CULINARY HERBS 99 



the lavender is still used, though the linen is now- 

 adays purchased. 



In southern France and in England considerable 

 areas are devoted to lavender for the perfumery 

 business. The flower stems are cut in August, cov- 

 ered at once with bast matting to protect them 

 from the sun and taken to the stills to obtain the 

 thin, pale yellow, fragrant oil. Four-year-old plants 

 yield the greatest amount of oil, but the product 

 is greater from a- two-year plantation than from an 

 older one, the plants then being most vigorous. Two 

 grades of oil are made, the best being used for lav- 

 ender water, the poorer for soap making. In a good 

 season about one pound of oil is obtained from 150 

 to 200 pounds of the cut plants. 



Lovage (Levisticnm officinale, Koch.), a perennial, 

 native of the Mediterranean region. The large, 

 dark-green, shining radical leaves are usually 

 divided into two or three segments. Toward the 

 top the thick, hollow, erect stems divide to form 

 opposite, whorled branches which bear umbels of 

 yellow flowers, followed by highly aromatic, hol- 

 lowed fruits ("seeds") with three prominent ribs. 

 Propagation is by division or by seeds not over 

 three years old. In late summer when the seed 

 ripens, it is sown and the seedlings transplanted 

 either in the fall or as early in spring as possible 

 to their permanent places. Rich, moist soil is 

 needed. Root division is performed in early spring. 

 With cultivation and alternation like that given to 

 Angelica, the plants should last for several years. 



