112 POPULAR ECONOMIC BOTANY. 



flavour, are used as condiments, and may very properly be 

 classed with, the spices ; the principal are these : — 



Caraway. — The seed of Carum Carui. (Nat. Ord. Um- 

 helUferm, Jussieu; Apiacece, Lindley.) 



This plant derives its name from Caria, its native country ; 

 it received this appellation from the Roman natural historian 

 Pliny ; Dioscorides called it /capos, evidently for the same 

 reason. Botanically speaking, it is properly a fruit, the 

 brown outer covering being the shell, or seed-vessel; and, 

 two of these being always joined together when on the 

 plant, they are termed mericarps, or half-fruits. 



The taste of the Caraway being warm, aromatic, and 

 agreeable, and its production cheap, it forms a valuable 

 spice for the humbler classes, and is much used in confec- 

 tionery. It grows wild in many parts of England, having 

 become naturalized; in some parts it is much cultivated, 

 especially in Essex ; we however receive large quantities 

 both from Holland and Germany. 



Besides being used to flavour various kinds of food, the 

 essential oil of these seeds is used in medicine, and the 

 seeds themselves are enveloped in sugar, and form the con- 

 fection called " caraway comfits," so well known to children. 

 The manner in which these are manufactured is not gene- 



