330 



GARDENING FOR THE SOUTH. 



should have at least two eyes ; make the rows three feet 

 apart, and the plant twelve to fifteen inches in the rows, 

 and cover the roots well with mould. Onions, lettuce, or 

 radishes, may be grown between the rows the first year ; 

 afterwards keep the soil free from weeds, dress the surface 

 with manure every autumn, and at the end of the third 

 year take up the crop as soon as the leaves, are fully 

 decayed, and dry the roots thoroughly. In shallow or 

 poor ground, it will not succeed. 



Mint j (Mentha.) — Three species of this genus of Labiate 

 plants are cultivated, all hardy perennials, natives of 

 Britain. 



Spearmint, (Mentha viridis,) belongs rather to the 

 culinary than the medicinal department of the garden. 

 It is employed in sauces and salads, as well as dried for 

 soups in winter. A few sprigs of mint, boiled a little 

 time with them, and then withdrawn, are thought by 

 some to improve the flavor of green peas. It is also used 

 in preparing mint-julep. Its medicinal properties are aro- 

 matic, stimulant, and stomachic. The leaves, boiled in 

 milk, are useful in diarrhoea. Its infusion is good to pre- 

 vent nausea. There are two varieties, the broad and nar- 

 row leaved, equally good. 



Peppermint j (M. piperita,) has a strong, agreeable odor, 

 a pungent, aromatic taste, giving a sensation of coldness 

 in the mouth. Its medical properties are aromatic, stimu- 

 lant, and stomachic. . The essential oil and essence are the 

 forms in which it is employed in medicine, and they are 

 also largely used in confectionery and cordials. 



Pennyroyal, (M. Fulegium,) is more acrid than the 

 other mints, and its taste and smell are less agreeable. It 

 possesses their warm, pungent flavor, and other general 

 properties, but is not so good a stomachic. The American 

 pennyroyal belongs to a different genus, Hedeoma. 



