and the plants thinned to 10 or 12 inches
+asunder. No special attention is necessary until midsummer, when the
+seed ripens. These are easily threshed and cleaned. After drying they
+should be stored in sacks in a cool, dry place. They are used just as
+they are or like dill in cookery.
+
+=Hoarhound=, or =horehound= (_Marrubium vulgare_, Linn.), a perennial plant
+of the natural order Labiatae, formerly widely esteemed in cookery and
+medicine, but now almost out of use except for making candy which some
+people still eat in the belief that it relieves tickling in the throat
+due to coughing. In many parts of the world hoarhound has become
+naturalized on dry, poor soils, and is even a troublesome weed in such
+situations. Bees are very partial to hoarhound nectar, and make a
+pleasing honey from the flowers where these are abundant. This honey has
+been almost as popular as hoarhound candy, and formerly was obtainable
+at druggists. Except in isolated sections, it has ceased to be sold in
+the drug stores. The generic name _Marrubium_ is derived from a Hebrew
+word meaning bitter. The flavor is so strong and lasting that the modern
+palate wonders how the ancient mouth could stand such a thing in
+cookery.
+
+The numerous branching, erect stems and the almost square, toothed,
+grayish-green leaves are covered with a down from which the common name
+hoarhound is derived. The white flowers, borne in axillary clusters
+forming whorls and spikes, are followed by small, brown, oblong seeds
+pointed at one end. These may be sown up to the third year after
+ripening with the expectation that they will grow. Spring is the usual
+time for sowing. A dry, poor soil, preferably exposed to the south,
+should be chosen. The plants may stand 12 to 15 inches apart. After once
+becoming established no further attention need be given except to
+prevent seed forming, thus giving the plant less chance to become a
+nuisance. Often the clumps may be divided or layers or cuttings may be
+used for propagation. No protection need be given, as the plants are
+hardy.
+
+An old author gives the following recipe for hoarhound candy: To one
+pint of a strong decoction of the leaves and stems or the roots add 8 or
+10 pounds of sugar. Boil to candy height and pour into molds or small
+paper cases previously well dusted with finely powdered lump sugar, or
+pour on dusted marble slabs and cut in squares.
+
+=Hyssop= (_Hyssopus officinalis_, Linn.), a perennial evergreen undershrub
+of the Labiatae, native of the Mediterranean region. Though well known in
+ancient times, this plant is probably not the one known as hyssop in
+Biblical writings. According to the Standard Dictionary the Biblical
+"hyssop" is "an unidentified plant ... thought by some to have been a
+species of marjoram (_Origanum maru_); by others, the caper-bush
+(_Capparis spinosa_); and by the author of the 'History of Bible
+Plants,' to have been the name of any common article in the form of a
+brush or a broom." In ancient and medieval times hyssop was grown for
+its fancied medicinal qualities, for ornament and for cookery. Except
+for ornament, it is now very little cultivated. Occasionally it is found
+growing wild in other than Mediterranean countries.
+
+_Description._--The smooth, simple stems, which grow about 2 feet tall,
+bear lanceolate-linear, entire leaves and small clusters of usually
+blue, though sometimes pink or white flowers, crowded in terminal
+spikes. The small, brown, glistening three-angled seeds, which have a
+little white hilum near their apices, retain their viability three
+years. Leaves, stems and flowers possess a highly aromatic odor and a
+hot, bitter flavor.
+
+_Cultivation._--Hyssop succeeds best in rather warm, limy soil. It may
+be readily propagated by division, cuttings, and seed. In cold climates
+the last way is the most common. Seed is sown in early spring, either in
+a cold frame or in the open ground, and the seedlings transplanted in
+early summer. Even where the plants survive the winters, it is advisable
+to renew them every three or four years. When grown in too rich soil,
+the growth will be very lush and will lack aroma. Plants should stand
+not closer than 6 inches in the rows, which should be at least 18 inches
+apart. They do best in partial shade.
+
+_Uses._--Hyssop has almost entirely disappeared from culinary practice
+because it is too strong-flavored. Its tender leaves and shoots are,
+however, occasionally added to salads, to supply a bitter taste. The
+colorless oil distilled from the leaves has a peculiar odor and an
+acrid, camphorescent taste. Upon contact with the air it turns yellow
+and changes to a resin. From 400 to 500 pounds of the fresh plant yield
+a pound of oil. The oil is used to some extent in the preparation of
+toilet articles.
+
+=Lavender=, (_Lavendula vera_, D. C.; _L. Angustifolia_, Moench.; _L.
+spica_, Linn.), a half-hardy perennial undershrub, native of dry,
+calcareous uplands in southern Europe. Its name is derived from the
+Latin word _Lavo_, to wash, a distillation of the flowers being
+anciently used in perfuming water for washing the body. The plant forms
+a compact clump 2 to 2-1/2 feet tall, has numerous erect stems, bearing
+small, linear gray leaves, above which the slender, square, flower stems
+arise. The small violet-blue flowers are arranged in a short, terminal
+spike, and are followed by little brown, oblong, shiny seeds, with white
+dots at the ends, attached to the plant. The seeds remain viable for
+about five years.
+
+_Cultivation._--Lavender succeeds best on light, limy or chalky soil,
+but will do well in any good loam. In gardens it is usually employed as
+an edging for flower beds, and is most frequently propagated by division
+or cuttings, seed being used only to get a start where plants cannot be
+secured in the other ways mentioned. In cold climates the plants must
+either be protected or removed to a greenhouse, or at least a cold
+frame, which can be covered in severe weather. The seed is sown indoors
+during March, and if crowding, pricked out 2 inches asunder. When the
+ground has become warm, the plants are set in the open 15 to 20 inches
+asunder. It delights in a sunny situation, and is most fragrant on poor
+soil. Rich soil makes the plant larger but the flowers poorer in
+perfume.
+
+_Uses._--The plant is sometimes grown for a condiment and an addition to
+salads, dressings, etc., but its chief use is in perfumery, the flowers
+being gathered and either dried for use in sachet bags or distilled for
+their content of oil. In former years no girl was supposed to be ready
+for marriage until, with her own hands, she had made her own linen and
+stored it with lavender. And in some sections the lavender is still
+used, though the linen is nowadays purchased.
+
+In southern France and in England considerable areas are devoted to
+lavender for the perfumery business. The flower stems are cut in August,
+covered at once with bast matting to protect them from the sun and taken
+to the stills to obtain the thin, pale yellow, fragrant oil.
+Four-year-old plants yield the greatest amount of oil, but the product
+is greater from a two-year plantation than from an older one, the plants
+then being most vigorous. Two grades of oil are made, the best being
+used for lavender water, the poorer for soap making. In a good season
+about one pound of oil is obtained from 150 to 200 pounds of the cut
+plants.
+
+=Lovage= (_Levisticum officinale_, Koch.), a perennial, native of the
+Mediterranean region. The large, dark-green, shining radical leaves are
+usually divided into two or three segments. Toward the top the thick,
+hollow, erect stems divide to form opposite, whorled branches which bear
+umbels of yellow flowers, followed by highly aromatic, hollowed fruits
+("seeds") with three prominent ribs. Propagation is by division or by
+seeds not over three years old. In late summer when the seed ripens, it
+is sown and the seedlings transplanted either in the fall or as early in
+spring as possible to their permanent places. Rich, moist soil is
+needed. Root division is performed in early spring. With cultivation and
+alternation like that given to Angelica, the plants should last for
+several years.
+
+Formerly lovage was used for a great variety of purposes, but nowadays
+it is restricted almost wholly to confectionery, the young stems being
+handled like those of Angelica. So far as I have been able to learn, the
+leaf stalks and stem bases, which were formerly blanched like celery,
+are no longer used in this way.
