POT-HERBS 33 



mercury " ; while from Turner's description it would 

 appear that the " ryghte mercury," also known as 

 " French mercury," was at that time usually seen only 

 in gardens in England. This is partly confirmed by 

 Gerarde, who says : " French mercury is sowen in 

 kitchen gardens among pot-herbs. I found it under 

 the dropping of the Bishop's house at Rochester; from 

 whence I brought a plant or two into my garden, since 

 which time I cannot rid my garden from it." Ray, 

 on the other hand, who also calls the plant " French 

 mercury," speaks of it as growing " plentifully on the 

 sea beach near Ryde, in the Isle of Wight." It is 

 curious how a plant once held in such repute as a 

 pot-herb should have passed so entirely out of use ; 

 and its virtue as a " simple " was only equalled by its 

 excellence as a vegetable ; hence the old proverb — 



" Be thou sick or whole, 

 Put mercury in thy koole." 



Among other plants once in general use as pot-herbs 

 may be mentioned sorrel, scurvy-grass, and the common 

 nettle ; while the young shoots of the common hop are 

 still regarded, and not without reason, as an excellent 

 substitute for asparagus. 



Asparagus has been cultivated as a vegetable since 

 the time of the Romans. In its wild state it is still 

 found on the coasts of Wales and Cornwall, and in the 

 Channel Islands. It is interesting to notice that in 

 1667 John Ray found " sparrow-grass " at the Lizard 

 Point; and he adds: "said also to be found in the 

 marshes near Bristol, about Harwich in Essex, and 

 divers other places." Gerarde met with it " in a 

 meadow adjoining a mill beyond a village called 

 Thorpe"; "likewise," he adds, "it groweth in great 



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