542 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



May, 1914 



better to decrease the depth of the 

 prepared root bed but increase the 

 distance between the plants. Many 

 commercial growers in the big Cali- 

 fornian asparagus districts prefer to 

 leave a hard unbroken subsoil at a 

 depth of about i8 inches below the 

 surface. They plant in single rows 

 not less than four feet apart and do 

 their feeding from the top. They 

 claim, and^ there seems to be good 

 reason for it, that as one crop is 

 dependent upon the proper growth 

 and development of the previous 

 year's foliage and root growth, a 

 free circulation of air and sunlight is 

 imperative. For the amateur gar- 

 dener however the question of space 

 is important. Few like to devote 

 more of it than is necessary to any 

 permanent crop. If he .can get good 

 results by crowding his plants^ as he 

 undoubtedly very often does, it is 

 natural that he will continue to do 

 so. It appears to be largely a mat- 

 ter of conditions. Whatever method 

 is adopted the present is a good time 

 to commence preparation. Take 

 out the soil to whatever depth is de- 

 cided on, use only the best of this 

 in returning and make up the defici- 

 ency with liberal amounts of manure, 

 and any well decayed vegetable mat- 

 ter with a few lbs of bone dust. If 

 you have any choice of soil, that 

 which most nearly approaches a good 

 sound *andy loam should be pre- 

 ferred, the nearer it can be brought 

 to this quality the better. 



♦ 



Herbs in the Kitchen. 



(By Kennedy Herbert, in "The 

 Garden.") 



I am induced by j'our interesting ar- 

 ticle in "The Garden" on "—The Herb 

 Border," to send you a few lines in re- 

 spect of the use of herbs in the kit- 

 chen, especially in connection with vege- 

 table cookery. It is a subject to which 

 I have given much attention for some 

 time past, and now I have a culinary 

 herbarium under my personal care in my 

 garden. In my various works upon 

 cookery 1 have endeavoured to show 

 how, by judicious selections from the 

 herb beds, flavours of soups and stews 

 can be pleasantly diversified, and the 

 characteristics of certain vegetables 

 more fully developed. As you say, of 

 late, unfortunately, the herb border has 

 not received the attention that was for- 

 merly bestowed upon it, and many varie- 

 ties of herbs have in consef|uence slipped 

 out of general cultivation. This proli- 



ably has been more the fault of the 

 cook than of the gardener, for, natur- 

 ally enough, the ■ latter will not waste 

 time and space upon the rearing of 

 plants which are never asked for. Hence 

 it is that we now see but rarely Chives, 

 Chervil, Purslain. Summer Savoury, 

 Tarragon, Burnet, Rosemary, and Sweet 

 Basil in English gardens. 



Continuing the custom handed down 

 from olden time, our cooks still use 

 mint with lamb, green peas, and new 

 potatoes; Thyme and marjoram in the 

 stuffing they make for veal and hares; 

 sage with ducks, geese, and pork; and 

 fennel with mackerel. Specialists, too, 

 in the preparation of turtle soup recog- 

 nise the value of Sweet Basil in their 

 flavouring, the true assaisonnement a la 

 tortue being made of that herb, with 

 Marjoram, Thyme, and Bay Leaf. But 

 in few kitchens is Summer Savoury 

 (Sarriette) used with Broad Beans; 

 Basil in cooking Tomatoes ; Rosemary in 

 seasoning poultry, particularly for the 

 poullet a la casserole; Purslain (Pour- 

 pier) as a garnish in vegetable soups ; 

 Chervil (Cerfeuil) in salads and fish 

 sauces, or Ravigote — a blend of Burnet, 

 Chives, Tarragon and Parsley — for a 

 like purpose. Then do we often get a 

 true sauce verte with salmon, trout, &c., 

 for which Chervil, Chives, Tarragon, 

 and Cress have been selected; or Green 

 Butter similiarly seasoned. 



Chives (Ciboule) ought to be grown 

 in every kitchen garden, for they supply 

 a delicate flavour of Onion in ome- 

 lettes, salads, &c., without after-effects, 

 which many consider regretable. Cher- 

 vil makes an effective trimming for cold 

 dishes, but owing to its delicacy does not 

 retain its freshness as well as Parsley. 

 Purslain, because of the nutty crispness 

 of its leaf, is welcome in soups ; it also 

 can be cooked like Spinach, and is nice 

 in that form with poached eggs. 



It is amusing to see in the lists of 

 herbs' given in English handbooks on 

 gardening and seedsmen's catalogues the 

 word Sorrel, for assuredly the proper 

 place for its entry is among vegetables ; 

 I mean to say that it has just as much 

 right as Spinach for a place in that clas- 

 sification. Cooked in the same manner 

 as .Spinach, it makes an excellent ac- 

 companiment for veal and pork. It may 

 be blended with Spinach in half or one- 

 third proportion, and served as an entre- 

 met garnished with fleurons of puff 

 pastry, while in association with eggs 

 cooked in various ways it is delicious, 

 being constantly in request at restau- 

 rants in France and Belgium in tliat 

 form. 



Touching Bay Leaf, mentioned apro- 

 pos of turtle herlDS, it should be pointed 

 out that the French word for this shrub, 

 Laurier, is often mis-translated LaureU 

 by which the reader, may be led to 

 think that the ornamental garden shrub 

 is indicated. This is a grave mistake. 

 The Laurel of cookery comes from the 

 Bay tree (Laurus nobilis), the leaves of 

 which are harmless, possessing an aro- 

 matic scent not unlike Cinnamon. The 

 garden Laurel, on the other hand (Cer- 

 asus Lauro-cerasus) is a Cherry con- 

 taining prussic acid, and not to be used 

 in the kitchen at all for fear of acci- 

 dents. The French word Pimprenelle 

 — the name by which a favourite herb in 

 salads is knowi> abroad — has been mis- 

 taken by some writers for the English 

 Pimpernel. This is another dangerous 

 error, for the latter plant is poisonous. 

 The correct translation is Burnet. 



. ^ 



Lime-Sulphur v. Bordeaux 

 Mixture for Spraying 



Experiments conducted at the New 

 York Agricultural Experimental Station 

 last year seem to show that lime-sulphur 

 cannot be recommended as a spray for 

 the potato disease. On the other hand, 

 six applications of Bordeaux mixture 

 increased the yield of marketable tu- 

 bers at the rate of 111.5 bushels per 

 acre. The lime-sulphur wash dwarfed 

 the plants, though it did not appear to 

 burn the foliage. On the other hand, 

 the Bordeaux mixture prolonged the 

 life of the plants about two weeks. 



IMPLEMENT MAKER 

 (Lat« of MORGAN). 



YOUNG STREET 



(Old Methodi.t Hall) between 

 FRANKLIN it WAYMOUTH STS 



DENNIS' PATENT 

 STEEL BUCKSCRAPEB AND SILT 

 SCOOPS. GATES. ETC 



Wrii* (or niuatratvd Calal 