+
+=Marigold= (_Calendula officinalis_, Linn.), an annual herb of the natural
+order Compositae, native of southern Europe. Its Latin name, suggestive
+of its flowering habit, signifies blooming through the months. Our word
+calendar is of the same derivation. Its short stems, about 12 inches
+tall, branch near their bases, bear lanceolate, oblong, unpleasantly
+scented leaves, and showy yellow or orange flowers in heads. The curved,
+gray seeds, which are rough, wrinkled and somewhat spiny, retain their
+germinating power for about three years.
+
+_Cultivation._--For the garden the seed is usually started in a hotbed
+during March or April and the plants pricked out in flats 2 inches apart
+and hardened off in the usual way. When the weather becomes settled they
+are set a foot or 15 inches apart in rather poor soil, preferably light
+and sandy, with sunny exposure. Often the seed is sown in the open and
+the seedlings thinned and transplanted when about 2 inches tall.
+
+_Uses._--The flower heads are sometimes dried and used in broths, soups,
+stews, etc., but the flavor is too pronounced for American palates. One
+gardener remarked that "only a few plants are needed by a family." I
+think that two would produce about twice as much as I would care to use
+in a century. For culinary use the flowers are gathered when in full
+bloom, dried in the shade and stored in glass jars. The fresh flowers
+have often been used to color butter.
+
+The marigold, "homely forgotten flower, under the rose's bower, plain as
+a weed," to quote Bayard Taylor, is a general favorite flowering plant,
+especially in country gardens. It is so easily grown, is so free a
+bloomer, and under ordinary management continues from early summer until
+even hard frosts arrive, that busy farmers wives and daughters love it.
+Then, too, it is one of the old-fashioned flowers, about which so many
+happy thoughts cling. What more beautiful and suggestive lines could one
+wish than these:
+
+ "The marigold, whose courtier's face
+ Echoes the sun, and doth unlace
+ Her at his rise, at his full stop
+ Packs up and shuts her gaudy shop."
+
+ --_John Cleveland_
+ "_On Phillis Walking before Sunrise_"
+
+ "Youth! Youth! how buoyant are thy hopes! They turn
+ Like marigolds toward the sunny side,"
+
+ --_Jean Ingelow_
+ "_The Four Bridges_"
+
+=Marjoram.=--Two species of marjoram now grown for culinary purposes
+(several others were formerly popular) are members of the Labiatae or
+mint family--pot or perennial marjoram (_Origanum vulgare_, Linn.) and
+sweet or annual (_O. Marjorana_). Really, both plants are perennials,
+but sweet marjoram, because of its liability to be killed by frost, is
+so commonly cultivated in cold countries as an annual that it has
+acquired this name, which readily distinguishes it from its hardy
+relative. Perennial marjoram is a native of Europe, but has become
+naturalized in many cool and even cold temperate climates. It is often
+found wild in the Atlantic states in the borders of woods.
+
+[Illustration: Sweet Marjoram]
+
+The general name _origanum_, meaning delight of the mountain, is derived
+from two Greek words, _oros_, mountain; and _ganos_, joy, some of the
+species being found commonly upon mountain sides. Under cultivation it
+has developed a few varieties the most popular of which are a variegated
+form used for ornamental purposes, and a dwarf variety noted for its
+ability to come true to seed. Both varieties are used in cookery. The
+perennial species seems to have had the longer association with
+civilization; at least it is the one identified in the writings of
+Pliny, Albertus Magnus and the English herbalists of the middle ages.
+Annual marjoram is thought to be the species considered sacred in India
+to Vishnu and Siva.
+
+_Description._--Perennial marjoram rises even 2 feet high, in branchy
+clumps, bears numerous short-stemmed, ovate leaves about 1 inch long,
+and terminal clusters or short spikes of little, pale lilac or pink
+blossoms and purple bracts. The oval, brown seeds are very minute. They
+are, however, heavy for their size, since a quart of them weighs about
+24 ounces. I am told that an ounce contains more than 340,000, and would
+rather believe than be forced to prove it.
+
+Annual marjoram is much more erect, more bush-like, has smaller,
+narrower leaves, whiter flowers, green bracts and larger, but lighter
+seeds--only 113,000 to the ounce and only 20 ounces to the quart!
+
+_Cultivation._--Perennial marjoram when once established may be readily
+propagated by cuttings, division or layers, but it is so easy to grow
+from seed that this method is usually employed. There is little danger
+of its becoming a weed, because the seedlings are easily destroyed while
+small. The seed should be sown during March or April in flats or beds
+that can be protected from rain. It is merely dusted on the surface, the
+soil being pressed down slightly with a board or a brick. Until the
+seedlings appear, the bed should be shaded to check evaporation. When
+the plants are 2 or 3 inches tall they may be transplanted to the places
+where they are to remain, as they are not so easy to transplant as
+lettuce and geraniums. The work should be done while the plants are very
+small, and larger numbers should be set than will ultimately be allowed
+to grow. I have had no difficulty in transplanting, but some people who
+have had prefer to sow the seed where the plants are to stand.
+
+If to be used for edging, the dwarf plants may be set 3 or 6 inches
+apart; the larger kinds require a foot or 15 inches in which to develop.
+In field cultivation the greater distance is the more desirable. From
+the very start the plants must be kept free from weeds and the soil
+loose and open. Handwork is essential until they become established. The
+plants will last for years.
+
+Annual marjoram is managed in the same kind of way as to seeding and
+cultivation; but as the plant is tender, fresh sowings must be made
+annually. To be sure, plants may be taken up in the fall and used for
+making cuttings or layers towards spring for the following seasons beds.
+As annual marjoram is somewhat smaller than the perennial kind (except
+the dwarf perennial variety), the distances may be somewhat less, say 9
+or 10 inches. Annual marjoram is a quick-growing plant--so quick, in
+fact, that leaves may be secured within six or eight weeks of sowing.
+The flowers appear in 10 to 12 weeks, and the seed ripens soon after.
+
+When it is desired to cure the leaves for winter use, the stems should
+be cut just as the flowers begin to appear, and dried in the usual
+manner. (See page 25.) If seed is wanted, they should be cut soon after
+the flowers fall or even before all have fallen--when the scales around
+the seeds begin to look as if drying. The cut stems must be dried on
+sheets of very fine weave, to prevent loss of seed. When the leaves are
+thoroughly dry they must be thrashed and rubbed before being placed in
+sieves, first of coarse, and then of finer mesh.
+
+_Uses._--The leaves and the flower and tender stem tips of both species
+have a pleasant odor, and are used for seasoning soups, stews, dressings
+and sauces. They are specially favored in France and Italy, but are
+popular also in England and America. In France marjoram is cultivated
+commercially for its oil, a thin, light yellow or greenish liquid, with
+the concentrated odor of marjoram and peppermint. It has a warm, and
+slightly bitter taste. About 200 pounds of stems and leaves are needed
+to get a pound of oil. Some distillation is done in England, where 70
+pounds of the plant yield about one ounce of oil. This oil is used for
+perfuming toilet articles, especially soap, but is perhaps less popular
+than the essential oil of thyme.
+
+=Mint= (_Mentha viridis_, Linn.)--Spearmint, a member of the Labiatae, is a
+very hardy perennial, native to Mediterranean countries. Its generic
+name is derived from the mythological origin ascribed to it. Poets
+declared that Proserpine became jealous of Cocytus's daughter, Minthe,
+whom she transformed into the plant. The specific name means green,
+hence the common name, green mint, often applied to it. The old Jewish
+law did not require that tithes of "mint, anise and cumin" should be
+paid in to the treasury, but the Pharisees paid them while omitting the
+weightier matters, justice, mercy, and faith (Matthew xxiii, 23). From
+this and many other references in old writings it is evident that mint
+has been highly esteemed for many centuries. In the seventeenth century
+John Gerarde wrote concerning it that "the smelle rejoyceth the heart of
+man." Indeed, it has been so universally esteemed that it is found wild
+in nearly all countries to which civilization has extended. It has been
+known as an escape from American gardens for about 200 years, and is
+sometimes troublesome as a weed in moist soil.
