101 ENGLISH BOTANY. 



the branches somewliat corymhose. Outer rays of tlie umbel ^ to 

 1^ iuch loDi^ ; pedicels -Jt to J inch. Leaves of the involucel shorter 

 than the rays, and applied to them. Plowers n, inch across, very- 

 pale greenish-yellow. Petals roundish, sub-cordate at the base, and 

 with a very short claw, notched at the apex, and with a very small 

 inliexed point. Cremocarp oval-ovoid, slightly tapering towards the 

 apex, a little longer than broad, dark-brown, with the ridges slender, 

 prominent, pale. Plant bright-green, glabrous. 



Common JParsley. 



French, Persil cultive. German, Gemehie Fetersille. 



The Parsley so well known in our gardens and on our tables was used by the 

 Komans, and seems even to have been mentioned by Dioscorides, The name is some- 

 what the same in all languages, the Euglish name Parsley greatly resembling the French 

 Persil. It was first cultivated here in 1548. Gerarde calls it Farsele, and says, "it is 

 delightful to the taste, and agreeable to the stomach," and that the " roots or seeds 

 boiled in ale and drunken cast forth strong venom or poison, but the seed is the 

 strongest part of the herbe." 



The uses of Parsley as a culinary agent are well known. It is a diuretic, and the 

 decoction acts as a sudorific. The flavour of this herb, as well as of others used in 

 cookery, can be artificially preserved, and rendered available when the fresh plants 

 cannot be obtained. Lately the French chemists have prepared a very pleasant mix- 

 ture of salt with the flavours of difierent herbs, which can be added to soups, gravies, 

 and other dishes with very good effect. We imagine that these preparations are made 

 chiefly from the fruits of these herbs, as they retain the largest portion of the peculiar 

 flavour of each herb. In writing of Parsley and its culture, Dr. Neill says : " It may 

 be right to notice that the poisonous plant called Fool's Parsley [uEthivsa Cynapiuni), 

 a common weed in i-ich garden soils, has sometimes been mistaken for common Parsley. 

 They are very easily distinguished : the leaves of Fool's Parsley are of a darker green, 

 of a different shape, and instead of the peculiar parsley smell, when bruised, have a 

 disagreeable odour. When the flower-stem of the Fool's Parsley appears, the plant is at 

 once distinguished by what is vulgarly called its beard, — the thi'ee long pendent leaves of 

 the involucrum." The timid may avoid all risk of mistake by cultivating only the curled 

 variety : this last, it may be remarked, makes the prettiest garnish. Parsley is con- 

 sidered to be a preventive of the rot in sheep, with which view it has sometimes been 

 sown in pastures. Sheep are certainly very fond of it, appearing to prefer it to any 

 other food ; but its beneficial action on disease is doubtful. Babbits and hares are 

 extremely partial to it, so much so that it is difficult to keep them out of a garden 

 where it is grown. The seed of Parsley is a long time vegetating after being sown, the 

 plant remaining under ground for nearly forty days. One sowing in spring will mostly 

 furnish young leaves all the year, though, to meet a constant demand, some persons 

 make successive sowings from February to May. In former times Parsley was esteemed 

 a remedy for many disorders, as we find from Gerarde's opinion already quoted. Its 

 imagined quality of overcoming poison was probably owing to its power of over- 

 coming strong scents, even the odour of garlic being imperceptible when mingled with 

 Parsley. 



