MUST ART). 
m 
in any other compartment. u In summer, sow in shady bou ers. if it be hot, 
sunny weather; or, have the bed shaded. Generally, sow in shallow, flat 
drills, from three to six inches apart; scatter the seed thick and regular, and 
cover in thinly with the earth, about a quarter of an inch. To furnish gath¬ 
erings in winter or early in spring, sow in frames or under hand-glasses; and 
when the weather is frosty, or very cold, in hot-beds and -stoves.” 
Use. —“This species,” according to Loudon, “ is cultivated chiefly as a 
small salad, and is used like cresses, while in the seed : when these are 
newly expanded, they are mild and tender; but when the plants have ad¬ 
vanced into the rough leaves, they eat rank and disagreeable.” u In Spain, 
and throughout the south of Europe, the seed of the white species is pre¬ 
ferred, for the fabrication of mustard, because giving a whiter and milder 
flour than the seed of the black.”— Armstrong. 
The seed of this plant is also celebrated for its medical virtues, being at 
once a tonic and an aperient; cleansing the stomach and bowels, and 
bracing the system at the same time.—See N. E. Farmer , vol. vi, p. 188. 
Black Mustard.— S. nigra —is a larger plant than the white, with much 
darker leaves, and their divisions blunter. 
Use. —‘‘Black mustard is chiefly cultivated in fields for the mill, and for 
medicinal purposes. It is sometimes, however, sowrn in gardens, and the 
tender leaves used as greens, early in the spring. The seed leaves, in com¬ 
mon with those of the cress, radish, rape, &c , are sometimes used as a salad 
ingredient; but the grand purpose for which the plant is cultivated, is for 
seeds, which, ground, produce the well known condiment. If the seeds, Dr. 
Cullen observes, be taken fresh from the plant, and ground, the powder has 
little pungency, but is very bitter; by steeping in vinegar, however, the 
essential oil is evolved, and the powder becomes extremely pungent. In 
moistening mustard-powder for the table, it may be remarked, that it makes 
the best appearance when rich milk is used ; but the mixture, in this case, 
does not keep good for more than two days. The seeds of both the black 
and white mustard are often used, in an entire state, medicinally.” 
Culture for the mill. —“ To raise seed for flour of mustard, and other offi¬ 
cinal occasions, sow, either in March or April, in any open compartment; oi 
make large sowings in fields, where‘designed for public supply. Sow mo¬ 
derately thick, either in drills, from six to twelve inches asunder, or broad¬ 
cast, and rake or harrow in the seed. When the plants are two or three 
inches in the growth, hoe and thin them moderately where too thick, and 
clear them from weeds. They will soon run up in stalks, and, in July 01 
August, return a crop of seed ripe for gatherirg.”— Abercrombie. 