+
+[Illustration: Mint, Best Friend of Roast Lamb]
+
+_Description._--From creeping rootstocks erect square stems rise to a
+height of about 2 feet, and near their summits bear spreading branches
+with very short-stemmed, acute-pointed, lance-shaped, wrinkled leaves
+with toothed edges, and cylindrical spikes of small pink or lilac
+flowers, followed by very few, roundish, minute, brown seeds.
+
+_Cultivation._--The plant may be easily propagated by means of cuttings,
+offsets and division in spring. They may be expected to yield somewhat
+of a crop the first season, but much more the second. In field culture
+they will continue profitable for several years, provided that each
+autumn the tops are cut off near the ground and a liberal dressing of
+manure, compost or even rich soil is given. In ordinary garden practice
+it is well also to observe this plan, but usually mint is there allowed
+to shift for itself, along with the horseradish and the Jerusalem
+artichoke when such plants are grown. So treated, it is likely to give
+trouble, because, having utilized the food in one spot, its stems seek
+to migrate to better quarters. Hence, if the idea is to neglect the
+plants, a corner of the garden should be chosen where there is no danger
+of their becoming a nuisance. It is best to avoid all such trouble by
+renewing or changing the beds every 5 or 6 years.
+
+Mint will grow anywhere but does best in a moist, rich loam and partial
+shade. If in a sheltered spot, it will start earlier in the spring than
+if exposed. Upon an extensive scale the drills should be 2 inches deep
+and 12 to 15 inches apart. Bits of the rootstocks are dropped at
+intervals of 6 to 12 inches in the rows and covered with a wheel hoe.
+For a new plantation the rootstocks should be secured when the stems
+have grown 2 or 3 inches tall.
+
+For forcing, the clumps are lifted in solid masses, with the soil
+attached, and placed in hotbeds or forcing house benches. Three or four
+inches of moist soil is worked in among and over them and watered freely
+as soon as growth starts. Cuttings may be made in two or three weeks.
+Often mint is so grown in lettuce and violet houses both upon and under
+the benches. During winter and spring there is enough of a demand for
+the young tender stems and leaves to make the plants pay. It is said
+that the returns from an ordinary 3 x 6-foot hotbed sash should be $10
+to $15 for the winter. For drying, the stems should be cut on a dry day
+when the plants are approaching full bloom and after the dew has
+disappeared in the morning. They should be spread out very thinly in the
+shade or in an airy shed. (See page 25.) If cut during damp weather,
+there is danger of the leaves turning black.
+
+_Uses._--In both the green and the dried state mint is widely used in
+Europe for flavoring soups, stews and sauces for meats of unpronounced
+character. Among the Germans pulverized mint is commonly upon the table
+in cruets for dusting upon gravies and soups, especially pea and bean
+purees.
+
+In England and America the most universal use of mint is for making mint
+sauce, _the_ sauce _par excellence_ with roast spring lamb. Nothing can
+be simpler than to mince the tender tops and leaves very, very finely,
+add to vinegar and sweeten to taste. Many people fancy they don't like
+roast lamb. The chances are that they have never eaten it with wellmade
+mint sauce. In recent years mint jelly has been taking the place of the
+sauce, and perhaps justly, because it can not only be kept indefinitely
+without deterioration, but because it looks and is more tempting. It may
+be made by steeping mint leaves in apple jelly or in one of the various
+kinds of commercial gelatins so popular for making cold fruit puddings.
+The jelly should be a delicate shade of green. Of course, before pouring
+into the jelly glasses, the liquid is strained through a jelly bag to
+remove all particles of mint. A handful of leaves should color and
+flavor four to six glasses full.
+
+=Parsley= (_Carum Petroselinum_, Linn.), a hardy biennial herb of the
+natural order Umbelliferae, native to Mediterranean shores, and
+cultivated for at least 2,000 years. The specific name is derived from
+the habitat of the plant, which naturally grows among rocks, the Greek
+word for which is _petros_. Many of the ancient writings contain
+references to it, and some give directions for its cultivation. The
+writings of the old herbalists of the 15th century show that in their
+times it had already developed several well-defined forms and numerous
+varieties, always a sure sign that a plant is popular. Throughout the
+world today it is unquestionably the most widely grown of all garden
+herbs, and has the largest number of varieties. In moist, moderately
+cool climates, it may be found wild as a weed, but nowhere has it become
+a pest.
+
+ "Ah! the green parsley, the thriving tufts of dill;
+ These again shall rise, shall live the coming year."
+
+ --_Moschus_
+
+[Illustration: Curled Parsley]
+
+_Description._--Like most biennials, parsley develops only a rosette of
+leaves during the first year. These leaves are dark green, long stalked
+and divided two or three times into ovate, wedge-shaped segments, and
+each division either entire, as in parsnip, or more or less finely cut
+or "curled." During the second season the erect, branched, channeled
+flower stems rise 2 feet or more high, and at their extremities bear
+umbels of little greenish flowers. The fruits or "seeds" are light brown
+or gray, convex on one side and flat on the other two, the convex side
+marked with fine ribs. They retain their germinating power for three
+years. An interesting fact, observed by Palladius in 210 A. D., is that
+old seed germinates more freely than freshly gathered seed.
+
+_Cultivation._--Parsley is so easily grown that no garden, and indeed no
+household, need be without it. After once passing the infant stage no
+difficulty need be experienced. It will thrive in any ordinary soil and
+will do well in a window box with only a moderate amount of light, and
+that not even direct sunshine. Gardeners often grow it beneath benches
+in greenhouses, where it gets only small amounts of light. No one need
+hesitate to plant it.
+
+The seed is very slow in germinating, often requiring four to six weeks
+unless soaked before sowing. A full day's soaking in tepid water is none
+too long to wake up the germs. The drills may be made in a cold frame
+during March or in the open ground during April.
+
+It is essential that parsley be sown very early in order to germinate at
+all. If sown late, it may possibly not get enough moisture to sprout,
+and if so it will fail completely. When sown in cold frames or beds for
+transplanting, the rows may be only 3 or 4 inches apart, though it is
+perhaps better, when such distances are chosen, to sow each alternate
+row to forcing radishes, which will have been marketed by the time the
+parsley seedlings appear. In the open ground the drills should be 12 to
+15 inches apart, and the seed planted somewhat deeper and farther apart
+than in the presumably better-prepared seedbed or cold frame. 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.
+
+When the first thinning is done during May, the parsley plants may be
+allowed to stand 2 inches asunder. When they begin to crowd at this
+distance each second plant may be removed and sold. Four to six little
+plants make a bunch. The roots are left on. This thinning will not only
+aid the remaining plants, but should bring enough revenue to pay the
+cost, perhaps even a little more. The first cutting of leaves from
+plants of field-sown seed should be ready by midsummer, but as noted
+below it is usually best to practice the method that will hasten
+maturity and thus catch the best price. A "bunch" is about the amount
+that can be grasped between the thumb and the first finger, 10 to 15
+stalks.
+
+It is usual to divide the field into three parts so as to have a
+succession of cuttings. About three weeks are required for a new crop of
+leaves to grow and mature after the plants have been cut. Larger yields
+can be secured by cutting only the fully matured leaves, allowing the
+others to remain and develop for later cuttings. Three or four times as
+much can be gathered from a given area in this way. All plain leaves of
+such plants injure the appearance and reduce the price of the bunches
+when offered for sale.
