404 OLERACEOUS PLANTS. 



covered half an inch deep. The young plants should be 

 thinned to six inches apart in the rows, and the leaves may 

 be gathered for use from July till winter, and in the follow- 

 ing spring till the plants have run to flower. 



Use. The whole plant is strongly aromatic. Its leaves 

 are used to give flavor to pickles, particularly cucumbers, 

 and occasionally are added to soups and sauces ; the seeds 

 are also employed for flavoring pickles. All parts of the 

 plant are used in medical preparations. 



FENNEL. 



Foeniculum. 



Three species of Fennel are cultivated, differing not only 

 in habit, but, to some extent, in their properties. The stems 

 vary in height from two to four feet, and are smooth and 

 branching ; the flowers are yellow, in terminal umbels ; the 

 seeds are oval, ribbed, or furrowed, generally of a light 

 yellowish-brown color, and retain their vitality from three to 

 five years. 



Soil, Sowing, and Culture. A light, dry soil is best 

 adapted to the growth of Fennel ; though it will thrive well 

 in any good garden loam. It is generally raised from seeds, 

 which may be sown in August, just after they ripen, or in 

 April and May. They are generally sown in drills fifteen or 

 eighteen inches apart, and about three fourths of an inch 

 deep, the young plants being afterwards thinned to twelve 

 or fifteen inches apart in the drills ; or a few seeds may be 

 scattered broadcast on a small seed-bed, raked in, and the 

 seedlings, when two or three inches high, transplanted to 

 rows, as before directed. 



Fennel is sometimes propagated by a division of the roots 

 and by offsets. This may be performed either in spring, 



