208 
THE AMATEUR’S KITCHEN GARDEN. 
are to remain, and it is best sown as soon as ripe, for, if left 
till spring, it may fail to germinate. When grown in quantity, 
the seed should be sown in rows, a foot apart, and as they 
advance they must be thinned with the hoe to nine inches 
apart in the rows. As the umbels are valued as much as 
the leaves, the plant must be encouraged to flower. If the 
seeds are allowed to scatter themselves, a quantity of self- 
sown plants will appear the next spring, and these are sure 
to thrive, and furnish umbels in July and August. 
Fennel, Anethum fosnicamm . — Sow in April and May ; 
better still, as soon as the seed is ripe in the autumn. The 
early spring or late autumn are the best times to plant. If a 
quantity are required, sow on a bed of light soil in autumn, 
in drills six inches apart. The next spring, as soon as they 
begin to grow, transplant them a foot apart. It may be pro- 
pagated by pieces of the root. If allowed to ripen seed, it 
does not last more than three or four years ; therefore, where 
only a few plants are grown for occasional use, it is advisable 
to cut out the flower-stalks as soon as they begin to rise in 
spring. As in some families this is much used to flavour 
sauces for fish, it is worth making a bed expressly for it. 
This should consist of two or three loads of bricklayers’ rub- 
bish, in the form of a low mound, with a thin skin of any 
kind of loam on the top. It will, however, grow in any soil 
or situation, and is especially fond of chalk. 
Horehound, Marrubium vulgare . — It is best to obtain a 
root and propagate by slips, in a shady place ; but seeds may 
be sown at any time. The best place for it is a dry sandy 
bank. It is a hardy herbaceous plant, much valued, when 
candied, for coughs and colds. 
Hyssop, Iiyssopus officinalis . — A very beautiful plant, ad- 
mirably adapted to adorn the dry, sunny, sandy bank. The 
ezob of the Hebrew writers has been the subject of almost 
endless controversy ; in some of the texts it is probable that 
marjoram is intended. In Smith’s “Dictionary of the Bible,” 
Dr. Boyle says that certainly the caper plant is sometimes 
meant. Our hyssop of the herb garden is a member of the 
Lipwort family, which is rich in aromatic plants, and is com- 
mon in the southern parts of Europe. Sow in March, April, 
and May ; or, better still, divide the plants any time in 
spring or September. They may be propagated by cuttings 
put under hand-lights all the summer. 
