OF THE GROWING OF HERBS 147 



Tarragon. Russian Tarragon, the other kind, lacks 

 the special flavour, and bears less smooth leaves of a 

 fresher green shade. Runners should be taken from 

 these plants in the spring. Wormwood is satisfied with 

 a shady corner and may be propagated by seeds or 

 cuttings. Southernwood is increased by division of the 

 roots in the spring. 



Horehound and Rue may be coupled together as liking 

 a shady border and a dry, calcareous soil, and I have 

 always heard that the latter thrives best when the plant 

 has been stolen ! It is a good thing to cut the bush 

 down from time to time, when it will spring again with 

 renewed vigour. Rue may be grown from seeds or 

 cuttings taken in the spring. Horehound may be grown 

 from seeds or cuttings, but is most usually increased by 

 dividing the roots. 



Hyssop, Rosemary, and Sage are natives of the south 

 of Europe, and the two first appreciate a light, sandy 

 soil, and not too much sun. Hyssop should be sowed 

 in March or April ; rooted off-sets may be taken in 

 these months or in August and September, or cuttings 

 from the stems in April or May, and these should be 

 watered two or three times a week till they have struck. 

 Both Hyssop and Sage are the better for being cut back 

 when they have finished flowering. Loudon ' says of 

 Rosemary : " The finest plants are raised from seed. 

 Slips or cuttings of the young shoots may be taken in 

 the spring and summer and set in rows, two-thirds into 

 the ground and occasionally watered till they have 

 struck. In the autumn they may be transplanted." 

 There are four kinds of Sage : red, green, small-leaved, 

 or Sage of Virtue, broad-leaved or Balsamic. Gardening 

 books speak of the red variety as being the commonest, 

 though it seems to me that the common green sage is 

 the one oftenest seen in kitchen-gardens. Red Sage 



1 " Encyclopedia of Gardening." 



