An anonymous household book of the early nineteenth century suggests four salads, each of a separate colour, set out at the four corners of a table or in a line down the centre. Each salad should be arranged on a green ground of lettuce, watercress, or other green salad vegetables sprinkled with parsley and finely chopped chives and thyme, and this ground, as well as the coloured ingredients, should be lightly dressed with a French dressing.