CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



All the seedling plants should be pricked out into 

 intermediate beds of soft rich earth the first 

 sowings over a gentle hotbed to bring strong 

 transplants in June and July. 



Self-sown seed, which falls from a seeding plant 

 in October, if it light on rich earth, will bring 

 noble plants in the spring, fit to go at once into 

 trenches. 



Prepare the ground for celery by previously 

 manuring and trenching the whole plot to a depth 

 of from 1 8 to 24 inches ; and after the ground has 

 settled, dig a trench or two a moderate spade's 

 depth, depositing the earth on a ridge to the right 

 and left of the trench. Clear the bottom, lay on it 

 three inches of leafy manure, and re-dig the ground, 

 to incorporate it with the manure. Then select a 

 number of the best plants, trim off loose straggling 

 fibres, and all the side-suckers, but do not touch 

 a true leaf : set the plants four or five inches, 

 and the large sorts six inches, asunder, and fill 

 the holes with water ; shade during sunshine for 

 three days, and give water every evening, unless 

 there be copious showers. 



As to future attention, water the plants fre- 

 quently in the evenings till they begin to grow ; 

 and when they become three inches higher, stretch 

 a line along each edge of the trench, and cut down 

 by the spade as much soil as will suffice to earth 

 the stems to that height ; break it fine, and grasp- 

 ing each plant firmly in the left hand, insinuate 

 the soft soil around it ; then place a little finely 

 reduced manure along the channel of the trench 

 on each side, remote from the stems ; this will 

 nourish the fibres, without coming into contact 

 with the leaves ; water poured once or twice along 

 the course of this manure will promote its action. 

 Repeat the earthings as often as the plants advance 

 three inches, and manure the extreme edges where 

 the spade has made a groove, till at length the 

 trenches become level with the surface of the 

 ground. Then dig out soil, and add it, sloping 

 ridgewise till the plants are ' landed ' up fifteen, 

 eighteen, or more inches above the surface-level. 

 Celery may be preserved from frost by boards 

 placed over the leaves. Some perform the earthing 

 up by one or two operations when the plants are 

 nearly full grown, but although this is less trouble- 

 some or expensive, the crop is less crisp and 

 ^tender. 



Celeriac, or turnip-rooted celery, is raised and 

 : nursed in the same way as celery ; but in planting 

 out, the ground is dug and enriched, not trenched, 

 and the plants are set by the dibble or garden 

 trowel along the course of shallow drills drawn by 

 the hoe, six inches apart, watering them freely. 

 As the growth advances, bring earth to the plants, 

 by which the knobby roots will be blanched and 

 made delicate and tender. When these are the 

 size of small turnips, they are fit for the table. 

 Celeriac is never eaten raw as common celery, but 

 is boiled, and served up with melted butter. 



Salad Flowers. Raw salads are very much 

 improved in appearance by being dressed, or 

 mixed with edible flowers ; of these the many 

 varieties of nasturtium or Indian cress are the 

 most easily attained throughout summer and 

 autumn ; next the beautiful blue and white flowers 

 of borage ; and in early spring the pretty white 

 and pink bells of the wood-sorrel can be gathered 

 abundantly in most thickets and woodlands ; 

 the petals of the common dandelion, clipped small, 



556 



and spread over, impart a rich gold-dust-like ap- 

 pearance ; and the blue flowers of endive and 

 chicory treated in like manner are also produc- 

 tive of pleasing effect 



Sweet Herbs. 



Rosemary and Lavender are hardy under-shrubs, 

 natives of the south of Europe. They yield power- 

 ful essential oils when distilled with water, that of 

 lavender being employed, as are also the dried 

 flowers, in the preparation of lavender - water. 

 Bees are extremely partial to the flowers of 

 rosemary. Both these plants are propagated 

 with great facility by slips of the young side- 

 shoots, trimmed of their ragged bark, and merely 

 dibbled into the soil. They will grow almost 

 anywhere, and in any aspect ; but the flowers 

 possess the highest degree of fragrance when the 

 plants grow in a dry, sandy, or gravelly earth 

 with sunny exposures. Spring or September is 

 most favourable for propagation by slips. 



Common and Lemon Thyme are used in season- 

 ings ; both are raised from seeds sown early in 

 spring. Or by opening the earth around the 

 stems, spreading the reclining shoots, and strew- 

 ing some fresh sandy mould over them ; roots 

 are soon formed, and thus a supply of young 

 plants is obtained. It appears essential to renew 

 thyme, and to place it lemon-thyme particu- 

 larly in new soil, otherwise the plants dwindle 

 and perish. A dry and rather poor soil seems 

 most favourable to the growth and fragrance of 

 thyme. 



Sage, red and green, is propagated in the same 

 way as lavender. 



Of Marjoram there are three sorts $ot marjo- 

 ram, sweet or knotted marjoram, and winter mar- 

 joram which grow readily in a dry light soil, but 

 require change of situation. The first and third 

 sorts may be propagated by division, but the sweet 

 marjoram should be raised from seeds sown in 

 April every year, the plants to be thinned out to 

 the distance of six inches. 



Savory. Winter savory is propagated either by 

 slips and cuttings, by separating the lower shoots, 

 or rooted offsets, in spring ; summer savory is an 

 annual, sown in April, and becoming fit for gather- 

 ing in the summer and autumn. 



Mint. Spear or garden mint, and peppermint, 

 are not properly sweet herbs ; the latter, indeed, 

 is only used medicinally, the essential oil posses- 

 sing pungent qualities. Spear or garden mint 

 is used in the kitchen for a variety of purposes 

 familiarly known. All the species, including 

 pennyroyal, another medicinal mint, are cultivated 

 by division of the roots in spring. Mint de- 

 lights in moisture, and extends with great rapidity. 

 Care, however, is required to give it a new situ- 

 ation when the plant becomes weak, and its leaves 

 appear of a pale and yellowish hue. 



Fennel, of which there are two kinds, the green 

 and reddish leaved, is used for sauce and garnish- 

 ing for salmon. It is a hardy perennial, prefers 

 a dryish rich soil, and half-a-dozen plants are 

 sufficient for most establishments. 



Tarragon is a perennial herb, used as a condi- 

 ment in raw salads, as also for making Tarragon 

 vinegar ; it is propagated by division, and pre- 

 fers a light, rich soil with a warm exposure. 



To dry and preserve these herbs, select the 



