It was an Englishman who once said that “mint made lamb out of an old sheep”! Perhaps he loved it also because of the legend that it once existed in the form of a beautiful maiden, transformed by Persephone into the modest aromatic of our gardens. The mint designated is that member of the labiate family known as spear mint, native to Europe but grown in all portions of the United States and largely marketed. It is a small, green herb, the leaves being highly aromatic and, when bruised, yielding a valuable essential oil. It is equally liked in the mint sauce so indispensable to mutton and the mint-julep— “This cordial julep here, That flames and dances in his crystal bounds.” [Illustration: Mint.] Sweet marjoram grows wild in Spain and Portugal and, in a cultivated state, throughout Europe and the United States. It is a member of the mint family and, like spear mint, possesses aromatic leaves. Tarragon is a small, aromatic herb, native to Liberia. It is cultivated in Europe and is the _estragon_ of the French, who use the young plants largely for salads. It is hardy, and is grown extensively in America, being used for flavoring vinegar, mustard and pickles. Tarragon vinegar, from the excellence of its flavor, should have a place in every household. [Illustration: Tarragon.] The onion is believed to have originated in Egypt although it was known in very early times in India. In the former country it was worshiped as a deity. “Cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick” formed the daily food of the Israelites in Egypt. Italy and Spain are now noted for the immense size of the onions grown there, as also are the Bermuda Islands. Those of the latter place possess a far milder flavor, a condition due to soil and climate. The flavor of onion, when strong, is unpleasant to some people to a nauseating degree and it is hard to see in it any resemblance to its dainty cousins, the lily and the hyacinth. But when skillfully used it is a valuable and wholesome culinary condiment and is more largely employed by the average cook than the uninitiated ever suspect. Says one author: “The onion is the sheet anchor of the skillful cook. It is impossible to prepare the delicate Bordelaise sauce without resorting to the use of onions and a shade of garlic, ... and it is the judicious use of these two seasonings that stamps the expert cook.” The leek is a member of the onion family, similar in flavor, although milder, and the leaves of which are flat instead of tubular. It has been stated that in England the leek was once considered to be the typical plant, both onion and garlic being but species. The diet of the soldiers of ancient Greece was at one time leeks and cheese, a custom which Bulwer has satirized in a Neo-Greek outburst of rhyme: