154 THE BOOK OF HERBS 



plants thinned out to five or six inches distance from 

 each other. When they are well grown they should be 

 earthed up several inches on each side to blanch them. 



Annuals. — Anise and Coriander like a warm, dry, 

 light soil. If this is not procurable, anise should be 

 "sown in pots in heat, and removed to a warm site in 

 May."i Coriander may be sown in February, if it be 

 mild and dry, and the seeds must be buried half an inch. 

 Cumin is rarely seen ; but it is advised that it should be 

 sown in a warm, sunny border in March or April. 



Siveet Marjoram and Summer Savory must both be 

 sowed in light earth, either in drills nine inches apart, 

 or broadcast, when they must be thinned out later on. 

 The plants thinned out may be planted in another bed 

 at six inches distance from each other, and must be 

 watered. Siveet Basil and Bush Basil are both raised from 

 seed sown in a hot-bed in the end of March, and the 

 young plants should be set a foot apart in a warm 

 border in May. They may be sown in an open border, 

 but there is a risk of their coming up at all, and a cer- 

 tainty, that if they do, the plants will be late and small. 

 Sweet Basil (Ocymum Basilicum) is much the largest 

 plant. Bush Basil (O. Mininum) being scarcely half the 

 size ; both like a rich soil. 



Borage is raised from seed, and, if let alone, will seed 

 itself and come up, year after year, in the same place. 

 It likes a dry soil. Gardening books recommend that 

 it should be planted in drills and thinned, but for the 

 sake of the picturesque, it should be dotted about among 

 low-growing herbs in single plants or little clumps. 

 Marigolds should be planted in light, dry soil ; they 

 may be "^sowed in the spring, summer, or autumn, to 

 remain or be transplanted a foot asunder." ^ The outer 

 edge (near the palings) of Regent's Park, close to Han- 

 over Gate, testifies to their power of seeding themselves. 



' Loudon. 2 Abercrombie. 



