“Away, away, with the helm and greaves, Away with the leeks and cheese! I have conquered my passion for wounds and blows, And the worst that I wish to the worst of my foes Is the glory and gain Of a year’s campaign On a diet of leeks and cheese!” Garlic possesses an onion-like bulb around which smaller bulbs cluster, the whole covered by a membranous outer layer. Each bulb is described as a “clove” of garlic and in flavor is far more demonstrative than onion. Shallot, on the contrary, is the daintiest of the onion tribe, growing from a cluster of roots and never forming a compact bulb. [Illustration: Garlic.] Saffron, a plant of the crocus family, was largely used in mediæval Europe as a condiment, although to-day its value as a coloring substance is considered of most account. The coloring matter is obtained from the stigmas of the flower, which are of a deep orange hue. The plant grows wild in Asia Minor, is possibly native to Arabia, and has long been extensively cultivated throughout the Mediterranean countries. That exported from Spain is considered the finest. At one time in Germany the adulteration of saffron was held criminal and punishable by death. History records the burning, in 1444, of a man with his adulterated saffron and, a dozen years later, the burning of two men and a woman for a similar offense. The salutary effect of this penalty was not permanent, however, as it is to-day extensively adulterated with a cheaper article known as safflower. In the Orient, a few nations still add saffron to their rice both for flavor and color while in Europe it is now most largely used for coloring macaroni, vermicelli and other pastes. Saffron is mentioned in the Old Testament in connection with spikenard, cinnamon and other spices, and appears to have been used by the early Greeks medicinally, and as both dye and perfume. Capers are the unopened flowers of a low, trailing shrub which grows wild in Africa and southern Europe. It is native to Italy and is said to have grown wild upon the walls of ancient Rome. It is cultivated in France, only the small, grayish green, flower buds being of commercial value. They possess an aromatic and slightly pungent flavor and, when preserved as is usual in either salt or vinegar, are used for flavoring gravies, being well-nigh indispensable in the serving of roast mutton. Four or five grades of capers are exported, the finest grade consisting of the tiniest and most perfect buds which gradually diminish in value as they increase in size. [Illustration: Capers.]