408 OLERACEOUS PLANTS. 



The oil of lavender is obtained in the ratio of an ounce to 

 sixty ounces of dried flowers." Law. 



In the neighborhood of Mitcham, in Surrey, England, 

 upwards of two hundred acres are occupied with LaVender 

 alone. 



Varieties. 



Broad-leaved Compared with the Common Lavender, the 

 Lavender. 



Mill. branches of this variety are shorter, more 



SPIKE LAVENDER. . . 



sturdy, and thicker set with leaves, the latter 

 being short and broad. 



The Broad-leaved Lavender rarely blossoms ; but, when 

 this occurs, the leaves of the flower-stalk are differently 

 formed from those of the lower part of the plant, and some- 

 what resemble those of the Common variety. The stalks are 

 taller, the spikes lower and looser, and the flowers smaller, 

 than those of the last named. 



Common or A shrubby, thickly-branched plant, from a 



Blue-flower- 



ing Lavender, foot to upwards of three feet high, according 



NARROW-LEAVED . i x_ i PI i i i 



BLUE-FLOWERINO. to the depth and quality ot the soil in which it 

 is cultivated. The leaves are opposite, long, and narrow ; 

 flowers blue or purple, in spikes. 



The whole plant is remarkably aromatic ; but the flowers 

 have this property in a greater degree than the foliage or 

 branches. The plants are in perfection in July and August, 

 and are cut, for drying or distillation, close to the stem, as the 

 blossoms on the lower part of the spikes begin to change to 

 a brown color. 



Narrow- A sub-variety of the Common Lavender, with 



"White-flow- white flowers. It is of smaller growth and less 

 ering. 



hardy than the last named, though not so gen- 

 erally cultivated. Its properties and uses are the same. 



