42500 Of Them And A Quart 18 Ounces


Cultivation.--For earliest use the seed may be sown in a spent hotbed

or a cold frame in late March, and the plants set in the open during

May. Usually, however, it is sown in the garden or the field where the

plants are to remain. In the hotbed the rows may be 3 or 4 inches apart;

in the field they should be not less than 9 inches, and only this

distance when hand wheel-hoes are to be used, and each alternate row is

t
be removed as soon as the plants begin to touch across the rows. Half

a dozen seeds dropped to the inch is fairly thick sowing. As the seed is

small, it must not be covered deeply; 1/4 inch is ample. When the rows

are 15 inches apart about 4 pounds of seed will be needed to the acre.

For horse cultivation the drills should be 20 inches apart. Both summer

and winter savory do well on rather poor dry soils. If started in

hotbeds, the first plants may be gathered during May. Garden-sown seed

will produce plants by June. For drying, the nearly mature stems should

be cut just as the blossoms begin to appear. No special directions are

needed as to drying. (See page 25.)



Uses.--Both summer and winter savory are used in flavoring salads,

dressings, gravies, and sauces used with meats such as veal, pork, duck,

and goose and for increasing the palatability of such preparations as

croquettes, rissoles and stews. Summer savory is the better plant of the

two and should be in every home garden.



TTITLE Savory Winter



(Satureia montana, Linn.), a semi-hardy, perennial,

very branching herb, native of southern Europe and northern Africa. Like

summer savory, it has been used for flavoring for many centuries, but is

not now as popular as formerly, nor is it as popular as summer savory.



Description.--The numerous woody, slender, spreading stems, often more

than 15 inches tall, bear very acute, narrow, linear leaves and pale

lilac, pink, or white flowers in axillary clusters. The brown, rather

triangular seeds, which retain their vitality about three years, are

smaller than those of summer savory. Over 70,000 are in an ounce, and it

takes 15 ounces to fill a quart.



Cultivation.--Winter savory is readily propagated by means of

cuttings, layers and division as well as seeds. No directions different

from those relating to summer savory are necessary, except that seed of

winter savory should be sown where the plants are to remain, because the

seedlings do not stand transplanting very well. Seed is often sown in

late summer where the climate is not severe or where winter protection

is to be given. The plant is fairly hardy on dry soils. When once

established it will live for several years.



To increase the yield the stems may be cut to within 4 or 5 inches of

the ground when about ready to flower. New shoots will appear and may be

cut in turn. For drying, the first cutting may be secured during July,

the second in late August or September. In all respects winter savory is

used like summer savory, but is considered inferior in flavor.



TTITLE Southernwood



(Artemisia Abrotanum, Linn.), a woody-stemmed perennial

belonging to the Compositae and a native of southern Europe. It grows

from 2 to 4 feet tall, bears hairlike, highly aromatic leaves and heads

of small yellow flowers. The plant is often found in old-fashioned

gardens as an ornamental under the name of Old Man. In some countries

the young shoots are used for flavoring cakes and other culinary

preparations.



TTITLE Tansy



(Tanacetum vulgare, Linn.), a perennial of the Compositae, native

of Europe, whence it has spread with civilization as a weed almost all

over the world. From the very persistent underground parts annual,

usually unbranched stems, sometimes 3 feet tall, are produced in more or

less abundance. They bear much-divided, oval, oblong leaves and numerous

small, yellow flower-heads in usually crowded corymbs. The small, nearly

conical seeds have five gray ribs and retain their germinability for

about two years.



Tansy is easily propagated by division of the clumps or by seed sown in

a hotbed for the transplanting of seedlings. It does well in any

moderately fertile garden soil, but why anyone should grow it except for

ornament, either in the garden or as an inedible garnish, is more than I

can understand. While its odor is not exactly repulsive, its acrid,

bitter taste is such that a nibble, certainly a single leaf, would last

most people a lifetime. Yet some people use it to flavor puddings,

omelettes, salads, stews and other culinary dishes. Surely a peculiar

order of gustatory preference! It is said that donkeys will eat

thistles, but I have never known them to eat tansy, and I am free to

confess that I rather admire their preference for the thistles.



TTITLE Tarragon



(Artemisia Dracunculus, Linn.), a fairly hardy, herbaceous

rather shrubby perennial of the Compositae, supposed to be a native of

southern Russia, Siberia, and Tartary, cultivated for scarcely more

than 500 years for its leaves and tender shoots. In all civilized

countries its popular name, like its specific name, means dragon, though

why it should be so called is not clear.






Description.--The plant has numerous branching stems, which bear

lance-shaped leaves and nowadays white, sterile flowers. Formerly the

flowers were said to be fertile. No one should buy the seed offered as

tarragon. It is probably that of a related plant which resembles

tarragon in everything except flavor--which is absent! Tagetes lucida,

which may be used as a substitute for true tarragon, is easily

propagated by seed and can be procured from seedsmen under its own name.

As tarragon flowers appear to be perfect, it is possible that some

plants may produce a few seeds, and that plants raised from these seeds

may repeat the wonder. Indeed, a variety which naturally produces seed

may thus be developed and disseminated. Here is one of the possible

opportunities for the herb grower to benefit his fellow-men.



Cultivation.--At present tarragon is propagated only by cuttings,

layers and division. There is no difficulty in either process. The plant

prefers dry, rather poor soil, in a warm situation. In cold climates it

should be partially protected during the winter to prevent alternate

freezing and thawing of both the soil and the plant. In moist and heavy

soil it will winterkill. Strawy litter or conifer boughs will serve the

purpose well. Half a dozen to a dozen plants will supply the needs of a

family. As the plants spread a good deal and as they grow 15 to 18

inches tall, or even more, they should be set in rows 18 to 24 inches

apart each way. In a short time they will take possession of the ground.



Uses.--The tender shoots and the young leaves are often used in

salads, and with steaks, chops, etc., especially by the French. They are

often used as an ingredient in pickles. Stews, soups, croquettes, and

other meat preparations are also flavored with tarragon, and for

flavoring fish sauces it is especially esteemed.



Probably the most popular way it is employed, however, is as a decoction

in vinegar. For this purpose, the green parts are gathered preferably in

the morning and after washing are placed in jars and covered with the

best quality vinegar for a few days. The vinegar is then drawn off as

needed. In France, the famous vinegar of Maille is made in this way.



The leaves may be dried in the usual way if desired. For this purpose

they are gathered in midsummer. A second cutting may be made in late

September or early October. Tarragon oil, which is used for perfuming

toilet articles, is secured by distilling the green parts, from 300 to



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