THE AMATEUR’S KITCHEN GARDEN. 
209 
Lavender, Lavendula spica . — This well-known garden fa- 
vourite thrives best in a sunny, open spot, on a sandy soil, 
but will live almost anywhere, even in a sooty garden in the 
midst of houses. Cuttings of ripe wood planted firm in 
October will grow freely the next spring. Cuttings of young 
shoots soon form roots under hand-lights in spring and 
summer. When grown in quantity, the best way to pro- 
pagate lavender is to cut a lot of ripe shoots their full 
length late in autumn, and leave them laying in heaps on the 
ground, exposed to all weathers till February, and then to ' 
insert them three or four inches deep in sandy loam, in rows 
a foot apart, and four inches asunder in the rows. At the 
end of the season, transplant them all, or thin them, leaving 
part to remain. Gather lavender when the flowers are be- 
ginning to expand; it is then most rich in its aromatic 
fragrance. 
Marjoram. — The summer marjoram, Origanum major ana, 
is an annual ; the winter majoram, 0. heracleoticum, and 
the common, or pot marjoram, 0. onites, are perennials. 
All the sorts may be grown from seeds sown from February 
to June; the winter and common marjorams maybe raised 
from slips or divisions of the roots in spring and au- 
tumn. The soil should be light and dry, but good, such 
as would grow a cabbage or a lettuce. When grown in 
quantity, the seeds should be sown in drills six inches apart, 
and the plants be thinned to six inches apart, when large 
enough for the hoe. The perennial sorts should be planted 
out in autumn, a foot apart every way. A plantation lasts 
several years, if every autumn the dead shoots are cut away, 
the soil between them carefully pricked over with a small 
■fork, and a little fine earth is scattered amongst them. 
Gather, for drying, when the flowers are just beginning to 
open. 
Spear Mint, Mentha viridis . — This invaluable herb loves 
a. damp, rich soil, and should always be propagated by di- 
viding the old plants, or by pieces of the roots. In every 
garden a plantation, however small, should be made every 
year, either in spring or autumn, and should be allowed to 
become strong before being gathered from. It is a good rule 
to grow a row on the same ground with the peas, to be handy 
to put into the basket with them ; and to secure early sup- 
plies in spring, have a few roots on a warm sloping border, 
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