CULINARY HERBS 49 



done a second time. Then when the rows begin to 

 crowd, each alternate row is removed and the 

 remainder allowed to develop more fully. The chief 

 advantages of this practice are not only that several 

 crops may be gathered, but each plant, being sup- 

 plied with plenty of room and light, will have fewer 

 yellow or dead leaves than when crowded. In the 

 diagram the numbers show which plants are re- 

 moved first, second, third and last. 



HERB RELATIONSHIPS 



Those readers who delight to delve among pedi- 

 grees, genealogies and family connections, may per- 

 haps be a little disappointed to learn that, in spite 

 of the odorous nature of the herbs, there are none 

 whose history reveals a skeleton in the closet. They 

 are all harmless. Now and then, to be sure, there 

 occur records of a seemingly compromising nature, 

 such as the effects attributed to the eating or even 

 the handling of celery; but such accounts, harrow- 

 ing as they may appear, are insufficient to warrant 

 a bar sinister. Indeed, not only is the mass of evi- 

 dence in favor of the defendant, but it casts a reflec- 

 tion upon the credibility of the plaintiff, who may 

 usually be shown to have indulged immoderately, 

 to have been frightened by hallucinations or even 

 to have arraigned the innocent for his own guilt. 

 Certain it is that there is not one of the sweet herbs 

 mentioned in this volume that has not long enjoyed 

 a more or less honored place in the cuisine of all the 

 continents, and this in spite of the occasional toot- 

 ings of some would-be detractor. 