+
+If protected from frost, the plants will yield all winter. They may be
+easily transplanted in cold frames. These should be placed in some warm,
+sheltered spot and the plants set in them 4 by 6 inches. Mats or
+shutters will be needed in only the coldest weather. Half a dozen to a
+dozen stalks make the usual bunch and retail for 2 or 3 cents.
+
+In the home garden, parsley may be sown as an edging for flower beds and
+borders. For such purpose it is best to sow the seed thickly during late
+October or November in double rows close together, say 3 or 4 inches.
+Sown at that time, the plants may be expected to appear earlier than if
+spring sown and to form a ribbon of verdure which will remain green not
+only all the growing season, but well into winter if desired. It is
+best, however, to dig them up in the fall and resow for the year
+succeeding.
+
+For window culture, all that is needed is a box filled with rich soil.
+The roots may be dug in the fall and planted in the box. A sunny window
+is best, but any window will do. If space is at a premium, a nail keg
+may be made to yield a large amount of leaves. Not only may the tops be
+filled with plants, but the sides also. Holes should be bored in the
+staves about 4 inches apart. (See illustration, page 2.) A layer of
+earth is placed in the bottom as deep as the lowest tier of holes. Then
+roots are pushed through these holes and a second layer of earth put in.
+The process is repeated till the keg is full. Then plants are set on the
+top. As the keg is being filled the earth should be packed very firmly,
+both around the plants and in the keg. When full the soil should be
+thoroughly soaked and allowed to drain before being taken to the window.
+To insure a supply of water for all the plants, a short piece of pipe
+should be placed in the center of the keg so as to reach about half way
+toward the bottom. This will enable water to reach the plants placed in
+the lower tiers of holes. If the leaves look yellow at any time, they
+may need water or a little manure water.
+
+As parsley is grown for its leaves, it can scarcely be over fertilized.
+Like cabbage, but, of course, upon a smaller scale, it is a gross
+feeder. It demands that plenty of nitrogenous food be in the soil. That
+is, the soil should be well supplied with humus, preferably derived from
+decaying leguminous crops or from stable manure. A favorite commercial
+fertilizer for parsley consists of 3 per cent nitrogen, 8 per cent
+potash and 9 per cent phosphoric acid applied in the drills at
+the rate of 600 to 900 pounds to the acre in two or three
+applications--especially the nitrogen, to supply which nitrate of soda
+is the most popular material.
+
+A common practice among market gardeners in the neighborhood of New York
+has been to sow the seed in their cold frames between rows of lettuce
+transplanted during March or early April. The lettuce is cut in May, by
+which time the parsley is getting up. When grown by this plan the crop
+may be secured four or five weeks earlier than if the seed is sown in
+the open ground. The first cutting may be made during June. After this
+first cutting has been made the market usually becomes overstocked and
+the price falls, so many growers do not cut again until early September
+when they cut and destroy the leaves preparatory to securing an autumn
+and winter supply.
+
+When the weather becomes cool and when the plants have developed a new
+and sturdy rosette of leaves, they are transplanted in shallow trenches
+either in cold frames, in cool greenhouses (lettuce and violet houses),
+under the benches of greenhouses, or, in fact, any convenient place that
+is not likely to prove satisfactory for growing plants that require more
+heat and light.
+
+This method, it must be said, is not now as popular near the large
+cities as before the development of the great trucking fields in the
+Atlantic coast states; but it is a thoroughly practical plan and well
+worth practicing in the neighborhood of smaller cities and towns not
+adequately supplied with this garnishing and flavoring herb.
+
+A fair return from a cold frame to which the plants have been
+transplanted ranges from $3 to $7 during the winter months. Since many
+sashes are stored during this season, such a possible return deserves to
+be considered. The total annual yield from an acre by this method may
+vary from $500 to $800 or even more--gross. By the ordinary field
+method from $150 to $300 is the usual range. Instead of throwing away
+the leaves cut in September, it should be profitable to dry these leaves
+and sell them in tins or jars for flavoring.
+
+When it is desired to supply the demand for American seed, which is
+preferred to European, the plants may be managed in any of the ways
+already mentioned, either allowed to remain in the field or transplanted
+to cold frames, or greenhouses. If left in the field, they should be
+partially buried with litter or coarse manure. As the ground will not be
+occupied more than a third of the second season, a crop of early beets,
+forcing carrots, radishes, lettuce or some other quick-maturing crop may
+be sown between the rows of parsley plants. Such crops will mature by
+the time the parsley seed is harvested in late May or early June, and
+the ground can then be plowed and fitted for some late crop such as
+early maturing but late-sown sweet corn, celery, dwarf peas, late beets
+or string beans.
+
+When seed is desired, every imperfect or undesirable plant should be
+rooted out and destroyed, so that none but the best can fertilize each
+other. In early spring the litter must be either removed from the plants
+and the ground between the rows given a cultivation to loosen the
+surface, or it may be raked between the rows and allowed to remain until
+after seed harvest. In this latter case, of course, no other crop can be
+grown.
+
+Like celery seed, parsley seed ripens very irregularly, some umbels
+being ready to cut from one to three weeks earlier than others. This
+quality of the plant may be bred out by keeping the earliest maturing
+seed separate from the later maturing and choosing this for producing
+subsequent seed crops. By such selection one to three weeks may be saved
+in later seasons, a saving of time not to be ignored in gardening
+operations.
+
+In ordinary seed production the heads are cut when the bulk of the seed
+is brown or at least dark colored. The stalks are cut carefully, to
+avoid shattering the seed off. They are laid upon sheets of duck or
+canvas and threshed very lightly, at once, to remove only the ripest
+seed. Then the stalks are spread thinly on shutters or sheets in the sun
+for two days and threshed again. At that time all seed ripe enough to
+germinate will fall off. Both lots of seed must be spread thinly on the
+sheets in an airy shed or loft and turned daily for 10 days or two weeks
+to make sure they are thoroughly dry before being screened in a fanning
+mill and stored in sacks hung in a loft.
+
+_Varieties._--There are four well-defined groups of parsley varieties;
+common or plain, curled or moss-leaved, fern-leaved, and Hamburg. The
+last is also known as turnip-rooted or large-rooted. The objections to
+plain parsley are that it is not as ornamental as moss-leaved or
+fern-leaved sorts, and because it may be mistaken for fools parsley, a
+plant reputed to be more or less poisonous.
+
+In the curled varieties the leaves are more or less deeply cut and the
+segments reflexed to a greater or less extent, sometimes even to the
+extent of showing the lighter green undersides. In this group are
+several subvarieties, distinguished by minor differences, such as extent
+of reflexing and size of the plants.
+
+In the fern-leaved group the very dark green leaves are not curled but
+divided into numerous threadlike segments which give the plant a very
+delicate and dainty appearance.
+
+Hamburg, turnip-rooted or large-rooted parsley, is little grown in
+America. It is not used as a garnish or an herb, but the root is cooked
+as a vegetable like carrots or beets. These roots resemble those of
+parsnips. They are often 6 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Their
+cultivation is like that of parsnips. They are cooked and served like
+carrots. In flavor, they resemble celeriac or turnip-rooted celery, but
+are not so pleasing. In Germany the plant is rather popular, but, except
+by our German gardeners, it has been little cultivated in this country.
+
+_Uses._--The Germans use both roots and tops for cooking; the former as
+a boiled vegetable, the latter as a potherb. In English cookery the
+leaves are more extensively used for seasoning fricassees and dressings
+for mild meats, such as chicken and veal, than perhaps anything else. In
+American cookery parsley is also popular for this purpose, but is most
+extensively used as a garnish. In many countries the green leaves are
+mixed with salads to add flavor. Often, especially among the Germans,
+the minced green leaves are mixed with other vegetables just before
+being served. For instance, if a liberal dusting of finely minced
+parsley be added to peeled, boiled potatoes, immediately after draining,
+this vegetable will seem like a new dish of unusual delicacy. The
+potatoes may be either served whole or mashed with a little butter, milk
+and pepper.
