82 



THE HERB-GARDEN 



poisonous really, but very wholesome. It makes 

 splendid bitters. In a very old-fashioned garden 

 of the Midlands last summer I was pleased to 

 find plenty of Wormwood growing by a sunny 

 wall, and fondly hoped it was a relic of the old 

 days, when kings hid and nuns were walled up 

 in the chimneys of the old manor-house to which 

 the garden belonged. But nothing of the kind. 

 The gardener had planted it with a view to pro- 

 viding his neighbours with good physic for the 

 coming winter. The wild Wormwood, or Mugwort, 

 grows freely on the sea- coast, and is quite common 

 on the cliffs of Norfolk. 



Rue is a Herb we must enjoy for the uncommon 

 and lovely colour of its leaves — such a soft bluish- 

 green. Every artist's eye spies it out at once. 

 It is easier to admire the colour than to find the 

 right pigments to reproduce it in a picture. As to 

 its use, cattle-owners and poultry- keepers are well 

 aware of its value as a homely physic, and many 

 of our country-folk still delight in it as a medicine 

 for themselves. An old woman living near our 

 village tells us it is the only remedy that does her 

 any good. She takes it chopped up, between 

 slices of bread and butter. Oddly enough, a young 

 lady who has just been staying with a family in 



