682 



PRACTICE OF GARDENING. 



Part III. 



4291. Ox-tongue. Pm-is Meracioides, L. {Eng. Bot. 972.) Syn. Pol. JEq. L. and Cichoracece, J. This 

 annual, common in clayey pastures and wastes, when boiled, affords a good green. In France and Italy, 

 a species named P. vulgare, and probably the same as the above, is grown and used as a salad, and is said 

 to resemble succory. {Bon Jard. 1820. p. 170.) 



4292. Sauce alone, or Jack by the hedge, is the Erysimum AUiai-ia,!^. {Eng. Bot. 196.) Tetrad, Siliq^. 

 and Cntcifei-cB, J. {fig. 475. d) A biennial plant ; found by hedges where the soil is dry and rich. The 

 stem rises two or three feet high, with heart-shaped leaves of a yellowish-green color the flowers are 

 white, and appear in May. The whole plant, as the trivial name imports, scents strongly of garlic. It is 

 occasionally used as a salad; boiled as a pot-herb, or introduced in sauces. XeiU observes, that, " when 

 gathered as it approaches the flowering state, boiled separately, and then eaten to boiled mutton, it cer- 

 tainly forms a most desirable pot-herb ; and to any kind of salted meat, an excellent green." 



4293. Sea-orache. Atriplex Uttoralh, L. {Eng. Bot. 708.) Poly. Monocc. L. and Chenopodece, B. P. This 

 is an annual, and is eaten in the same manner as the chenopodium, as greens or spinage. 



4294. Sea-beef. Beta maritima, L. {Eng. Bot. 285.) Pent. Big. L. and Chenopodece, J. Tliis biennial 

 is common on various sea-shores, and is also used like the orache, fat hen, and white beet. 



4295. Spotted haivkweed. Hypocheris tnaculata, L. {Eng. Bot. 225.) Syng. Pol. JEq. L. and Cichora- 

 cece, J. The leaves of this perennial are eaten as salad, and also boiled as greens. 



4296. Stinging nettle. Urtica dioica, L. {Eng. Bot. 1750.) Monac. Pent. L. and Vrticece, J. This 

 perennial, found in dry rubbishy soils and in hedges ; is but seldom seen in places where the hand of man 

 has not been at %vork, and may therefore be considered a sort of domestic plant. Early in February, the 

 tops will be found to have pushed three or four inches, furnished with tender leaves ; in Scotland, Poland, 

 and Germany, these are gathered as a pot-herb for soups, or for dishes like spinage ; and their pecuUar 

 flavor is by many much esteemed. No plant is better adapted for forcing ; and in severe winters, when 

 most of the brassica tribe have been destroyed, it forms an excellent resource. Collect the creeping roots, 

 and plant them either on a hot-bed, or in pots to be placed in a forcing-house, and they will soon send up 

 abundance of tender tops : these, if desired, may be blanched, by covering with other pots. We have 

 known the nettle forced by being planted close to the flue in a vinery, so as to produce excellent nettle- 

 kale and nettle-spinage in the last week of January. 



4297. Wild rocket is the Sisyttibrium officinale, {Eng. Bot. 125.) Tetrad. Siliq. L. and Cruciferce, J. 

 A common annual, of a yellowish hue, from two to three feet high, with the leaves runcinated, and the 

 seed-pods inclined upwards, close to the stalk. It is sometimes used as a pot-herb ; and the tender young 

 leaves, in salading, greatly resembling mustard in its taste and flavor. 



4298. Willow-herb. Epilobium angustifolium, L. {Eng. Bot. 1947.) Oct. Monog. L. and Onagrarece, J. 

 The young and tender shoots are eaten as asparagus, and the leaves are a wholesome green. 



4299. Sow-thistle is the Sonchus olcraceus, {Eng. Bot. 843 ) Syng. Polyg. JEqu. L. and Cichoracece, J. 

 A hardy annual, and a well known weed in rich garden and field soils. There is a prickly and a smooth 

 variety, both abounding in a milky bitter juice. The tender tops of the smooth variety are in some 

 countries boiled and used as greens, or mashed as spinage : hence the origin of the Linna?an trivial name 

 oleraceus. 



