273 



HORTICULTURE. 



Boragi. 



formerly high in estimation as a cordial plant, for 

 driving away sorrow ; but " very light surely (says Sir 

 E. Smith) were those sorrows that could be so driven 

 away." It is still sometimes used when young as a pot- 

 herb, and in salads ; the spikes of flowers form an in- 

 gredient in cool tankards, and the blossoms are occasion- 

 ally employed as a garnish. The juice of the plant af- 

 fords nitre, and the withered stalks have been observed 

 to burn like match-paper. Borage will sow itself, and 

 come every year. There is a variety with white flowers, 

 and another with flowers of a pale red or flesh colour; 

 but neither is common. 



Angelica. 



Angelic*. 401. This is the Angelica Arcliangelica of Linnaeus, 

 (Pentandria Digynia ; Umbel'iff.rce) : it is a biennial 

 plant, with very large pinnate leaves, the extreme leaf- 

 let three lobed. The roots are long and thick; and 

 they, as well as the whole plant, are powerfully aroma- 

 tic. It is truly a northern plant, being common in Lap- 

 land and Iceland. It was cultivated in Britain in 1568, 

 and probably more early. The stalks of it were former- 

 ly blanched, and eaten as celery. Now they are used 

 only when candied ; and the young and tender stalks 

 are for this purpose collected in May. Though the 

 plant is only a biennial, it may be made to continue for 

 several years, by cutting over the flower-stem before it 

 ripen seed ; in which case it immediately sets out be- 

 low. It is easily raised from seed, which should be 

 sown soon after being gathered. It grows best in a 

 moist soil, and thrives exceedingly by the side of a ditch. 



Love-apple. 



Love-apple. 4.Q2. Love-apple, or Tomato, (Solarium Lycoper.ticum, L.) 

 is an annual plant, a native of South America ; it was 

 cultivated by Gerarde in 1596. The stem, if supported, 

 will rise to the height of six feet or more. The leaves 

 are pinnate, and have a rank disagreeable smell. The 

 flowers are yellow, appearing in bunches in July and 

 August, and followed by the fruit in September and 

 October. The fruit is smooth, compressed at both ends, 

 and furrowed over the sides ; it varies in size, but sel- 

 dom exceeds that of an ordinary golden-pippin. The 

 common colour is yellow ; but there is a red-fruited va- 

 riety, which is now the sort principally cultivated ; and 

 there is also a small variety called the cherry-shaped. 

 When ripe, it is put into soups and sauces, to which it 

 imparts an agreeable acid flavour. The green fruit is 

 frequently pickled ; and sometimes also the ripe. A 

 preserve is likewise made of the fruit. 



The seed is sown on a hot-bed in March ; when the 

 seedlings arc two inches high, they are transplanted in- 

 to a slight hot-bed till they acquire a little strength. 

 They are then placed near a wall, paling, or reed hedge, 

 to which they can be trained, in a sheltered place, with 

 a full south exposure. The fruit, after all, ripens only 

 in favourable seasons. In dry weather the plants re- 

 quire regular watering. Two or three of the ripest 

 and best of the berries are selected for seed ; the pulp 

 being taken out, and the seeds separated by washing. 



Love-apples have by many been considered as the 

 Aurca mala spoken of by Virgil : but the plant scarcely 

 deserves the title of " arbor silvestris," and would hard- 

 ly receive it from a poet who was a naturalist ; and on 

 this account probably, Dr Duncan, sen. has suggested, 

 that Virgil's plant might really be an apple-tree, such 

 as the oslin or original pippin, the fruit of which is of 



a fine yellow colour. In this view, the Doctor is sup- Kitchen 

 ported by the authority of Sir William Temple. (Mis- Garden. 

 cell. vol. ii.j '"""Y"^*' 



403. Allied to the love-apple is the Egg-plant, (So- Egg-plant. 

 lanum melongcna, L.) It is a tender annual, rising 



about two feet high, with reclining branches. The 

 flowers are of a pale violet colour ; they are followed by 

 a very large berry, generally of an oval shape and white 

 colour, much resembling a hen's egg, or in large speci- 

 mens a swan's egg. There is likewise, however, a va- 

 riety with globular berries ; and the fruit is sometimes 

 of a violet colour. In southern countries the fruit is 

 eaten ; here the plant is often cultivated as an ornament 

 for the hot-house and the greenhouse ; but the fruit is 

 seldom made use of. It is sometimes transplanted to 

 successive hot-beds, and planted out in June in a warm 

 border ; where, if the autumn prove fine, the fruit 

 makes a beautiful appearance. 



Capsicum. 



404. Capsicum, or Guinea pepper, (Capsicum an- Capsicuso. 

 nutini, L. ; Pentandria Monogynia; Uclanacea?, Juss.), is 



an annual plant, rising about two feet high ; a native 

 of both the Indies. It has been long known, being 

 mentioned by Gerarde. It is raised principally for the 

 sake of the young pods, or to speak more correctly, in- 

 flated berries, which make a favourite pickle. They 

 are sometimes also used in the ripe state, when they 

 form a spice of the hottest quality. The seed is sown 

 in the spring, on a gentle hot-bed ; and the seedlings 

 are transplanted into another bed, where they are nursed 

 till June, when they are planted out in a sheltered bor- 

 der. The berries vary much in shape, producing many 

 subvarieties of the plant. They are long or short, 

 heart-shaped or bell-shaped, and angular. They vary 

 likewise in colour ; being generally red, but sometimes 

 yellow. In Scotland, capsicum plants are often potted 

 and kept under glass, the climate being seldom suffi- 

 cient to ripen the berries in the open border. 



A small-fruited annual species, called Cherry- pepper, Cherry-pep- 

 (Capsicum cerasiforme, Hort. Kew.) is sometimes raised; P"- 

 and occasionally the true Bell- pepper (C.grosstim, L.) Bell-pepper, 

 is cultivated. This last is a biennial species, of hum- 

 ble growth, but producing large berries. These are 

 better for pickling than the others, the skin being pulpy 

 and tender ; while in the others, it is thin and tough. 

 This biennial species must of course have a place in 

 the stove. 



Caper. 



405. The Caper-bush (Capparis spinosa, L. ; Poly- Caper. 

 andria Monogynia ; Capparides, Juss. ), though com- 

 mon in the south of France, and growing in the open 



air even at Paris, seldom withstands our winters, even 

 though placed in the most sheltered situation. Trained, 

 however, against any spare piece of wall in a stove, it 

 grows luxuriantly, and produces its flower-buds freely. 

 Sometimes it effectually establishes itself in crevices of 

 old hot-house walls ; this sort of situation resembling 

 its native one. The use of the flower- buds for pickling 

 is familiar. Perhaps a hardier variety might be ob- 

 tained by repeatedly raising it from the seed, at first in 

 Guernsey or Jersey, and thus gradually inuring the 

 progeny to cold. It may be mentioned, that in the 

 garden at Campden House, Kensington, a caper-tree 

 stood alive in the open air for near a century. It had 

 a -south-east aspect, and was well sheltered from the 

 worth. It had no covering, and was generally much 



