SALADS AND HERBS 131 



be no better plant used in salads where an acid flavour is 

 appreciated ; and the leaves may be boiled for table use after 

 the manner of Spinach. From seeds, sown preferabty in spring, 

 leaves large enough for use will be produced in eight or ten weeks. 

 A deep, moist, friable soil i^ the best medium, and the plants 

 should be thinned to quite a foot apart. A plantation of Sorrel 

 will last for several years, if care is exercised in gathering, 

 which should be performed by cutting a few outside leaves 

 from each plant. By growing plants in frames, a supply of 

 tender, mild Sorrel leaves may be had all the year round. No 

 heat is required, the protection of the glass alone inducing 

 more luxuriant growth. Plenty of moisture is necessary in 

 hot weather. A leaf or two, shredded, and judiciously mixed 

 with other salad ingredients, imparts a very pleasant and slightly 

 acid flavour to what might otherwise be an insipid salad. 



WOOD-SORREL (Oxalis acctosella). A plant with leaves 

 similar in taste to ordinary Sorrel, and found growing wild in 

 our native woods and shady places, Wood-Sorrel may be grown 

 with advantage in a cool, moist, shaded portion of the kitchen- 

 garden, which perhaps might otherwise be unoccupied and 

 wasted ; but there is also a cultivated form which produces 

 edible bulbous roots, of indifferent insipid flavour, resembling 

 in shape very small Turnips or Radishes. The leaves are of 

 better repute, and are very useful. Seeds or bulbs may be 

 planted to secure fresh plants. 



HERB PATIENCE (Rimiex patientia) .- Herb Patience, or 

 Patience Dock is a little-known plant resembling Sorrel in form 

 of leaf, having the same uses and culture, but reaching a height 

 of four to six feet. One plant would suffice for any garden. 

 The flavour is less acid than Sorrel. 



PART II. VEGETABLE-HERBS 



GOOD KING HENRY (Chenopodium bonus- Henrtcus). 

 Good King Henry, Mercury, or Perennial Goosefoot, is a 

 valuable vegetable-herb which ought to receive greater atten- 

 tion from British gardeners. Seeds are cheap, and the plants 

 are very hardy and accommodating, continuing in good growth 

 for a number of years, and requiring the use of the hoe only 

 in the way of cultivation. Seeds are sown in the spring, and 



