Part 6 (1/2)
=Chervil= (_Scandix Cerefolium_, Linn.), a southern Europe annual, with stems about 18 inches tall and bearing few divided leaves composed of oval, much-cut leaflets. The small white flowers, borne in umbels, are followed by long, pointed, black seeds with a conspicuous furrow from end to end. These seeds, which retain their germinability about three years, but are rather difficult to keep, may be sown where the plants are to stay, at any season, about eight weeks before a crop is desired; cultivation is like that of parsley. During summer and in warm climates, cool, shady situations should be chosen, otherwise any situation and soil are suitable. The leaves, which are highly aromatic, are used, especially in France and England, for seasoning and for mixed salads.
Chervil is rarely used alone, but is the chief ingredient in what the French call _fines herbes_, a mixture which finds its way into a host of culinary concoctions. The best variety is the Curled, which, though it has the same flavor as the plain, is a prettier garnish.
=Chives= (_Allium Schoenoprasum_, Linn.), a bulbous, onion-like perennial belonging to the Liliaceae. Naturally the plants form thick tufts of abundant, hollow, gra.s.slike leaves from their little oval bulbs and mat of fibrous roots. The short flower stems bear terminal cl.u.s.ters of generally sterile flowers. Hence the plants are propagated by planting the individual bulbs or by division of clumps in early spring.
Frequently chives are planted in flower borders as an edging, for which purpose the compact growth and dainty flowers particularly recommend them. They should not be allowed to grow in the same place more than three years.
Strictly speaking, chives do not belong with the herbs, but their leaves are so frequently used instead of onions for flavoring salads, stews and other dishes, and reference has been so often made to them in these pages, that a brief description has been included. For market the clumps are cut in squares and the whole plant sold. Treated in this way the greengrocers can keep them in good condition by watering until sold. For use the leaves are cut with shears close to the ground. If allowed to stand in the garden, cuttings may be made at intervals of two or three weeks all through the season.
=Clary= (_Salvia sclarea_, Linn.), a perennial herb of the natural order l.a.b.i.atae. The popular name is a corruption of the specific. In the discussion on sage will be found the significance of the generic name.
Syria is said to be the original home of clary, but Italy is also mentioned. The presumption is in favor of the former country, as it is the older, and the plant was probably carried westward from it by soldiers or merchants. In England clary was known prior to 1538, when Turner published his garden lore, but in America, except in foreigners'
gardens, it is rarely seen. It has been listed in seedsmen's catalogs since 1806.
_Description._--The large, very broad, oblong, obtuse, toothed, woolly haired, radical leaves are grayish green and somewhat rumpled like those of Savoy cabbage. From among them rise the 2-foot tall, square, branching, spa.r.s.ely leaved stems, which during the second year bear small cl.u.s.ters of lilac or white showy flowers in long spikes. The smooth brown or marbled s.h.i.+ning seeds retain their germinating power for three years.
_Cultivation._--The plants thrive in any well-drained soil. Seed may be sown during March in drills 18 inches apart where the plants are to remain or in a seedbed for transplanting 18 inches asunder in May. Clean cultivation is needed throughout the summer until the plants have full possession of the ground. In August the leaves may be gathered, and if this harvest be judiciously done the production of foliage should continue until midsummer of the second year, when the plants will probably insist upon flowering. After this it is best to rely upon new plants for supplies of leaves, the old plants being pulled.
_Uses._--In America, the leaves are little used in cookery, and even in Europe they seem to be less popular than formerly, sage having taken their place. Wine is sometimes made from the plant when in flower. As an ornamental, clary is worth a place in the hardy flower border.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Coriander, for Old-Fas.h.i.+oned Candies]
=Coriander= (_Coriandrum sativum_, Linn.), ”a plant of little beauty and of easiest culture,” is a hardy annual herb of the natural order Umbelliferae. The popular name is derived from the generic, which comes from the ancient Greek Koris, a kind of bug, in allusion to the disagreeable odor of the foliage and other green parts. The specific name refers to its cultivation in gardens. Hence the scientific name declares it to be the cultivated buggy-smelling plant.
