FOR THE WOMAN GARDENER

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 August 1938, Page 4

FOR THE WOMAN GARDENER

THE CULTURE OF HERBS. Every garden should have a special plot for the cultivation of herbs, for, apart from their value in improving flavour, aromatic herbs in cookery have a stimulating action on the system, whilst their medicinal properties, which at the present day are in danger of being lost sight, of, are too valuable to be ignored. The cultivation of all the more valuable and better-known herbs is simple. They can be raised from seed, which should be sown any time during spring or autumn, or, better still, the roots can be bought and planted out 12 or 18 inches apart, according to the space available. If seeds are sown, a warm sunny position in the garden should be chosen. The seeds are small, so they do not require deep planting. A rich, sandy loam is suitable for most herbs, and during growth they should be watered well and mulched, and the surface soil between the plants should be kept well stirred with a hoe. when they are in bloom. They should be gathered after sunshine, when they are perfectly free from moisture. Tie them in bunches, and hang them up in a shady place to be dried by the circulation of air. Some people prefer to dry them in a Dutch oven before the fire, as they say the quicker method preserves the flavour and aroma more fully, but opinions are divided on this point. If dried before the fire, care most be taken not to burn therd. When quite dry, pick the leaves off and reduce them to powder, which is sieved and stored in an air-tight bottle.

The following is a list of the more widely-known herbs and their uses.

ANISE.—The little fruits are pierced with tubes filled with an aromatic essential oil. The fruits, which are the commercial aniseed, are used as flavouring, and the extracted oil is used medicinally. BALM. —It exudes an oily, aromatic substance which is used for healing and soothing pain. BASIL. —Sweet and bush are the two chief varieties of this herb. They are more employed in French than in English cookery, and have a highly aromatic odour resembling cloves. BORAGE—The stems bear short sprays of brilliant blue flowers, and the 1 leaves have the odour of cucumber. Borage is supposed to have exhilarating properties, and is used as an ingredient in claret cup, from the belief that it cools the liquor. CAMOMILE. —The double variety is the most cultivated. The dried flowers can be infused like tea. They are also used in brewing, like hops, and for hair washes. CARRAWAY—The leaves and roots were formerly employed as pot-herbs. The seeds only are now used, chiefly in cakes and confectionery. CHERVIL. —The curled variety, like parsley, is used for garnishing. The tender leaves are employed in salads. The roots are poisonous. Chicory.—This herb has bright blue flower heads. The dried roots are ground and roasted, and used as an adulteration to or a substitute for coffee. DILL. —It resembles fennel, but is smaller. It is used in pickles, more particularly with cucumber, and sometimes in soups and sauces. FENNEL is used in fish sauces, soups and salads. In Italy, where it grows to a large size, it is cultivated as we cultivate celery. Thus treated and blanched, it loses its strong taste, and is eaten with oil, pepper, and vinegar. HOREHOUND—A bitter decoction of the leaves is used in domestic medicine as a remedy for coughs. HYSSOP. —The leaves and flowering tops are dried for medicinal purposes. LAUREL or bay leaves are employed to flavour custards, hasty puddings, etc. They should be used sparingly. LAVENDER comes from the same localitities as rosemary, and resembles rosemary in habits and methods of culture, and also in medicinal properties. MARJORAM is used for soups and stuffings, and is heating in nature. MINT. —Spearmint or garden mint is the kind most cultivated for cookery. It is boiled (to be afterwards with-

drawn) with peas and some • other dishes. It improves the flavour of pea soup, and corrects the flatulency which that dish oftbn causes. PARSLEY.—The curly variety has superseded, the plain-leaved variety, as it is equal in flavour, and is superior in beauty for garnishing purposes. PENNYROYAL —An aromatic herb of the mint family. A medicinal oil is distilled from .theafresh tops and leaves. CORIANDER has small, roundish, aromatic fruits, which are used for flavouring in cookery. ROSEMARY. —Powdered, the leaves are used in confectionary, and the dried sprigs, because of their fragrance are good to lay among linen. RUE, also called “Herb of Grace,” has a strong odour, and hot, bitter taste. Its medicinal virtues were formerly much in repute. SAGE is used chiefly in stuffings, and for correcting the richness of certain kinds of meat, such as pork, goose, and duck.

SAVORY.—There are two kinds, winter and summer, both used as potherbs.

TANSY. —The use of tansy in cookery is very ancient. The juice of the leaves, and sometimes the leaves themselves, chopped and' bruised, are used' to flavour puddings. TARRAGON has a powerful smell, and .aromatic taste, and is employed in France to correct the coldness of salad herb's. It is used in pickles and soups, and when infused in vinegar makes a good fish sauce. LEMON. THYME has a strong perfume like the rind of a lemon. The leaves and young shoots of the common variety are used for stuffings, soups, and sauces. i WORMWOOD is used as a powerful tonic.