450 GARDENING FOR THE SOUTH. 



should be kept within proper limits, as it is much inclined 

 to spread. 



Use. — Fennel is a good deal used in continental Europe 

 in soups, fish-sauces, garnishes, and salads. It is also con- 

 siderably used in England, but less with us. The Italians 

 blanch and eat the stalks of one variety called Finochie, 

 like celery. A little fennel seed sometimes gives an agree- 

 able variety in flavoring apple-sauce and pies. But it is 

 most used medicinally. The seeds are carminative and 

 stimulant, and in an infusion are excellent for the flatu- 

 lent colic of infants. 



Horehouxi) (MarruUum vulgare) is a hardy, Labiate- 

 flowered, perennial plant, a native of most parts of 

 Europe, growing in waste grounds, among rubbish, in 

 warm, dry situations. It has a strong aromatic smell, 

 and a bitter, pungent taste, which is permanent in the 

 mouth; medicinally, horehound is a tonic, somewhat 

 stimulant and diuretic, and, in large doses, laxative. It 

 enters largely into the composition of cough syrups and 

 lozenges. 



Sow the seeds in the spring in any common soil. It 

 scarcely needs any attention. It may also be propagated 

 by dividing the roots. Plant eighteen inches apart. 



Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) is a Labiate-flowered, 

 hardy, evergreen undershrub, from the south of Europe, 

 of which the leaves and flower-spikes are the parts used 

 medicinally. It has an aromatic odor, and a warm, pun- 

 gent taste. It is stimulant and expectorant. 



Hyssop is propagated by slips, or dividing the roots, or 

 by sowing the seed in the spring. Transplant the young- 

 plants to where they are to remain, or you may thin them 

 to six inches apart, and leave them in the seed-bed until 

 autumn before transplanting. It likes a dry, sandy soil, 

 and about eighteen inches space should be given to each 

 plant. 



