MEDICINAL HERBS. 



327 



native of Southern Europe, cultivated for its seeds, which 

 have an aromatic odor, and a warm, pungent, and some- 

 what bitter taste. Medicinally, they are good for flatu- 

 lence and colic in infants. The leaves are sometimes used 

 for culinary purposes, and the seeds are occasionally added 

 to picided cucumbers to heighten the flavor. 



Sow the seeds either early in the spring, or soon after 

 they are ripe, in a light soil. Thin, if crowded, and keep 

 clean. The plants should be 8 inches apart. 



Elecampane? (Inula Selenium^) is a native of England 

 and Japan. It is a Composite-flowered, perennial plant, 

 cultivated for its thick, fleshy, carrot-like root, which is 

 useful as an aromatic tonic and expectorant. Cut up fine 

 and fed with their corn, the root is a great relief to the 

 distemper in horses. 



It is propagated by ofFsets, or by parting the roots in 

 autumn or spring, but may also be grown from seeds 

 sown in the fall. It likes a moist soil, and the plants 

 should be fifteen inches apart. 



Fennel, (Foeniculum vulgar e,) is a hardy, aromatic, 

 perennial, Umbelliferous plant from the south of Europe, 

 growing wild on the banks of rivers, and perhaps quite as 

 properly belongs to the culinary as to the medicinal depart- 

 ment of the garden. It has a finely divided leaf, and tall, 

 umbel-bearing stems, crowned with small yellow flowers. 



Culture. — Fennel will grow in almost any soil. It is 

 propagated by offsets, parting the roots, or by seed ; all 

 which modes maybe successfully practised at any time in 

 autumn or spring. 



The best season, however, for sowing the seed is when 

 it ripens in the fall, in drills twelve inches asunder. The 

 seed may be sown moderately thick, about half an inch 

 deep, and the earth pressed upon them. When the young 

 plants are four or five inches high, thin them out to twelve 

 inches. Those taken up may be planted out to enlarge the 



