218 OLERACEOUS PLANTS. 



Sweet Marjo- Sweet Marjoram is a native of Portugal. 

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



BAM. ORIGANUM . . 



MAJOBANA. 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 branching stem, and oval or rounded leaves. r Jhe 

 flowers, which appear in July and August, are of a purplish 

 color, and produced in compact clusters, or heads, resem- 

 bling knots ; whence the term " Knotted Marjoram " of 

 many localities. The seeds are brown, exceedingly small, 

 and retain their germinative properties three years. 



Sowing and Cultivation. Sweet Marjoram is raised from 

 seeds sown annually in April, May, or June. Its propaga- 

 tion, however, is generally attended with more or less diffi- 

 culty, arising from the exceeding minuteness of the seeds, 

 and the liability of the young seedlings to be destroyed by 

 the sun before they become established. The seeds are sown 

 in drills ten or twelve inches apart, and very thinly covered 

 with finely pulverized loam. Coarse, light matting is often 

 placed o*ver the bed immediately after sowing, to facilitate 

 vegetation, and, if allowed to remain until the plants are* 

 well up, will often preserve a crop which wovld otherwise 

 be destroyed. 



The seeds are sometimes sown in a hot-bed, and the plants 

 set out in May or June, in rows twelve inches apart, and six 

 inches apart in the rows. 



Gathering. The plants, when in flower or fully de- 

 veloped, are cut to the ground, and for winter use are 

 dried and preserved as other pot-herbs. 



Use. Sweet Marjoram is highly aromatic, and is much 

 used, both in the green state and when dried, for flavoring 

 broths, soups, and stuffings. 



Pot Marjoram. A perennial species, from Sicily ; stem a 



OBIGANUM ONITES. r , . - , . . , 



foot or more in height, branching ; leaves 



