Part 7

_The flower-stem of the gentian is two or three feet high, strong, smooth, and erect. The leaves which grow upon its lower part are spear-shaped and ribbed, and those on the upper part are concave, smooth, and egg-shaped. The flowers, which are large and yellow, grow round the upper part of the stem on strong footstalks, and are divided at the edge into five or more segments. The calyx is a kind of sheath._

Gentian is one of the principal bitters that are now used in medicine; and is of considerable service in fevers, and in such complaints as arise from weakness of the stomach. It is externally of a brown colour, and internally yellowish or bright red. Its taste is at first sweetish, but immediately afterwards bitter and pungent. As a simple bitter, it is rendered more grateful to the stomach by the addition of some warm aromatic; and, for this purpose, orange-peel is commonly employed. An extract of gentian root, boiled with water till it has nearly the consistence of honey, is kept in the shops.

85. _GARDEN CARROT_ (Daucus carota) _is a plant too well known to need any description._

In few vegetable productions are the effects of cultivation more conspicuous than in the carrot. The wild plants, which are common in most parts of England, have a root so small and woody, that no one could suppose they had any alliance whatever to the large and succulent root of the garden carrot.

The various uses of the carrot in cookery are well known. But, although it contains much nutriment, this root is difficult of digestion; particularly if eaten raw, or imperfectly boiled. Carrots are an excellent fodder for cattle and horses, either alone or mixed with hay; and, if given to cows, in winter or the early part of spring, they are said to cause a great increase of milk. If carrots be boiled with their wash, hogs will thrive well upon them. In some parts of England this vegetable has been cultivated as a winter food for deer; and the leaves have sometimes been made into hay. Carrots contain a large proportion of saccharine matter, and various but unsuccessful experiments have been made to extract sugar from them. They have, however, been more advantageously employed in distillation. Ten pounds' weight of carrots will yield about half a pint of very strong, ardent spirit: and the carrots (twenty tons in weight) produced by an acre of ground, have been known to produce 240 gallons of spirit. A syrup made of these roots, and clarified with the white of eggs, has been found useful for many purposes. An infusion of the _seeds_ and the expressed juice of the roots, are said to afford relief in fits of the gravel. A marmalade of carrots has been used with success in sea-scurvy, and a poultice prepared from them is sometimes employed in cancerous ulcers. Crickets are so fond of these roots that they may easily be destroyed by making a paste of flour, powdered arsenic, and scraped carrots, and placing this near their habitations.

86. _ROCK SAMPHIRE_ (Crithmum maritimum) _is an umbelliferous plant, with fleshy, spear-shaped leaflets, and small but regular-shaped white flowers._

The cliffs of Dover have long been celebrated for the production of this vegetable, which has received an additional interest from the notice that Shakspeare has taken of the gathering of it:

"Half-way down Hangs one that gathers samphire; dreadful trade!"

It is also found on cliffs of other parts of the south of England, as well as in Italy, France, and Spain; and generally in inaccessible situations.

In some parts of England the _leaves_ of samphire pickled in vinegar are in use for the table: they are also used in salads, and for other culinary purposes. But their place is frequently supplied by a much more common plant, which grows in salt marshes, and has the name of _marsh samphire_ (_Salicornia_). This, however, is a very inferior substitute, and entirely destitute of the fine aromatic flavour of the former species.

87. _ASAFOETIDA is a resinous gum, procured from the root of a large umbelliferous plant_ (Ferula asafoetida) _which grows in the mountains of some parts of Persia._

_The leaves of this plant are nearly two feet long, doubly winged, and have the leaflets alternate. The flowers are small, and the seeds oval, flat, and each marked with three longitudinal lines._

No one who has ever smelt the peculiarly powerful, and garlic-like odour of asafoetida, can well forget it. If exposed to the air, but particularly when heated, it will pervade every apartment of a house. Notwithstanding this, it constitutes a favourite seasoning, for food, with the inhabitants of many of the eastern countries of the world. The Banian Indians, who never eat animal food, use it in almost all their dishes; and, before their meals, they even rub their mouths with it, to stimulate their appetite. It is sometimes used by our own cooks, but in very small quantity, in place of garlic. In many parts of Arabia and Persia, asafoetida is much esteemed as a remedy for internal diseases, and even as an external application to wounds; and, with us, it is considered a powerful medicine in several disorders. It has been applied with success, in the cure of hooping-cough and worms; and in flatulent colics, it has, in many cases, afforded great relief. It is imported in masses of various sizes and form, and of yellow, brown, or bluish colour, sometimes interspersed with roundish white pieces.

