Part 7 (1/2)
_Cultivation._--Hyssop succeeds best in rather warm, limy soil. It may be readily propagated by division, cuttings, and seed. In cold climates the last way is the most common. Seed is sown in early spring, either in a cold frame or in the open ground, and the seedlings transplanted in early summer. Even where the plants survive the winters, it is advisable to renew them every three or four years. When grown in too rich soil, the growth will be very lush and will lack aroma. Plants should stand not closer than 6 inches in the rows, which should be at least 18 inches apart. They do best in partial shade.
_Uses._--Hyssop has almost entirely disappeared from culinary practice because it is too strong-flavored. Its tender leaves and shoots are, however, occasionally added to salads, to supply a bitter taste. The colorless oil distilled from the leaves has a peculiar odor and an acrid, camph.o.r.escent taste. Upon contact with the air it turns yellow and changes to a resin. From 400 to 500 pounds of the fresh plant yield a pound of oil. The oil is used to some extent in the preparation of toilet articles.
=Lavender=, (_Lavendula vera_, D. C.; _L. Angustifolia_, Moench.; _L.
spica_, Linn.), a half-hardy perennial undershrub, native of dry, calcareous uplands in southern Europe. Its name is derived from the Latin word _Lavo_, to wash, a distillation of the flowers being anciently used in perfuming water for was.h.i.+ng the body. The plant forms a compact clump 2 to 2-1/2 feet tall, has numerous erect stems, bearing small, linear gray leaves, above which the slender, square, flower stems arise. The small violet-blue flowers are arranged in a short, terminal spike, and are followed by little brown, oblong, s.h.i.+ny seeds, with white dots at the ends, attached to the plant. The seeds remain viable for about five years.
_Cultivation._--Lavender succeeds best on light, limy or chalky soil, but will do well in any good loam. In gardens it is usually employed as an edging for flower beds, and is most frequently propagated by division or cuttings, seed being used only to get a start where plants cannot be secured in the other ways mentioned. In cold climates the plants must either be protected or removed to a greenhouse, or at least a cold frame, which can be covered in severe weather. The seed is sown indoors during March, and if crowding, p.r.i.c.ked out 2 inches asunder. When the ground has become warm, the plants are set in the open 15 to 20 inches asunder. It delights in a sunny situation, and is most fragrant on poor soil. Rich soil makes the plant larger but the flowers poorer in perfume.
_Uses._--The plant is sometimes grown for a condiment and an addition to salads, dressings, etc., but its chief use is in perfumery, the flowers being gathered and either dried for use in sachet bags or distilled for their content of oil. In former years no girl was supposed to be ready for marriage until, with her own hands, she had made her own linen and stored it with lavender. And in some sections the lavender is still used, though the linen is nowadays purchased.
In southern France and in England considerable areas are devoted to lavender for the perfumery business. The flower stems are cut in August, covered at once with bast matting to protect them from the sun and taken to the stills to obtain the thin, pale yellow, fragrant oil.
Four-year-old plants yield the greatest amount of oil, but the product is greater from a two-year plantation than from an older one, the plants then being most vigorous. Two grades of oil are made, the best being used for lavender water, the poorer for soap making. In a good season about one pound of oil is obtained from 150 to 200 pounds of the cut plants.
=Lovage= (_Levistic.u.m officinale_, Koch.), a perennial, native of the Mediterranean region. The large, dark-green, s.h.i.+ning radical leaves are usually divided into two or three segments. Toward the top the thick, hollow, erect stems divide to form opposite, whorled branches which bear umbels of yellow flowers, followed by highly aromatic, hollowed fruits (”seeds”) with three prominent ribs. Propagation is by division or by seeds not over three years old. In late summer when the seed ripens, it is sown and the seedlings transplanted either in the fall or as early in spring as possible to their permanent places. Rich, moist soil is needed. Root division is performed in early spring. With cultivation and alternation like that given to Angelica, the plants should last for several years.
Formerly lovage was used for a great variety of purposes, but nowadays it is restricted almost wholly to confectionery, the young stems being handled like those of Angelica. So far as I have been able to learn, the leaf stalks and stem bases, which were formerly blanched like celery, are no longer used in this way.
=Marigold= (_Calendula officinalis_, Linn.), an annual herb of the natural order Compositae, native of southern Europe. Its Latin name, suggestive of its flowering habit, signifies blooming through the months. Our word calendar is of the same derivation. Its short stems, about 12 inches tall, branch near their bases, bear lanceolate, oblong, unpleasantly scented leaves, and showy yellow or orange flowers in heads. The curved, gray seeds, which are rough, wrinkled and somewhat spiny, retain their germinating power for about three years.
