410 CULTIVATED VEGETABLES. 



scriptions of ten species of wormwood that 

 were cultivated in the London gardens pre- 

 vious to 1597 ; the principal of which is 

 the common English wormwood. We have 

 now discovered five other species of this 

 plant that are indigenous to this kingdom. 



All the authors we have consulted, from 

 Dioscorides down to Gerard, notice that 

 cattle, and particularly sheep that feed near 

 the coast where the sea-wormwood (Mart- 

 tima) grows, fatten very rapidly; and as we 

 all know, that the feeding on savoury herbs 

 gives a relish to the flesh of animals, it is 

 worthy the trial of those who feed flocks on 

 the coast to sow a plot with this hardy plant. 

 It may be raised upon any soil, either by 

 seeds or slips planted in March ; and it is a 

 singular fact, that if it be eaten by hogs, 

 when the seeds are ripe, the seeds, passing 

 through their bodies, germinate and come up 

 quickly, and will soon over-run the ground 

 where the manure is spread. The seed 

 ripens in August. 



Rembert Dodoens writes fully on the 

 many medical qualities of this plant, and 

 says it is an excellent remedy against all 

 pains of the stomach. When taken in wine, 

 he says it resists all venom, particularly that 



