31
later New York City and Brooklyn. An 1836 catalog lists these various seeds
for sale: asparagus, 6 varieties of beans, 6 varieties of beets, 5 varieties of
cabbage, cauliflower, 2 varieties of carrots, celery, 2 kinds of corn, 4 kinds
of cucumber, 6 of lettuce, 3 of melon, 2 of mustard, 3 of onion, parsley,
2 of parsnip, 4 of peas, 2 of peppers, pepper grass, 4 of radish, saffron,
sage, salsify, savory, spinach, 4 kinds of squash, and 5 kinds of turnips.
Then they began packaging and selling herbs, the first in the United
States to do a systematic and more or less scientific gathering and classifying.
"In the earliest days of the Shakers, as was true of all rural dwellings, it was
necessary to do something to earn some money, for not quite every necessity
could be produced on the farm. What could have been more logical than to
search the woods and fields for the herbs that everyone used for medicine and
to develop those not found growing wild?"20
' So in some of the Shaker communities, raising herbs for commercial
use became a major business. There were found large herbhouses well
equipped with counters, dryers, distillers and grinders. Down the center
extended long work counters where the finished product was boxed, packaged,
and labeled for home and foreign consumption. The Shakers sent out circulars
with some of their large orders, giving directions on "how to use these herbs
O1
which give such refreshing delicate odors and flavors to food."

20. Piercy, Carol. The Shaker Cook Book: Not By Bread Alone.
p. 126
21, Ibid.