Bay(Laurus Nobilis).

[83]“Notable Things.”

Then in my lavender I’ll lay,Muscado put among it,And here and there a leaf of bay,Which still shall run along it.Muses’ Elysium.

Then in my lavender I’ll lay,Muscado put among it,And here and there a leaf of bay,Which still shall run along it.

Muses’ Elysium.

This done, we’ll draw lots who shall buyAnd gild the bays and rosemary.Hesperides.—Herrick.

This done, we’ll draw lots who shall buyAnd gild the bays and rosemary.

Hesperides.—Herrick.

Down with the rosemary and bays,Down with the mistletoe,Instead of holly, now upraise,The greener box, for show.Ceremonies for Candlemas Eve.—Herrick.

Down with the rosemary and bays,Down with the mistletoe,Instead of holly, now upraise,The greener box, for show.

Ceremonies for Candlemas Eve.—Herrick.

A Bay-tree invites criticism, as it is certainly not a “herb,” but it is so often classed with some of them,especially with rosemary (to whom it seems to have been a sort of twin) that a brief extract from its interesting history must be made. Herrick’s verses show that both for weddings and decorations, rosemary and bays were paired together—bays being also gilded at weddings—and Brand quotes some lines from the “Wit’s Interpreter” to show that alike at funerals, they werefellows:—

Shrouded she is from top to toe,With Lillies which all o’er her grow,Instead of bays and rosemary.

And Coles says, “Cypresse garlands are of great account at funeralls amongst the gentiler sort, but rosemary and bayes are used by the commons both at funeralls and weddings.” Parkinson’s testimony is eloquent: “It serveth to adorne the house of God, as well as of man; to procure warmth, comfort, and strength to the limmes of men and women by bathings and anoyntings out, and by drinks, etc., inward: to season the vessels wherein are preserved our meates, as well as our drinkes; to crown or encircle as with a garland the heads of the living, and to sticke and decke forth the bodies of the dead; so that from the cradle to the grave we have still use of, we have still need of it.” No one could give higher praise to its natural virtues, but in other countries, it was endowed with supernatural ones. “Neyther falling sickness, neyther devyll, wyll infest or hurt one in that place where a bay-tree is. The Romans call it the Plant of the Good Angell.”[84]On the contrary, the withering of bay-trees was a very ill omen, and a portent of death. Canon Ellacombe says this superstition was imported from Italy, but it seems to have taken root in England. Shakespeare mentions it inRichard II., as if it were no new idea; and Evelyn tells us, as if he were adding a fresh fact to a store of common knowledge, that in1629, at Padua, before a great pestilence broke out, almost all the Bay-trees about that famous University grew sick and perished.

Sir Thomas Browne deals with another belief: “That bays will protect from the mischief of lightning and thunder is a quality ascribed thereto, common with the fig-tree, eagle and skin of a seal. Against so famous a quality Vicomeratus produceth experiment of a bay-tree blasted in Italy. And, therefore, although Tiberius for this intent did wear laurel upon his temples, yet did Augustus take a more probable course, who fled under arches and hollow vaults for protection.” Sir Thomas is very logical.

It is not always clear when Laurel and when Bay is intended, because our Bay-tree was often called Laurel in Elizabethan days. Forinstance:—

And when from Daphne’s tree he plucks more Baies,His shepherd’s pipe may chant more heavenly lays.Intro. toBr. PastoralsbyChristopher Brooke.

And when from Daphne’s tree he plucks more Baies,His shepherd’s pipe may chant more heavenly lays.

Intro. toBr. PastoralsbyChristopher Brooke.

If one is airily told one may pluckbaysfrom alaurelbush, it is impossible to know which is really meant, and a certain confusion between the two is inevitable. William Browne, who took, or pretended to take, seriously the view that bays could not be hurt by thunder, brings forward an ingenious theory to account for it. It is that “being the materials of poets ghirlands, it is supposed not subject to any of Jupiter’s thunderbolts, as other trees are.

“Where Bayes still grow (by thunder not struck down),The victor’s garland and the poet’s crown.”

Besides being a prophet of evil, the Bay-tree was also a token of joy and triumph. “In Rome, they use it to trim up theirChurchesandMonasterieson SolemnFestivals... as also on occasion of SignalVictoriesand other joyful Tidings; and theseGarlandsmade up withHobby-Horse Tinsel,make a glittering show and rattling Noise when theAirmoves them”; also, “With theLeavesofLaurelthey made up theirDespatchesand LettersLaurus involutoe, wrapt in Bay-leaves, which they sent the Senate from the victorious General.” Imagine a “victorious General” now sitting down to label despatches with leaves, signifying triumph! “Ere Reuter yet had found his range,” how much better the art of becoming ceremonial was understood.

Finally, the Bay was regarded as a panacea for all ailments, and, therefore, the statue of Æsculapius was crowned with its leaves.

I append to this book a copy of the List of Herbs that Tusser gives in “March’s Abstract.” It will be seen that he has carefully classified them according to their suitability for stilling, strewing, bough-pots or kitchen.

[84]“Book of Notable Things,” C. Lupton.

