1895.] 3IICR0SC0PICAL JOURNAL. 23 



angelica, caraway, fennel, celery, parsley, and the more 

 plebeian carrot and parsnip. It also supplies, of famous 

 poisons, the hemlock, water hemlock and fool's parsley ; 

 and a scarcely more attractive lot of gum resins. The 

 latter are, beyond competition, headed by the fetid as- 

 afcetida, which is said to be considered by the Persians 

 a "delicious condiment," the leaves and roasted root 

 being also eaten ; but which, as rumor assures us, was 

 not so esteemed by the invalids of nearer countries, 

 when it was administered to them as a remedy by the 

 physicians of olden times. As to the use of this plant 

 for food, it will be noticed that the leaves and root may 

 not always have the characteristic odor and acridity of 

 the plant ; or if they do it must be mitigated by the 

 cooking, or they could hardly be eaten. Such character- 

 istics vary greatly in different climates ; and the root, 

 especially, is sometimes edible and wholesome even in 

 poisonous plants. The use for flavoring sauces, how- 

 ever, is suggestive of natural aromas preserved, though 

 perhaps modified by cooking or combination. 



Our coriander, of mal-odorous name, may claim the 

 honor of belonging to both the spicy and the offensive 

 classes, its name coriander (from Gr. Koris, a bug) an- 

 nouncing fresh odors suggestive of "bugs," especially 

 in the green leaves, while the popular use of the aro- 

 matic dry fruits as a pleasant spice, indicates how much 

 they have improved with age. 



The more radical question of the uses of these peculiar 

 products, to the plants themselves, is a curious and dif- 

 ficult one, though their prevalence through the family 

 seems to mark them as something more than waste pro- 

 ducts. Both spicy and fetid products, and poisons, 

 may serve to protect them from being eaten by animals, 

 or by their antiseptic power may help to preserve them 

 from decay. The vast family, however, is rich in useful 

 expedients. Its habit of freq^uenting wet and partially 



