Book I. PLANTS USED IN TARTS, &c. 673 



4188. Use. The young leaves are shredded down and employed to give color and 

 flavor to puddings ; they are also used in omelets and other cakes, and were formerly in 

 much repute as a vermifuge. 



4189. Varieties. These are, the common; the curled, generally preferred ; and the 

 variegated, cultivated chiefly for ornament. 



4190. Culture. Tansy may be propagated in spring or autumn by rooted slips, or by dividing the roots 

 into several sets : plant them in any compartment of the kitchen or physic garden, from twelve to eighteen 

 inches asunder. The plant continues for several years, producing abundant tufts of leaves annually. As 

 they run up in strong stalks in summer, these should be cut down to encourage a production of young leaves 

 low on the stem. ... . , 



4191. To have young tansy in winter. Plant some roots either in a hot-bed or in pots placed therein, or 

 in a pinery or forcing-house, "i any time from November to March. (Abercrombie.) 



Subsect. 1 1 . Costmary, or Alecost. — Tanacetum Balsamita, L. ; Balsamita vul- 

 garis, H. &■« {Schk. Hand. 5. t. 240.) Syng. Polyg. Superf. L. and Corymbiferce, J. 

 Coq.fLs-jardins, Fr. ; Fraue?imunze, Ger. ; and Costo ortense, Ital. 



*192. The cost mary is a hardy perennial plant, a native of Italy, and introduced in this 

 country in 1568. The lower leaves are large, ovate, of a greyish color, and on long foot- 

 stalks ; the stems rise two or three feet high ; they are furnished with leaves of the same 

 shape, but smaller and sessile. The flowers are of a deep yellow color, and appear in 

 corymbs in August and September. In indifferent seasons, or in cold situations, they 

 scarcely expand, and the seeds very seldom come to maturity in this country. The whole 

 plant has a peculiarly agreeable odor, and its name, costmary, intimates that it is the 

 costus, or aromatic plant of the Virgin. There is a variety with deep-cut, hoary leaves, 

 but it is less fragrant than the other. 



4193. Use. In France it is used in salads ; and was formerly put into ale and negus ; 

 and hence the name of alecost. In this country, at present, it is but little used in 

 the kitchen. 



4194. Propagation and culture. It is a travelling-rooted plant, and readily propagated by division after 

 the flowering season, or in spring. It delights in a dry soil, and a plantation once made will remain good 

 for several years. 



Sect. X. Plants used in Tarts, Confectionary, and Domestic Medicine. 



4195. Of confectionary plants, excepting the species of rhubarb used as a substitute for, 

 or addition to, gooseberries, this class occupies only a few yards of the largest kitchen- 

 garden. Almost the only species worthy of introduction in that of the cottager, unless 

 we except the chamomile, is the rhubarb. 



Subsect. 1. Rhubarb. — Rheum, L. Enneandria Trigynia, L. and Polygonece, J. 

 Rhubarbe, Fr. ; Rabarber, Ger. ; and Rubarbaro, Ital. 



4196. Of rhubarb there are three species in cultivation, the rhapontiaim, hybridum, and 

 palmatum, all perennials. 



4197. Rheum Rhaponticum, L. {Sabb. Hort. i. t. 34.) is a native of Asia, and was 

 introduced in 1573. The leaves are blunt and smooth, veins reddish, somewhat hairy 

 underneath ; petioles grooved above and rounded at the edge. This species has been 

 longest in cultivation. 



4198. R. hybridum, L. (Murr. Com. Gott. t. 1.) is also a native of Asia, introduced in 

 1778. The leaves are large, somewhat cordate, smooth, and of a light green. When 

 under (rood cultivation, they often measure four or five feet in length, the foot-stalk in- 

 cluded. This sort was first introduced as a culinary rhubarb by Dickson, V. P. H. S., 

 about twenty years ago, and is esteemed more succulent than the R. Rhaponticum. 



4199. R. palmatum, L. (Mitt. Ic.1. t. 218.) is a native of Tartary, distinguished from 

 all the others by its elegant palmate leaves. It has been known in this country since 

 1758, and is generally considered as the true Turkey or Russian rhubarb. 



4200. Use. The two first species are cultivated entirely, and the third in gardens, 

 principally for the petioles of the root-leaves, which are peeled, cut down, and formed into 

 tarts and pies in the manner of apples and gooseberries. The R. hybridum affords the 

 most abundant and succulent supply for this purpose. 



4201 Propagation and culture. All the sorts may be raised either from seed or by dividing the roots. 

 If from seed, which is the best mode, sow in light deep earth in spring; and the plants, if kept eight or 

 nine inches asunder, will be fit for transplanting in autumn, and for use next spring. When the roots 

 are divided, care must be had to retain a bud on the crown of each section : they may be planted where 

 they are finally to remain. When a plantation is to be made, the ground, which should be light and 

 rather sandy, but well manured, should be trenched three spits, or as deep as the sub-soil will admit, 

 adding a good manuring of well-rotted hot-bed dung. Then plant in rows three feet wide by two feet, 

 in the rows for the R. rhaponticum and palmatum, and five feet wide by three feet, in the rows for the 

 R. hybridum. No other culture is required than keeping the ground free of weeds, occasionally stirring it 

 during summer with a three-pronged fork, and adding a dressing of well rotted manure every autumn or 

 spring, stirring the earth as deep as possible. Such a plantation will continue good many years. Some 

 never allow the flower-stalks to produce flowers ; and others cut them over as soon as they have done 

 flowering, to prevent the plants from being exhausted by the production of seeds. The former seems the 



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