164- Tfje TraSiical Kitchen Gardiner] 



cummin, throws off all inflammations 

 therefrom, and helps the eyes. 

 Kinds, Onr Englifh writers of plants and gar- 

 dening have long ago given us two kinds 

 of this ufeful plant, ^viz. the afparagus 

 fativuSy or garden afparagus, and the 

 afparagus Batavus maximus, the great 

 ^utch afparagus , and our catalogues 

 mention no more : But there are other 

 kinds, at lead they have their denomina- 

 tion from places where they arc excel- 

 lently large and good, fuch as Batterfeay 

 Canterbury y Gravefendy and other places, 

 raised no doubt from the antient flock, 

 and improv'd by foil and culture. 

 Troperties. Mr. Evelyn fays, that next to flefh, 

 nothing is more nourifliing, as Sim. Se- 

 thins, an excellent phyfician held ; they 

 are fometimes, fays he, eaten raw with 

 oil and vineear ; but with more deli- 

 cacy (the bitternefs firft exhaufted) being 

 fo fpeedily boil'd as not to lofe that ver- 

 dure and agreeable tendernefs which is 

 their peculiar excellence and recommen- 

 dation, and is done by letting the water 

 boil, as you do for coleworts, before 

 you put them in 5 and, if I may for 

 once aflume the province of a cook, 

 the not letting them abide long in wa- 

 ter 