+
+=Pennyroyal= (_Mentha Pulegium_, Linn.), a perennial herb of the natural
+order Labiatae, native of Europe and parts of Asia, found wild and
+naturalized throughout the civilized world in strong, moist soil on the
+borders of ponds and streams. Its square, prostrate stems, which readily
+take root at the nodes, bear roundish-oval, grayish-green, slightly
+hairy leaves and small lilac-blue flowers in whorled clusters of ten or
+a dozen, rising in tiers, one above another, at the nodes. The seed is
+light brown, oval and very small. Like most of its near relatives,
+pennyroyal is highly aromatic, perhaps even more so than any other mint.
+The flavor is more pungent and acrid and less agreeable than that of
+spearmint or peppermint.
+
+Ordinarily the plant is propagated by division like mint, or more rarely
+by cuttings. Cultivation is the same as that of mint. Plantations
+generally last for four or five years, and even longer, when well
+managed and on favorable soil. In England it is more extensively
+cultivated than in America for drying and for its oil, of which latter a
+yield of 12 pounds to the acre is considered good. The leaves, green or
+dried, are used abroad to flavor puddings and other culinary
+preparations, but the taste and odor are usually not pleasant to
+American and English palates and noses.
+
+=Peppermint= (_Mentha piperita_, Linn.) is much the same in habit of
+growth as spearmint. It is a native of northern Europe, where it may be
+found in moist situations along stream banks and in waste lands. In
+America it is probably even more common as an escape than spearmint.
+Like its relative, it has long been known and grown in gardens and
+fields, especially in Europe, Asia and the United States.
+
+_Description._--Like spearmint, the plant has creeping rootstocks, which
+rapidly extend it, and often make it a troublesome weed in moist ground.
+The stems are smaller than those of spearmint, not so tall, and are more
+purplish. They bear ovate, smooth leaves upon longer stalks than those
+of spearmint. The whorled clusters of little, reddish-violet flowers
+form loose, interrupted spikes. No seed is borne.
+
+_Cultivation._--Although peppermint prefers wet, even swampy, soil, it
+will do well on moist loam. It is cultivated like spearmint. In
+Michigan, western New York and other parts of the country it is grown
+commercially upon muck lands for the oil distilled from its leaves and
+stems. Among essential oils, peppermint ranks first in importance. It is
+a colorless, yellowish or greenish liquid, with a peculiar, highly
+penetrating odor and a burning, camphorescent taste. An interesting use
+is made of it by sanitary engineers, who test the tightness of pipe
+joints by its aid. It has the faculty of making its escape and betraying
+the presence of leaks. It is largely employed in the manufacture of
+soaps and perfumery, but probably its best known use is for flavoring
+confectionery.
+
+=Rosemary= (_Rosemarinus officinalis_, Linn.)--As its generic name
+implies, rosemary is a native of sea-coasts, "rose" coming from _Ros_,
+dew, and "Mary" from _marinus_, ocean. It is one of the many Labiatae
+found wild in limy situations along the Mediterranean coast. In ancient
+times many and varied virtues were ascribed to the plant, hence its
+"officinalis" or medical name, perhaps also the belief that "where
+rosemary flourishes, the lady rules!" Pliny, Dioscorides and Galin all
+write about it. It was cultivated by the Spaniards in the 13th century,
+and from the 15th to the 18th century was popular as a condiment with
+salt meats, but has since declined in popularity, until now it is used
+for seasoning almost exclusively in Italian, French, Spanish and German
+cookery.
+
+_Description._--The plant is a half-hardy evergreen, 2 feet or more
+tall. The erect, branching, woody stems bear a profusion of little
+obtuse, linear leaves, green above and hoary white beneath. On their
+upper parts they bear pale blue, axillary flowers in leafy clusters. The
+light-brown seeds, white where they were attached to the plant, will
+germinate even when four years old. All parts of the plant are
+fragrant--"the humble rosemary whose sweets so thanklessly are shed to
+scent the desert" (Thomas Moore). One of the pleasing superstitions
+connected with this plant is that it strengthens the memory. Thus it has
+become the emblem of remembrance and fidelity. Hence the origin of the
+old custom of wearing it at weddings in many parts of Europe.
+
+ "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance; pray, love, remember:
+ And there is pansies, that's for thoughts."
+
+ --_Hamlet, Act iv, Scene 5._
+
+_Cultivation._--Rosemary is easily propagated by means of cuttings, root
+division and layers in early spring, but is most frequently multiplied
+by seed. It does best in rather poor, light soil, especially if limy.
+The seed is either sown in drills 18 to 24 inches apart or in checks 2
+feet asunder each way, half a dozen seeds being dropped in each "hill."
+Sometimes the seedbed method is employed, the seed being sown either
+under glass or in the open ground and the seedlings transplanted.
+Cultivation consists in keeping the soil loose and open and free from
+weeds. No special directions are necessary as to curing. In frostless
+sections, and even where protected by buildings, fences, etc., in
+moderate climates, the plants will continue to thrive for years.
+
+_Uses._--The tender leaves and stems and the flowers are used for
+flavoring stews, fish and meat sauces, but are not widely popular in
+America. Our foreign-born population, however, uses it somewhat. In
+France large quantities, both cultivated and wild, are used for
+distilling the oil of rosemary, a colorless or yellowish liquid
+suggesting camphor, but even more pleasant. This oil is extensively used
+in perfuming soaps, but more especially in the manufacture of eau de
+cologne, Hungary water and other perfumes.
+
+=Rue= (_Ruta graveolens_, Linn.), a hardy perennial herb of roundish,
+bushy habit, native of southern Europe. It is a member of the same
+botanical family as the orange, Rutaceae. In olden times it was highly
+reputed for seasoning and for medicine among the Greeks and the Romans.
+In Pliny's time it was considered to be effectual for 84 maladies!
+Today it "hangs only by its eyelids" to our pharmacopoeia. Apicus
+notes it among the condiments in the third century, and Magnus eleven
+centuries later praises it among the garden esculents. At present it is
+little used for seasoning, even by the Italians and the Germans, and
+almost not at all by English and American cooks. Probably because of its
+acridity and its ability to blister the skin when much handled, rue has
+been chosen by poets to express disdain. Shakespeare speaks of it as the
+"sour herb of grace," and Theudobach says:
+
+ "When a rose is too haughty for heaven's dew
+ She becometh a spider's gray lair;
+ And a bosom, that never devotion knew
+ Or affection divine, shall be filled with rue
+ And with darkness, and end with despair."
+
+_Description._--The much branched stems, woody below, rise 18 to 24
+inches and bear small oblong or obovate, stalked, bluish-green glaucous
+leaves, two or three times divided, the terminal one broader and notched
+at the end. The rather large, greenish-yellow flowers, borne in corymbs
+or short terminal clusters, appear all summer. In the round, four or
+five-lobed seed vessels are black kidney-shaped seeds, which retain
+their vitality two years or even longer. The whole plant has a very
+acrid, bitter taste and a pungent smell.
+
+_Cultivation._--The plant may be readily propagated by means of seed, by
+cuttings, by layers, and by division of the tufts. No special directions
+are needed, except to say that when in the place they are to remain the
+plants should be at least 18 inches apart--21 or 24 inches each way
+would be even better. Rue does well on almost any well-drained soil, but
+prefers a rather poor clayey loam. It is well, then, to plant it in the
+most barren part of the garden. As the flowers are rather attractive,
+rue is often used among shrubbery for ornamental purposes. When so grown
+it is well to cut the stems close to the ground every two or three
+years.