The plant from the root of which asafoetida is produced grows in the mountains which surround the small town of Disgnun, in Persia; and, at the season when it is collected, the whole place smells of it. The upper part of the roots, which are sometimes as thick as a man's leg, rises somewhat above the surface of the ground. The harvest commences when the leaves begin to decay; and the whole gathering is performed by the inhabitants of the place, in four different journeys to the mountains. The demand for the article in foreign countries being first ascertained to be sufficient for the trouble of collecting, the persons employed proceed to the mountains in companies of four or five each. The juice is obtained by cutting the roots across, at the same time sheltering them by the leaves (which have been previously twisted off) from the intense heat of the sun. Each party takes into its care about 2000 plants. After the first incision has been made, the roots are suffered to remain untouched for about a month, when they are again visited, and the gum which has exuded is taken off. This operation is repeated three times, a few days betwixt each; after which the plants are exhausted and left to die. At the respective gatherings each party generally brings away about fifty pounds' weight of asafoetida. It is stated that a single ship is exclusively devoted to transporting the bulk of this commodity to the ports in the Persian Gulf; and that, when smaller parcels are carried, it is usual to tie them to the top of the mast.

In the year 1784, the asafoetida plant was introduced into the Botanic garden at Edinburgh, from seeds which had been sent by Dr. Guthrie of Petersburgh to Dr. Hope.

The _ferula tribe_ consists of nine or ten known species of plants, and it is supposed that asafoetida is yielded by several of them.

In some parts of the Levant the sailors are said to use the _stalks_ of a species of ferula to transport fire from one island to another. This custom is of great antiquity, and explains a passage of Hesiod, who, speaking of the fire stolen from heaven by Prometheus, says that he carried it in a ferula. The foundation of this fable is undoubtedly owing to what Diodorus Siculus informs us of Prometheus, that he was the inventor of the steel with which fire is struck from flint; and in all probability that prince made use of the pith of the ferula instead of tinder, to convey it from one place to another.

88. _CORIANDER is a small globular seed, produced by an annual umbelliferous plant_ (Coriandrum sativum), _with leaves in slender segments, and small whitish flowers, that grows wild in Suffolk and Essex, and is cultivated in several parts of England._

In several farms in Essex and Kent the cultivation of coriander is pursued to considerable extent. This is done solely for the seed, which is used by distillers, druggists, and confectioners. In some parts of the North of Europe it is ground and mixed with dough, to give an aromatic flavour to bread.

Coriander is usually grown with teasel (53) and caraway (91); but, as neither of the latter come to perfection until the second year after they have been sown, the coriander is harvested without interfering with the other crops. In this labour, which usually commences about the beginning of July, women and children are principally employed: and, to prevent the seeds of the largest and best plants from being shed and lost, each stem is cut separately. The stems are then carried into some convenient part of the field, and threshed all together upon a sail cloth.

So luxuriantly, and, at the same time, so abundantly does this plant grow in a wild state, in some of the southern parts of Europe, as almost to choke the growth of wheat and other grain. Every part of it, except the seed, has a fetid and disagreeable smell. The seeds, when taken in large quantities, have been considered injurious; but Dr. Withering states, that he has known six drams of them taken without any remarkable effect.

89. _PARSNIP is the root of an umbelliferous plant_ (Pastinaca sativa), _with winged and serrated leaves, and small yellow flowers, which is cultivated in kitchen gardens, and which also grows wild on the borders of ploughed fields in several parts of England._

The wild and cultivated parsnips differ much from each other, but particularly in the roots of the latter being large and succulent, and those of the former being slender and woody.

