Marcit,] the kitchen GARDEN. 205 
a few seeds in each spot, and as they advance thin them, leaving 
only the best plant in each of those squares. 
Alexanders , or Alesanders. 
The Smyrnium olusatrwrn, or common Alexanders are used for 
culinary purposes as the cardoons, and blanched in like manner. 
The whole plant is of a strong, v/arm, and aromatic nature, and the 
leaves and seed are sometimes used for medicine. 
The seed of this plant should be sov/n in autumn soon after it is 
ripe, for if kept out of the ground till spring, few of them will come 
up till that time twelve months; however, when you sow the seed 
in spring, let it be done as early as possible, and sown pretty thick 
in drills eighteen inches asunder, covering the seeds near an inch 
deepj when the plants are up thin them to six or eight inches dis- 
tant in the rows, and as they advance in growth draw the earth 
up to their stems as you do to celery, in order to blanch and whiten 
them, that they should be crisp and tender for autumn and winter 
use; in the spring following, such as remain will shoot out again 
vigorously, let the earth then be hoed up close to each plant, and in 
three or four weeks they will be blanched and in a fine condition 
for use. 
When these plants are desired I would recommend them to be 
sown where they are to remain, in any of the autumn months; in 
that case they will rise freely in spring, and become fine vigorous 
plants. 
Propagating various Pot and Medicinal Herbs. 
The latter end of this month will be a good time to plant cuttings 
or slips of hyssop, thyme, winter savory, rue, rosemary, lavender, 
wormwood, southern-wood, sage, and any other under-shrubby 
kinds; in taking off" the slips of any of these sorts give a preference 
to the suckers if any, that is, such as have a few fibres attached to 
them; from such as are 4iot furnished with these, take off slips or 
cuttings of the young healthy outward shoots produced last year, 
from about six to ten inches long, according as they occur, observ- 
ing to slip or cut them clean off close to the parts from whence they 
proceed. Let these be planted in a bed or border six inches apart, 
and inserted two-thirds of their lengths into the ground; they will 
take root freely by observing to water them in dry weather, and in 
September will be well rooted, and may either then, or in October, 
be transplanted wherever destined to remain; or the slips may, in 
the first instance, be planted in such places. 
Propagate tarragon, tansey, chamomile, common fennel, marsh- 
mallows, pot-marjoram, baum, burnet, horehound, spear-mint, pep- 
per-mint, feverfew, officinal scurvy -grass, cat-mint, celandine, pen- 
ny-royal, or mentha pulegium, angelica, lovage, gromwell,andany 
other perennial herbaceous plants, and also thyme, hyssop, and 
winter-savory, by parting their roots or by slips therefrom; the best 
time for separating the roots of each and every of the above kinds, 
