282 



HORTICULTURE. 



Kitchen some parts of England, and figured in English Bo- 

 Garden. tany> t< 1503. The plant rises a foot and a half high, 

 ^" with spreading branches ; the leaves are decompound ; 

 the leaflets in sixes. In former times, the tapering fusi- 

 form roots were eaten like parsnips, to which Parkin- 

 son gives them the preference. In the spring time, the 

 under leaves are sometimes put in soups. But the plant 

 is now principally cultivated for the seeds ; these are 

 used in making cakes, and are incrusted with sugar for 

 comfits ; they are likewise distilled with spiritous li- 

 quors, and for this purpose large quantities are raised 

 in fields in Essex. Nicol and others direct its being 

 sown in the spring ; but -it is much better to sow in au- 

 tumn, soon after the seed is ripe ; the seedlings quickly 

 rise, and, the plant being biennial, a season is thus 

 gained. A moist rich soil answers best. The seed is 

 generally sown in rows ; and in the spring, the plants 

 we thinned out to four or six inches apart. In the end 

 of summer, when the seeds appear to be nearly ripe, 

 the plants are pulled up, and set upright to dry, the seed 

 being then more easily beat out. 



Kitchen 

 Garden. 



-Tansy. 



Tansy. 



427. Tansy (Tanacelum vulgare, L; Syngenesis 

 Polygamia superflua ; Corymbiferce, Juss. ) is a well 

 known perennial plant, a native of most parts of Bri- 

 tain, generally growing on the banks of rivers ; it is fi- 

 gured in English Botany, t. 1229. In a cultivated 

 state, it rises to the height of three or four feet ; the 

 stem leafy, the leaves alternate, deep green, finely di- 

 vided ; the flowers appear in terminating corymbs, and 

 are yellow. It has long had a place in the garden, 

 partly on account of its medicinal virtues, being in 

 high estimation as a vermifuge, and partly for the 

 sake of its young leaves, which are shredded down, 

 and employed to give colour and flavour to puddings. 

 There is a variety with curled leaves, which is rather 

 ornamental ; this is often called Double tansy. There 

 is likewise a sort with variegated leaves, which is some- 

 times admitted into shrubberies. Tansy is extremely 

 hardy, and will grow in any soil or situation. A few 

 plants are sufficient ; and it is very easily propagated at 

 any time by parting the roots. Tansy leaves may be 

 procured very early in the spring, by laying two or 

 three tufted roots of the plant upon a slight hot-bed 

 about mid-winter, arched with hoops and covered with 

 mats in severe weather. The young leaves may also 

 be had throughout the summer, by cutting down the 

 flower-stems close, so as to encourage a new growth. 



Costmary. 



428. Costmary, or Ale-cosl,(Balsamita vulgaris, Hort. 

 Kew. ; Tanacelum Balsamita, L. ; Syngenesia Polyga- 

 mia cequalis ; Corymbiferce, Juss.) is a native of Spain, 

 Italy, and the south of France : it is however a hardy 

 perennial, and has been cultivated in our gardens from 

 the earliest times. The lower leaves are large, ovate, 

 of a greyish colour, and on long footstalks ; the stems 

 rise two or three feet high ; they are furnished with 

 leaves of the same shape, but smaller and sessile. The 

 flowers are of a deep yellow colour, and appear in loose 

 corymbs in August and September ; in indifferent sea- 



sons or in cold situations, they scarcely expand, and 

 the seeds very seldom come to maturity in this country. 

 The whole plant has a pleasant odour. Costmary was 

 formerly more used in the kitchen than it is at present. 

 In France it is an ingredient in salads. It was also 



put into ale, and hence the name Ale-cost. The other 

 name, cost-Mary, intimates that it is the costus or aro- 

 matic plant of the Virgin. A few plants are enough in 

 a garden. They do best in a dry soil, and will remain 

 good for several years. It is readily propagated by 

 parting the roots in autumn. There is a variety with 

 deeply cut and very hoary leaves, but this sort is less 

 fragrant. 



Hyssop. 



429. Hyssop (Hyssopus officinal! f,!;.; DUJynamia Gym- Hyssop. 

 no^permia; Labiatce, Juss.) is a perennial evergreen 

 undershrub, a native of the south of Europe, and has 



been long cultivated in our gardens. The sterns rise a 

 foot and a half high ; the leaves are lanceolate, narrow 

 like those of lavender, but shorter. There are several 

 varieties, blue, red, and white flowered, and hairy leav- 

 ed ; but the first is the most commonly cultivated. 

 The whole plant has a strong aromatic scent. The 

 leaves and young shoots are sometimes used for culi- 

 nary purposes, in the way of a pot-herb ; and the leafy 

 tops and flower-spikes are cut, dried, and preserved for 

 medicinal uses. It is sometimes planted as an edging 

 in the kitchen garden, the plants being set only about 

 ten inches distant from each other : in a separate bed, 

 they should be two feet asunder. It may be propa- 

 gated by seeds, by rooted slips, or by cuttings, in the 

 spring months. In a poor dry soil it is not only more 

 hardy, but more aromatic, than in a rich soil. It often 

 grows on old walls ; but the " hyssop that springeth 

 out of the wall" of Solomon, is supposed by Hasselquist 

 to have been a small moss, which he observed covering 

 the ruins of Jerusalem. 



Rue. 



430. Rue ! (Ruta graveolens, L. ; Decandria Monogy- Hue. 

 nia ; Rulacece, Juss.) is a perennial evergreen under- 

 shrub, a native of the south of Europe. It was early 

 cultivated in our gardens, and was in former days called 

 Herb of Grace, from the circumstance of small bunches 



of it having been used by the priests for the sprinkling 

 of holy water among the people. There is a tall grow- 

 ing and a small kind ; the latter is now chiefly cultiva- 

 ted. Formerly border edgings were frequently made 

 with it ; but it is now seldom employed for that pur- 

 pose. It ought, however, to be occasionally pruned 

 down, and kept from flowering too much ; in this way 

 it continues m a fresh bushy state for a number of 

 years. It is easily propagated by slips or cuttings in 

 the spring; and a few plants are generally thought 

 sufficient in a garden. Like rosemary, lavender, hyssop, 

 and other similar aromatics, it does best in poor dry 

 soils. The leaves are sometimes used as a medicines, 

 and often given to poultry afflicted with croup. 



Chamomile. 



431. Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis, L. ; Syngenesia Chatnomilf. 

 Polygamia superflua; Corymbiferf, Juss.) is a well 



known perennial plant, which grows naturally in 

 Surrey, Cornwall, and some other parts of Britain, and 

 is figured in English Botany, t. 80. Fw gardens are 

 without a chamomile bed : it is certainly a highly aro- 

 matic plant, and an infusion of the dried flowers makes 

 a safe bitter and stomachic, much used under the name 

 of Chamomile-tea. The double-flowering variety is or- 

 namental, and is generally kept in gardens ; but the 



