WATER CRESS. 317 



hence the ancient proverb, " eat cress and learn 

 more wit/' 



Water cresses have been famed for their anti- 

 scorbutic quality ; and they may be eaten at all times 

 of the year, but more particularly in the spring. 

 " Create a demand, and you raise a supply," is a 

 proverb exemplified in the manner by wnich the in- 

 dustrious mechanics of the immense metropolis of 

 England are furnished with this purifying plant ; 

 for scarcely is there a street so obscure, or a court 

 so humble, where a March morning is not ushered 

 in by the chaunt of "fine spring water cresses." 

 They are often brought from distant countries, and 

 sold by the sack. Many other good qualities be- 

 sides those mentioned above are assigned to the 

 water cress, and it is particularly recommended to 

 the English, who (as before observed) consume so 

 great a quantity of animal food. 



Water cresses are found growing in clear rivulets 

 and springs throughout Europe, from Sweden to 

 Greece, as well as in North America. 



No British plant is in such popular request as a 

 salad herb, the young leaves having a pleasant warm 

 pungent flavour, and being supposed, like the scurvy 

 grass, to purify the blood. 



Before entering on the culture of the water cress, 

 a few words may not be amiss in describing the 

 genuine sort, as the gatherers of this herb, either 

 through ignorance or some worse motive, often 

 substitute a spurious kind in its place, which is 

 generally the creeping water parsnip, Slum nodi- 

 florum y a plant with few medicinal qualities, and in 

 some respects pernicious. 



