134 CULINARY HERBS 



mental under the name of Old Man. In some coun- 

 tries the young shoots are used for flavoring cakes 

 and other culinary preparations. 



Tansy (Tanacetiim vulgare, Linn.), a perennial of 

 the Compositse, native of Europe, whence it has 

 spread with civilization as a weed almost all over 

 the world. From the very persistent underground 

 parts annual, usually unbranched stems, sometimes 

 3 feet tall, are produced in more or less abundance. 

 They bear much-divided, oval, oblong leaves and 

 numerous small, yellow flower-heads in usually 

 crowded corymbs. The small, nearly conical seeds 

 have five gray ribs and retain their germinability 

 for about two years. 



Tansy is easily propagated by division of the clumps 

 or by seed sown in a hotbed for the transplant- 

 ing of seedlings. It does well in any moderately 

 fertile garden soil, but why anyone should grow 

 it except for ornament, either in the garden or as an 

 inedible garnish, is more than I can understand. 

 While its odor is not exactly repulsive, its acrid, 

 bitter taste is such that a nibble, certainly a single 

 leaf, would last most people a lifetime. Yet some 

 people use it to flavor puddings, omelettes, salads, 

 stews and other culinary dishes. Surely a peculiar 

 order of gustatory preference ! It is said that don- 

 keys will eat thistles, but I have never known them 

 to eat tansy, and I am free to confess that I rather 

 admire their preference for the thistles. 



Tarragon (Artemisia Dracunculus, Linn.j, a fairly 

 hardy, herbaceous rather shrubby perennial of the 

 Compositse, supposed to be a native of southern 



