The Herb Garden 115 



salves, his wife seeks not the city, but prefers her gardens 

 and fields before all outlandish gums." 



Simples were medicinal plants, so called because 

 each of these vegetable growths was held to possess 

 an individual virtue, to be an element, a simple 

 substance constituting a single remedy. The noun 

 was generally used in the plural. 



You must not think that sowing, gathering, dry- 

 ing, and saving these herbs and simples in any con- 

 venient or unstudied way was all that was necessary. 

 Not at all ; many and manifold were the rules just 

 when to plant them, when to pick them, how to pick 

 them, how to dry them, and even how to keep them. 

 Gervayse Markham was very wise in herb lore, in 

 the suited seasons of the moon, and hour of the day 

 or night, for herb culling. In the garret of every old 

 house, such as that of the Ward Homestead, shown 

 on page 116, with the wreckage of house furniture, 

 were hung bunches of herbs and simples, waiting for 

 winter use. 



The still-room was wholly devoted to storing 

 these herbs and manufacturing their products. This 

 was the careful work of the house mistress and her 

 daughters. It was not intrusted to servants. One 

 book of instruction was entitled, The Vertuouse Boke 

 ofDistyllacyon of the Waters of all Manner of Herbs. 



Thomas Tusser wrote : 



" Good huswives provide, ere an sickness do come, 

 Of sundrie good things in house to have some, 

 Good aqua composita, vinegar tart, 

 Rose water and treacle to comfort the heart, 



