Garden Rocket. Roquette, of the French. Brassica eruca.
A hardy, annual plant, from the south of Europe. Stem about two feet high; leaves long, lobed or lyrate, smooth and glossy, succulent and tender; flowers pale citron-yellow, with blackish-purple veins, very fragrant, having the odor of orange-blossoms; the seeds are small, roundish, brown, or reddish-brown, and retain their vitality two years,—fifteen thousand are contained in an ounce.
Sowing and Cultivation.—The seed is sown thinly, in shallow drills a foot asunder. The first sowing may be made as early in spring as the frost will permit; afterwards, for a succession, a few seeds may be sown at intervals of three or four weeks. In poor soil and dry seasons, the leaves are liable to be tough and acrid: the seeds should, therefore, be sown in rich loam, and the plants thoroughly watered in dry weather; as, the more rapid and vigorous the growth, the more succulent and mild-flavored will be the foliage.
Use.—The leaves, while young and tender, are eaten as salad.
SAMPHIRE. Thomp. Mill.
Sea-fennel. Parsley-pert. St. Peter's Herb. Crithmum maritimum.
This is a half-hardy, perennial plant, common to rocky localities on the seacoast of Great Britain. Stalk from a foot to two feet in height, tender and succulent; leaves half an inch long, somewhat linear, glaucous-green, fleshy; flowers in terminal umbels,—small, white, or yellowish-white; the seeds are oblong, yellowish, and, though somewhat larger, resemble those of Fennel,—they retain their germinative power but one year.
The plant blossoms in July and August, and the seeds ripen in September and October.
Cultivation.—"It is rather difficult to cultivate in gardens; and the produce is never so good as that obtained from the places where it naturally grows. It may be propagated either by dividing the plant, or by sowing the seed in April or in autumn, soon after it is ripe. The latter period is preferable; for, if kept till spring, the seed does not germinate so well.