In March and in April, from morning to night,In sowing and setting, good housewives delight;To have in a garden or other like plot,To trim up their house, and to furnish their pot.The nature of flowers, dame Physic doth shew;She teacheth them all, to be known to a few,To set or to sow, or else sown to remove,How that should be practised, pain if ye love.......Time and ages, to sow or to gather be bold,But set to remove, when the weather is cold.Cut all thing or gather, the moon in the wane,But sow in encreasing or give it his bane.Now sets do ask watering, with pot or with dish,New sown do not so, if ye do as I wish:Through cunning with dibble, rake, mattock and spade,By line, and by level, the garden is made.Who soweth too lateward, hath seldom good seed,Who soweth too soon little better shall speed,Apt time and the season, so diverse to hit,Let aiér and layer, help practice and wit.Five hundred Points of Good Husbandry.—Tusser.

In March and in April, from morning to night,In sowing and setting, good housewives delight;To have in a garden or other like plot,To trim up their house, and to furnish their pot.

The nature of flowers, dame Physic doth shew;She teacheth them all, to be known to a few,To set or to sow, or else sown to remove,How that should be practised, pain if ye love.

......

Time and ages, to sow or to gather be bold,But set to remove, when the weather is cold.Cut all thing or gather, the moon in the wane,But sow in encreasing or give it his bane.

Now sets do ask watering, with pot or with dish,New sown do not so, if ye do as I wish:Through cunning with dibble, rake, mattock and spade,By line, and by level, the garden is made.

Who soweth too lateward, hath seldom good seed,Who soweth too soon little better shall speed,Apt time and the season, so diverse to hit,Let aiér and layer, help practice and wit.

Five hundred Points of Good Husbandry.—Tusser.

The majority of herbs are not exacting in their requirements, but a few foreigners thrive the better for a little protection as a start. This is the opinion of a successful gardener on the Herb-Border in an ordinary kitchen-garden: “As to soil and situation, I used to devote a border entirely to Herbs, under a privet hedge, facing north-west, with a rough marly bottom. I had a plantof most varieties I could get hold of, both Culinary and Medicinal.”

Circumstances dictated that my own herbs should grow in a plot, rather overshadowed, and I found that they flourished, though annuals, as a rough rule, do best where they can get plenty of sunshine. In speaking of their cultivation, I have divided them into three groups: Perennials, Biennials and Annuals, and take the Perennials first.

Tansywill grow in almost any soil and may be increased, either in spring or autumn, by slips or by dividing the roots.Lavenderis not always easy to please and likes a rather poor, sandy soil. When it is rich and heavy, matters are sometimes improved by trenching the ground and putting in chalk about a bushel to a land-yard (16 feet 6 inches by 16 feet 6 inches); lime from a kiln is also used in the same quantity.[85]Broad-leaved and narrow-leaved are the varieties of the purple Lavender usually sold, and, besides these, White Lavender. The narrow-leaved is the hardiest kind and its scent is the strongest; but the white-flowered has a very delicate fragrance. It requires care, but is better able to stand cold in a poor, than in a rich soil. The best way of propagating Lavender is by layering it, and this should be done in the summer; the plants can then be taken off the spring following. The narrow-leaved does not grow well from seed, and all kinds are shy of striking. The best known varieties ofArtemisia, areTarragon,Wormwood, andSouthernwood, and they all prefer a dry and rather poor soil. If Tarragon, especially, be set in a wet soil, it is likely to be killed in the winter. Two kinds of Tarragon are usually found in gardens; one has bluish-green, very smooth leaves and the true Tarragon flavour, and is commonly known as FrenchTarragon. Russian Tarragon, the other kind, lacks the special flavour, and bears less smooth leaves of a fresher green shade. Runners should be taken from these plants in the spring. Wormwood is satisfied with a shady corner and may be propagated by seeds or cuttings. Southernwood is increased by division of the roots in the spring.

[85]Neither lime nor chalk must be repeatedly added or the soil will be impoverished.

HorehoundandRuemay be coupled together as liking a shady border and a dry, calcareous soil, and I have always heard that the latter thrives best when the plant has beenstolen! It is a good thing to cut the bush down from time to time, when it will spring again with renewed vigour. Rue may be grown from seeds or cuttings taken in the spring. Horehound may be grown from seeds or cuttings, but is most usually increased by dividing the roots.

Hyssop,Rosemary, andSageare natives of the south of Europe, and the two first appreciate a light, sandy soil, and not too much sun. Hyssop should be sowed in March or April; rooted off-sets may be taken in these months or in August and September, or cuttings from the stems in April or May, and these should be watered two or three times a week till they have struck. Both Hyssop and Sage are the better for being cut back when they have finished flowering. Loudon[86]says of Rosemary: “The finest plants are raised from seed. Slips or cuttings of the young shoots may be taken in the spring and summer and set in rows, two-thirds into the ground and occasionally watered till they have struck. In the autumn they may be transplanted.” There are four kinds of Sage: red, green, small-leaved, or Sage of Virtue, broad-leaved or Balsamic. Gardening books speak of the red variety as being the commonest, though it seems to me that the common green sage is the one oftenest seen in kitchen-gardens. Red Sageseldom comes “true” from seed but is easily raised by cuttings, and it sometimes succumbs to a hard winter. The other varieties are propagated by seed or by cuttings taken in May or June; the outer shoots should be the ones chosen and they should be put well into the ground and watered. After about three years the plants begin to degenerate and new ones should be set. Three kinds ofMarjoramare cultivated,Winter(Origanum Heracleoticum),Pot(O. Onites) andSweet Marjoram(O. Marjorana). The last-named is not a perennial. Winter and Pot Marjoram like a dry, light soil and are best propagated by off-sets, slipping or parting the roots in spring or autumn, but they may be also raised from seed.Bergamot, sometimes called Bee Balm, is, Robinson says, of the simplest culture, thriving or flowering in any position or soil. “For its scent alone, or for its handsome crimson flowers it would be well worth cultivating.”[87]He adds that the different varieties ofMonardaare admirably suited to being planted “for naturalization in woods and shrubberies.” Bergamot may be increased by division of the roots in the spring or grown from seed.

