i8 The book of herbs 



and so likewise much more the foUowing yeare. The 

 Venetians used to prepare it for meate many waies, both 

 the herbe and roote eaten rawe, or boyled or fryed to be 

 eaten with meate, or the dry'd herb pondered and 

 strewn upon meate ; but most usually either whited 

 and so eaten raw with pepper and oyle as a dainty 

 sallet of itselfe, or a little boyled or stewed . . . the 

 taste of the herbe being a little warming, but the seede 

 much more." 



Chervil (Scandint Cerefolium). 



ChiboUes and Chervelles and ripe chiries manye. 



Piers Ploivman. 



Chervil was much used by the French and Dutch 

 " boyled or stewed in a pipkin. De la Quintinye recom- 

 mends it to give a ' perfuming rellish ' to the salad, and 

 Evelyn says the * Sweete (and as the French call it Musque) 

 Spanish Chervile,' is the best and ought ' never to be 

 wanting in our sallets,' for it is ' exceeding wholesome 

 and charming to the spirits.' . . . This (as likewise 

 Spinach) is used in tarts and serves alone for divers 

 sauces." 



CiBOULES, Chiboules OR Chibbals (^Allium Ascalonium). 



Acorns, plump as Chibbals. 



The Gipsies JVIetamorphosed. — Ben Jonson, 



Ciboules are a small kind of onion ; De la Quintinye 

 says, " Onions degenerated." From the reference 

 to them in Piers Plowman, they were evidently in 

 common use here in the time of Langlande. The French 

 gardener adds that they are " propagated only by seeds 

 of the bignes of a corn of ordinary gun-powder," and 

 Mr Britten identifies them with Scallions or Shallot 

 (A. ascaloniurn). 



