LAHIATTE. 



199 



fifofjrnphi/. — 'Vho T.av;ui(lula is a native <»f (ireere and the (irecian islands, 

 wlieuce it spread west, and was carried hy Eunjpeaus to Hiudustau ; it was 

 brought in the same way to the Atlantic States of North America, where it 

 has become a common garden plant, cultivated for its delicate fragrance. It 

 grows throughout the middle of the north temperate zone, has spread over the 

 countries of the Levant, has been seen in gardens in Hindustan, and is com- 

 mon in the gardens of the eastern United States of North America. It is 

 occasionally found growing wild near deserted dwellings. 



Etymologi/. — Lavandula is from the Latin word lavare, wash, due to the 

 circumstance that the spikes were used to perfume freshly-washed linen. 

 The Romans perfumed 

 their baths with it. 

 The name spica, Latin, 

 a spike, is due to the 

 mode of inflorescence. 



Preparation. — The 

 flowers are distilled, 

 the product being a 

 delicate essential oil, 

 and a coarser oil is ol)- 

 tained from the leaves 

 and ends of the 

 branches. The oil is 

 largely manufactured 

 in the department of 

 the "Alpes Maritimes," 

 in the southeast of 

 France. The best, 

 however, is produced 

 in England, and brings 

 in open market fifteen 

 times more than the 

 best French oil. 



Use. — Lavender is 

 stimulant and tonic. 

 The pulverized dried 

 leaves are used for a snuff to cause sneezing. 



The leaves are laid among linen to perfume it. 



The oil of lavender is a favorite perfume for manufacturing fragrant waters, 

 and for compounding an aromatic spirit to remedy nausea, also to disguise 

 the disagreeable taste of other drugs. The coarser oil produced from the 

 leaves and stems is called spike oil, and is used by artists to mi.x their colors, 

 and especially for painting on pottery. 



Lavandula spica (Lavender). 



MENTHA, L. Calyx 5-toothed ; corolla 4-cleft, just a little longer 

 than the calyx, nearly equal, one division broader and eniarginate ; 

 stamens 4, straight, separate. Flowers in verticils, small, crowded, 

 short-stalked, or subse.ssile. 



1. M. viridis, L. (Spearmint.) Stem 4-aiiglod, from a creeping root, 12 

 to 20 inches high. Leaves wrinkled, subsessilc or short-petioled, lanceolate 

 acute, and cut serrate ; bracts narrow, lanceolate or bristly ; teetli <>f the 



