238 



CULINARY OR KITCHEN GARDEN. 



p. 691. No turtle-soup is fit to present at a 

 London civic feast without its due amount of 

 basil seasoning. Phillips remarks that, during 

 the reigns of Queen Mary and Elizabeth, far- 

 mers had learned to compliment their land- 

 ladies when they visited their farms, and grew 

 basil in pots to present to them. Tusser, in his 

 " Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry," 

 has not failed to satirise this servile custom. 



Being tropical annuals, they are raised annu- 

 ally from seed. In the southern parts of Eng- 

 land the seed is sown on warm borders. In the 

 north of England and Scotland, generally, it is 

 sown in pots placed in a moderate temperature, 

 and transplanted in May or June, according to 

 the situation. In families of the highest grades, 

 green basil is required throughout the year. 

 For winter supply, seed should be sown in flat 

 pots or boxes every fortnight, from the be- 

 ginning of November to the end of March. 

 From the first of April to the end of July, in 

 England, it should be sown once a-month, and 

 that upon the warmest and driest border the 

 garden affords. In Scotland, it is better to 

 sow at the same periods, with a view to trans- 

 plant afterwards into the open garden ; but in 

 many cases it must be grown under glass. 



The seed is small, therefore the surface should 

 be rendered smooth, whether in pots or in the 

 open borders. Sow thin, when the crop is to 

 be grown without transplanting, which should 

 be the case with such as are grown in pots, 

 during winter ; cover to the depth of a quarter 

 of an inch ; keep the soil rather dry than other- 

 wise, and thin out if too crowded. The plants 

 may be used when from 2 to 3 inches in height, 

 therefore progressive thinnings may take place ; 

 and should the plants be thicker than is deemed 

 expedient, a portion may be carefully taken up, 

 and transplanted into other pots or boxes, where 

 they will attain the height of 8 or 9 inches. 

 Those grown in the open border, if the soil is 

 light and rich, and the situation favourable, 

 will, if set at the distance of a foot or 14 inches 

 apart, cover the ground, and assume the appear- 

 ance of dwarf stocky bushes. When the plants 

 are just showing flower, they should be cut over 

 by the ground, and dried as speedily as possible, 

 either as recommended for mint, &c., p. 237, or 

 otherwise, so as to retain the green colour, as 

 well as a portion of the agreeable aroma for 

 which it is so much valued. When sufficiently 

 dry, it should be rubbed down to a fineish 

 powder, and kept in wide-mouthed bottles, with 

 glass stoppers, for winter use ; but, like most 

 other odoriferous plants, it loses much of its 

 flavour when dried, and hence cooks always pre- 

 fer it in the green state. The treatment of both 

 sorts is the same. 



The European names are — Basilie in French; 

 Basilikum in German ; Basilicum in Dutch ; 

 Bassilico in Italian; Albahaca in Spanish; Alfa- 

 vaca in Portuguese ; Wasilik in Russian ; and 

 Bazylika in Polish. 



Savory. — Satureja montana L. (winter savory), 

 S. hortensis L. (summer savory), S. capitata, 

 (headed savory), S. viminea L. (twiggy penny- 

 royal savory). The two latter — the first a native 

 of the Levant, introduced in 1596, and the 



second a native of Jamaica, introduced in 1783 — 

 are seldom cultivated in Britain, although botli 

 are much used in their native countries. The 

 two former are, or should be, found in every 

 garden: they belong to the natural order La- 

 biatse, and to the class Didynamia and order 

 Gymnospermia in the Linnsean arrangement; 

 they are both natives of the south of Europe : 

 the former was introduced in 1562, and the 

 latter in 1652. The generic name is derived 

 from Ss'atar, the Arabic name for all labiate 

 plants. The winter savory is an aromatic annual 

 plant. The winter savory grows to the size of a 

 small shrub, when planted in a poor dry soil ; 

 but in rich earth its pores become too full of 

 moisture to stand the severity of our winters : 

 both these are noticed by Virgil, among the fra- 

 grant herbs and shrubs that should grow near 

 the bee-hive. Although the above dates of their 

 introduction are given, it would appear by Ge- 

 rard that they had been in use long before ; 

 and, with other Italian herbs used in Roman 

 cookery, it is not improbable that they were 

 introduced by the Romans themselves, and con- 

 tinued in the monastic gardens. 



The perennial sort, S. montana, is propagated 

 by cuttings taken from the young side-shoots in 

 June, placed under a hand-glass on a shady bor- 

 der. The cuttings should be about 2 inches in 

 length ; and when they are rooted should be 

 transferred to a nursery-bed, in a more warm 

 and exposed place, to gain strength, so that they 

 may be set out in their permanent place by the 

 beginning of September. They should be planted 

 in rows, 18 inches apart, and the plants seta foot 

 apart in the line. They will continue for many 

 years in a favourable climate and dry soil ; but 

 as they are apt to become straggling and un- 

 sightly, new plantations should be made every 

 five or six years. In cold situations they demand 

 slight protection during severe winters. It may 

 also be propagated by seed, but the plants are 

 longer in coming into use. 



The annual sort 8. hortensis is propagated by 

 seed, which should be sown in warm localities 

 in April ; but in colder places it is better to 

 sow in pots placed in a gentle heat, and trans- 

 plant in June. That sown in the open air 

 need not be transplanted if sown in drills half 

 an inch deep and a foot asunder, if thinned out 

 to 6 or 8 inches in the rows. 



The perennial sort should be cut for drying 

 just as the flowers are opening, and the annual 

 one when in the same state, and dried and pre- 

 served as noticed for other odoriferous herbs. 

 Both are used during summer in a green state. 

 They were both formerly used in the composi- 

 tion of cakes and puddings, but are now chiefly 

 employed in seasoning sausages, force-meats, and 

 sometimes in soups; occasionally in salads — a 

 use the Romans were well aware of. 



The European names are — Sarriette in French ; 

 Die saturei in German ; Keul in Dutch ; Santo- 

 reggia in Italian ; Ajedrea in Spanish ; Segurelha 

 in Portuguese ; Tschaber in Russian ; Ozabr in 

 Polish ; and Saer in Danish. 



Marjoram — Origanum vulgare L. (common 

 marjoram), 0. heracleoticum L. (winter sweet 

 marjoram), 0. Marjorana L. (sweet or knot- 



