east to west on the top, and so working downwards till the whole is completed; let the plants be set about a foot apart each way, and nearly up to their tops, where, by a protection of fern, pea haulm, straw, or mats, they can be defended from the weather, and be ready for use in a short time when required. Where frames or pits are to spare, they may be used to advantage in preserving endive that has been previously blanched for daily use, by filling them with thoroughly consumed dry tan: where much of this article is used, a good store should always be kept in readiness, as it will be found of great utility in severe seasons for protecting many kinds of plants, which otherwise would be difficult to preserve. When the frame or pit is filled up, the endive should be taken in a dry day with the roots entire, and plunged in the tan nearly to the top in this state; after the lights are put on they will rest secure, and be ready for use at all times and in all weathers.

Should there be any plants of the last sowing left in the seed-bed, they may be taken up and planted in drills in the warmest part of the garden, where, if they survive the winter, they will, by drawing a little mould to each side, be found very useful either for soups or stewing; a garden, in the month of March, being rarely overstocked with them.

The blanching of endive should always be performed in dry days; and in winter, when the weather is dry without frost. Using strings of fresh bass, tie the leaves regularly together a little above the middle, moderately close. If the soil is light and dry, earth them up half way; but if moist, merely

tie them. The blanching is completed at different times, according as the weather is hot, dry, or cold, sometimes in one, two, or three weeks; but generally the latter. This esculent is also occasionally blanched by setting up on each side of the plants, flat tiles or bricks, which, resting against each other, in an angular form, and covered with earth, exclude the light. It may also be blanched under garden-pots, in the manner of sea-kail.

In the summer and autumn tying up is best, but in cold or wet weather the latter method may be practised; which, by covering the plants, preserves while it blanches them.

Fennel,-Anethum, Foeniculum ;-the latter name is the original, but Linnæus, in his system of botany, annexed the genus Faniculum to that of Anethum (Common Dill).

Anethum is derived from the Greek word, to run up quick or straight, and fœniculum, from the supposed resemblance of the plant, when withered and dried, to hay. It is a native of Germany, Spain, Italy, and many other places. It has sown itself in many parts, and appears like a native in England, being enumerated as such by many botanists. It may be seen growing wild on the banks of the river Adur, between Brighton and Worthing; about Gravesend, and other parts of Kent; in Sussex, Cambridgeshire, and commonly on the western

coasts.

The tender stalks of fennel are used in salads

the leaves, when boiled, enter into many fish sauces, particularly mackerel, and when raw, are used as garnishes for several dishes. It is also eaten in this state with pickled fish. In France it is very extensively used, and in Spain is put up with olives and pickled pork. The whole of the plant is good in broth or soups; it is a hardy and wholesome herb, and agrees well with the stomach.

It is said the juice of this plant, taken when the stalk is nearly full grown, has the singular property of clearing the sight and taking away the film from the eyes. At all events, this plant is used medicinally, and especially the seeds, which are a useful stomachic and carminative, and are admitted into the materia medica of the London Pharmacopoeia.

If the virtues of this and many of the commoner herbs were known to the poor cottager in his affliction, the means of alleviating suffering might be derived from a source little thought of, - from herbs growing in his own garden.

That excellent author Pliny observes that a good housewife will go into her herb-garden, instead of a spice-shop, for her seasonings, and thus save the health of her family by saving the contents of her purse.

Culture. Few plants, whether culinary or physical, require less culture than the common fennel; for where a plant is once established, and the seed allowed to ripen, hundreds of young plants will spring up yearly; and, being a perennial, they will last many years.

In raising the plants from seed, sow early in

spring in shallow drills from six to ten inches apart; and, if intended to remain, in some warm corner, to cause it to have an early growth: it is also preferable to transplanting, as the roots, from being long and fleshy, are rather tardy in striking. When the plants are three or four inches high, they must be either thinned or transplanted to about fifteen inches apart. The roots of the old plants also divide into offsets, and when only a small quantity is wanted, they may be slipped off in spring, summer, or autumn, and planted a foot apart, when they will produce an immediate supply of leaves. The fennel continues good for many years; but as it sends up strong stems for seed in summer, these should be cut down, to encourage a production of young leaves below, in succession; and, by not allowing it to seed, to keep the plants from spreading more than is desirable.

Some writers have attempted to give a reason for the two varieties of colour arising from the same plant. The author himself made an experiment for two successive years, to ascertain the fact, by clearing out, to a considerable distance, every other colour but the one intended, so as to avoid any impregnation. However, all would not do, as the seed sown in the two successive years equally produced a mixture of colours. Hence the question may be asked, is there not something inherent in the nature of fennel to cause this singularity?

The sweet fennel will be treated of under its

Allium sativum, according to the Linnæan system of botany, stands in the same class and order as the onion. Its Latin name is supposed to have originated from the rapidity of its growth. The term garlic was given on account of its powerful and penetrating scent. It is a native of Sicily, the south of France, and many other parts of the world, and was first generally used in this country in the reign of Queen Mary.

Many excellent medicinal qualities are attributed to this root; for instance, it is known to be of great service in humoral asthmas and catarrhous affections: a few cloves, peeled and pounded with honey, and taken two or three nights successively, will also be found of benefit for rheumatism; and few men are more liable to this painful disorder than gardeners, from being so much exposed to the wet and cold during the winter season.

It is considered to be efficacious in many other complaints, and would, no doubt, be more generally used, were it not for its acrimonious taste and disagreeable odour.

Garlic, when dressed after the fashion of our neighbours on the Continent, forms a very pleasant sauce for roast mutton, and is preferable to sticking a clove or two in the knuckle of a leg. If the sauce is made according to the following direction, given to the author by a gentleman who used it for roast meats, and who considered it a strengthener of the stomach, it will be found mild, agreeable, and most wholesome. The garlic, after being peeled