FOOD AND FLAVOR 205 



was offered to a well-known dealer, but he 

 responded that the demand for thyme was so 

 small as not to justify its purchase. So the new 

 plant was allowed to drop out of cultivation. 



The Mustard Family 



The members of this family, quite unrelated 

 botanically to the ones we have just considered, 

 illustrate the tendencies of different races of 

 plants to adopt similar expedients in furthering 

 their ends. 



Being succulent herbs, like the parsleys and 

 mints, the mustards have devised a similar pro- 

 tective measure, namely the development of 

 essential oils that have a pungent and biting 

 taste. But here as with the others man has cul- 

 tivated a taste for what seemed a prohibitive 

 quality, and the mustards, including not only the 

 plants that give their name to the family, but 

 such allies as the peppergrass, the cresses, 

 and the horse-radish, have long held a secure 

 place in the culinary department of every 

 household. 



My most extensive experiments in the culti- 

 vation of the mustard were carried out some 

 thirty-five years ago, working quite largely with 

 the Japanese and Chinese mustards, in combina- 

 tion with the common European mustard. 