[86]“Encyclopædia of Gardening.”[87]“English Flower Garden.”

[86]“Encyclopædia of Gardening.”

[87]“English Flower Garden.”

Balmgrows almost too readily and has a terrible habit of spreading in all directions unless severely checked. To propagate it, the roots should be divided, or slips taken either in spring or autumn.

Thyme.—Of the varieties ofSerpyllumthere seems no end, and the number of the species ofThymusis still dubious. Twelve kinds of them are offered for sale in an ordinary seed list sent to me the other day, but of these, few are grown in the kitchen-garden.Common ThymeorLemon Thymeare the kinds most usually cultivated. Common Thyme has long, narrow-pointed leaves and Lemon Thyme is easily recognised by its scent from the wild Thyme, of which it has generallybeen considered a variety.GoldenorVariegated Thyme(also lemon-scented) makes a pretty and fragrant edging to a flower-bed, but should be cut back when it has done flowering, unless the seed is to be saved, as it becomes straggling and untidy, and there is more danger of its being killed by the frost than if the winter finds it compact and bushy. Thyme is propagated by seed, by taking up rooted side-shoots, or by cuttings taken in the spring. It thrives best in a light, rich earth, and should be occasionally watered till well rooted.

There are two varieties ofCamomile, the single and the double-flowered; the first is the most valuable in medicine, but the second is the most commonly met with. Camomile grows freely in most soils, but seems naturally to choose gravel and sand. The roots may be divided or, as the gardener before quoted, remarks: “Only let a plant of it go to seed; it will take care of itself.”Costmaryis seldom grown. Loudon says the whole plant has “a peculiarly agreeable odour”; personally, the odour strikes me as exactly resembling that of mint sauce. The plant is rather handsome, with large greyish leaves and small deep-yellow flowers; it likes a dry soil and is increased by division of the roots after the flowering time is over.

Mint,PeppermintandPenny-royal, demand the same treatment, and all like moisture. They are easily increased by dividing the roots in the spring or autumn, by taking off runners in the autumn, or by cuttings taken in the spring. The cuttings should be planted about half way into the earth. To have really good mint, it should be transplanted about every third year.Green Mintis sometimes required in the winter and early spring, and this may be provided by putting a few outside runners in a pot and placing it in bottom heat. “Plant for succession every three weeks, as forced roots soon decay.”

Winter Savouryis “propagated by slips or cuttings in April or June, planted in a shady border, and transplanted a foot apart and kept bushy by cuttings.”[88]

[88]Abercrombie, “Every Man his own Gardener.”

Fennelhas become naturalised and is sometimes found growing wild by the sea; it is usually raised from seed or increased by side off-sets of the roots which may be taken in spring, summer or autumn.BuglossorAlkanetgrows freely anywhere, but seems to prefer moisture, and it may be increased by division of the roots or grown from seeds.

OfMallowsandMarsh Mallows, De la Quintinye says, “They ought to be allowed a place in our Kitchen-Gardens... they grow of their own accord,” but he admits that it is best to “sow them in some bye-place,” because of their propensity to spread. They are raised from seed, but cuttings may do well, and off-sets of the root, carefully divided, are satisfactory.Sweet Cicelymay be increased by dividing the roots. It is well suited to an open shrubbery or wild garden, as well as to a herb-border.Elecampaneis propagated by off-sets, taken when the plant has done flowering; it likes a moist soil or shade, and sends up tall spikes of bright yellow flowers. This year some of mine were over six feet high.

Angelica, Abercrombie tells us, is an annual-perennial, which means that it must be taken up and newly planted every year to be at all good, though off-sets from the plant would continue to come up of their own accord. It delights in moisture, and flourishes on the banks of running streams, but will do well almost anywhere. Angelica is best raised from seed, which, if sown in August, will grow better than if sown earlier in the year and it will sometimes grow from cuttings.Liquoriceis “propagated by cuttings of the roots. On account of the depth to which the root strikes when the plant hasroom to flourish, the soil should have a good staple of mould thirty inches or three feet in depth. Taking the small horizontal roots of established plants, cut them into sections six inches long. Having traced out rows a yard asunder, plant the sets along each row at intervals of eighteen inches, covering them entirely with mould.”[89]

[89]Abercrombie.

