ANISE. 393 



bunch or knob. Nearly nine thousand are contained in an 

 ounce, and they retain their vitality three years. 



Culture. Anise is raised from seeds sown annually, and 

 thrives best in light, rich, comparatively dry soil, and in a 

 warm, sunny situation. As early in spring as the appearance 

 of settled warm weather, lay out a bed four feet and a half 

 Avide, and as long as may be desired ; spread on a thin 

 dressing of well-digested compost, and spade it thoroughly 

 in with the soil ; then rake the surface fine and even, and 

 sow the seed thinly in drills twelve inches apart and an inch 

 deep, allowing an ounce of seed for a hundred and fifty linear 

 feet. When the plants are an inch high, thin them to five 

 or six inches apart, and as they increase in size keep the 

 ground between the rows loose, and the spaces between the 

 plants free from weeds. Towards the close of the season, 

 the seed will be ripened sufficiently for harvesting, when 

 the plants should be pulled up, and spread in a sunny place 

 until dry. The seed should then be threshed from the 

 heads, riddled and winnowed, and again exposed to the 

 sun. or spread in a dry, airy room, to evaporate any re- 

 maining moisture, when they will be ready for use or the 

 market. 



In field culture, the grower should follow substantially the 

 same method, with the exception of laying out the ground, 

 omitting, in this particular, its division into beds. After the 

 land has been well prepared, the seed can be sown with great 

 facility by a common sowing-machine, adjusted as when em- 

 ployed for sowing carrots. At the time of harvesting, the 

 plants may be cut near the surface of the ground, or even 

 mowed, thereby avoiding much of the inconvenience arising 

 from the soil that adheres to the roots when the plants are 

 pulled up. 



There are no varieties. 



Use. The seeds and leaves are used both in medicine 



