326 SALAD PLANTS. 



consequently less productive, are seldom cultivated for the 

 purpose. 



It is an article of considerable commercial importance, 

 and large quantities are annually imported from the south 

 of Europe to different seaports of the United States. As the 

 plant is perfectly hardy, of easy culture, and quite produc- 

 tive, there appears to be no reason why the home demand for 

 the article may not be supplied by home production. Of its 

 perfect adaptedness to the soil and climate of almost any sec- 

 tion of this country, there can scarcely be a doubt. 



CORCHORUS. 



Corchorus olitorius. 



An annual plant from Africa ; also indigenous to the West 

 Indies. Stem about two feet high, much branched ; the 

 leaves are deep green, slightly toothed, and vary in a re- 

 markable degree in their size and form ; some are spear- 

 shaped, others oval, and some are nearly heart-shaped ; the 

 leaf-stems are long and slender ; flowers nearly sessile, small, 

 yellow, five-petaled ; seeds angular, pointed, and of a green- 

 ish color. Fourteen thousand are contained in an ounce, 

 and they retain their vitality four years. 



Soil, Propagation, and Culture. The plant requires a 

 light, warm soil, and should have a sheltered, sunny place in 

 the garden. It is grown from seed sown annually. The 

 sowing may be made in March in a hot-bed, and the plants 

 set in the open ground in May ; or the seed may be sown the 

 last of April, or first of May, in the place where the plants 

 are to remain. The drills, or rows, should be fifteen inches 

 apart, and the plants five or six inches apart in the rows. 

 No further attention will be required, except the ordinary la- 

 bor of keeping the soil loose and the plants clear from weeds. 



