INTRODUCTION 3 



traders in flowers. Offerings of "curiously woven 

 garlands " were made, and it was " forbidden to every- 

 one to smell the flowers of which they were composed 

 before their dedication to the goddess." The Tahitians 

 had the idea that " the scent was the spirit of the 

 offering and corresponded to the spirit of man," and 

 therefore they laid sweet-scented offerings before their 

 dead till burial, believing that the spirit still hovered 

 near. These instances show clearly the high regard 

 in which delicate odours were once held. 



Herbs and flowers were early used in rites and cere- 

 monies of the Church. Miss Lambert quotes from a poem 

 of Fortunatus, Bishop of Poitiers. " When winter binds 

 the earth with ice, all the glory of the field perishes 

 with its flowers. But in the spring-time when the Lord 

 overcame Hell, bright grass shoots up and buds come 

 forth. . . . Gather these first-fruits and you bear them 

 to the churches and wreath the altars with them till 

 they glow with colour. The golden crocus is mingled 

 with the purple violet, dazzling scarlet is relieved by 

 gleaming white, deep blue blends with green. . . . One 

 triumphs in its radiant beauty, another conquers by its 

 sweet perfume ; gems and incense bow before them." 

 In England, the flowers for the Church were grown 

 under the special care of the Sacristan, and as early as 

 the ninth century there was a " gardina sacristse" at 

 Winchester.^ Miss Amherst gives a most careful 

 description of the several gardens into which the 

 whole monastery enclosures were often divided, and 

 herbs were specially grown in the kitchen-garden and 

 in the Infirmarian's garden, the latter, of course, being 

 devoted to herbs for healing. Many herbs were 

 introduced by the Romans, among them Coriander, 

 Chervil, Cumin, Featherfew, Fennel, Lovage, Mallow, 

 Mint, Parsley, Rue and Mustard. Some of these are sup- 



^" History of Gardening in England." 



