Book I. HYSSOP, CHAMOMILE, ELECAMPANE. 677 



4227. Culture. It is raised from seed, of which a quarter of an ounce is sufficient for a seed-bed four 

 feet by five. Sow annually, in autumn, soon after the seed is ripe : the seedlings will rise quickly, and 

 should be thinned to a foot's distance each way. In default of sowing in autumn, sow in March or April, 

 either in drills or broad-cast ; but the plants so raised, will not in general flower till the following year. 

 When the seed is ripe, the plant is generally pulled up in gathering, especially in field-culture 



Subsect. 7. Rue. — Ruta graveolens, L. {Lam. III. 345. t. 1.) Decan. Monog. L. 

 and Rutaceee, J. Rue, Fr. ; Raute, Ger. ; and Ruta, Ital. 



4228. The rue is a perennial evergreen under-shrub, a native of the south of Europe, 

 but cultivated in this country since 1562, and probably long before. It is well known 

 by its fetid smell. 



4229. Use. The leaves are sometimes gathered as a medicinal simple, and are also 



given to poultry having the croup. In former days, it was called the herb of grace, from 



the circumstance of small bunches of it having been used by the priests for the sprinkling 



of holy water among the people. 



4230. Culture. It is easily propagated by seeds, cuttings, or slips of the young shoots in March, April, 

 or May, planted in a shady border. The plant delights in a poor, dry, calcareous soil ; in which it will con- 

 tinue for many years, and if cut down occasionally, always in full leaf and well furnished with young 

 shoots. Letting it run to seed, weakens the plant and shortens its longevity. 



Subsect. 8. Hyssop. — Hyssopus officinalis, L. (Jac. Aug. 3. t. 254.) Didynam. Gym- 

 nos. L. ; and Labiates, J. Hysope, Fr. ; Jsop, Ger. ; and Jsopo, Ital. 



4231. The hyssop is a hardy evergreen under-shrub, a native of the south of Europe, 

 and introduced in 1548. The stems rise a foot and a half high ; the leaves are lanceolate, 

 short, and somewhat obtuse ; it produces blue flowers from June to September. The 

 whole plant has a strong aromatic odor. 



4232. Use. The leaves and young shoots are occasionally used as a pot-herb, and the 

 leafy tops and flower-spikes are cut, dried, and preserved for medicinal purposes. 



4233. The varieties are — 



The white, blue, and red flowered ; but the blue is the original color, and most commonly cultivated. 

 4234. Propagation and culture. " It is raised by seed, by slips, and cuttings of the branches, and by 

 slips of the root and top together. It likes a dry or sandy soil. When it is propagated by seed, sow in 

 March or April a small portion, either broad-cast and raked in, or in small drills, six inches apart. The 

 plants may mostly be transplanted into final beds in June or July, nine inches apart, or some may be 

 planted as an edging ; or you may also sow some seed for an edging to remain where sown. Give the 

 edgings occasionally trimming, in their established growth ; cutting away also any decayed flower-spikes 

 in autumn. You may take rooted offsets from established plants in March, April, August, or September; 

 cuttings from the stalks in April and May ; also rootless slips of the young shoots in June or July. After 

 May, shade for a time, or plant in a shady border. If for culinary purposes, the distance from plant to 

 plant may be nine inches ; in the physic-garden, eighteen inches or two feet. Water at planting, and twice 

 or thrice a-week in dry weather till rooted." (Abercro?nbie.) 



Subsect. 9. Chamomile. — Anthemis nobilis, L. (Eng. Rot. 980.) Syng. Polyg. Super. 

 L. and Corymbiferce, J. Camomille, Fr. ; Kamille, Ger. ; and Camomilla, Ital. 



4235. The chamomile is a hardy perennial, which grows wild in various parts of Eng- 

 land in gravelly pastures, and by road-sides. The leaves are cut into threads, and the 

 stem prostrate. The flowers are white in the rays and yellow in the disk, and appear in 

 August and September. The whole plant is bitter and highly aromatic. 



4236. Use. It is cultivated on account of the flower, which is a safe bitter and 

 stomachic, and much used under the name of chamomile-tea. The double-flowering 

 variety, though more beautiful than the single-flowered, is less useful ; the aromatic 

 principle not residing in the floscules of the ray, the multiplication of which constitutes 

 the double flower. The double sort, however, is most cultivated by growers for the 

 market, on account of its greater bulk and weight. 



4237. Varieties. These are the common single, and the double flowered. 



4238. Soil and culture. This herb delights in a poor sandy soil. " Both kinds are propagated by part- 

 ing the roots, or by slips of the rooted offsets, or of the runners. Detach them with roots, in little tufty 

 sets, in March, April, or May ; and plant them from eight to twelve inches asunder, giving water ; repeat 

 waterings occasionally till they root ; they will soon overspread the bed, and produce plenty of flowers the 

 same year in July and August, and continue several years productive. 



4239. Taking the crop. " The flowers should be gathered in their prime, in June or July, just when 

 full-blown. Let them be spread to dry in a shady place ; then put them in paper bags, and house them for 

 use." (Abercrombie.) 



Subsect. 10. Elecampane. — Inula Helenium, L. (Eng. Rot. t. 1546.) Syng. Polyg. 

 Super. L. and Corymbiferce, J. Inule, Fr. and Ger. ; and Inulo, Ital. 



4240. The elecampane is a perennial plant, found in moist pastures in the south of 

 England, and one of the largest herbaceous plants we have, rising from three to five feet 

 high ; the lower leaves embrace the stem, are ovate and wrinkled, a foot long and four or 

 five inches broad in the middle. It produces large heads of yellow flowers in July and 

 August. The root is thick, fusiform, and aromatic. It was formerly in great repute, 

 and the plant was cultivated in village gardens throughout Europe. In private gardens 

 it still keeps its place in the physic-herb corner. 



4241. Use. In France and Germany, the root is candied, and used as a stomachic, for 



Xx 3 



