operation great care must be taken to avoid bruising or
otherwise injuring the seed. The beating should therefore be done in a
sheet spread upon a lawn or at least upon short grass. The force of the
blows will thus be lessened and bruising avoided.

For cleaning herb seeds sieves in all sizes from No. 2 to No. 40 are
needed. The sizes represent various finenesses of mesh. All above No. 8
should be of brass wire, because brass is considerably more durable and
less likely to rust than iron. The cloths upon which the herbs are
spread should be as large as the floor upon which the threshing is to be
done except when the floor is without cracks, but it is more convenient
to use cloths always, because they facilitate handling and temporary
storing. Light cotton duck is perhaps best, but the weave must be close.
A convenient size is 10 x 10 feet.

After the stalks have been removed the seed should be allowed to remain
for several days longer in a very thin layer--the thinner the
better--and turned every day to remove the last vestige of moisture. It
will be even better still to have the drying sheet suspended so air may
circulate below as well as above the seed. Not less than a week for the
smallest seeds and double that time for the larger ones is necessary. To
avoid loss or injury it is imperative that the seed be dry before it is
put in the storage packages. Of course, if infusions are to be made all
this is unnecessary; the seed may be put in the liquor as soon as the
broken stems, etc. are removed subsequent to threshing.

HERBS AS GARNISHES

As garnishes several of the culinary herbs are especially valuable. This
is particularly true of parsley, which is probably more widely used than
any other plant, its only close rivals being watercress and lettuce,
which, however, are generally inferior to it in delicacy of tint and
form of foliage, the two cardinal virtues of a garnish.

Parsley varieties belong to three principal groups, based upon the form
of the foliage: (1) Plain varieties, in which the leaves are nearly as
they are in nature; (2) moss-curled varieties in which they are
curiously and pleasingly contorted; and (3) fern leaved, in which the
foliage is not curled, but much divided into threadlike parts.

The moss-curled varieties are far more popular than the other two groups
put together and are the only ones used especially as garnishes with
meat dishes in the hotels and restaurants of the large cities. Th