Parsnips are propagated by seed sown in February or March, and the roots are in perfection about October. These, besides their use as a vegetable for the table, are of great value for the feeding of cattle, horses, sheep, and hogs. Land in Guernsey, which lets for 7_l._ an acre, is sown with parsnips to feed cattle; and the milk of the cows so fed is not only richer than it would otherwise be, but yields butter of fine saffron colour and excellent taste.

If parsnips be washed clean, and sliced among bran, horses will eat them. They will fatten sheep and oxen in a short time; and for the feeding of hogs they are at least equal if not superior to carrots. As food for mankind they are considered extremely nutritive; and may, with great advantage, be kept on board ships that are destined for long voyages. It is, however, said that they should not be dug up for use in the spring, because, at that season, the nutritive juices rising upward to produce the seed, they are then unwholesome.

Parsnips abound in saccharine juice; and various experiments have, in vain, been made with a view to extract sugar from them. In several parts of Ireland they are used instead of malt in brewing; and, when properly fermented, they afford an agreeable beverage. The _seeds_ are considered by some practitioners as an efficacious remedy in intermittent fevers.

90. _FENNEL_ (Anethum foeniculum) _is a well known plant, which is cultivated in gardens, and grows wild in several parts of England._

The _leaves_ of fennel, both boiled and raw, are used in sauce for several kinds of fish. The tender buds are eaten in salads; and, in Italy, the _stalks_ are sometimes blanched as winter salad. A distilled water, prepared from the seeds, is occasionally administered as a medicine; and there was formerly a notion that the _roots_ were peculiarly valuable, as a remedy in several diseases, but they are now almost wholly disregarded.

91. _CARAWAY is a small well known seed, produced by an umbelliferous plant_ (Carum carui), _with smooth and double winged leaves, narrow leaflets, and small white, or pale flesh-coloured flowers, of which the petals are bent inward, so as to become heart-shaped._

The _seeds_ of caraway have a pleasant spicy smell, and a warm aromatic taste. They are much used by pastry-cooks and confectioners in cakes, and for other purposes. Incrusted with sugar, they are called caraway comfits. They are also distilled with spirituous liquors, to improve their flavour; and are recommended as a medicine in several disorders. An essential _oil_ and a _spirit_ are also prepared from them. In the spring of the year the _leaves_ are sometimes used in soups, or boiled with pot-herbs. The _roots_ may be converted into an agreeable pickle; and, if simply boiled, they are said by Parkinson to be better than parsnips.

This plant grows wild in several parts of England, but particularly in meadows and pastures near Bury St. Edmunds, in Suffolk. It is much cultivated in Essex and Kent, sometimes alone, and sometimes mixed with teasel (53) and coriander (88). The season for cutting it is about the beginning of July; and it is threshed in the field on a cloth, in the same manner as rape-seed (187).

92. _ANISE-SEEDS are the production of an umbelliferous annual plant_ (Pimpinella anisum), _which grows wild in Egypt, Syria, and other Eastern countries. They are roundish and striated, flatted on one side, and pointed at one end; and of pale colour, inclining to green._

Attempts were made more than two hundred years ago to cultivate anise in this country, but the summers of our climate are seldom warm enough to bring the plant to perfection. It has consequently been found necessary to import the seed from Malta and Spain, where it is cultivated to considerable extent.

Anise-seeds have an aromatic smell, and a pleasant warm taste, accompanied with some degree of sweetness. They have long been employed in medicine, and have been considered useful in diseases of the lungs and complaints of the stomach. They give out all their virtue to rectified spirit; and a spirituous water prepared from a mixture of equal parts of anise-seed and angelica, is kept in the shops as a cordial.

