108 On the Cultivation of Herbs and Salads. 



planted out in well prepared ground in April, and when the 

 shoots have grown four inches long, just raised, roots and all, 

 and its head nipped off, it is astonishing what splendid herb- 

 age and strong blossom it will produce by autumn. The 

 cultivation of liquorice and lavender will, I hope, be found 

 of interest ; but the extraordinary way of managing some 

 300 acres of peppermint for distillation, surprised me more 

 than all the rest, as well as the storehouses for drying the 

 herbs, which, more especially in wet weather, they could not 

 do without. Some account of these, however, together with 

 that of the culture of the different herbs taken seriatim, will 

 form the subjects of future communications. 



Lavender. — About Mitcham, the number of acres occupied 

 by this crop alone exceeds 200. The soil in which it de- 

 lights is a light sandy loam. About Mitcham it is nearly all 

 of that character, and it is mostly worked by the plough ; but 

 had they to pay 51. an acre for it instead of 3/., they would 

 soon betake themselves to the spade ; then a disease, to which 

 lavender has been subject these twelve years, would proba- 

 bly be found to disappear. I consider that the ground is very 

 much worn out, having been under this crop for hundreds of 

 years ; dung is unsuitable to lavender, so that when a new 

 plantation is about to be formed they generally manure heav- 

 ily and plant potatoes, and next autumn lavender is put in. 



In the proper cultivation of this crop, as soon as the pota- 

 toes are off, the whole of the land ought to be spade trenched, 

 but plough trenching would possibly do, in the following 

 manner, viz. : — throw out a trench two spades deep along 

 each side ; by this simple plan the workmen could plough 

 two furrows deep. The plants should be put in in Novem- 

 ber, some plant in March ; but the crop put in then never 

 succeeds so well. The land about Mitcham is so sandy, 

 warm, and light, that when the slips are put in in November 

 they make fresh roots before Christmas. The only advantage 

 of planting in February is that diseased shoots may be then 

 seen and avoided. The disease, of which I have just spoken, 

 comes upon the plant very rapidly, the leaves looking as if 

 they had received a slight scorch, and very soon the whole 

 plant dies. 



