32 A GARDEN OF HERBS 



two or three days, heating them now and then on some 

 coals; lay them upon glasses, sift sugar on first, lay the 

 leaves on one by one, and dry them in the sun ; when they 

 are dry, lay them in boxes, with paper between each layer 

 of leaves. From The Receipt Book of Mrs, Anne Shackleford 

 of Winchester, 1767. 



ANISEED 



Although a native of Egypt, anise does well in English 

 gardens if given a warm, sunny place, and it was grown in 

 the old herb gardens as early as the fourteenth century. 

 Anise was one of the chief ingredients of the spiced cake 

 served at the end of a rich feast by the Romans, and it is 

 to this cake our modern bridal cake is supposed to trace its 

 ancestry. Even in the early nineteenth century anise was 

 commonly used for flavouring soups and sometimes bread, 

 but it is rather too aromatic for the modern taste. 



ANISE is a half-hardy annual. Sow during April in pots 

 plunged in a hot-bed, and remove to a warm, light border 

 in May. 



ANISEED TEA. Half a pint of boiling water on two 

 teaspoonfuls of the bruised seed. 



ARTICHOKE (GLOBE) 



The Globe Artichoke is such a modern-looking plant 

 yet it is in reality one of the oldest inhabitants of the herb 

 garden. Its name is derived from the Arabic "Alkharshuf," 

 and as it is one of the oldest cultivated " herbs " in the world, 

 it should find a place in every herb garden, however tiny. 

 Some herbalists call it the thistle of the garden, and Dethicke 

 tells us that " it grew wild in the fields, and came by diligence 

 to be carefully bestowed in the garden, where through 

 travail brought from his wildness to serve unto the use of 

 the mouth." Some of the old instructions for the growing 

 of artichokes are very delightful. " See that the mice haunt 

 not the roots," says one, " for once allured of the pleasant 



