568 



The Destruction of Bracken. 



[OCT., 



The same writer estimates the average yield of oil at 12 lb. 

 per acre if the whole area under cultivation, including that 

 devoted to cuttings and to the first year's growth, is taken 

 into consideration. But from 15 lb. up to as much as 

 30 lb. of oil may be obtained in a favourable season when 

 the plants are in their prime. 



The value of the oil varies according to quality, demand, 

 and other seasonal conditions. From 100s. per lb. thirty 

 years ago it fell to 20s. to 305. per lb., but during the present 

 year the price has risen, and 405. per lb. may be given as 

 the current wholesale price. 



Apart from growing for oil, which is not advisable unless 

 a lavender distillery exists in the neighbourhood, the plant 

 may be grown for its dried flowers. There is a limited sale 

 for these at Covent Garden, while they may also be sold 

 locally. It is in the latter direction that small holders may 

 be able to dispose of the crop from a small area. Caution, 

 however, is desirable, as the normal demand is not large. 



Disease. — The lavender plant is very subject to a fungus 

 disease, which attacks the root and stem ; indeed, the decline 

 in cultivation which took place some years ago is said to be 

 due to this cause, with the result that large quantities of 

 foreign oil were imported, and to some extent supplanted 

 the home product. 



In view of the liability of the plant to this disease, it is very 

 desirable (1) to root up and burn the old plants in order to 

 destroy any fungus spores or mycelium that may be present, 

 and (2) after sterilising the soil with quicklime to plant the 

 ground with another crop for a year or two. 



THE DESTRUCTION OF BRACKEN. 



Bracken, Brake Fern, or "Fern" (Pteris aquilina, L.), is 

 at once one of the most widely distributed and one of the 

 most interesting of our native flora, for not only does it occur 

 in many parts of the world, but its peculiar life-history shows 

 that while it produces thousands of spores which require 

 damp surroundings in which to grow and give rise to new 

 plants, it is not in general propagated in this way in the 



