CAPERS, the unopened flower-buds of a low shrub (Capparis spinosa), which grows from the crevices of rocks and walls and among rubbish in the southern parts of France, in Italy and the Levant. The stems of the Caper-bush are trailing and two or three feet long. In the south of France the caper-bush is very common. It grows wild upon the walls of Rome, Siena and Florence, and, when trained against a wall, flourishes even in the neighborhood of Paris. It was introduced into Great Britain as an exotic as early as 1596. Modern horticulturists are of opinion that with care it might be raised in the open air in Eng land, but this has never been accomplished to any practical extent. It is cultivated on a large scale between Marseilles and Toulon and in many parts of Italy. In northern United States it is propagated by cuttings in green houses, but is grown from seed in the South ern States. In the early part of summer it be gins to flower, and the flowers continue suc cessively to appear until the commencement of winter. The buds are picked every morning before the petals are expanded; and as they are gathered they are put into vinegar and salt.
When a sufficient quantity is collected they are distributed, according to their size, into dif ferent vessels, again put into vinegar and then packed up for sale and exportation. the small est capers are the dearest, simply from the rea son that they are more troublesome to gather. This pickle is much used in sauce for boiled mutton. To persons •unaccustomed to it the taste of capers is unpleasantly sharp and bitter, but after a little while the palate becomes recon ciled to it. The flower-buds of the marsh marigold (Caltho palustris) and the seeds of nasturtiums are frequently pickled and eaten as a substitute for capers. The bark of the root of the caper cut into slices and dried in small rolls or quills is sometimes used in medi cine as a diuretic and in cases of obstruction of the liver. The caper-tree (Capparis Jamaicensis) is found in tropical America.