March. j THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 205 



a few seeds in each spot, and as they advance thin them, leaving 

 only the best plant in each of those squares. 



Alexanders, or Alesanders. 



The Smyrnium olusatrum, or common Alexanders are used for 

 culinary purposes as the cardoons, and blanched in like manner. 

 The whole plant is of a strong, warm, and aromatic nature, and the 

 leaves and seed are sometimes used for medicine. 



The seed of this plant should be sown in autumn soon after it is 

 ripe, for if kept out of the ground till spring, few of them will come 

 up till that time twelve months; however, when you sow the seed 

 in spring, let it be done as early as possible, and sown pretty thick 

 in drills eighteen inches asunder, covering the seeds near an inch 

 deep; when the plants are up thin them to six or eight inches dis- 

 tant in the rows, and as they advance in growth draw the earth 

 up to their steins as you do to celery, in order to blanch and whiten 

 them, that they should be crisp and tender for autumn and winter 

 use; in the spring following, such as remain will shoot out again 

 vigorously, let the earth then be hoed up close to each plant, and in 

 three or four weeks they will be blanched and in a fine condition 

 for use. 



When these plants are desired I would recommend them to be 

 sown where they are to remain, in any of the autumn months; in 

 that case they will rise freely in spring, and become fine vigorous 

 plants. 



Propagating various Pot and Medicinal Herbs. 



The latter end of this month will be a good time to plant cuttings 

 or slips of hyssop, thyme, winter savory, rue, rosemary, lavender, 

 wormwood, southern-wood, sage, and any other under-shrubby 

 kinds; in taking off the slips of any of these sorts give a preference 

 to the suckers if any, that is, such as have a few fibres attached to 

 them; from such as are not furnished with these, take off slips or 

 cuttings of the young healthy outward shoots produced last year, 

 from about six to ten inches long, according as they occur, observ- 

 ing to slip or cut them clean off close to the parts from whence they 

 proceed. Let these be planted in a bed or border six inches apart, 

 and inserted two-thirds of their lengths into the ground; they will 

 take root freely by observing to water them in dry weather, and in 

 September will be well rooted, and may either then, or in October, 

 be transplanted wherever destined to remain; or the slips may, in 

 the first instance, be planted in such places. 



l'ropagate tarragon, tansey, chamomile, common fennel, marsh- 

 mallows, pot-marjoram, baum, burnet, horehound, spear-mint, pep- 

 per-mint, feverfew, officinal scurvy -grass, cat-mint, celandine, pen- 

 ny-royal, or mentha pidcgium, angelica, lovage, gromwell, and any 

 other perennial herbaceous plants, and also thyme, hyssop, and 

 winter-savory, by parting their roots or by slips therefrom; the best 

 time for separating the roots of each and every of the above kinds, 