+
+[Illustration: Rue, Sour Herb of Grace]
+
+_Uses._--Because of the exceedingly strong smell of the leaves, rue is
+disagreeable to most Americans, and could not become popular as a
+seasoning. Yet it is used to a small extent by people who like bitter
+flavors, not only in culinary preparations, but in beverages. The whole
+plant is used in distilling a colorless oil which is used in making
+aromatic vinegars and other toilet preparations. A pound of oil may be
+secured from 150 to 200 pounds of the plant.
+
+=Sage= (_Salvia officinalis_, Linn.), a perennial member of the Labiatae,
+found naturally on dry, calcareous hills in southern Europe, and
+northern Africa. In ancient times, it was one of the most highly
+esteemed of all plants because of its reputed health-insuring
+properties. An old adage reads, "How can a man die in whose garden sage
+is growing?" Its very names betoken the high regard in which it was
+held; salvia is derived from _salvus_, to be safe, or _salveo_, to be in
+good health or to heal; (hence also salvation!) and _officinalis_ stamps
+its authority or indicates its recognized official standing. The name
+sage, meaning wisdom, appears to have had a different origin, but as the
+plant was reputed to strengthen the memory, there seems to be ground for
+believing that those who ate the plant would be wise.
+
+_Description._--The almost woody stems rise usually 15 to 18 inches
+high, though in Holt's Mammoth double these sizes is not uncommon. The
+leaves are oblong, pale green, finely toothed, lance-shaped, wrinkled
+and rough. The usually bluish-lilac, sometimes pink or white flowers,
+borne in the axils of the upper leaves in whorls of three or four, form
+loose terminal spikes or clusters. Over 7,000 of the small globular,
+almost black seeds, which retain their vitality about three years, are
+required to weigh an ounce, and nearly 20 ounces to the quart.
+
+_Cultivation._--Sage does best upon mellow well-drained soil of
+moderate fertility. For cultivation on a large scale the soil should be
+plowed deeply and allowed to remain in the rough furrows during the
+winter, to be broken up as much as possible by the frost. In the spring
+it should be fined for the crop. Sage is easily propagated by division,
+layers and cuttings, but these ways are practiced on an extensive scale
+only with the Holt's Mammoth variety, which produces no seed. For other
+varieties seed is most popular. This is sown in drills at the rate of
+two seeds to the inch and covered about 1/4 inch deep. At this rate and
+in rows 15 inches apart about 8 pounds of seed will be needed to the
+acre.
+
+[Illustration: Sage, the Leading Herb for Duck and Goose Dressing]
+
+Usually market gardeners prefer to grow sage as a second crop. They
+therefore raise the plants in nursery beds. The seed is sown in very
+early spring, not thicker than already mentioned, but in rows closer
+together, 6 to 9 inches usually. From the start the seedlings are kept
+clean cultivated and encouraged to grow stocky. By late May or early
+June the first sowings of summer vegetables will have been marketed and
+the ground ready for the sage. The ground is then put in good condition
+and the sage seedlings transplanted 6 or 8 inches apart usually. Clean
+cultivation is maintained until the sage has possession.
+
+When the plants meet, usually during late August, the alternate ones are
+cut, bunched and sold. At this time one plant should make a good bunch.
+When the rows meet in mid-September, the alternate rows are marketed, a
+plant then making about two bunches. By the middle of October the final
+cutting may be started, when the remaining plants should be large enough
+to make about three bunches each. This last cutting may continue well
+into November without serious loss of lower leaves. If the plants are
+not thinned, but are allowed to crowd, the lower leaves will turn yellow
+and drop off, thus entailing loss.
+
+For cultivation with hand-wheel hoes the plants in the rows should not
+stand closer than 2 inches at first. As soon as they touch, each second
+one should be removed and this process repeated till, when growing in a
+commercial way, each alternate row has been removed. Finally, the plants
+should be 12 to 15 inches apart. For cultivation by horse the rows will
+need to be farther apart than already noted; 18 to 24 inches is the
+usual range of distances. When grown on a large scale, sage usually
+follows field-grown lettuce, early peas or early cabbage. If not cut too
+closely or too late in the season sage plants stand a fair chance to
+survive moderate winters. The specimens which succeed in doing so may be
+divided and transplanted to new soil with little trouble. This is the
+common practice in home gardens, and is usually more satisfactory than
+growing a new lot of plants from seed each spring.
+
+For drying or for decocting the leaves are cut when the flowers appear.
+They are dried in the shade. If a second cutting is to be made, and if
+it is desired that the plants shall live over winter, this second
+cutting must not be made later than September in the North, because the
+new stems will not have time to mature before frost, and the plants will
+probably winterkill.
+
+Sage seed is produced in open cups on slender branches, which grow well
+above the leaves. It turns black when ripe. The stems which bear it
+should be cut during a dry afternoon as soon as the seeds are ripe and
+placed on sheets to cure; and several cuttings are necessary, because
+the seed ripens unevenly. When any one lot of stems on a sheet is dry a
+light flail or a rod will serve to beat the seed loose. Then small
+sieves and a gentle breeze will separate the seed from the trash. After
+screening the seed should be spread on a sheet in a warm, airy place for
+a week or so to dry still more before being stored in cloth sacks. A
+fair yield of leaves may be secured after seed has been gathered.
+
+[Illustration: Relative Sizes of Holt's Mammoth and Common Sage Leaves]
+
+_Uses._--Because of their highly aromatic odor sage leaves have long
+been used for seasoning dressings, especially to disguise the too great
+lusciousness of strong meats, such as pork, goose and duck. It is one of
+the most important flavoring ingredients in certain kinds of sausage and
+cheese. In France the whole herb is used to distill with water in order
+to secure essential oil of sage, a greenish-yellow liquid employed in
+perfumery. About 300 pounds of the stems and leaves yield one pound of
+oil.
+
+=Samphire= (_Crithmum maritimum_, Linn.), a European perennial of the
+Umbelliferae, common along rocky sea coasts and cliffs beyond the reach
+of the tide. From its creeping rootstocks short, sturdy, more or less
+widely branched stems arise. These bear two or three thick, fleshy
+segmented leaves and umbels of small whitish flowers, followed by
+yellow, elliptical, convex, ribbed, very light seeds, which rarely
+retain their germinating power more than a year. In gardens the seed is
+therefore generally sown in the autumn as soon as mature in fairly rich,
+light, well-drained loam. The seedlings should be protected with a mulch
+of straw, leaves or other material during winter. After the removal of
+the mulch in the spring no special care is needed in cultivation. The
+young, tender, aromatic and saline leaves and shoots are pickled in
+vinegar, either alone or with other vegetables.
+
+[Illustration: Dainty Summer Savory]
+
+=Savory, Summer= (_Satureia hortensis_, Linn.), a little annual plant of
+the natural order Labiatae indigenous to Mediterranean countries and
+known as an escape from gardens in various parts of the world. In
+America, it is occasionally found wild on dry, poor soils in Ohio,
+Illinois, and some of the western states. The generic name is derived
+from an old Arabic name, _Ssattar_, by which the whole mint family was
+known. Among the Romans both summer and winter savory were popular 2,000
+years ago, not only for flavoring, but as potherbs. During the middle
+ages and until the 18th century it still maintained this popularity. Up
+to about 100 years ago it was used in cakes, puddings and confections,
+but these uses have declined.
+
+_Description._--The plant, which rarely exceeds 12 inches in height, has
+erect, branching, herbaceous stems, with oblong-linear leaves, tapering
+at their bases, and small pink or white flowers clustered in the axils
+of the upper leaves, forming penciled spikes. The small, brown, ovoid
+seeds retain their viability about three years. An ounce contains about
+42,500 of them, and a quart 18 ounces.
