OF SUNDRY HERBS 47 



trodden on the faster it grows/' but formerly the seats in 

 the herbers and those hollowed out of the bank round the 

 herb garden were frequently covered with camomile, and 

 paths were made of it instead of turf in order to enjoy the 

 pleasant refreshing scent when one walked on it. Evelyn 

 tells us that " in October it will now be good to Beat Roll 

 and Mow carpet walks and camomile, for now the ground 

 is supple and it will even all inequalities/' Modern scientific 

 gardeners weed out camomile ruthlessly because it takes 

 so much goodness out of the ground; but old-fashioned 

 gardeners say it is the best of all " plant doctors/' and that 

 it will revive any sickly plant near which it is planted. One 

 of the best known French tissanes is made of dried camomile 

 flowers, and perhaps when our herbal knowledge equals 

 that on the other side of the Channel, we shall rate camomile 

 at its proper value. 



To MAKE OYLE OF CAMOMILE. Take oyle a pint and a 

 halfe, and three ounces of camomile flowers dryed one day 

 after they be gathered. Then put the oyle and the flowers 

 in a glasse and stop the mouth close and set it into the 

 Sun by the space of forty days. The Good Housewife's 

 Handbook, 1588. 



CAMOMILE TEA. Pour one pint of boiling water on an 

 ounce of the dried flowers. When it has stood for ten 

 minutes strain and sweeten with sugar or honey. 



CARAWAY 



" Come, cousin Silence ! we will eat a pippin of last year's 

 grafting with a dish of carraways and then to bed 1 " 

 Henry IV. 



Caraway is not a native of our islands, but it is frequently 

 found growing in waste places in the south of England. 

 Formerly bread, cheese and soup were frequently flavoured 

 with the seeds ; and the young roots, which are excellent, 

 were eaten like parsnips. Canon Ellacombe says that little 



