OF SUNDRY HERBS 53 



to be eaten at the Passover ; and in Egypt, where it was 

 largely cultivated, the seeds were bruised to mix with bread. 

 All Eastern nations esteem it highly, but apart from drugs, 

 we only use it now in liqueurs and for the little Sugar balls 

 beloved by children ; but formerly it was commonly grown 

 in herb gardens, and is one of the plants described in the 

 oldest original English treatise on gardening. The Feate of 

 Gardening, by Mayster Jon Gardener, 1440. Coriander seed 

 has the delightful quality of becoming more fragrant the 

 longer it is kept. The foliage of the plant has an almost 

 offensively strong odour. 



CORIANDER is a hardy annual. Sow the seeds at the end 

 of March. 



CORIANDER WATER. Take a handful of Coriander seeds, 

 break them and put them into about a quart of water, and 

 so let it stand, put in a quarter of a pound of sugar, and 

 when your sugar is melted and the water well taken the 

 taste of the seeds, then strain it out through a cloath and 

 drink it at your pleasure. You may do the same with 

 aniseeds. A Perfect School of Instruction for the Officers of 

 the Month, by Giles Rose, one of the Master Cooks to 

 Charles II, 1682. 



COWSLIP 



" As blake (yellow) as a paigle (cowslip)." 



East Anglian Proverb. 



" Where the bee sucks, there suck I ; 

 In the cowslip's bell I lie : 

 There I couch when owls do cry." 



The Tempest, Act V., Scene i. 



" Cowslips wan that hang the pensive head." 



Lycidas, Canto 139. 



What endless uses our ancestors made of cowslips ! They 

 used the young leaves and flowers in salads and for pot- 

 herbs, and made cowslip creams, puddings, tarts and wines. 

 They candied and pickled the flowers, made cowslip tea and 