93. _PARSLEY_ (Apium petroselinum) _is an annual umbelliferous plant too common to need any description._

The uses of parsley, in our kitchens, both for sauce and garnish, are numerous and well known. It is, however, poisonous to several kinds of birds; and, although so commonly used at table, facts have been adduced from which it would appear that, with some persons, it occasions epilepsy, or at least aggravates the fits in those who are subject to that disease. Inflammation in the eyes has also been attributed to the use of it. Parsley is eaten with great avidity by sheep, and has been recommended for use in several diseases of those animals, as well as in some diseases of horses. Both the _roots_ and _seed_ are employed in medicine. The former have a sweetish taste, accompanied with a slight warmth, and a flavour somewhat resembling that of the carrot: the latter are warm and aromatic.

Parsley is a native of Sardinia, and propagated by seed, which is usually sown about the month of March.

94. _CELERY_ (Apium graveolens) _is a well known plant belonging to the same tribe as parsley._

In a wild state celery is found in ditches and marshes of several parts of England, and is a small, acrid, and noxious plant, called _smallage_: but, when cultivated, it entirely loses these properties.

It is grown in trenches, and is earthed up for the purpose of blanching or whitening the lower parts. The seeds are sown in spring, and the plants may be taken out for use towards the end of the autumn. Celery is eaten raw in salads, boiled in soup, or stewed. The seeds are used, particularly at sea, for the flavouring of soup, to which they give the same taste as the plant itself.

95. _COPAL is a somewhat resinous substance, obtained from a tree_ (Rhus copallinum) _the produce of America, which has winged and very entire leaves, the foot-stalks membranaceous and jointed._

We annually import considerable quantities of copal from the Spanish colonies in America, in irregular masses, some of which are transparent, of yellowish or brown colour, and others are whitish and semi-transparent. When copal is dissolved in any volatile liquid, and thinly spread upon wood, metal, or any other firm substance, so that the liquid may evaporate, the copal remains perfectly transparent; and forms one of the most beautiful and perfect varnishes that can be imagined. The varnish thus formed has the name of _copal varnish_, and is said to have been first discovered in France. One mode of preparing it is by melting the copal with an equal quantity of linseed oil (97); another, by mixture with oil of turpentine; and a third, by mixture with alcohol or spirit of wine. The particular processes are described in the fourth volume of Dr. Thomson's System of Chemistry, fifth edition; but they are too long and intricate for insertion here.

Copal is the varnish which is chiefly used in the japanning of snuff-boxes, tea-boards, and other similar articles.

TRIGYNIA.

96. _The COMMON ELDER_ (Sambucus nigra) _is a wild English shrub, distinguishable by its winged leaves, with serrated and somewhat oval leaflets, its clusters of small white flowers divided into five principal branches, and the small black or purple berries by which these are succeeded._

The uses of the elder are more numerous than those of most other shrubs. There is scarcely any part of this shrub which has not been advantageously employed in some way or other. The _wood_ is yellow, and, in old trees, becomes so hard that it will take a polish almost as bright as that of box (232); and, indeed, it is often used as a substitute for box-wood. Its toughness also is such that it is made into skewers for butchers, tops for fishing rods, and needles for the weaving of nets. It is likewise employed by turners.

Sir J. E. Smith has remarked that this tree is, as it were, a whole magazine of physic to rustic practitioners, and that it is not quite neglected even by professional men. Ointments have been made of the green _inner bark_, and of the _leaves_. The dried _flowers_, infused in water, are used in fomentations, or as tea: and, mixed with butter-milk, they are sometimes employed as a wash for the face; and the clusters of flowers, before they open, may be made into a delicious pickle, to eat with boiled mutton. The _berries_ are boiled into a rob, which is useful in sore throats, colds, and hoarsenesses. In addition to their medicinal services, the leaves are sometimes thrown into the subterraneous paths of moles, under an impression that their smell will drive away those noxious animals. If turnips, cabbages, fruit trees, or corn, all of which are subject to blight from various kinds of insects, be strongly whipped with the green leaves and branches of elder, insects will not attack them; and an infusion of the leaves is sometimes sprinkled by gardeners over the buds of such flowers as they wish to preserve from the devastation of caterpillars. Elder flowers have an agreeable flavour, which they impart, in distillation, to water: they are likewise used to give a flavour to vinegar. The berries are poisonous to poultry, but their juice, properly fermented, makes a pleasant and wholesome wine; and, in Germany, a very pure and strong spirit is distilled from them. The juice of elder berries is sometimes employed to give a red colour to raisin or other sweet wine. The _young shoots_ of this shrub are filled with an exceedingly light _pith_, which is cut into balls for electrical experiments; and is also made into toys for the amusement of children.

