MARJORAM MARYGOLD. 216 



numerous. S. officinalis ; leaves lance-shaped, crenate, dull green or 

 purplish; corolla blue. 



MARJORAM, Origanum. C. 14. 0. 1. Labiateae, sp. 14-24. Es. 



1 ft from joy, &c. Two varieties only are used for culinary pur- 

 poses. The pot marjoram, a hardy plant, is used as a seasoning for 

 soups. The sweet knotted is a native of Cyprus and the S. of Europe. 

 The sweet has a pleasant smell and warm aromatic taste, and is used 

 also for soups. It corrects flatulency, and is serviceable for nervous 

 complaints. Both are dried and put up in papers. The O. vulgaris 

 is ornamental and aromatic, and is very grateful in tea and for fomen- 

 tations. It grows wild in thickets and hedges. The essential oil is 

 so acrid as to be used as a caustic by farriers. A little cotton moist- 

 ened with it and put into a decayed tooth often relieves the pain. The 

 tops are used in the country to dye cloth purple. The cloth is macer- 

 ated in alum-water and dried, then soaked 2 days in a decoction of the 

 bark of the crab tree, then wrung out, boiled in a lye of ashes, and then 

 boiled in a decoction of the marjoram. Sheep eat it, but horses and kine 

 do not. It is retained in the Materia Medica as a tonic and stomachic. 

 Some use it powdered in cephalic snuffs. The seed is mostly from Italy, 

 as it ripens seldom in northern climates. The winter marjoram, being 

 most aromatic, is preferred. A sheltered situation is most favorable 

 for its growth ; the other is a biennial, and is renewed annually by 

 seed; while the pot-marjoram is perennial, propagated by cuttings or 

 parting the roots into small tufts and planting in the spring in small 

 beds or borders, in rows. It is cut when in flower, for dying. 



MARYGOLD, Calendula, C. 19. O. 4. Composites, sp. 10-24. A. 



2 ft. A native of the S. of Europe. Many medical virtues have been 

 attributed to this plant. It is used in the form of tea, and is given in 

 agues. The plants are boiled in broths and soups. In Holland they 

 are extensively sold for these purposes. The leaves are gathered 

 when dry, and put up in papers for use. The flowers are open from 

 9, A. M. till 3, P. M. The flowers of C. officinalis afford a distilled 

 water, a kind of vinegar and conserve. The species are common in 

 this country. 



The soil should be light and sandy. The marygold requires little 

 culture, as it propagates itself for years, but the flowers are not so 

 large as by annual sowings. Sow the seed in April in a bed, and thin 

 to 6 or 8 inches. Keep out weeds, and transplant, if desired, when 

 in flower ; gather in a dry day, take off the outer leaves, spread on a 

 cloth in a dry room, turn, and then put them up for use. There are 7 



species well known C. officinalis; seeds boat-form; leaves sessile, 



lower spoon-shaped, upper lanceolate ; flowers deep yellow. 



CHERVIL, scandix cerefolium, C. 5, O. 2, sp. 11, A. 1} ft. A 

 plant of warm aromatic qualities from the S. of Europe. When young 

 it resembles parsley, but afterwards, hemlock. The tender leaves are 



