424 GARDENING FOK THE SOUTH'. 



and are also cooked, like salsify, in batter. It was 

 formerly esteemed as " the sweetest, whitest, and most 

 pleasant of roots/' 



SORREL.— (Rumex.) 



The sorrels are perennial plants belonging to the same 

 family as dock and rhubarb. There are three species 

 cultivated — viz.: Rumex acetosa, or common English 

 garden sorrel, of which the Belleville variety is best; R. 

 scutatus, French or Hound-Leaved Sorrel, a trailing 

 plant, with more acid leaves than the last; A', mvntanus, 

 Mountain Sorrel, like the last, a native of France. Of 

 this last there are two varieties — the Common Mountain 

 and the Green Mountain Sorrel. The first has pale green, 

 blistered leaves, less acid than the common English, and 

 does not run quickly to flower. The Green Mountain Sor- 

 rel is earlier than this, and is the latest to flower, pro- 

 ducing freely dark-green leaves of considerable acidity. 

 The flowers of the first and last species are dioecious. 



Sorrel will grow from seed, or dividing the roots early 

 in spring. Sow in drills fifteen inches apart and as they 

 come up, thin them to one foot in the row; or part the 

 roots in the autumn or spring, and set them out at the 

 same distance. Water them occasionally until well estab- 

 lished. Keep the plants free from weeds; cut down the 

 stalks occasionally in the summer, and cover the crowns 

 with a very little fresh earth, that they may send up large 

 and tender leaves. When, in two or three years, the 

 plants begin to dwindle, replant them in fresh soil. For 

 seed, let some of the stalks run up, and gather when ripe. 



Use. — Sorrel is much used by the French in soups, 

 sauces and salads, and is also cooked as spinach, a 

 method which many think improves its flavor, especially 

 if cooked with turnip tops. Some use. the leaves in pies 

 as a substitute for rhubarb. 



