SALADS AND HERBS 185 



quickly and soon blossoms. It prefers a chalky soil. The 

 plant is used for making claret-cup and other cordials ; but its 

 value in the garden probably centres in its flowers. 



CARRAWAY (Carum carvi). The seeds of this plant are too 

 well known to require description, but it may not be generally 

 known that the root, which grows to a good size, is edible, and 

 of a Carrot flavour, and that the leaves and young shoots are 

 eaten In salads in some countries. The plant is a biennial, 

 one foot or more high, in many places growing as a wildling, 

 and cultivated by sowing seeds in May or June, and the plants 

 thinned out. Growth and maturity are very quick, and in 

 July and August the seeds are ready for gathering. 



CLARY (Salvia sclarea). Here again is an ornamental 

 gem cropping up from the commonplace. The proper leaves 

 at the base of the plant are large and wrinkled like a Savoy 

 Cabbage, but the tall flower-spike is clothed with smaller leaflets, 

 which at the extreme tip is beautifully coloured either white, 

 purple, or red, imparting a striking effect, and having the appear- 

 ance of highly-coloured flowers. The blossoms, however, are 

 very small indeed. These plants are now much used in floral 

 bedding schemes. The utility side consists in the leaves being 

 used for seasoning. The seeds are sown in drills and the plants 

 thinned, or in a seed-bed, and the seedlings pricked out, in May. 

 Hoeing and watering are two essentials of culture, until, in 

 August, the leaves may be gathered for use, with a continuous 

 supply far into the following year. Although perennials, the 

 plants should be treated as biennials, either for flowering or 

 kitchen uses. 



CORIANDER (Coriandmm sativum). A two-foot, branching 

 annual herb of weedy appearance, Coriander supplies a useful 

 article of commerce in its seeds, which are used in culinary 

 preparations and confectionery. A warm site with a light 

 soil is preferred by this plant, whereof seed is sown in spring 

 or autumn. The culture is of the simplest nature. 



CUMMIN (Cuminum cyminum). The seeds of this herb, 

 which are of a pungent, aromatic flavour, are used for flavouring 

 soups, pickles, etc. The plant is dwarf (four inches in height), 

 and the seeds, sown in May, produce plants which mature and 



