tant article of
export from Russia, Prussia, and Holland. It has developed no clearly
marked varieties; some specimens, however, seem to be more distinctly
annual than others, though attempts to isolate these and thus secure a
quick-maturing variety seem not to have been made.

_Description._--The fleshy root, about 1/2 inch in diameter, is
yellowish externally, whitish within, and has a slight carroty taste.
From it a rosette of finely pinnated leaves is developed, and later the
sparsely leaved, channeled, hollow, branching flower stem which rises
from 18 to 30 inches and during early summer bears umbels of little
white flowers followed by oblong, pointed, somewhat curved, light brown
aromatic fruits--the caraway "seeds" of commerce. These retain their
germinating power for about three years, require about 10,000 seeds to
make an ounce and fifteen ounces to the quart.

_Cultivation._--Frequently, if not usually, caraway is sown together
with coriander in the same drills on heavy lands during May or early
June. The coriander, being a quick-maturing plant, may be harvested
before the caraway throws up a flowering stem. Thus two crops may be
secured from the same land in the same time occupied by the caraway
alone. Ordinary thinning to 6 or 8 inches between plants is done when
the seedlings are established. Other requirements of the crop are all
embraced in the practices of clean cultivation.

Harvest occurs in July of the year following the seeding. The plants are
cut about 12 inches above ground with sickles, spread on sheets to dry
for a few days, and later beaten with a light flail. After threshing,
the seed must be spread thinly and turned daily until the last vestige
of moisture has evaporated. From 400 to 800 pounds is the usual range of
yield.

If seed be sown as soon as ripe, plants may be secured which mature
earlier than the main crop. Thus six or eight weeks may be saved in the
growing season, and by continuing such selection a quick-maturing strain
may be secured with little effort. This would also obviate the trouble
of keeping seed from one year to the next, for the strain would be
practically a winter annual.

_Uses._--Occasionally the leaves and young shoots are eaten either
cooked or as an ingredient in salads. The roots, too, have been esteemed
in some countries, even more highly than the parsnip, which, however,
largely because of its size, has supplanted it for this purpose. But the
seeds are th