of nutritional value and for the appetizing interest given to scant 
rations, herbs are of tremendous importance. Home grown fresh 
or dried herbs are vastly superior in flavor and quite worth the 
time and labor of raising and harvesting. Gas and tire rationing 
makes self-sufficiency a necessity, and food rationing creates new 
and substitute dishes, often with added enjoyment. The Shakers 
in. New England had a thriving industry, growing and marketing 
herbs, in 1859. They queried, with reason, from the cover of their 
price list: 
“Why go to Europe's distant shores 
For plants which grow at our own doors?” 
It would seem imperative to our health and pleasure, and to the 
after-war future of the American agriculturist, that we make a 
serious effort to grow herbs, as special crops or along with vege- 
tables, for personal use or as experimental plots for large-scale 
production. The following list of fifty kitchen herbs growing in 
the Herb Garden of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden will be helpful 
for study and identification of the living plants as well as for in- 
formation for the amateur grower and user of herbs in house and 
garden. 
Eleanour Sinclair Rohde mentions a famous 18th Century herb 
garden in England, that of Sir John Hill. This doctor, s 
an 
1e writes : 
“advocated public herb gardens in various parts of England planted 
with every herb useful in medicine, the arts or Husbandry, that 
they should be always free of expense to all people, and that there 
should always be some person present to show what was deserved 
to be seen and explain what was necessary. He generously invited 
anyone interested to come to his garden, ‘let none fear to apply, 
the plants are there and everyone is welcome.’ ”’ 
The Brooklyn Botanic Gar« 
a BY 
en today echoes his invitation: Let 
none fear to apply, the plants are here and everyone is welcome! 
The Herb Garden contains a collection of plants to which the 
term “herb” 1s applicable, as they are used for flavoring, fragrance, 
or cooking. The garden is located at the northeastern corner of 
the Botanic Garden, and is best reached via the North Washington 
Avenue gate. Since culinary herbs were much in use in Mediaeval 
pare 
times, some of them are displayed in “knots,” symmetrical patterns 