PLANTATION OF LAVENDER

Saffronwill grow in any soil, but prefers a sandy one, and plenty of sun. It is increased by seed, and by off-sets, which must be taken from the bulb when the plant is in a state of rest. As Saffron is an autumn-flowering plant, the time of rest is in the beginning of summer, and the bulb should be taken up when the leaves (which appear in the spring) begin to decay. The parent bulbs should be kept dry for a month and then replanted, that they may have time to “establish themselves” and flower before winter. This should be done once in three years.Skirretsare seldom eaten, but occasionally seen; they may be raised from seed, or by off-sets from the roots taken in spring or autumn.Chivesare propagated by dividing the roots either in spring or autumn, and when the leaves are wanted they should be cut close, and then new ones will grow up in their place.

Sorrelof two kinds is cultivated,Rumex AcetosaandRumex ScutatusorFrench Sorrel; Garden Sorrel rejoices in a damp, French Sorrel in a dry, soil. Both are most commonly increased by parting the roots, which may be done either in spring or autumn, and the roots planted about a foot apart and watered. Loudon says: “The finer plants are propagated from seed,” which should be sown in March, though it may be sown in any of the spring months, and the plants must be thinned out when they are one or two inches high. When the stalks run up in the summer they should be cut back occasionally.

Herb PatienceorPatience Dockis raised from seed sown in lines and thinned out and the leaves to be eaten must be cut young.Burnetis easily raised from seed, or increased by dividing the roots in the spring. All the flower-stalks ought to be cut down, if they are not required for seed.Dandelion, it is hardly necessary to say, is only too easily raised from seed or by roots. Loudon says that when wanted for the table, the leaves should be tied together and earthed up, which will blanch them satisfactorily; otherwise, it may be grown blanched by keeping it always in a dark place.

For obvious reasons there are obstacles to the cultivation ofWater-cress; a very little running water, however, will suffice, and it may be grown from seeds or by setting roots in the shallow stream. It should never be grown in stagnant water. Loudon quotes several authorities on the subject of growingSamphire; it is difficult to please, but this treatment was successful at Thames Ditton. The Samphire was “placed in a sheltered, dry situation, screened from the morning sun, protected by litter in the winter, and in the spring the soil was sprinkled with a little powdered barilla, to console it for the lack of its beloved sea-spray.” It is raised from seed which should be sown as soon as it is ripe, or the roots may be divided.

In the early part of August, the young shoots should be cut back, and the decayed flower-stems removed, on such plants as hyssop, sage, lavender, and the like, and they will then send out new short shoots, which will make a close, bushy head for the winter. If possible, this should be done in damp weather. In October, the beds should be weeded; if the plants stand at some distance from each other, the earth between should be loosened, and if the beds are old, a little manure would be a great advantage. Amongst close-growing herbs, digging is impossible, butthe ground must be hoed, raked and cleaned of weeds.

Biennials.—Parsley.—There are many kinds of parsley, and one specially recommended is the triple-curled variety. All parsleys are raised from seed, and it is a good thing to sow one bed in March and a second in June, thus securing a continual supply all through the winter. The plants want well thinning out, and if the weather be very dry, the last sown should have two or three waterings with weak manure water. To protect them from the frost, a reed-hurdle, or even a few branches of fir, may be used, but, of course, a box-frame and light is the best. Parsley likes a deep soil, not too rich; and a good quantity of soot worked into it much improves the plants.

Carawayis raised from seed, which should be sown in the autumn, and it may also be sown in March or April, but the result will not be so good. This plant likes a rich, light soil.Dillshould be sown in the spring, either broadcast or in drills, six to twelve inches apart. It may be sown in autumn, but this is not very advisable.Claryis sown in the end of March or in April, and should be transplanted to six to twelve inches apart, when the plants are two or three inches high; it may also be grown from cuttings.

Rampionsshould be thinly sowed in April or May in shady borders. If the plant is grown for use, it must not be allowed to flower, and in this case, it should not be sown till the end of May. The plants should be moderately watered at first (and later if the weather be very dry), and when sufficiently grown, they should be thinned out to three or four inches apart. The roots are fit for use in November.AlexandersorAlisanders, will send up shoots indefinitely, but must be sown afresh every year if wanted for the table. The seed should be sown in drills eighteen inches or more apart, and theplants thinned out to five or six inches distance from each other. When they are well grown they should be earthed up several inches on each side to blanch them.

Annuals.—AniseandCorianderlike a warm, dry, light soil. If this is not procurable, anise should be “sown in pots in heat, and removed to a warm site in May.”[90]Coriander may be sown in February, if it be mild and dry, and the seeds must be buried half an inch.Cuminis rarely seen; but it is advised that it should be sown in a warm, sunny border in March or April.

[90]Loudon.

Sweet MarjoramandSummer Savorymust both be sowed in light earth, either in drills nine inches apart, or broadcast, when they must be thinned out later on. The plants thinned out may be planted in another bed at six inches distance from each other, and must be watered.Sweet BasilandBush Basilare both raised from seed sown in a hot-bed in the end of March, and the young plants should be set a foot apart in a warm border in May. They may be sown in an open border, but there is a risk of their coming up at all, and a certainty, that if they do, the plants will be late and small. Sweet Basil (Ocymum Basilicum) is much the largest plant, Bush Basil (O. Mininum) being scarcely half the size; both like a rich soil.