Coriander has been cultivated from such ancient times that its land of nativity is unknown, though it is said to be a native of southern Europe and of China. It has been used in cookery and of course, too, in medicine; for, according to ancient reasoning, anything with so p.r.o.nounced and unpleasant an odor must necessarily possess powerful curative or preventive attributes! Its seeds have been found in Egyptian tombs of the 21st dynasty. Many centuries later Pliny wrote that the best quality of seed still came to Italy from Egypt. Prior to the Norman conquest in 1066, the plant was well known in Great Britain, probably having been taken there by the early Roman conquerors. Before 1670 it was introduced into Ma.s.sachusetts. During this long period of cultivation there seems to be no record or even indication of varieties.
In many temperate and tropical countries it has become a frequent weed in cultivated fields.
_Description._--From a cl.u.s.ter of slightly divided radical leaves branching stems rise to heights of 2 to 2-1/2 feet. Toward their summits they bear much divided leaves, with linear segments and umbels of small whitish flowers, followed by pairs of united, hemispherical, brownish-yellow, deeply furrowed ”seeds,” about the size of a sweet pea seed. These retain their vitality for five or six years. The seeds do not have the unpleasant odor of the plant, but have a rather agreeable smell and a moderately warm, pungent taste.
_Cultivation._--Coriander, a plant of the easiest culture, does best in a rather light, warm, friable soil. In Europe it is often sown with caraway, which, being a biennial and producing only a rosette of leaves at the surface of the ground the first year, is not injured when the annual coriander is cut. The seed is often sown in the autumn, though spring sowing is perhaps in more favor. The rows are made about 15 inches apart, the seeds dropped 1 inch asunder and 1/2 inch deep and the plantlets thinned to 6 or 8 inches. Since the plants run to seed quickly, they must be watched and cut early to prevent loss and consequent seeding of the ground. After curing in the shade the seed is threshed as already described (see page 28). On favorable land the yield may reach or even exceed 1,500 pounds to the acre.
_Uses._--Some writers say the young leaves of the plant are used in salads and for seasoning soups, dressings, etc. If this is so, I can only remark that there is no accounting for tastes. I am inclined to think, however, that these writers are drawing upon their imagination or have been ”stuffed” by people who take pleasure in supplying misinformation. The odor is such as to suggest the flavor of ”buggy”
raspberries we sometimes gather in the fence rows. Any person who relishes buggy berries may perhaps enjoy coriander salad or soup.
Only the seed is of commercial importance. It is used largely in making comfits and other kinds of confectionery, for adding to bread, and, especially in the East, as an ingredient in curry powder and other condiments. In medicine its chief use now is to disguise the taste of disagreeable drugs. Distillers use it for flavoring various kinds of liquors.
=c.u.min= (_c.u.minum Cyminum_, Linn.), a low-growing annual herb of the Nile valley, but cultivated in the Mediterranean region, Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, India, China, and Palestine from very early times, (See Isaiah xviii, 25-27 and Matthew xxiii, 23.) Pliny is said to have considered it the best appetizer of all condiments. During the middle ages it was in very common use. All the old herbals of the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries figure and describe and extol it. In Europe it is extensively cultivated in Malta and Sicily, and will mature seed as far north as Norway; in America, today, the seed is cataloged by some seedsmen, but very little is grown.
_Description._--The plant is very diminutive, rarely exceeding a height of 6 inches. Its stems, which branch freely from the base, bear mere linear leaves and small lilac flowers, in little umbels of 10 to 20 blossoms each. The six-ribbed, elongated ”seeds” in appearance resemble caraway seeds, but are straighter, lighter and larger, and in formation are like the double seeds of coriander, convex on one side and concave on the other. They bear long hairs, which fold up when the seed is dry.
After the seed has been kept for two years it begins to lose its germinating power, but will sprout reasonably well when three years old.
It is characterized by a peculiar, strong aromatic odor, and a hot taste.
_Culture._--As soon as the ground has become warm the seed is sown in drills about 15 inches apart where the plants are to remain. Except for keeping down the weeds no further attention is necessary. The plants mature in about two months, when the stems are cut and dried in the shade. (See page 28.) The seeds are used in India as an ingredient in curry powder, in France for flavoring pickles, pastry and soups.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Dill, of Pickle Fame]
=Dill= (_Anethum graveolens_, Linn.), a hardy annual, native of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, smaller than common fennel, which it somewhat resembles both in appearance and in the flavor of the green parts, which are, however, less agreeable.
In ancient times it was grown in Palestine. The word translated, ”anise”
in Matthew xxiii, 23, is said to have been ”dill” in the original Greek.
It was well known in Pliny's time, and is often discussed by writers in the middle ages. According to American writings, it has been grown in this country for more than 100 years and has become spontaneous in many places.