CULINARY HERBS 3 1 



cities. The plain-leaved sorts cannot be compared 

 in any way except in flavor with the varieties of the 

 other groups. But the fern-leaved kinds, which 

 unfortunately have not become commercially well 

 known, surpass even the finest varieties of the moss- 

 curled group, not only in their exquisite and delicate 

 form, but in their remarkably rich, dark-green color- 

 ing and blending of light and shade. But the mere 

 fact that these varieties are not known in the cities 

 should not preclude their popularity in suburban and 

 town gardens and in the country, where every 

 householder is monarch of his own soil and can sat- 

 isfy very man}^ aesthetic and gustatory desires with- 

 out reference to market dictum, that bane alike of 

 the market gardener and his customer. 



Several other herbs — tansy, savory, thyme, mar- 

 joram, basil, and balm — make pretty garnishes, but 

 since they are not usually considered so pleasant to 

 nibble at, they are rarely used. The pleasing eflfect 

 of any garnish may be heightened by adding here 

 and there a few herb flowers such as thyme or 

 savory. Other flowers may be used in the same 

 way ; for instance, nasturtium. 



There is no reason why herbs so used shoula not 

 be employed several times over, and afterwards dried 

 or bottled in vinegar if they be free from gravy, oils, 

 fats, etc., and if in sufficient quantity to make such 

 a use worth while. Other pretty garnishes which 

 are easily obtained are corn salad, peppergrass, 

 mustard, fennel, and young leaves of carrot. But 

 surpassing all these in pleasing and novel effects are 

 the curled, pink, red and white-leaved varieties of 



