412 OLERACEOUS PLANTS. 



MARJORAM. 



Origanum. 



Commom A perennial species, with a shrubby, four- 



Marjoram. 

 ORIGANUM VUL- sided stem, a foot and a half high ; leaves 



GARE. 



oval, opposite ; at the union of the leaves with 

 the stalk, there are produced several smaller leaves, which 

 in size and form resemble those of the Common Sweet Mar- 

 joram ; the flowers are pale red, or flesh-colored, and pro- 

 duced in rounded, terminal spikes ; the plants blossom in 

 July and August, and the seeds ripen in September. 



Propagation a,nd Culture. It may be grown from seeds, 

 but is generally propagated by dividing the roots, either in 

 spring or autumn. Set them in a dry and warm situation, 

 in rows fifteen inches apart, and ten or twelve inches from 

 plant to plant in the rows. 



The seeds may be sown in a seed-bed in April or May, 

 and the seedlings transplanted to rows, as directed for setting 

 the roots ; or they may be sown in drills fifteen inches apart, 

 afterwards thinning out the young plants to ten inches apart 

 in the drills. 



There is a variety with white flowers, and another with 

 variegated foliage. 



Use. The young shoots, cut at the time of flowering and 

 dried in the shade, are used as Sweet Marjoram for season- 

 ing soups and meats. The whole plant is highly aromatic. 



Sweet Marjo- Sweet Marjoram is a native of Portugal. 



ram. 

 KNOTTED MARJO- Though a biennial, it is always treated as an 



RAM. ORIGANUM 



MAJORANA. annual, as it is not sufficiently hardy to with- 

 stand the winters of the Middle or Northern States in the 

 open ground. The plant is of low growth, with a branch- 

 ing stem, and oval or rounded leaves. The flowers, which 

 appear in July and August, are of a purplish color, and 



