FUNQACEOUS ESCULENTS. 681 



shrub, a native of the south of Europe, and cultivated for its tender 

 tops as a seasoning for soups and made dishes, and for boiling with 

 peas, beans, &c. It is propagated by seed, cuttings, or division, like 

 thyme, but most frequently by the latter mode. 



The Summer Savory (S. hortensis, L.) is an annual, a native of Italy, 

 with larger leaves and a more agreeable fragrance than the winter 

 savory, to which it is generally preferred. It is sown in drills, one 

 foot apart, in the open garden, in March or April. 



The Sweet Basil, or larger Basil (Ocymum Basilicum, L.) is a labia- 

 ceous annual, a native of the East Indies, cultivated for its highly 

 aromatic properties. The leaves and bractese, or leafy tops, are the 

 parts gathered ; and, on account of their strong flavour of cloves, they 

 are often used in highly-seasoned dishes, as well as in soups, stews, 

 and sauces ; and a leaf or two leaves are sometimes introduced into 

 salads. Sow on a hotbed in the end of March, and plant out in a 

 warm border when all danger from frost is over, allowing the plants at 

 least a square foot of space for each. 



The Bush Basil, or least Basil (0. minimum, L.), an annual, also 

 A rom the East Indies, is a much smaller plant than the former, but 

 being equally aromatic, and rather more hardy, is frequently sub- 

 stituted for it. 



The Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare, L.) is a perennial composite, a native 

 of Britain, on the sandy banks of rivers, and cultivated in gardens for the 

 young leaves, which are shredded down, and employed to flavour pud- 

 dings, omelets, and cakes. There is a variety with the leaves doubly 

 curled, which is generally preferred. No plant is more easily propa- 

 gated or cultivated, and it also forces freely. 



Fungaceous Esculents. 



The only fungaceous vegetable cultivated in Britain is the common 

 mushroom, though attempts have been made to bring under culture 

 the truffle and the morel. 



The Garden Mushroom (Agaricus campestris, L.) is a fungus, a native 

 of Britain and most parts of Europe, appearing in pastures in August 

 and September, and readily distinguished from other fungi by its fine 

 pink or flesh-coloured gills and pleasant smell As the natural history 

 of the mushroom was given when treating of the mode of forcing it, 

 and as there are no varieties to be described, we have only to notice a 

 practice sometimes adopted of growing the mushroom, in imitation of 

 nature, in pastures. The attempt will not succeed in every soil and 

 situation, but it has done so in a great many instances. Take mush- 

 room spawn, and in the beginning of July inoculate a pasture with it 

 by simply raising one piece of turf, three inches thick, with the spade, 

 in every square yard, inserting a small fragment of spawn beneath it, 

 and pressing it firmly down again with the back of the spade or the 

 foot. In all probability a crop will be produced during the latter end 

 of August and the beginning of September; and mushrooms will 

 appear of themselves in the same ground for a number of years after- 



