358 ODOROGRAPHIA. 
5 feet in diameter if not crowded by other plants and throw up 
spikes nearly 5 feet high. 
When it is remembered that north of the 50th degree of latitude 
the vine yields little but garlands of leaves, and that we should 
attempt in vain to cultivate the olive north of the 44th degree, it 
may seem strange that Lavandula vera, which is a native of about 
the same climate as these, should resist unprotected the vigorous 
frosts of this country ; even at Upsala, lat. 59° 51’ N., inthe Bo- 
tanic Garden, it merely requires the shelter of a few branches to 
Fig. 18. 
L. vera. 4 natural size. Appearance in middle of March, 
protect it in the winter; but this hardiness may be accounted for 
by several physiological reasons. Like all fruticose labiates which 
have a hard compact tissue, and contain much oily matter, the 
lavender absorbs less moisture than herbs which are soft and 
spongy, and as it always prefers a dry, calcareous, even stony soil, 
the northern cultivators find that by selecting such localities, the 
tissues of the plant take up so little water that our ordinary frosts 
do not injure it. In a northern climate the length of the days in 
summer, and the natural dryness of the air, compensates in some 
