204 A GARDEN OF HERBS 



will not have their full Power. Care must also be taken to 

 cut them on a dry day, for the wet of Rain will do as much 

 harm as that of Dew. When the Herbs are thus gathered 

 they are to be looked over, the decayed Leaves picked off, 

 and the dead ends of the stalks cut away. They are then 

 to be tied up into small bunches, the less the better, and hung 

 upon Lines drawn across the room where the windows and 

 doors are to be kept open in good weather; the Bunches 

 are to be kept half a foot asunder, and they are to hang till 

 perfectly dry. They are then to be taken softly down, 

 without shaking off the Buds of the flowers, and laid evenly 

 in a Drawer, pressing them down and covering them with 

 paper.",) 



A drying-shed is a very charming adjunct to a herb garden, 

 and though it is not at all scientific, it is very delightful 

 to see great bunches of herbs hanging up in the old-fashioned 

 way. The most interesting drying-shed I know belongs 

 to a herbalist who lives in a remote village in Devonshire. 

 Her cottage, which looks as though it had been comfortably 

 tucked up in its garden for centuries, is very tiny, and the 

 garden, surrounded by a typical Devonshire bank, is full 

 of herbs both wild and cultivated. The owner comes of 

 the fine old English yeoman stock, and one never sees her 

 without feeling it is a privilege to know any one with such 

 beautiful old-fashioned manners. She is a tall, splendid- 

 looking woman well over eighty, but not in the least bent, 

 and it is obvious she has never known a moment's boredom. 

 The least observant stranger would realise she was a silent 

 person, and any child would very soon class her as one of 

 those comfortable grown-ups who do not bother one with 

 silly questions. To listen to her talking about her beloved 

 herbs is a joy, and to see her working in the garden amongst 

 them would rejoice the heart of any artist. But to return 

 to her drying-shed. This is on the sunniest side of the house, 

 and of course it is quite dark, as nothing is worse for 

 herbs than to dry them where the sunlight can reach them. 

 From the old beam which runs the length of the roof hang 

 bunches of all the herbs she uses : Meadowsweet, elder 



