668 



PRACTICE OF GARDENING. 



Part III. 



SuBSECT. 9. Marigold, or Pot-marigold. — Calendula officinalis, L. St/ng. Folyg. Ne- 

 cess. L. and Corymhiferce, J. Souci du Jardin, Fr. ; Ringelblume, Ger. ; and 

 Fiorrancio, Ital. 



4122. Tlie pot-marigold is an annual plant, a native of France and Spain, and known 

 in this country since 1573. It has a short divaricated stem, dividing into numerous 

 branches, from one to two feet in height, and furnished with blunt lanceolate leaves. 

 The yellow flowers proceed from the ends of the branches, and last from June till killed 

 by the frost. It is one of the oldest and best known inhabitants of our gardens. " Its 

 flowers," Gerrard observes, " having been formerly in much repute as comforters of the 

 heart." Though little faith is now placed in its virtues, it still keeps its place in most 

 cottage gardens, both in England and Scotland, though rarely applied to any culinary 

 purpose. 



4123. Use. Marshal observes, that " the flower is a valuable ingredient in broths and 

 soups, however much it may have got into disuse." The dried flowers are also used in 

 domestic medicine. 



4 1 24. The varieties are — 



The single orange-flowered ; most aromatic and proper for keeping | The childing or proliferous ; sends out small flowers from the 

 The single lemon-flowered ; rather less aromatic margins of the calyx of the large central flowers, culti- 



The double flowered of both varieties ; vated chiefly for ornament. 



4125. Culture. Sow in February, March, or April, and for a seed-bed four feet by four feet, sown in 

 drills a foot asunder, a quarter of an ounce will suffice ; " or you may deposit the seed in autumn (Sep- 

 tember), to have it come up forwarder in the spring, though the spring sowing will come up in very good 

 time. Sow on a light dry soil, either in drills a foot asunder, or broad-cast ; and rake in the seed. When 

 the plants are up two or three inches in growth, thin them to about twelve or fifteen inches asunder, or 

 they may be transplanted with that interval. They will grow freely in either method, and come ijito 

 flower the following May or June, and continue flowering in plentiful succession throughout summer and 

 autumn ; to be cut for use as wanted. A store for winter should be gathered when in full flower, spread 

 to dry out of the sun, and afterwards put up in paper bags." 



4126. To save seed. " The flowers, as far as they are left to run, will in autumn produce a competency." 

 (Aberoombie.) 



SuBSECT. 10. Borage. — JBorago officinalis, L. (Eng. Bot. 36.) Pent. Monog. L. and 

 Poraginece, B. P. Pourrache, Fr. ; Porragen, Ger. ; and Porragine, Ital. 



4127. The borage is an annual, and sometimes a biennial plant, with the lower leaves 

 oblong, alternate, and spread on the ground ; the flower-stem rises nearly two feet high ; 

 and, with the leaves, is rough with white bristly hairs. The light-blue flowers make a 

 beautiful appearance, and are produced for several months in succession, beginning witli 

 May. It is a native, or naturalised in several parts of Britain. 



4128. Use. The young leaves and tender tops are used occasionally as salads, and to 

 furnish a boiled dish in summer and autumn. ^ The plant was formerly in high estimation 

 as a cordial herb for driving away sorrow ; but " very light surely," says Sir J. E. Smith, 

 *' were those sorrows that would be so driven away." The spikes of the flowers form 

 an ingredient in negus and cool tankards, and the blossoms are occasionally employed 

 as a garnish. The juice of the plant affords nitre, and the withered stalks have been 

 observed to burn like match-paper. 



4129. Cou7-se of culture. It is raised from seed, and for a bed four feet and a half by six feet, one ounce 

 is requisite. " Sow every year in the spring, any time in February or March, till May, &c. for summer 

 supply ; and in any of the summer months, for young borage in autumn, as the plants of the spring and 

 early summer sowings soon run up to stalks in the same year ; and in July or August and September, to 

 furnish young leafy plants for winter and following spring. A small crop of each sowing will be sufficient 

 for the supply of a family. This herb loves a dry soil. Sow either broad-cast, and raked in, or in small 

 drills six to twelve inches asunder. Where the plants rise too close, thin them to that distance. Although 

 this herb will grow when transplanted, it prospers best when it remains where sown. Where the young 

 leafy tops and flower-spikes are in demand, permit the stem to run up." 



4130. To save seed. " Leave some of the plants which first run : they will produce plenty of* seed 

 in autumn : and from self-sown seeds many young plants will come up spontaneously." (Abercrombie.) 



Sect. IX. Sweet Herbs. 



4131. Of sweet herbs, one or two kinds, as the lavender, peppermint, and some other _ 

 mints, are extensively cultivated by market-gardeners for the druggists ; but a very few 

 square yards of the private kitchen-garden vvill suffice to cultivate as much of each as is 

 ever wanted by any family. The sage, thyme, mint, and tansy, appear in single plants 

 in the border of the cottager's garden. 



SuBSECT. 1. Thyme. — Thymus vulgaris, L. Didy. Gymnos. L. and Labiate, J. 

 Thym, Fr. ; Thimian, Ger. ; and Timo, Ital. 



4132. Of thyme there are two species cultivated for culinary purposes, tlie common 

 and the lemon thyme. 



4133. Common or garden thyme h the Thymus vulgaris, L. ; a low evergreen under- 

 shrub, a native of Spain and Italy, and cultivated in this country since 1548, and pro- 

 bably long before. It seldom rises above a foot high, has smaller flowers than the 

 common wild thyine, and is more delicate in its flavor. There are two* varieties, the 

 broad and the narrow leaved, besides the variegated, grown for ornament. 