_Cultivation._--For the garden the seed is usually started in a hotbed during March or April and the plants p.r.i.c.ked out in flats 2 inches apart and hardened off in the usual way. When the weather becomes settled they are set a foot or 15 inches apart in rather poor soil, preferably light and sandy, with sunny exposure. Often the seed is sown in the open and the seedlings thinned and transplanted when about 2 inches tall.
_Uses._--The flower heads are sometimes dried and used in broths, soups, stews, etc., but the flavor is too p.r.o.nounced for American palates. One gardener remarked that ”only a few plants are needed by a family.” I think that two would produce about twice as much as I would care to use in a century. For culinary use the flowers are gathered when in full bloom, dried in the shade and stored in gla.s.s jars. The fresh flowers have often been used to color b.u.t.ter.
The marigold, ”homely forgotten flower, under the rose's bower, plain as a weed,” to quote Bayard Taylor, is a general favorite flowering plant, especially in country gardens. It is so easily grown, is so free a bloomer, and under ordinary management continues from early summer until even hard frosts arrive, that busy farmers wives and daughters love it.
Then, too, it is one of the old-fas.h.i.+oned flowers, about which so many happy thoughts cling. What more beautiful and suggestive lines could one wish than these:
”The marigold, whose courtier's face Echoes the sun, and doth unlace Her at his rise, at his full stop Packs up and shuts her gaudy shop.”
--_John Cleveland_ ”_On Phillis Walking before Sunrise_”
”Youth! Youth! how buoyant are thy hopes! They turn Like marigolds toward the sunny side,”
--_Jean Ingelow_ ”_The Four Bridges_”
=Marjoram.=--Two species of marjoram now grown for culinary purposes (several others were formerly popular) are members of the l.a.b.i.atae or mint family--pot or perennial marjoram (_Origanum vulgare_, Linn.) and sweet or annual (_O. Marjorana_). Really, both plants are perennials, but sweet marjoram, because of its liability to be killed by frost, is so commonly cultivated in cold countries as an annual that it has acquired this name, which readily distinguishes it from its hardy relative. Perennial marjoram is a native of Europe, but has become naturalized in many cool and even cold temperate climates. It is often found wild in the Atlantic states in the borders of woods.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Sweet Marjoram]
The general name _origanum_, meaning delight of the mountain, is derived from two Greek words, _oros_, mountain; and _ganos_, joy, some of the species being found commonly upon mountain sides. Under cultivation it has developed a few varieties the most popular of which are a variegated form used for ornamental purposes, and a dwarf variety noted for its ability to come true to seed. Both varieties are used in cookery. The perennial species seems to have had the longer a.s.sociation with civilization; at least it is the one identified in the writings of Pliny, Albertus Magnus and the English herbalists of the middle ages.
Annual marjoram is thought to be the species considered sacred in India to Vishnu and Siva.
_Description._--Perennial marjoram rises even 2 feet high, in branchy clumps, bears numerous short-stemmed, ovate leaves about 1 inch long, and terminal cl.u.s.ters or short spikes of little, pale lilac or pink blossoms and purple bracts. The oval, brown seeds are very minute. They are, however, heavy for their size, since a quart of them weighs about 24 ounces. I am told that an ounce contains more than 340,000, and would rather believe than be forced to prove it.
Annual marjoram is much more erect, more bush-like, has smaller, narrower leaves, whiter flowers, green bracts and larger, but lighter seeds--only 113,000 to the ounce and only 20 ounces to the quart!
_Cultivation._--Perennial marjoram when once established may be readily propagated by cuttings, division or layers, but it is so easy to grow from seed that this method is usually employed. There is little danger of its becoming a weed, because the seedlings are easily destroyed while small. The seed should be sown during March or April in flats or beds that can be protected from rain. It is merely dusted on the surface, the soil being pressed down slightly with a board or a brick. Until the seedlings appear, the bed should be shaded to check evaporation. When the plants are 2 or 3 inches tall they may be transplanted to the places where they are to remain, as they are not so easy to transplant as lettuce and geraniums. The work should be done while the plants are very small, and larger numbers should be set than will ultimately be allowed to grow. I have had no difficulty in transplanting, but some people who have had prefer to sow the seed where the plants are to stand.
If to be used for edging, the dwarf plants may be set 3 or 6 inches apart; the larger kinds require a foot or 15 inches in which to develop.
In field cultivation the greater distance is the more desirable. From the very start the plants must be kept free from weeds and the soil loose and open. Handwork is essential until they become established. The plants will last for years.