On the Cultivation of Herbs and Salads. 155 



shoots at every joint, and after a couple of seasons or so, the 

 shoots get so crowded that they become weak, the leaves 

 small and hard, the blossoms poor. In this state it is not 

 half so good for distillation. About Mitcham, however, much 

 attention is paid to its after-cultivation. They manure the 

 ground the second year, and dig out furrows half a rod 

 apart, throwing the mould over the beds. If new crops are 

 wanted from these beds, plants are selected for the purpose 

 as described above. The third year the mint is all ploughed 

 down in November ; a judicious practice, when we consider 

 the sort of plant we have to deal with. In this way the 

 destruction of all weeds and seed-weeds is effected, as well 

 as the manuring of the land if required. In spring the mint 

 comes up thick, strong and healthy, producing an enormous 

 herbage and amount of flower. It is cut down when just 

 going out of bloom, and carried to the drying houses, for 

 the more its watering juices are evaporated the finer the 

 extract is. 



It is not only extensively grown at Mitcham, but I am 

 informed that in the adjoining parishes there are, at least, 300 

 acres of peppermint cultivated every year. Spearmint is 

 not grown, as it does not yield much juice. 



Chamomile. — A good many acres of this plant are grown 

 round Mitcham for the sake of the blooms. The mode of 

 culture is as follows : — The ground is manured, and dug or 

 ploughed, and then harrowed ; old plants are lifted, divided 

 into tufts, and planted in rows two feet apart, and one foot 

 six inches distance in the row. The best time for the opera- 

 tion is November, as the plants have time to make roots 

 during the winter ; by hoeing and attending to it, the follow- 

 ing spring they soon cover the ground. The flowers are 

 gathered in July and August. Chamomile bitter is much 

 esteemed as an excellent tonic, and is also used in beer, &c. 

 One plantation should never be permitted to stand more than 

 a year. Clean land, the distance the plants are apart, and 

 never allowing them to stand more than one year, form all 

 that can be said respecting its cultivation. 



