The uses of parsley, in our kitchens, both for sauce and garnish, are numerous and well known. It is, however, poisonous to several kinds of birds; and, although so commonly used at table, facts have been adduced from which it would appear that, with some persons, it occasions epilepsy, or at least aggravates the fits in those who are subject to that disease. Inflammation in the eyes has also been attributed to the use of it. Parsley is eaten with great avidity by sheep, and has been recommended for use in several diseases of those animals, as well as in some diseases of horses. Both the roots and seed are employed in medicine. The former have a sweetish taste, accompanied with a slight warmth, and a flavour somewhat resembling that of the carrot: the latter are warm and aromatic.
Parsley is a native of Sardinia, and propagated by seed, which is usually sown about the month of March.
94. CELERY (Apium graveolens) is a well known plant belonging to the same tribe as parsley.
In a wild state celery is found in ditches and marshes of several parts of England, and is a small, acrid, and noxious plant, called smallage: but, when cultivated, it entirely loses these properties.
It is grown in trenches, and is earthed up for the purpose of blanching or whitening the lower parts. The seeds are sown in spring, and the plants may be taken out for use towards the end of the autumn. Celery is eaten raw in salads, boiled in soup, or stewed. The seeds are used, particularly at sea, for the flavouring of soup, to which they give the same taste as the plant itself.
95. COPAL is a somewhat resinous substance, obtained from a tree (Rhus copallinum) the produce of America, which has winged and very entire leaves, the foot-stalks membranaceous and jointed.
We annually import considerable quantities of copal from the Spanish colonies in America, in irregular masses, some of which are transparent, of yellowish or brown colour, and others are whitish and semi-transparent. When copal is dissolved in any volatile liquid, and thinly spread upon wood, metal, or any other firm substance, so that the liquid may evaporate, the copal remains perfectly transparent; and forms one of the most beautiful and perfect varnishes that can be imagined. The varnish thus formed has the name of copal varnish, and is said to have been first discovered in France. One mode of preparing it is by melting the copal with an equal quantity of linseed oil ([97]); another, by mixture with oil of turpentine; and a third, by mixture with alcohol or spirit of wine. The particular processes are described in the fourth volume of Dr. Thomson's System of Chemistry, fifth edition; but they are too long and intricate for insertion here.
Copal is the varnish which is chiefly used in the japanning of snuff-boxes, tea-boards, and other similar articles.
TRIGYNIA.
96. The COMMON ELDER (Sambucus nigra) is a wild English shrub, distinguishable by its winged leaves, with serrated and somewhat oval leaflets, its clusters of small white flowers divided into five principal branches, and the small black or purple berries by which these are succeeded.