The elder will grow and thrive in almost any soil and situation; but, as every part of this shrub has an unpleasant narcotic smell, people ought to be cautious not to sleep under its shade, as, in such case, it might prove of serious injury to them.

TETRAGYNIA.

97. _FLAX is the produce of an annual plant_ (Linum usitatissimum, Fig. 37), _with spear-shaped leaves, and blue flowers, which is cultivated in several parts of Great Britain, and grows wild in corn-fields and sandy pastures of some of the southern counties._

_The stems of these plants rise to the height of about two feet. The seed vessels and leaves of the calyx are sharp pointed, and the flowers have each five scolloped petals._

It is supposed that we were originally indebted for this plant to those parts of Egypt which are annually inundated by the Nile; but the time of its introduction into this country is unknown. Its utility is incalculable. To it we are indebted for the linen we wear, for our sheets, table-cloths, and numerous other indispensable articles of clothing and domestic economy; and although cotton might, in some degree, supply its place, those persons who have been accustomed to the comforts of linen would be little desirous of the exchange.

The cultivation of flax is pursued to considerable extent in some parts of the British dominions. The seed imported from Riga and Holland is generally, though perhaps erroneously, esteemed the best. It is sown in March or April; and the plants, when nearly ripe, are pulled up by the roots. These, if flax and not seed be the object of the crop, are either placed in small parcels upon the surface of the land, for exposure to the sun, to dry; or they are immediately conveyed to the place where they are to undergo the process called watering. For this purpose they are loosely tied in small bundles, placed in pools or ponds of soft and stagnant water, and allowed to continue there several days. By the fermentation which takes place, the bark or flaxy substance becomes separated. They are then taken out, and thinly spread upon the grass, in regular rows. Here they are occasionally turned until they have become so brittle, that, on being rubbed between the hands, the flax easily and freely separates from the stalks. They are taken up, and bound in sheaves, to be either sent to a mill, or to be broken and scuttled, as it is called, by a machine contrived for that purpose.

The flax, by the above process, having been separated from the stalks, it subsequently undergoes various dressings, according to the purposes for which it is to be used.

When the plants have been grown for _seed_, they are pulled as before, and then laid together by handfuls upon the ground, with the seed ends towards the south, that they may be the better exposed to the sun. The next operation is to force off the seed vessels. For this purpose a large cloth is usually spread on some adjacent and convenient spot of ground, and an instrument, called a ripple, is placed in the middle of it. This is a sort of comb, consisting of six, eight, or ten, long, triangular, upright teeth. The seed ends of the flax are pulled repeatedly through the teeth of the comb, by which the parts containing the seed are removed from the stalks. After this the pods and seeds, which have the name of _line-seeds_, are spread upon a cloth in the sun to dry, and subsequently are threshed, sifted, winnowed, and cleansed. The best seed is generally preserved for sowing, and the second sort yields considerable profit in the oil which is obtained from it by pressure. This, which is called _linseed oil_, is equally useful in the arts and in medicine. It is occasionally employed for making the soap called green soap. If heat be applied during the pressure of the seeds, the oil attains a yellowish colour and a peculiar smell, and, in this state, it is used by painters and varnishers. An infusion of the seed, in the manner of tea, is recommended in coughs; and from the seed is also made an useful kind of poultice for external inflammations.

After the oil has been expressed, the remaining farinaceous part of the seeds is squeezed together into large masses, called _oil-cake_ which is given as food to oxen.