SuBSECT. 2. Roots of Wild Plants edible. 

 4300. Arrowhead. Sagittaria sagittifolia, L. {Eng. Bot. 84.) Moncec Polyan. L. and 

 Alismaceee, B. P. The roots of this aquatic perennial are said to be very similar to those 

 of the West India arrow-root (2Taranta Arundinacea, L.). They are sometimes dried 

 and pounded, but are reported to have an acrid unpleasant taste ; though tliis might, 

 it is believed, be got rid of by washing the powder in water. 



4301. Common arum. Arum maculatum, L {En^. Bot. 1293.) Moncec. Polyan. L. and Aroidcee, B. P. 

 This plant is very common in hedges and woods in loamy soils ; in the isle of Portland it is very abun- 

 dant, and there the roots are dug up by the country people, macerated, steeped, and the powder so 

 obtained is dried, and sent to London, and sold under the name of Portland sago. 



4302. Bitter vetch, or tnouse peas. Orobus tubcrosus, L. {Eng. Bot. 1153.) Diad. Decan. L. and 

 Leguininosce, J. The tubers are said to be chewed by the Scottish Highlander as a substitute for tobacco. 

 Boiled till a fork will pass through them, and dried slightly and roasted, they are served up in Holland 

 and Flanders in the manner of chestnuts, which they resemble in flavor. Dickson {Hort. Trans, ii. 359.) 

 recommends cultivating them in a bed or border of light rich soil, paved at the depth of twenty inches, to 

 prevent their roots from running down. Plant the tubers six inches apart, and three inches below the 

 surface ; the second year some will be fit to gather, and by taking only the largest, the bed will continue 

 productive for several years, adding some fresh compost every year. 



4303. Earth-nut. Bunium bulbocastanum, L. {Eng. Bot' 988.) Pent. Dig. L. and TJmbellifercB, J., 

 The roots of this bulbous perennial are eaten raw, and are by some considered a delicacy here, but thought 

 much more of in Sweden, where they are an article of trade : they are eaten also stewed as chestnuts. 



4304. Meadow-sweet. Spircea Filipendula, L. {Eng. Bot. 284.)" Icos. Di-Pentag. L. and Bosacece, J. 

 The tubers of this perennial, common in most meadows where the soil is inclined to peat, or boggy, are 

 ground and made into bread in Sweden. 



4305. Pilewort. Banuncidus ficaria, L. {Eng. Bot. 584.) Polyan. Polyg. L. and Banunculacece, J. 

 The young leaves, in spring, are boiled by the common people in Sweden, and eaten as greens. The roots 

 are sometimes washed bare by the rains, so that the tubercles appear above ground ; and in this state 

 have induced the ignorant, in superstitious times, to fancy that it has rained wheat, which these tubercles 

 somewhat resemble. {Derham's Physico-Theology.) 



4306. Sago. Orchis Mono, L. {Eng. Bot. 2059.) Gynan. Monan. L. and Orchidece, B. P. The 

 powder of the roots is used in forming the beverage called saloop. Though imported chiefly from Turkey, 

 yet the roots of this country, either gathered wild, or cultivated for use, might answer the same purpose. 

 This plant is particularly abundant in the vale of Gloucester. 



4307. Silver-weed. Potentilla Anserina, L. {Eng. Bot. 861.) Icos. Polyan. L. and Bosacece, J. The 

 roots of this plant taste like parsneps, and are frequently eaten in Scotland either roasted or boiled. In 

 the islands of Jura and Col they are much esteemed, as answering in some measure, the purposes of 

 bread, they having been known to support the inhabitants for months togetl>€r during a scarcity of 

 other provisions. They often tear up their pasture-grounds with a view to get the roots for their use ; 

 and as they abound most in barren and impoverished soils, and in seasons when other crops fail, they 

 aflTord a most seasonable relief to the inhabitants in times of the greatest scarcity. {Lighffoofs Fl. Scot.) 



4308. Solomons seal. Polygonatum vulgare, D. {Eng. Bot. 280.) The roots are 

 dried, ground, and made into bread j and the young shoots are boiled and eaten as 

 greens. 



