704 THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



TANSY 



Tanacetum vulgare, L. Composite. 



French, Tanaisie. German, Gemeiner Rainfarn, Wurmkraut. Danish, Reinfang. 

 Italian, Atanasia. Spanish, Tanaceto. 



Native of Europe. Perennial. A plant forming a clump of 

 very permanent growth. Stems annual, erect, rounded, usually not 

 branching, and about 3 ft. high ; leaves oval oblong, but very much 

 divided and very deeply cut into narrow segments, which are also 



divided into exceedingly slender toothed 

 lobes ; flower-heads small, numerous, 

 in compound, terminal, and rather 

 crowded corymbs ; florets deep yellow ; 

 seeds small, long, almost conical, with 

 five prominent grayish ribs. Their 

 germinating power lasts for two years. 

 Two varieties of this plant are in cul- 

 tivation namely, the Common Tansy, 

 which is the same as the wild plant, 

 and a curled-leaved variety, the leaves 

 of which, in addition to the ordinary 

 use, may also be employed for 



garnishing, like those of the Curled 

 Tansy ( A naturals,^), j^j^ 



CULTURE. The Tansy, like the Wormwood, demands no 

 cultural care, and a plant or two of it growing in the corner of 

 the garden is usually sufficient for all requirements. It is gener- 

 ally multiplied by division in spring or autumn. By cutting off 

 the flower-heads as they appear, the production of leaves is pro- 

 longed in the latter end of summer and in autumn. 



USES. The leaves are used for seasoning, etc. 



GOLDEN THISTLE 



Scolymus hispanicus, L. Composites. 



French, Scolyme d'Espagne. Dutch, Varkens distel. Italian, Barba gentile. Spanish, 



Escolimo. 



Native of Southern Europe. Biennial. A plant with a white 

 and rather fleshy tap-root. Radical leaves oblong, usually varie- 

 gated with pale green on a dark green ground, very spiny, and 

 narrowed at the base into the leaf-stalk ; stem very branching, from 

 2 to 2\ ft. high, furnished with sessile, decurrent, and very spiny 

 leaves ; flowers of bright yellow, in sessile heads of two or three 

 flowers each ; seeds flat, yellowish, surrounded by a white scarious 

 appendage. Their germinating power lasts for three years. The 

 seed is sown in March or April, in well-dug soil, in the same 



