avored with parsley. Alas, a
left-over again! "Never mind," mused the cook; and no one who partook of
the succeeding stew discovered the lurking parsley and its overpowered
progenitor, the celery, under the effectual disguise of summer savory.
By an unforeseen circumstance the fragments remaining from this last
stew did not continue the cycle and disappear in another pie. Had this
been their fate, however, their presence could have been completely
obscured by sage. This problem in perpetual progression or culinary
homeopathy can be practiced in any kitchen. But hush, tell it not in the
dining-room!

[Illustration: Dried Herbs in Paper and Tin]

METHODS OF CURING

Culinary herbs may be divided into three groups; those whose foliage
furnishes the flavor, those whose seed is used and those few whose
roots are prepared. In the kitchen, foliage herbs are employed either
green or as decoctions or dried, each way with its special advocates,
advantages and applications.

Green herbs, if freshly and properly gathered, are richest in flavoring
substances and when added to sauces, fricassees, stews, etc., reveal
their freshness by their particles as well as by their decidedly finer
flavor. In salads they almost entirely supplant both the dried and the
decocted herbs, since their fresh colors are pleasing to the eye and
their crispness to the palate; whereas the specks of the dried herbs
would be objectionable, and both these and the decoctions impart a
somewhat inferior flavor to such dishes. Since herbs cannot, however,
always be obtained throughout the year, unless they are grown in window
boxes, they are infused or dried. Both infusing and drying are similar
processes in themselves, but for best results they are dependent upon
the observance of a few simple rules.

No matter in what condition or for what purpose they are to be used the
flavors of foliage herbs are invariably best in well-developed leaves
and shoots still in full vigor of growth. With respect to the plant as a
whole, these flavors are most abundant and pleasant just before the
flowers appear. And since they are generally due to essential oils,
which are quickly dissipated by heat, they are more abundant in the
morning than after the sun has reached the zenith. As a general rule,
therefore, best results with foliage herbs, especially those to be used
for drying and infusing, may be secured when the plants seem ready to
flower, the harvest being made as so