448 
tain. It is cultivated for its long roots, or more 
properly underground stems, the use of which, 
scraped into shreds along with roast beef, or 
grated with soups, is well known. It is anti- 
scorbutic, and there- 
fore important for a 
maritime nation, for 
the roots may be kept 
during a long voyage 
by merely burying 
them in sand. 
It grows almost 
anywhere; but the 
best and most tender 
roots are produced 
in a deep, rich, and 
rather moist soil; a 
sandy loam _ suffi- 
ciently moist is suited 
for its growth, and it 
succeeds well in rich 
sandy alluvial soil. 
It is propagated by planting pieces of the roots, 
any portion of which will grow even if deeply 
buried in the earth. It should be planted in 
rows 2 feet apart, on well-trenched ground. 
Roots that were planted in spring may be 
taken up in the autumn and winter of the same 
=>, 
J 
Fig. 1203.—Horse-Radish. 
year. If left, however, to grow another year, the | 
roots become very much thicker, but at the same 
time they are not so tender as when taken 
younger. In taking up, dig down by the side 
of the row, and clear away the soil from the row 
to a little below the top of the set, and there 
cut the root, and remove it for use, leaving the 
portion below as a set to push again. The 
original set will thus be made a little shorter 
every season. 
Large quantities of Horse-Radish are imported 
from Holland, where the soil is favourable for 
producing it; but that grown by the market- 
gardeners near London fetches a higher price in | 
Before severe frost, a quantity 
the market. 
should be taken up, and placed in sand or earth 
in a shed or root-cellar, to ensure a supply when 
the ground is frozen hard, but it is best taken 
up immediately before use. Fresh plantations 
should be made every three or four years. 
Insects, &c.—See chapter on this subject. 
Leaf Enemies.—Garden Pebble Moth. 
Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis). An aromatic 
evergreen under-shrub, native of South Europe. 
An infusion of the tops and flower-spikes is 
sometimes employed as an expectorant. 
Three varieties are cultivated, namely, com- 
THE GARDENER’S ASSISTANT. 
mon or Blue-flowered, Red-flowered, and White- 
flowered. 
Hyssop succeeds in a light dry soil, with a 
warm aspect. It may be propagated by seeds 
sown in April; by dividing the plant in February, 
March, or in autumn; or by cuttings made in 
April or May, and planted in a shaded situation, 
and watered until they take root. The plants 
raised from seeds, and those from cuttings, may 
be planted out where they are to remain in 
June or July, at 1 foot apart each way, and 
watered till they take fresh root. Hyssop is 
sometimes planted or sown as an edging, in 
which case it must be taken up and replanted 
every two or three years, in spring or autumn, 
otherwise it will become ragged. All the care 
the plants require is an occasional trimming. 
Indian Corn, or Maize (Zea Mays) (fig. 
1204). Cultivated in all quarters of the world 
—Europe, Asia, Africa, America, and Australia, 
_but to a less extent in Europe than in any of 
the others. As a cereal its ripening cannot be 
_depended on in all seasons even in the south of 
England when sown in the open ground, and its 
| 
Fig. 1204.—Indian Corn (Zea Mays). 
culture, consequently, has never taken a hold in 
this country; but raised in heat, and afterwards 
planted out, the crop ripened well for several 
years in succession at Chiswick. Attention has 