+
+_Cultivation._--For earliest use the seed may be sown in a spent hotbed
+or a cold frame in late March, and the plants set in the open during
+May. Usually, however, it is sown in the garden or the field where the
+plants are to remain. In the hotbed the rows may be 3 or 4 inches apart;
+in the field they should be not less than 9 inches, and only this
+distance when hand wheel-hoes are to be used, and each alternate row is
+to be removed as soon as the plants begin to touch across the rows. Half
+a dozen seeds dropped to the inch is fairly thick sowing. As the seed is
+small, it must not be covered deeply; 1/4 inch is ample. When the rows
+are 15 inches apart about 4 pounds of seed will be needed to the acre.
+For horse cultivation the drills should be 20 inches apart. Both summer
+and winter savory do well on rather poor dry soils. If started in
+hotbeds, the first plants may be gathered during May. Garden-sown seed
+will produce plants by June. For drying, the nearly mature stems should
+be cut just as the blossoms begin to appear. No special directions are
+needed as to drying. (See page 25.)
+
+_Uses._--Both summer and winter savory are used in flavoring salads,
+dressings, gravies, and sauces used with meats such as veal, pork, duck,
+and goose and for increasing the palatability of such preparations as
+croquettes, rissoles and stews. Summer savory is the better plant of the
+two and should be in every home garden.
+
+=Savory, Winter= (_Satureia montana_, Linn.), a semi-hardy, perennial,
+very branching herb, native of southern Europe and northern Africa. Like
+summer savory, it has been used for flavoring for many centuries, but is
+not now as popular as formerly, nor is it as popular as summer savory.
+
+_Description._--The numerous woody, slender, spreading stems, often more
+than 15 inches tall, bear very acute, narrow, linear leaves and pale
+lilac, pink, or white flowers in axillary clusters. The brown, rather
+triangular seeds, which retain their vitality about three years, are
+smaller than those of summer savory. Over 70,000 are in an ounce, and it
+takes 15 ounces to fill a quart.
+
+_Cultivation._--Winter savory is readily propagated by means of
+cuttings, layers and division as well as seeds. No directions different
+from those relating to summer savory are necessary, except that seed of
+winter savory should be sown where the plants are to remain, because the
+seedlings do not stand transplanting very well. Seed is often sown in
+late summer where the climate is not severe or where winter protection
+is to be given. The plant is fairly hardy on dry soils. When once
+established it will live for several years.
+
+To increase the yield the stems may be cut to within 4 or 5 inches of
+the ground when about ready to flower. New shoots will appear and may be
+cut in turn. For drying, the first cutting may be secured during July,
+the second in late August or September. In all respects winter savory is
+used like summer savory, but is considered inferior in flavor.
+
+=Southernwood= (_Artemisia Abrotanum_, Linn.), a woody-stemmed perennial
+belonging to the Compositae and a native of southern Europe. It grows
+from 2 to 4 feet tall, bears hairlike, highly aromatic leaves and heads
+of small yellow flowers. The plant is often found in old-fashioned
+gardens as an ornamental under the name of Old Man. In some countries
+the young shoots are used for flavoring cakes and other culinary
+preparations.
+
+=Tansy= (_Tanacetum vulgare_, Linn.), a perennial of the Compositae, native
+of Europe, whence it has spread with civilization as a weed almost all
+over the world. From the very persistent underground parts annual,
+usually unbranched stems, sometimes 3 feet tall, are produced in more or
+less abundance. They bear much-divided, oval, oblong leaves and numerous
+small, yellow flower-heads in usually crowded corymbs. The small, nearly
+conical seeds have five gray ribs and retain their germinability for
+about two years.
+
+Tansy is easily propagated by division of the clumps or by seed sown in
+a hotbed for the transplanting of seedlings. It does well in any
+moderately fertile garden soil, but why anyone should grow it except for
+ornament, either in the garden or as an inedible garnish, is more than I
+can understand. While its odor is not exactly repulsive, its acrid,
+bitter taste is such that a nibble, certainly a single leaf, would last
+most people a lifetime. Yet some people use it to flavor puddings,
+omelettes, salads, stews and other culinary dishes. Surely a peculiar
+order of gustatory preference! It is said that donkeys will eat
+thistles, but I have never known them to eat tansy, and I am free to
+confess that I rather admire their preference for the thistles.
+
+=Tarragon= (_Artemisia Dracunculus_, Linn.), a fairly hardy, herbaceous
+rather shrubby perennial of the Compositae, supposed to be a native of
+southern Russia, Siberia, and Tartary, cultivated for scarcely more
+than 500 years for its leaves and tender shoots. In all civilized
+countries its popular name, like its specific name, means dragon, though
+why it should be so called is not clear.
+
+[Illustration: Tarragon, the French Chef's Delight]
+
+_Description._--The plant has numerous branching stems, which bear
+lance-shaped leaves and nowadays white, sterile flowers. Formerly the
+flowers were said to be fertile. No one should buy the seed offered as
+tarragon. It is probably that of a related plant which resembles
+tarragon in everything except flavor--which is absent! _Tagetes lucida_,
+which may be used as a substitute for true tarragon, is easily
+propagated by seed and can be procured from seedsmen under its own name.
+As tarragon flowers appear to be perfect, it is possible that some
+plants may produce a few seeds, and that plants raised from these seeds
+may repeat the wonder. Indeed, a variety which naturally produces seed
+may thus be developed and disseminated. Here is one of the possible
+opportunities for the herb grower to benefit his fellow-men.
+
+_Cultivation._--At present tarragon is propagated only by cuttings,
+layers and division. There is no difficulty in either process. The plant
+prefers dry, rather poor soil, in a warm situation. In cold climates it
+should be partially protected during the winter to prevent alternate
+freezing and thawing of both the soil and the plant. In moist and heavy
+soil it will winterkill. Strawy litter or conifer boughs will serve the
+purpose well. Half a dozen to a dozen plants will supply the needs of a
+family. As the plants spread a good deal and as they grow 15 to 18
+inches tall, or even more, they should be set in rows 18 to 24 inches
+apart each way. In a short time they will take possession of the ground.
+
+_Uses._--The tender shoots and the young leaves are often used in
+salads, and with steaks, chops, etc., especially by the French. They are
+often used as an ingredient in pickles. Stews, soups, croquettes, and
+other meat preparations are also flavored with tarragon, and for
+flavoring fish sauces it is especially esteemed.
+
+Probably the most popular way it is employed, however, is as a decoction
+in vinegar. For this purpose, the green parts are gathered preferably in
+the morning and after washing are placed in jars and covered with the
+best quality vinegar for a few days. The vinegar is then drawn off as
+needed. In France, the famous vinegar of Maille is made in this way.
+
+The leaves may be dried in the usual way if desired. For this purpose
+they are gathered in midsummer. A second cutting may be made in late
+September or early October. Tarragon oil, which is used for perfuming
+toilet articles, is secured by distilling the green parts, from 300 to
+500 pounds of which yield one pound of oil.
+
+[Illustration: Thyme for Sausage]
+
+=Thyme= (_Thymus vulgaris_, Linn.), a very diminutive perennial shrub, of
+the natural order Labiatae, native of dry, stony places on Mediterranean
+coasts, but found occasionally naturalized as an escape from gardens in
+civilized countries, both warm and cold. From early days it has been
+popularly grown for culinary purposes. The name is from the Greek word
+_thyo_, or sacrifice, because of its use as incense to perfume the
+temples. With the Romans it was very popular both in cookery and as a
+bee forage. Like its relatives sage and marjoram, it has practically
+disappeared from medicine, though formerly it was very popular because
+of its reputed properties.
