610 MEALS MEDICINAL. 
delicate, ‘‘ very pleasing to the stomach, refreshing the weake, 
and fainting spirits;” so Gerarde has said. The dwarf white 
Batavian sort is the more delicate in flavour. The fleshy leaf- 
ribs of Endive (Cichorium endivia) contain } per cent of sugar. 
Endive is of several sorts,—the white, the green, and the curled. 
It is distinguished from Chicory by its less bitter taste, and by 
its annual root. For a purée of Endive: “ Wash, and remove 
the outer leaves from one cut Endive; have ready a saucepan 
only just full enough of fast-boiling salted water; throw the 
vegetable in, and allow it to cook quickly until tender; then 
drain it thoroughly, and mince it very finely. Melt one ounce 
of butter in a stewpan, put in the Endive, and heat it without 
browning it; dredge a small quantity of flour over it, and stir 
in one teaspoonful of thick, raw cream; season with a quarter 
of a teaspoonful of salt, a pinch of castor sugar, and a suspicion 
of grated nutmeg; then colour to a delicate green with juice 
of spinach, or of parsley. Let the purée simmer gently at the 
side of the range for about a quarter of an hour. Immediately 
before dishing it up work in a few tiny lumps of fresh butter ; 
pour out into a hot dish, and serve garnished with triangles of 
toast, and sprays of fresh parsley.” 
The Dandelion plant contains chemically “ taraxacin,” 
inulin (a sort of sugar), gluten, gum, and an odorous resin which 
specially stimulates the liver. Probably this reputed virtue 
was at first, in times long past, assigned to the herb mainly 
according to the doctrine of signatures, because of its bright 
yellow flowers of a bilious hue. But more modern, and more 
scientific experience quite vindicates the medicinal claims of 
this plant (leaf, and root) for remedying an indolent function 
of the bile-making, and bile-distributing organs, with a dis- 
position to jaundice. The root abounds with a milky juice 
which is thick, sweet, and albuminous during the winter, but 
bitter and acrid in summer time; it is at its best for yielding 
juice in November. A decoction may be usefully made by 
slicing the root, and boiling one part thereof for fiiteen minutes 
in twenty parts of water, straining this when cool, and sweetening 
with brown sugar, or honey, if desired. A small teacupful may 
be taken once, or twice a day. The leaves should be blanched 
by being covered in the earth as they grow, and are best for a 
Salad in spring time. The Dandelion root may be serviceably 
roasted, and ground, so as to be mixed with coffee, making a 
