The Project Gutenberg EBook of Culinary Herbs: Their Cultivation
Harvesting Curing and Uses, by M. G. Kains
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Title: Culinary Herbs: Their Cultivation Harvesting Curing and Uses
Author: M. G. Kains
Release Date: May 11, 2007 [EBook #21414]
Language: English
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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, TRÜBNER & 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 æsthetic
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 æsthetic 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 Labiatæ and the Umbelliferæ, 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 Compositæ, parsley and a few of its relatives which have
deserted their own ranks, all the important leaf herbs belong to the
Labiatæ; and without a notable exception all the herbs whose seeds are
used for flavoring belong to the Umbelliferæ. Fennel-flower, which
belongs to the natural order Ranunculaceæ, or crowfoot family, is a
candidate for admission to the seed sodality; costmary and southernwood
of the Compositæ seek membership with the leaf faction; rue of the
Rutaceæ and tansy of the Compositæ, 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 Labiatæ 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 Umbelliferæ 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 Umbelliferæ
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 Compositæ 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.
COMPOSITÆ
Marigold, Pot (_Calendula officinalis_, Linn.). Tansy (_Tanacetum
vulgaris_, Linn.). Tarragon (_Artemisia Dracunculus_, Linn.).
Southernwood (_Artemisia Abrotanum_, Linn.).
RUTACEÆ
Rue (_Ruta graveolens_, Linn.).
BORAGINACEÆ
Borage (_Borago officinalis_, Linn.).
RANUNCULACEÆ
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 Umbelliferæ, 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
Umbelliferæ. 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 Labiatæ. 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 Labiatæ.
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 Boraginaceæ. 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 Umbelliferæ. 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 Labiatæ. 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 Liliaceæ. 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
Labiatæ. 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
Umbelliferæ. 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 Ranunculaceæ, 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 Labiatæ, 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 Labiatæ, 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 Compositæ, 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 Labiatæ 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 Labiatæ, 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 Umbelliferæ, 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 Labiatæ, 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 Labiatæ
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, Rutaceæ. 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 Labiatæ,
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
Umbelliferæ, 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 Labiatæ 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 Compositæ 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 Compositæ, 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 Compositæ, 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 Labiatæ, 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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