SCOBZONERl. 81 



afterwards hoed. The ground should be kept clean and 

 loose round the plants, by repeated hoeings ; and in the 

 Autumn they will be fit for use. The roots may be taken up 

 late in Autumn, and secured in moist sand from the air; or 

 be suffered to remain out, and dug up when wanted. 



As the seeds of Salsify do not all ripen equally alike, they 

 should be sown moderately thick. To insure a regular 

 crop, five or six pounds should be allowed for an acre of 

 ground, or two ounces- for every three perches. 



The mode of cooking recommended by an American 

 author is, "to cut the roots transversely into thin pieces; 

 boil them in water, or milk and water ; when boiled soft, 

 mash them, and thicken the whole with flour to some degree 

 of stiffness ; then fry them in the fat of salt pork, or butter ; 

 they are a luxury." 



.In England the tops are considered excellent food when 

 boiled tender, and served up with poached eggs and melted 

 butter. They are by some considered salutary for persons 

 inclined to consumption. Those afflicted with any symp- 

 toms indicating an approach te such a state of health, can- 

 not harm themselves by eating the tops, when they are to 

 be got, which is in the month of April, and if the roots are 

 eaten when attainable, they may, perhaps, answer a still 

 better purpose, and even the liquor in which they are boiled 

 may possess some of the most valuable properties of the 

 plant. 



SCORZONERA. 

 SCORSONERE. Scorzonera Hispanica. 



THIS plant has long been raised in British gardens, for 

 culinary purposes, and especially as an ingredient in soups, 

 OB account of its palatable and nourishing roots. Some boil 

 and eat them like Carrots, &c.; in which case they should be 

 deprived of their rind, and immersed in cold water for half 

 an hour, or they will be bitter. They are raised precisely 

 ia the same manner as Salsify. If the seed be sown, in, 



