Important: Safety Warning
This page recommends pest-control substances such as arsenic compounds, strychnine, or cyanide — in some cases applied to food crops. These substances are lethal to humans and animals, and their use is now banned or strictly controlled.
This information has been left in for historical purposes but should not be acted upon.
Rosemary
(Rosmarinus officinalis). A well-known, hardy, evergreen shrub, grown in small quantities in almost every garden. The foliage is used for making what is called Rosemary tea, a decoction sometimes employed, amongst other purposes, for relieving headache. Rosemary may be propagated by seeds, by cuttings, and by layers. Seeds may be sown upon a warm, sunny border. Cuttings, taken in summer, about 6in. long, and dibbled in a shady border, under a hand glass, will root, and be ready for transplanting into permanent quarters the following autumn. Layering may readily be accomplished, in summer, by bringing some of the lower branches down, and pegging them beneath a little sandy soil. Rosemary succeeds best on a light, rather dry, soil and in a sheltered situation, such as the base of a low wall with a south aspect. There are three varieties, namely, the Common or Green-leaved, the Silver-striped, and the Gold-striped. The two last-named are not quite so hardy as the common variety.