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ANISE.

Pimpinella anisum.

This is an annual plant, originally from Egypt. Though but little
cultivated in this country, neither our soil nor climate is unsuitable;
and it might be successfully, if not profitably, grown in the Middle and
warmer parts of the Northern States. Large quantities of the seeds are
raised on the Island of Malta and in some parts of Spain, and thence
exported to England and America for the purpose of distillation or
expression.

The stem is from a foot and a half to two feet high, and separates into
numerous slender branches; the leaves are twice pinnate,--those of the
upper part of the stalk divided into three or four narrow segments; the
flowers are small, yellowish-white, produced in large, loose umbels, at
the extremities of the branches; the seeds are of a grayish-green color,
oblong, slightly bent or curved, convex and ribbed on one side, concave
on the opposite, and terminate in a small bunch, or knob,--nearly nine
thousand are contained in an ounce, and they retain their vitality three
years.

_Culture._--Anise is raised from seeds sown annually, and thrives best
in light, rich, comparatively dry soil, and in a warm, sunny situation.
As early in spring as the appearance of settled warm weather, lay out a
bed four feet and a half wide, and as long as may be desired; spread on
a thin dressing of well-digested compost, and spade it thoroughly in
with the soil; then rake the surface fine and even, and sow the seed
thinly in drills twelve inches apart and an inch deep, allowing an ounce
of seed for a hundred and fifty linear feet. When the plants are an inch
high, thin them to five or six inches apart; and, as they increase in
size, keep the ground between the rows loose, and the spaces between the
plants free from weeds. Towards the close of the season, the seed will
be ripened sufficiently for harvesting; when the plants should be pulled
up, and spread in a sunny place until dry. The seed should then be
threshed from the heads, riddled and winnowed, and again exposed to the
sun, or spread in a dry, airy room, to evaporate any remaining moisture;
when they will be ready for use or the market.

In field culture, the grower should follow substantially the same
method, with the exception of laying out the ground; omitting, in this
particular, its division into beds. After the land has been well
prepared, the seed can be sown with great facility by a common
sowing-