Borageis raised from seed, and, if let alone, will seed itself and come up, year after year, in the same place. It likes a dry soil. Gardening books recommend that it should be planted in drills and thinned, but for the sake of the picturesque, it should be dotted about among low-growing herbs in single plants or little clumps.

Marigoldsshould be planted in light, dry soil; they may be “sowed in the spring, summer, or autumn, to remain or be transplanted a foot asunder.”[91]The outer edge (near the palings) of Regent’s Park, close to Hanover Gate, testifies to their power of seeding themselves.Authorities differ as to whetherFinocchiois an annual, but at anyrate, in England, it must be treated as one. Finocchio should be sowed in dry, light earth, and must afterwards be thinned, or the plants transplanted to a distance of fifteen inches between each. The swelling stems “of some tolerable substance” must be earthed up five or six inches, and will be blanched and tender in a fortnight’s time, and if sowed in successive sowings, it may be eaten from June till December.

[91]Abercrombie.

Endivemust be sown in successive crops in July and the early part of August, and this will produce “a sufficiency to last through the winter and early spring. If sown earlier it runs to seed the same year; but if early endive is required, a little white-curled variety is the best to sow. The ground should be light and rich on a dry subsoil”; when sufficiently grown, the plants should be thinned, and those taken out, transplanted at a distance of ten or twelve inches apart, and watered occasionally till they are well rooted. Endive is more easy to blanch if sowed in trenches than in level ground. In wet weather, blanching is best accomplished by putting a garden-pot over the plant; but, in summer, it is better to tie the leaves together and earth them half way up. The process will take from a week in dry weather to nearly three weeks in wet, and the plant must be taken up soon after it is finished, as after a few days it begins to decay. In severe frost the bed should be covered with straw litter.

Chervilis sown in August and September, and can be used in the same autumn and through the winter; if successive crops are wanted, it may be sown any time between the end of February and August. It should be sown in shallow drills, and the plants left to grow as they come up. When the leaves are two or three inches high they are ready to be used, and if cut close, fresh leaves will shoot up in their place.Lambs’ Lettuceis appreciated chiefly in the winter; it should be sown in August, and again in September to last through the winter and early spring. Dry fairly mellow soil will suit it, and it may be left to grow as it was sowed.

Rocket.—“This is an agreeable addition to cresses and mustard, early in spring. It should be sown in a warm border in February, and during the next months if a succession is wanted. After the first rough leaf has appeared, thin out the plants.”[92]ThePurslanesare both tender annuals, Green Purslane (Portulaca olerecea) being rather hardier than Golden Purslane (P. sativa). They should be sowed on hot-beds in February or March; or in a warm border, they may be sowed in drills during fine weather in May. They should be left as they grow, and when the leaves are gathered they must be cut low, and then a fresh crop will appear. Purslane must be watered occasionally in very dry, hot weather.

[92]Loudon.

The above remarks pretend to being no more than bare outlines of the art of growing certain herbs. Many of these have outlived their reputation, and are now cultivated for no practical purpose, but for sentiment’s sake, or for their aromatic grace, by those who “take a delight” in such things. To these I hope these suggestions may be useful. Any person desiring to bring a special herb to perfection is hardly likely to need reference to one of the many admirable gardening dictionaries, for it is not probable that he would look to an amateur for solid instruction on such points. To conclude, Leonard Meager[93]gives some pithy directions which it is well to bear inmind:—

“In setting herbs ever observe to leave the tops no more than a handful above the ground, and the roots a foot under the earth.

[93]“New Art of Gardening.”

“Twine the roots of the herbs you set, unless toobrittle. Gather herbs when the sap is full in the top of them. Such herbs as you intend to gather for drying, to keep for use all the winter, do it about Lammas-tide; dry them in the shade that the sun draw not out their vertue, but in a clear air and breezy wind, that no mustiness may taint them.”

Cut all herbs just before they flower, except where the flower heads are wanted—lavender or camomile, for instance. These should be cut just before the flowers are fully open.

When bright Aurora gilds the eastern skies,I wake and from my squalid couch arise...Be this my topic, this my aim and end,Heav’n’s will to obey and seek t’oblige a friend...Some herbs adorn the hills—some vales below,Where limpid streamlets in meanders flow,Here’s Golden Saxifrage, in vernal hours,Springs up when water’d well by fertile showers:It flourishes in bogs where waters beat,The yellow flowers in clusters stand complete.Adorn’d with snowy white, in meadows low,White Saxifrage displays a lucid show:...Why should my friends in pining grief remain,Or suffer with excruciating pain?The wholesome medicines, if by heaven blest,Sure anodynes will prove and give them rest....Here’s Tormentilla, with its searching parts,Expels the pois’nous venom from our hearts...Wood-betony is in its prime in May,In June and July does its bloom display,A fine, bright red does this grand plant adorn,To gather it for drink I think no scorn;I’ll make a conserve of its fragrant flowers,Cephalick virtues in this herb remain,To chase each dire disorder from the brain.Delirious persons here a cure may findTo stem the phrensy and to calm the mind.All authors own wood-betony is good,’Tis king o’er all the herbs that deck the wood;A king’s physician erst such notice tookOf this, he on its virtues wrote a book.The Poor Phytologist.—James Chambers.

