SWISS CHARD, OR SILVER BEET.
Béta Vulgàris argentèa.—Swiss Chard, Ger.
This spinaceous plant is becoming very generally distributed as a vegetable. Its leaves only are used. It is a variety of the Beet, having bright green foliage, with the leaf-stalk and mid-rib of a pure white, and is sometimes known under the name of Seakale Bea, from the fact that the footstalk and nerves of the leaves can be used like that vegetable. The leaf, after being deprived of the strong membranes, is cooked like Spinach, and very favorably received at the table. The root portion of the plant is not generally made use of.
Culture.—This is accomplished in the same manner and by the same process as detailed for the Beet, page 28. It is extensively cultivated in France, Germany, and Switzerland. To those who are fond of a vegetable diet, it may form a very prominent portion in the months of June, July, and August―the warm season, when Spinach and Scakale cannot be obtained. Sow for the first crop in March, and for the second in May. An ounce of seed will supply a large family.
TARRAGON.
Arlemésia Dracúnculus.—L’Estragon, Fr.—Dragun, Ger.
Tarragon is a perennial plant, a native of Siberia and Tartary, where it is covered during the Winter months with snow. The French are particularly fond of it in salads. The leaves and young tops are used as ingredients in pickles, and a simple infusion of them in vinegar makes an excellent fish sauce; the leaves are also eaten with beef-steaks, having a fragrant smell and an aromatic taste.
