OF THE PICKING AND DRYING OF HERBS 205 



(in enormous quantities), tansy, thyme, sage (both the 

 purple and the green), and many others. Then there are 

 the boxes where she keeps the dried flowers marigold, 

 camomile and lime, coltsfoot, and quantities of lavender 

 (which somehow always smells as though it had only just 

 been picked). There are queer coloured bottles, too, full 

 of all sorts of mixtures decoctions of ground ivy, sloe gin, 

 dandelion, sage and elder wine; endless ointments, and 

 lotions, for cuts and bruises. 



No one who picks and carefully dries their own herbs 

 ever wants to use bought herbs again. And even if you 

 have a very beautiful herb garden don't neglect to make 

 use of the wild herbs also. Remember the wise advice 

 of a fifteenth-century herbalist who wrote, " Herbes that 

 grow in the fieldes be bettere then those that growe in 

 gardenes. And those that grow on the hillis be best." 