The Poor Phytologist.—James Chambers.

The old herbalists used so many herbs and found each one good for so many disorders that one is filledwith wonder that patients ever died, till one examines into the prescriptions and methods generally, and then one is more astonished that any of them recovered. I shall not mention any prescriptions here, excepting the celebrated antidote to all poison, Venice Treacle. This included seventy-three ingredients, and was evolved from an earlier and also famous nostrum, theMithridaticum, originated by Mithridates, King of Pontus. Of course, this “treacle” was in no way connected with the sugary syrup we call by this name, but is a corruption of the Latin—Theriaca, a counter poison. Venice Treacle is an extreme example of the multitude of conflicting elements that were massed together and boldly administered in ancient remedies. The memory of it still clings about a wayside plant,Erysimum cheiranthoides, better known as Treacle-Mustard, which has gained its English name from the fact that its seeds were used in this awe-inspiring compound.

CHELSEA PHYSIC GARDEN

Anyone who is interested in ancient remedies can easily gain much information from Culpepper or Salmon. Either herbal can be procured at a low price (in a cheap edition) from any second-hand bookseller, and Salmon’s wild statements, especially about animals, and Culpepper’s biting wit, make them amusing reading. It is more instructive to examine the principles that animated the practice, and from one, the Doctrine of Signatures took form—a doctrine widely believed in, and of great influence. Coles[94]expounds it with great clearness: “Though Sin and Sattan have plunged mankinde into an Ocean of Infirmities... yet the mercy of God, which is over all His workes, maketh ... herbes for the use of man, and hath not onely stamped upon them a distinct forme, but also given them particular Signatures, whereby a man may read, even in legible characters, the use of them.... Viper’sBugloss hath its stalks all to be speckled like a snake or viper, and is a most singular remedy against poyson and the sting of scorpions.... Heart Trefoyle is so called, not onely because the leafe is triangular, like the heart of a man, but also because each leafe contains the perfection of the heart, and that in its proper colour, viz., in flesh colour. It defendeth the heart.... The leaves of Saint John’s Wort seem to be pricked or pinked very thick with little holes like the pores of a man’s skin. It is a soveraigne remedy for any cut in the skin.” This was a view very generally shared. William Browne says:

In physic by some signatureNature herself doth point us out a cure.

[94]“Art of Simpling.”

And again:

Heaven hath made me for thy cure,Both the physician and the signature.Br. Pastorals, book iii.

Heaven hath made me for thy cure,Both the physician and the signature.

Br. Pastorals, book iii.

Drayton’sHermitpursued a development of this theory. He merely accepted the conclusions of earlier authorities who had made discoveries about the properties of plants and had named them accordingly.

Some (herbs) by experience, as we see,Whosenames express their natures.Muses’ Elysium.

Some (herbs) by experience, as we see,Whosenames express their natures.

Muses’ Elysium.

It was, naturally, more simple to administer all-heal, for a wound; hore-hound, for “mad dogge’s biting,” and so on, than to decipher the signature from the plant, himself, and so he and many others, prescribed the herbs, with more reference to their names, than unprejudiced attention to results.

The planets were another determining factor in the choice of remedies. Each plant was dedicated to a planet and each planet presided over a special part of the body, therefore, when any part was affected, a herb belonging to the planet that governed that special part must,as a rule, be used. Thus, Mercury presided over the brain, so for a headache or “Folly and Simplicity (the Epidemicall diseases of the Time)” one of Mercury’s herbs must be chosen. Mercurial herbs were, as a rule, refreshing, aromatic and of “very subtle parts.” The planets seem usually to have caused, as well as cured the diseases in their special province, and therefore their own herbs, brought about the cure “by sympathy.” But sometimes, a planet would cause a disorder in the province ruled by another planet, to whom the first was in opposition, and in this case the cure must be made “by antipathy.” Thus the lungs are under Jupiter, to whom Mercury is opposed, therefore in any case of the lungs being affected, the physician must first discover whether Jupiter or Mercury were the agent and if the latter, the remedy must be “antipathetical”; it must be from one of Mercury’s herbs. Sometimes where a planet had caused a disease in the part it governed, an “antipathetical” cure, by means of an adversary’s herbs, was advised; for instance Jupiter is opposed to Saturn, so Jupiter’s herbs might be given for toothache or pains in the bones caused by Saturn, for the bones are under Saturn’s dominion. An antipathetical remedy, however, Culpepper does not recommend for common use, for “sympathetical cures strengthen nature; antipathetical cures, in one degree or another, weaken it.” Besides this, the position of the planet had to be considered, the “House” that it was in, and the aspect in which it was to the moon and other planets.

“A benevolent Planet in the sixth, cures the disease without the help of a Physitian.

“A malevolent Planet there causeth a change in the disease, and usually from better to worse.

“A malevolent in the Ascendant threatens death, and makes the sick as cross-grained asBajazetthe Turkish Emperor when he was in the Iron Cage.”

This is from Culpepper’s “Astrological Judgment of Diseases”; in his “Herbal” he gives definite directions:

“Fortify the body with herbs of the nature of the Lord of the Ascendant, ’tis no matter whether he be a Fortune or Infortune in this case.

