Herbs in the 19th Century

Herbs in the 19th Century. . , Herbs were used to flavour food, heal illness, repel insects and dye cloth. Herb gardens were foremost utilitarian and found at the home of everyone who had a garden, whether rich or poor. These herbs were essential to everyday life. The settlers had many uses for the plants that they grew and for the new ones that they encountered here. , The garden was traditionally an extension of the kitchen and it was the woman who cared for the plants and saw to the harvest. , Lovage (Levisticum officinale) , Lovage has a long history as a culinary herb, having a flavour similar to celery. It was added to soups and stews, and cooked as a vegetable. The seeds and roots were used for digestive disorders. , Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) , Comfrey was known as Boneset or simply Healing Herb. It was used to heal wounds, swellings and broken bones. It contains a protein called allantoin which increases the rate of cell growth, which helped in the swift healing of skin tissue. It was also used internally for bronchial problems and a variety of other ailments. , Medicinal Herbs , The medicinal properties of herbs have been recognized for centuries. The new settlers to Canada brought their home remedies utilizing plants, but they also learned how to use the wild plants growing locally from the Aboriginal people. Doctors were generally not available and it was up to the woman to have a remedy at hand, whether it was to staunch a wound or cure a cough. , Herbs were often used in combinations and could be administered in many different forms such as teas, liniments, poultices or medicinal wines. , Dye Plants , Plants provided the raw material needed to make dye for wool and cloth. Both the European settlers and Aboriginal people used a wide variety of plant material to make dyes. They used not only leaves and flowers, but also bark, roots and berries. The Aboriginal people would boil bark from the white birch with ashes of cedar to create a red dye. The women would dye porcupine quills, baskets and mats. , The same plant that would be used for dyeing could also be used for other purposes. Marigolds, for example, were used as a yellow dye for both butter and cloth, as well as being used medicinally. , Culinary Herbs , Most of the herbs used by the pioneers had multiple uses. Herbs that were used to season food, such as thyme, lovage or mint could also be used for other purposes. Thyme, which was used to flavour meat and placed on butter to keep it fresh, was also used for gout and toothaches. Chives were used in cooking and also to make a digestive tonic.