+
+_Description._--The procumbent, branched, slender, woody stems, which
+seldom reach 12 inches, bear oblong, triangular, tapering leaves from
+1/4 to 1/2 inch long, green above and gray beneath. In the axils of the
+upper leaves are little pink or lilac flowers, which form whorls and
+loose, leafy spikes. The seeds, of which there are 170,000 to the ounce,
+and 24 ounces to the quart, retain their germinating power for three
+years.
+
+_Cultivation._--Thyme does best in a rather dry, moderately fertile,
+light soil well exposed to the sun. Cuttings, layers and divisions may
+be made, but the popular way to propagate is by seed. Because the seed
+is very small, it should be sown very shallow or only pressed upon the
+surface and then sprinkled with finely sifted soil. A small seedbed
+should be used in preference to sowing in the open ground first, because
+better attention can be given such little beds; second, because the area
+where the plants are ultimately to be can be used for an early-maturing
+crop. In the seedbed made out of doors in early spring, the drills may
+be made 4 to 6 inches apart and the seeds sown at the rate of 5 or 6 to
+the inch. A pound should produce enough plants for an acre. In hand
+sowing direct in the field, a fine dry sand is often thoroughly mixed
+with the seed to prevent too close planting. The proportion chosen is
+sometimes as great as four times as much sand as seed. Whether sown
+direct in the field or transplanted the plants should finally not stand
+closer than 8 inches--10 is preferred. When first set they may be half
+this distance. In a small way one plant to the square foot is a good
+rate to follow. The young plants may be set in the field during June, or
+even as late as July, preferably just before or just after a shower. The
+alternate plants may be removed in late August or early September, the
+alternate rows about three weeks later and the final crop in October.
+
+Thyme will winter well. In home garden practice it may be treated like
+sage. In the coldest climates it may be mulched with leaves or litter to
+prevent undue thawing and freezing and consequent heaving of the soil.
+In the spring the plants should be dug, divided and reset in a new
+situation.
+
+When seed is desired, the ripening tops must be cut frequently, because
+the plants mature very unevenly. But this method is often more wasteful
+than spreading cloths or sheets of paper beneath the plants and allowing
+the seed to drop in them as it ripens. Twice a day, preferably about
+noon, and in the late afternoon the plants should be gently jarred to
+make the ripe seeds fall into the sheets. What falls should then be
+collected and spread in a warm, airy room to dry thoroughly. When this
+method is practiced the stems are cut finally; that is, when the bulk of
+the seed has been gathered. They are dried, threshed or rubbed and the
+trash removed, by sifting. During damp weather the seed will not
+separate readily from the plants.
+
+Of the common thyme there are two varieties: narrow-leaved and
+broad-leaved. The former, which has small grayish-green leaves, is more
+aromatic and pleasing than the latter, which, however, is much more
+popular, mainly because of its size, and not because of its superiority
+to the narrow-leaved kind. It is also known as winter or German thyme.
+The plant is taller and larger and has bigger leaves, flowers and seeds
+than the narrow-leaved variety and is decidedly more bitter.
+
+_Uses._--The green parts, either fresh, dried or in decoction, are used
+very extensively for flavoring soups, gravies, stews, sauces,
+forcemeats, sausages, dressings, etc. For drying, the tender stems are
+gathered after the dew is off and exposed to warm air in the shade. When
+crisp they are rubbed, the trash removed and the powder placed in
+stoppered bottles or tins. All parts of the plant are fragrant because
+of the volatile oil, which is commercially distilled mainly in France.
+About one per cent of the green parts is oil, which after distillation
+is at first a reddish-brown fluid. It loses its color on redistillation
+and becomes slightly less fragrant. Both grades of oil are used
+commercially in perfumery. In the oil are also crystals (thymol), which
+resemble camphor and because of their pleasant odor are used as a
+disinfectant where the strong-smelling carbolic acid would be
+objectionable.
+
+Besides common thyme two other related species are cultivated to some
+extent for culinary purposes. Lemon thyme (_T. citriodorus_, Pers.),
+like its common relative, is a little undershrub, with procumbent stems
+and with a particularly pleasing fragrance. Wild thyme, or
+mother-of-thyme (_T. serpyllum_, Linn.), is a less grown perennial, with
+violet or pink flowers. It is occasionally seen in country home gardens,
+and is also used somewhat for seasoning.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+ Page
+
+ Angelica, 56
+ candied, 59
+
+ Anise, 59
+ in Bible, 13
+
+
+ Bags of herbs, 6
+
+ Balm, 63
+ demand for, 20
+
+ Barrel of herbs, 8
+
+ Basil, 65
+ demand for, 20
+ tree, 68
+
+ Bible, herbs mentioned in, 12
+
+ Borage, 71
+
+ Bouquet of herbs, 6
+
+ Bride's trousseau, 7
+
+
+ Caraway, 73
+
+ Catnip, 77
+
+ Chervil, 79
+
+ Chives, 80
+
+ Clary, 81
+
+ Cleveland, John, quoted, 101
+
+ Coriander, 82
+
+ Cultivation, 47
+
+ Cumin, 84
+ in Bible, 13
+
+ Curing, 22
+
+ Cuttings, propagation by, 34
+
+
+ Dibbles tabooed, 42
+
+ Dill, 87
+ demand for, 21
+ for pickles, 21
+
+ Dinner of herbs, 7
+
+ Division, propagation by, 37
+
+ Double cropping, 48
+
+ Drying, 25
+
+ Drying seeds, 28
+
+
+ Eggs, stuffed, 9
+
+ Evaporator, 26
+
+
+ Fennel, 89
+ demand for, 20
+ Florence, 93
+
+ Fennel Flower, 94
+
+ Finocchio, 93
+
+
+ Garnishes, 19, 30
+
+
+ Herb history, 12
+
+ History of herbs, 12
+
+ Hoarhound, 95
+
+ Hyssop, 96
+
+
+ Ingelow, Jean quoted, 101
+
+
+ Lavender, 97
+ and linen, 7
+
+ Layers, propagation by, 36
+
+ Lovage, 99
+
+ Lunch, herb, 8
+
+
+ MacDonald, George, quoted, 72
+
+ Marigold, 100
+
+ Marjoram, 101
+ demand for, 20
+
+ Market gardening, herb, 14
+
+ Medicine, herbs in, 53
+
+ Mint, 105
+ demand for, 21
+ in Bible, 13
+
+ Moschus quoted, 109
+
+ Moving pictures, 4
+
+
+ Omelette, herb, 9
+
+
+ Packages for selling, 14
+
+ Parsley, 109
+ in most demand, 19
+
+ Peppermint, 119
+
+ Pictures, moving, 4
+
+ Pillows full of herbs, 6
+
+ Propagation, 32
+
+
+ Rosemary, 120
+
+ Rue, 122
+ in Bible, 13
+
+
+ Sage, 125
+ in demand, 20
+
+ Salad, herb, 9
+
+ Samphire, 129
+
+ Sandwiches, herb and cheese, 5
+ lettuce and nasturtium, 10
+
+ Savory, demand for, 20
+ summer, 131
+ winter, 132
+
+ Seeds, propagation by, 32
+
+ Selection for variety, 15
+
+ Shakespeare quoted, 6, 63, 121
+
+ Sieves, sizes to use, 29
+
+ Soda water, 4
+
+ Soil preparation, 45
+
+ Solomon's herb dinner, 3
+
+ Soup, parsley, 8
+
+ Southernwood, 133
+
+ Storing, 25
+
+ Superstitions about herbs, 54
+
+
+ Tagetes lucida, 135
+
+ Tansy, 134
+
+ Tarragon, 134
+
+ Theudobach quoted, 123
+
+ Thyme, 137
+ demand for, 20
+ lemon, 141
+
+ Transplanting, 39
+
+
+ Varieties, production of, 15
+
+
+ Water, importance of, 41
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Culinary Herbs: Their Cultivation
+Harvesting Curing and Uses, by M. G. Kains
+
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