“Vegetables are to be collected in dry weather, and when neither wet with rain nor dew; they are to be collected annually, and are not to be kept beyond a year.
“Barks are to be collected at that season in which they can be most easily separated from the wood.” Spring is the season here alluded to; as at this time, after the sap begins
to ascend, the bark is, in general, very easily separated.
“Flowers are to be collected recently blown.” The red rose, however, must be gathered before the buds are expanded.
“Fruits and seeds are to be collected when ripe.
“Herbs and leaves are to be gathered after the flowers have expanded, and before the seeds are mature.
“Roots and rhizomes (underground stems), for the most part, are to be dug up after the old leaves and stalks have fallen, and before the new ones appear.” (“Roots, which are required to be preserved fresh, should be buried in dry sand.”—Ph. L. 1836.)
“Seeds are to be collected when they are ripe, and before they drop from the plant.” (“They ought to be preserved in their seed vessels.”—Ph. L. 1836.)
“The different parts of vegetables are to be kept dried for use, except where we shall otherwise direct. Expose those you wish to dry, within a short time after they have been gathered, in shallow wicker baskets, to a gentle heat, in a dark place, and where there is a current of air. Then, the moisture being driven off, gradually increase the heat to 150° Fahr., in order that they may be dried. Finally, preserve the more delicate parts, viz. flowers and leaves, in black glass vessels, well closed, and keep the rest in proper vessels, preventing the access of light and moisture.”
Fruits, culinary vegetables, and vegetable juice, of every class, may be preserved for any length of time by several of the methods described under Putrefaction. On the small scale the following method is often adopted:—The substances to be preserved are put into strong glass or stoneware bottles, with necks of a proper size, which are then corked with the greatest care, tied or wired, and lined with a mixture of lime and soft cheese, or with a paste formed of linseed meal and water, spread on rags; or tin cases are employed, and are soldered up instead of being corked. The bottles are then placed in an oven, the temperature of which is cautiously raised to fully 212° Fahr.; or they are enclosed, separately, in canvas bags, and put into a copper of water to which some salt has been added, which is then gradually heated until it boils, and thus kept for 15 or 20 minutes; the whole is next left to cool, when the bottles are taken out and carefully examined before being laid by, lest they should have cracked or the lute have given way.