462 PLANTS CULTIVATED FOR THEIR USES 



when it is ready to gather early in the following autumn. 

 Twenty pounds of seed are sufficient for an acre. When the 

 plants come up thin them, so that they will stand five or six 

 inches distance from each other in the drills, and the drills 

 should be a foot apart. Stir the soil with a pronged hoe. The 

 plants may be cut by women or children, as it is very light 

 work. Each operator should be provided with a bag into 

 which the plant is to be put as soon as cut, to prevent waste of 

 seed, and thus carried to a convenient place of deposite. 



CARAWAY. 



The Caraway, Carum carui, is of the same class of plants 

 as the coriander, with respect to its uses; but it is a biennial 

 plant, and is frequently, in those countries where it is ex- 

 tensively cultivated, sown with grain; the grain being reaped 

 the first year, and the caraway the second. It has a taper 

 root like a parsnep, but much smaller, and running deep into 

 the ground. The stems rise from eighteen inches to two feet, 

 with spreading branches and finely cut deep green leaves. The 

 seeds of the caraway are imported in large quantities from Hol- 

 land and other foreign parts; for this there is no necessity 

 whatever, as it is adapted to our climate and admits of easy 

 culture. The yield of seed on an acre of very rich old ley 

 frequently exceeds a ton. 



THE SMOOTH LIQUORICE. 



The Liquorice, Glycyrrhiza glabra, is a leguminous plant, 

 the roots of which yield a sweet and mucilaginous substance, 

 which is employed for medicine and various other purposes. 

 For centuries past it has been cultivated in Spain, and success- 

 fully in some parts of England, since the reign of ELIZABETH. 

 As liquorice is in great demand, its culture might be profitably 

 introduced among us. It requires a light soil, deeply dug, and 

 well prepared. LOUDON says, "the soil should be a deep 

 sandy loam, trenched by the spade or plough, or by the aid of 

 both, to two feet and a half or three in depth, and manured 

 if necessary." The plants are cultivated from sets, in rows, 

 three feet distant. They are tilled by the cultivator and hand- 

 hoe, and after three summers' growth the roots are taken up 

 for use. The extract from the root (sold in the shops) is 

 usually imported from Spain in rolls or cakes. 



LAVENDER. 



Lavender, Lavctndula spica, is a dwarf odoriferous shrub, 