“Let your medicine be something antipathetical to the Lord of the Sixth.

“If the Lord of the Tenth be strong, make use of his medicines.

“If this cannot well be, make use of the medicines of the Light of Time.”

Turning to the herbs appropriated to the special planets, we find that those of Mars were usually strong, bright and vigorous, and cured ills caused by violence, including the sting of “a martial creature, imagine a wasp, a hornet, a scorpion.” Yellow flowers were largely dedicated to the Sun or Moon, radiant, bright-yellow ones to the Sun; these of paler, fainter hues to the Moon. Flowers dedicated to either were good for the eyes, for the eyes are ruled by “the Luminaries.” Jupiter’s herbs had generally, “Leavessmooth, even, slightly cut and pointed, the veins not prominent.Flowersgraceful, pleasing bright, succulent.” The herbs of Venus were those with many flowers, of bright or delicate colours and pleasant odours. Saturn, who is almost always looked upon as being unfavourable, had only plants, whose leaves were “hairy, dry, hard, parched, coarse,”[95]and whose flowers were “gloomy, dull, greenish, faded or dirty white, pale red, invariably hirsute, prickly and disagreeable.”

[95]Folkard.

One does not know how much modern physicians care about propitiating Jupiter, but certainly they make an effort in that direction every time that they do, as did the Ancients, and write Rx—thus making his sign—at the top of a prescription. The small attention paid bydoctors to herbs is often supposed to be a modern development, but hear Culpepper in 1652! “Drones lie at home and eat up what the bees have taken pains for. Just so do the college of physicians lie at home and domineer and suck out the sweetness of other men’s labours and studies, themselves being as ignorant in the matter of herbs as a child of four years old, as I can make appear to any rational man by their last dispensatory.”

It was not unnatural that the Herbalists should maintain the superiority of vegetable over mineral drugs, and Gerarde expresses his opinions in the introduction to his “Herbal.” “I confesse blind Pluto is nowadays more sought after than quick-sighted Phœbus, and yet this dusty metall,... is rather snatched of man to his own destruction.... Contrariwise, in the expert knowledge of herbes what pleasure still renewed with varietie? What small expence? What security? And yet what an apt and ordinary meanes to conduct men to that most desired benefit of health?”

Many herbs have been expunged from modern Pharmacopœias. Perhaps we have no use for them now that we, in England, no longer live in perpetual terror of the bitings of sea-hares, scorpions or tarantulas, as our forefathers seem to have done! In Harrison’s “Description of England,” the habit of preferring foreign, to native herbs, is rebuked. “But herein (the cherishing of foreign herbs) I find some cause of just complaint, for that we extoll their uses so farre that we fall into contempt of our owne, which are, in truth, more beneficiall and apt for us than such as grow elsewhere, sith (as I said before) everie region hath abundantly within his own limits whatsoever is needfull and most convenient for them that dwell therein.” Probably there are to-day some thinkers of this stamp, as well as others who will hold anything valuable as long as it has been fetched from “overseas.”

Russell gives instructions, in his “Boke of Nurture,” how to “make a Bath medicinable,” by adding herbs,—mallow, hollyhocks and fennel being among the number. And he directs that herbs “sweet and greene” should be hanged round the room “when the Master will have a bath”; a proceeding which was evidently something of a ceremony.

