234 



CULINARY OR KITCHEN GARDEN. 



gardens of the highest order in Britain that it 

 is found. 



Insects and diseases seldom attack the parsley, 

 unless in dry seasons, and in light ferruginous 

 soils, where either an underground grub, or, we 

 rather think, a disease of the canker description, 

 destroys the roots, which causes the plant 

 immediately to die. We have never been able 

 to detect an insect at the roots, although the 

 effects are exactly similar to those which affect 

 carrots, when their roots are about as large as 

 a quill. Saturating the ground with lime-water 

 has arrested to some extent the disease ; but 

 whether this arises from the caustic effect, or 

 from the mere addition of moisture, we cannot 

 say. 



General remarks. — The European names are — 

 Persil in French; Petersilie in German; Peter- 

 selie in Dutch ; Petroselino in Italian ; Perejil 

 in Spanish ; Petruschka in Russian ; Pietruszka 

 in Polish. 



§ 2. — DILL, BORAGE, ETC. 



Dill (Anethum graveolens L.) belongs to the 

 natural order Umbelliferse, sub-order Ortho- 

 spermse and tribe Peucedanese, and to the class 

 Pentandria and order Digynia in the Linngean 

 arrangement. A native of Spain, and intro- 

 duced to Britain in 1570. The generic name is 

 derived from Ano, upward, Theo, to run, on ac- 

 count of its quick growth. Others derive it 

 from a Greek word signifying to burn, the plant 

 being very heating. 



A hardy biennial plant seldom used, and 

 then only for the leaves, which communicate a 

 slight degree of its powerful aromatic flavour to 

 pickles, and also occasionally in soups and 

 sauces. A dozen and a half good plants will be 

 sufficient for a large family's use. It is little 

 more than an annual with us, therefore requires 

 to be sown annually, either in March or April, 

 or as soon as its seeds ripen in autumn, and in 

 favourable places will stand over the winter. 



Like all warm and high-scented plants it re- 

 quires a light poor soil, because such a soil is 

 found most favourable for the preservation of 

 their aromatic properties, such plants being only 

 found naturally growing on such soils. It should 

 be grown in drills 1 foot apart, and the plants 

 thinned out to a like distance. Leave a plant 

 or two to run up to seed, which ripens in au- 

 tumn; and if grown, as all such plants should 

 be, in a compartment by themselves, called the 

 olitory or herb-garden, it will shed its seeds and 

 come up abundantly in spring; which course 

 may be followed for three or four successive 

 years, at the end of which the situation should 

 be changed, and this culture begun de novo. 

 The European names are — Anith in French; 

 Aneto in Italian; and Dill in German and 

 Dutch. 



. Borage {Borago officinalis L.) belongs to the 

 natural order Boragineae, and to the class Pen- 

 tandria Monogynia in the Linnsean arrangement. 

 The generic name is taken from Cor, heart; Ago, 

 to affect, on account of its cordial qualities, in- 



digenous to England, in waste places amongst 

 rubbish. Pliny says that wine with this infused 

 in it cheers the spirits ; and hence the leaves are 

 used, but more properly the flowers, as forming 

 an ingredient in cool tankards. The Greeks 

 called it Euphrosynon, for, when put into a cup 

 of wine, it made those who drank it merry. It 

 has been in use for these purposes since the days 

 of Parkinson. Coles and M. Valmont Bomare 

 say the flowers have no virtue when dry, and 

 recommend using the roots during winter, which 

 are said to possess the same properties. In 

 Queen Elizabeth's time, both the leaves and flow- 

 ers were eaten in salads. At present it is culti- 

 vated for cool tankards, and the young shoots 

 and leaves for mixing in salads. The leaves 

 contain so great an amount of nitre, that when 

 dry they burn like match-paper. It is also used 

 by some as a substitute for spinach. 



Culture. — The seeds are large, so that two 

 ounces will be required for an ordinary garden, 

 which should be sown thin, 9 inches apart seed 

 from seed; and a spring and. August sowing will 

 be sufficient, as, if the leaves only are to be used, 

 if the flower-stems are cut out as soon as they 

 form, the plants will continue forming leaves for 

 three months in succession. Self-sown plants 

 will arise in abundance, and therefore borage 

 may be treated in this respect as noticed for 

 dill. The young plants transplant freely, and as 

 they rise from self-sown seed, it is allowed to 

 ripen. If once introduced into a garden, it will 

 not easily be lost. Cool tankard is a beverage 

 composed of lime-water, lemon-juice, and sugar, 

 and is exceedingly refreshing and exhilarating 

 during summer. 



The European names are — Bourrache in 

 French; Borragine in Italian; and Borragen in 

 German. The seed will keep for four years in 

 the seed-room, and for an unknown period if 

 deep in the ground. It makes an excellent 

 green manure, and has been sown in spring for 

 such, and dug in during autumn. In soils defi- 

 cient in nitrous matter, the advantage of this is 

 obvious. 



Tliyme. — Common thyme {Thymus vulgaris L.), 

 a native of Spain and Italy. Introduced to Bri- 

 tain long prior to 1548. Of this there is a broad- 

 leaved variety of altogether stronger growth, 

 {Thymus citriodorusTers.) lemon-scented thyme. 

 These are the only two species cultivated; the 

 latter is indigenous to Britain, belongs to the 

 natural order Labiatse and tribe Satureineaa, and 

 to the class Didynamia and order Gymnosper- 

 mia in the Linnsean arrangement. The generic 

 name is derived from Thymos, courage, from its 

 smell-reviving properties. Its use was well 

 known to the ancient Greeks and Romans, and 

 according to Evelyn it was cultivated to a great 

 extent in the neighbourhood of Sandwich and 

 Deal for its seed only, which was used in pre- 

 ference to the leaves, and also for medicinal 

 purposes. Both are at present used, in 

 either a green or dry state, in soups, stews, 

 sauces, and stuffings, and the leaves of the le- 

 mon-scented kind are used for seasoning veal 

 instead of lemon-peel. Before the introduction 

 of the Eastern spices, both were more used than 



