THE CHERVIL, ETC. 673 



garnish. Eaten along with any dish strongly seasoned with onions, it 

 takes off their smell, and prevents their after-taste ; no herb is more 

 valuable for communicating flavour to soups and stews. There are many 

 varieties, differing only, however, in the extent of the curling of the leaves. 

 The plain-leaved variety is scarcely grown now in gardens. Parsley- 

 seed, of which an ounce will sow a drill 150 feet in length, requires to be 

 sown every year in February, either broadcast or in rows, the latter 

 being preferable. The seed will remain in the ground from forty to 

 fifty days before it vegetates, being a longer period than is required for 

 any other garden-seed; and, unlike most other seeds, parsley-seed 

 that has been kept several years comes up sooner than new seed; 

 unless, indeed, the new seed has been taken from the plant before it 

 was fully ripe, and sown immediately. The plants should be thinned 

 out to six inches distance in the row ; and also all those plants that have 

 not the leaves beautifully curled should be pulled up, an operation 

 technically called roguing ; because one of the principal uses of parsley 

 is as a garnish, and the curled leaves are incomparably more orna- 

 mental than the plain ones. They should be gathered leaf by leaf; 

 and when there is a want of young tender leaves, the plant should be 

 cut over by the surface of the ground, when a new set of leaves will 

 be sent up. In order that there may be a supply in the winter season 

 a sowing should be made about May, to be covered in October with a 

 frame and sashes, or with hoops and mats, or propped hurdles. The 

 parsley-leaf may be preserved in a state fit for being used in soups and 

 stews, by drying it in a Dutch oven, or in a tin roasting- screen ^or 

 hastener), and when it becomes brittle, rubbing it into a fine powder, 

 and putting it into glass bottles till wanted for use. Seed may be 

 saved by selecting a few plants with the most beautifully-curled leaves, 

 and allowing them to run to flower. The seed will ripen in July, and 

 will keep six or eight years. 



The Hamburgh parsley, the roots of which are eaten like those of 

 the parsnip; and the Naples parsley, the footstalks of the leaves of 

 which are used like celery, are also occasionally grown and used. 



The Chervil, the Coriander, Dill, Fennel, Tarragon, and Purslane. 



The Chervil (Chaerophyllum sativum) is an umbelliferous annual, a 

 native of the south of Europe, and cultivated for the same purposes as 

 the parsley ; but as it runs rapidly to seed, several sowings require to 

 be made in the course of the growing season. Sow in shallow drills 

 six inches apart, and thin out the plants; and when gathering, take 

 the leaves singly. They may be dried and preserved in the same 

 manner as those of parsley. A few plants allowed to run will bear 

 abundance of seed, which will keep six or eight years. 



The Coriander (Coriandrum sativum, L.), an umbelliferous annual, 

 a native of the south of Europe, is sometimes cultivated in gardens for 

 the same purposes as the chervil ; but more frequently, especially on 

 the Continent, for its seeds, which are sold by the confectioners en- 

 crusted in sugar. 



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