SALSIFY OR VEGETABLE OYSTER. 



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Bpikes should be gathered as it ripens, before it is washed 

 otit by the rain. Dry upon a cloth in the shade. 



Use. — The young leaves and tops are used in soups, 

 stuffings and sauces. They can be dried and preserved 

 like other herbs; but in this climate it is unnecessary, as 

 it is evergreen. Thyme tea is a cure for the headache, 

 and an excellent tonic. The essential oil contains 

 camphor. 



Tragopogon Forn/olius-^S alsify or Vegetable 

 Oyster. 



Salsify is a hardy, tap-rooted biennial, a native of Eng- 

 land and various other parts of Europe, with long taper- 

 ing root of a fleshy white substance, the herbage smooth 

 glaucous, and the flower-stem three or four feet high, the 

 flower of a dull purple color and syngenesious. 



Salsify likes a light, mellow soil, dug very deeply, as 

 for carrots and other tap-rooted plants. Sow in Febru- 

 ary or March (earlier if you choose), in drills an inch deep, 

 and a foot apart. Sow rather thickly. An ounce of seed 

 will sow a square rod. Scarlet radish may also be sown 

 thinly in the same drills. When an inch high, thin the 

 plants, and continue by degrees until the plants are six 

 inches apart. If the soil is deep and moist, they will 

 grow all summer and not run up to seed. Watering in 

 dry weather, especially with guano water, will greatly 

 invigorate the plants. Cultivate the soil, and keep it free 

 from weeds, as you would for beets and carrots. The 

 roots will be fit for use in August, and may remain in the 

 ground all winter, to be pulled as wanted. 



For Seed. — Leave, or transplant some of the best plants 

 in spring, which will produce seed abundantly. Gather 

 and dry in the heads, where they may be kept until 

 wanted. 



