PERENNIAL VEGETABLES 



leaves and enclosing them in paper bags and hang- 

 ing them in a dry, airy place to dry. Parsley was 

 much esteemed by the ancients, who believed it pre- 

 vented intoxication by absorbing the fumes of wine. 

 It was much used, therefore, as wreaths and chap- 

 lets at their feasts and drinking bouts. It was pars- 

 ley which Hercules selected for his first garlands of 

 victory, and as the ancients utilised the plants in 

 their merrymaking and rejoicing, so, too, it was 

 brought into use in their funeral decorations, sprigs 

 of the herb being strewn over their dead. 



