BLUE SUCCORY.— Cic/iorimi Intyh 



us. 



Class Syngenesia. Order ^qualis. Nat. Ord. Composite, 

 Compound Flowers. 



How brilliant is the blue tint of this hand- 

 some flower, which grows so plentifully on the 

 borders of fields where the soil is of chalk or 

 gravel ! Yet attractive as it is to the lover of 

 nature, the farmer denounces it as a noxious 

 weed, for its large roots are not easily extir- 

 pated from his corn and other lands. A 

 variety of this plant affords the Chicory root 

 so extensively cultivated in France, and called 

 Chicoree a cafe, and Avhich is now so gene- 

 rally used in England with coffee as to be 

 well known to us. The roots are taken up in 

 the winter season, cut into squares, and roasted. 

 The ancient Egyptians are known to have used 

 Chicory in great quantities, and Pliny remarks 

 on its importance in the diet of that people. 

 Among the modern Egyptians this and similar 

 plants compose half the food of the poorer 

 classes. There seems no doubt that the specific 

 terms of two kinds, Endivia and Intybus, are 

 both derived from the Arabic name of Hendi- 

 beh. The Cichorium Endivia is the plant of 

 our gardens, the blanched leaves of wliich serve 



