256 GAKDENING FOR THE SOUTH. 



and covered all around witli hot dung ; but in this climate 

 it would endanger the life of the plants. Do not let the 

 plants run up to seed. Every six or eight years the old 

 soil should be removed from the roots, and its place sup- 

 plied with fresh loam ; or the plants themselves removed 

 to a new site. A dozen plants will be sufficient for most 

 families.* 



Use. — The leaf-stem of this plant, when the external 

 skin is removed, is cut up in thin slices, and having an 

 agreeable acid, is used exactly like the apple for pies, tarts, 

 and sauce, at a time that other fruits cannot be obtained. 

 Gather them while young, just as they attain their full 

 size, before they lose their fine flavor. They can be gently 

 slipped from the root without using a knife. All medical 

 writers state that this is a wholesome vegetable, and it is 

 certainly an agreeable luxury. 



When the roots are old, they possess the properties of 

 Turkey rhubarb, but in a less degree. Buist states that 

 the stems of the varieties used in cooking, if stewed with 

 sugar, and eaten with bread, are an infallible remedy for 

 dysentery in children. 



Rumex Acetosa — Sorrel. 



A perennial plant of remarkable acidity, growing wild 

 in various parts of the world, and indicative of a sour, bar- 

 ren soil. The garden varieties are natives of Italy and 

 the south of France. The French sorrel has broad leaves, 

 and is the most pleasant flavored. Sorrel will grow in 



Many of my roots died in 1853 and '54 ; but those which weie 

 left produced abundantly, continuing in use about three months in 

 the early pa# of the season. I have now on trenched ground, two 

 spades deep, this year (1855) my whole stock. The exposure is 

 open, and they seem to prefer it to the partial shade I deemed desi- 

 rable when the foregoing article was written. 