To-day, there is an unfortunate tendency among the poor, to desert herbs,notfor “doctor’s medicine,” but for any quackery they may chance to see “on the paper” and some of these remedies are advertised to cure nearly as many and diverse diseases, as any of the compounds prescribed by the Ancients. Consequently, one usually hears of the uses of herbs in the past tense. There is a curious poem (published at Ipswich, 1796) called the “Poor Phytologist, or the Author Gathering Herbs,” by James Chambers, Itinerant Poet, which gives the names and virtues of the simples most prized at that date. He was a pedlar, who wandered about the country, always accompanied by several dogs, and he added to his “precarious mode of existence, the art of making nets and composing acrostics.” I have quoted some of his lines at the beginning of this chapter, but few of the herbs he mentions are in popular use now, at least in the west of England. Betony occurs in some old village recipes still employed, though its vaunted powers have been declared vain by science. Amongst those that I have known, or have heard of, through personal friends, as being still, or quite recently in use, are the following:—Dandelion, Centaury, Meadow-Sweet and Wild-Sage are used as “bitters.” ByWild-Sage,Wood-Sage is usually, if not always, meant. Dandelion is, of course, in the British Pharmacopœia; and Wood-Sage, though not officinal, is asked for by some chemists. Bear’s foot (Hellebore) has five finger-like leaves, but one finger is bad and must be torn off. Angelica is a wonderful herb;Parkinson put it in the fore-front of all medicinal plants and it holds almost as high a place among village herbalists to-day. Among many other virtues, the dried leaves are said to have great power to reduce inflammation if steeped in hot water and applied to the affected part. Mallows, especially Marsh-Mallows, retain their old reputation for relieving the same ill and the well-knownPâtés de Guimauveare made from their roots. Elder, beloved by all herbalists, still keeps its place in the British Pharmacopœia, and the cooling effects of Elder-Flower Water, none can deny. In the country, Elder leaves and buds are most highly valued and are used in drinks, poultices and ointments. Hyssop, or as some call it I-sop, is sometimes used. Primrose, Poor Man’s Friend, and Comfrey are together made into an ointment, but White Comfrey should be used when the ointment is for a woman, Red-flowered Comfrey when it is for a man. “Poor Man’s Friend” in this case is Hedge-Garlic, but the name is sometimes given to Swine’s Cress (Lapsana Communis). The juice of House-Leek, mixed with cream, relieves inflammation and particularly the irritation which follows vaccination in an arm “taking beautifully.”Probatum est.Penny-pies or Penny-wort (Cotyledon Umbilicus) is said to be equally efficacious, especially used with cream, and when simmered with the “sides of the pan,” have been known to heal, where linseed poultices failed to do good. When the leaf of Penny-wort is applied to a wound, one side draws, the other side heals. Wormwood is often in request by brewers. Marigold-tea is a widely administered remedy for the measles, and is one of the few remedies which everybody seems to know. Very often families appear to have their own special formula, and even where the chief herbs in different prescriptions to relieve the same ailment are identical, the lesser herbs vary. Saffron was also recommended formeasles; both probably on the “Doctrine of Colour Analogy” referred to the rash. An old Herbalist told me that he considered Marigolds nearly as good as Saffron and “more home-grown, so to speak.” Dr Primrose, a physician in the reign of Charles II., who wrote a book on “Popular Errors in Physick,” inveighs against the custom then in vogue of covering “the sick [with measles or small-pox] with red cloaths, for they are thought by the affinitie of the colour to draw the blood out to them, or at least some suppose that it is done by force of imagination. And not onely the people, but also very many physicians use them.” Marigold-tea is at anyrate a better survival as “treatment” than this system! Meadow-Saffron is still officinal, and is well known in the form it is usually dispensed, Tincture of Colchicum. Broom has a place in the pharmacopœia, and is also a popular remedy. Furze is not officinal, but a preparation made from it, Ulexine, is mentioned in a well-known medical dictionary. An infusion of Furze-blossom used to be given to children to drink in scarlet fever. Camomile is officinal, and the great authority, Dr Schimmelbusch recently recommended it as a mouth-wash, for disinfecting the muscous membrane after cases of operation in the mouth. In a fomentation Camomile heads are a recognised anodyne; and Wild Camomile and Red Pimpernel are given locally for asthma, it is said, with great success. Boy’s love, (Southernwood), Plantain leaves, Black Currant leaves, Elder buds, Angelica and Parsley, chopped, pounded, and simmered with clarified butter, make an ointment for burns or raw surfaces. A maker of this particular ointment near Exeter, died a year or two ago, but up to her death it was much in request. Butter is always better for making ointments than lard, because cows feed on herbs, and all herbs are good for something. Sage poultices and sage gargle are very good for sorethroats, better than some of the gargles that “the gentlemen” prescribe (so a Herbalist told me), and red sage is better than green. Rosemary has long been celebrated for making the hair grow. Water-cress is very good for the blood, and the expressed juice has been known to prove a wonderful cure for rheumatism. A lady told me of a case she knew in Berkshire, where a man was absolutely crippled till he tried this remedy, and afterwards quite recovered his power to move and a very good degree of strength. Water-cress was one of the plants from which Count Mattei extracted his vegetable electricity. Parsley, freshly gathered and laid on the forehead is good for a headache, and if put in a fold of muslin and laid across inflamed eyes, it is said to be beneficial. Endive tea is cooling and is given to “fever” patients, and the dry leaves of lovage infused in white wine were good for ague. An infusion of Raspberry leaves, Agrimony, and Barberry-bark was good for consumptive patients, and Cowslip and Cucumber were made into a wash to make the complexion “splendent,” to use an old expression. Coltsfoot is still given for coughs; Sweet Marjoram was administered for dropsy, Alderberries for boils; Arb-Rabbit (Herb-Robert) made into poultices for “inflammation;” Brook-lime, given for St Anthony’s Fire, and Brown Nut, made into a decoction, was taken hot just before going to bed, for a cold. Groundsel, Docks, Hay-Maids (Ground-Ivy), Feather-Few, Chicken-Weed, Hedge-Garlic or Hedge-Mustard, I have also heard recommended at different times. The Blessed Thistle is a useless ingredient in a good herb-ointment for burns. Amongst the last named plants are several not strictly to be called “herbs,” but they and others I shall mention are “simples,” and as such they fitly find a place among medicinal herbs. Foxglove and Belladonna, of course, are among the most important drugs in the Pharmacopœia,and both the fruits and leaves of Hemlock have also a place there. Foxglove, called in Devonshire, Cowflop, is recommended as an application to heal sores, and one woman told me that it should always be gathered on the north side of the hedge. It is interesting to note that the Italians have a proverb, “Aralda, tutte piaghe salda” (Foxglove heals all sores). Cliders (Goose-grass,Galium aparine) was much given for tumours and cancers, and is praised by other than merely village sages. Dr Fernie quotes the testimony of several doctors who used it with success, and adds, “some of our trading druggists now furnish curative preparations made from the fresh herb.”

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