326 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[October 26, 1872. 
pearance by the side of the gorgeously-decked perfumes 
of a Rimmel. The road lies high, and commands an ex¬ 
tended view, and the patches of lavender seemed to 
thicken and multiply, some near at hand, others in the 
hollow, to our unaccustomed eye having a strange effect, 
when placed in contrast with light greens of standing 
waving corn, the graver greens of the fences, and the 
still darker green of the trees, with the fairy-like struc¬ 
ture of crystal glistening in sunlight on the horizon. 
The crop, we were told, was looking remarkably well, 
with every chance in favour of an average. The sub¬ 
ject appeared to possess considerable interest to way¬ 
farers like ourselves. It was not difficult to get infor¬ 
mation from the humbler sort of folks, and we followed 
the route prescribed through Carshalton, frequented by 
trout fishers and brothers of the angle, and described 
by a great art critic as the most picturesque of all the 
villages of England. A stream that emerged into the 
roadside seemed to race with our footsteps, then disap¬ 
peared, when turning sharply about on the right we were 
at Wallington, in the centre of our search. The district 
of Beddington, associated with the palatial residence of 
the Archbishop of Canterbury, of which Wallington 
is a hamlet, contains about 200 acres devoted to the 
growth of lavender. According to our informant, 
throughout the whole locality, including Sutton on the 
extreme verge, Carshalton and Mitcham, there may be 
counted about 300 acres of lavender fields. Mitcham is 
the parent source of the herbal or “physic gardening,” 
in the native parlance , and from that place, about twelve 
or fifteen years ago, some transplants were made to 
Beddington. From thence the growth has extended 
to the neighbouring parishes, until, as at present, the eye 
is attracted on all sides by the broad sheets of colour, and 
the air is scented with the perfumes. In no other part 
of England has the same success attended this kind of 
gardening, except in Cambridgeshire, where the produc¬ 
tion is said to be inferior, although this opinion might 
even be reversed by inquiries in that quarter. How¬ 
ever, it is evident in the case of the hop gardens in 
Kent and Sussex, something peculiar existing in the soil 
or climate, or both, makes these plants to thrive. Those 
who have crossed the plains of Spanish Estremadura 
could have seen miles of waste land covered with the 
Layendula species, and florists conclude that the same 
skill brought to the assistance of nature might equally 
result in the successful crop that finds its way first to 
the distillery, and then by many transmutations to the 
scent-bottle or the medicine chest. The only peculiarity 
observable is a loamy upper surface for several feet upon 
a substratum of chalk, rather of a “holding nature,” al¬ 
though dry. The ploughing at present is not so deep 
as in former years, and to this circumstance has been 
assigned the reason why in place of bearing for eight or 
nine years as formerly, the plants are now exhausted 
in three or at the utmost in four years. Upon an open 
space at Wallington of thirty acres, the largest lavender 
field in the locality, we were able to observe the different 
growths of the one, two or three years. Nearly adjoin¬ 
ing was another four-acre enclosure spread out as level 
as a billiard-board, which we can readily believe to be 
the finest example of the one year’s crop that could be 
seen anywhere. Only a moderate application of manure 
is necessary at the outset in the autumn, when the plant¬ 
ing takes place ; and after the first year’s harvesting, 
the plants have grown to such dimensions that every 
other row has to be taken out, and every other plant 
in the row that remains. The three years’ growth are 
the first to come to maturity, and then the second, and 
then the third. The harvest takes place in August. 
The cutting, which is done by the sickle, appears an art 
of itself, which affects the crop in the future year. The 
labourers are followed by women and girls, who imme¬ 
diately pack and tie the lavender up in mats, to protect 
it from the rays of the sun, or otherwise the quantity of 
oil to be extracted would be reduced before it could be 
taken in hand at the distillery. Small quantities have 
been previously cut before they are fully ripe, for Covent 
Garden Market, or for sale about the towns and villages 
in the neighbourhood. The distillery process is carried 
on upon the spot ; as the volumes of smoke from several 
chimneys and the strong odour of herbs around the 
buildings sufficiently testified to some very odoriferous 
process within ; for it must be remembered that pepper¬ 
mint, rosemary, dill, chamomile, as well as lavender, have 
to find their way to same crucial test. Beneath a brick- 
built shed stands a row of stills, with what are called 
worm-tubs attached to each still. Upon the ground-floor 
the furnaces are being attended, and the percolator 
watched, as a trickling noise indicates that the oil is 
being extracted by the process going on. Above the 
furnaces are the stills, of dimensions sufficient either to 
contain half a ton or a ton weight of herb, and the build¬ 
ing is spacious enough to admit of carts being driven 
in for the purpose of unloading. The still is filled 
thrice in four-and-twenty hours, namely, eight hours to 
a rim. The men get upon the upper floor, remove the 
still-head by a lever, then take the lavender from the 
mats and tread the stalks down with their feet until the 
copper is tightly filled to the brim. Liquor at boiling 
heat is then taken from the top surface of the worm-tub, 
although at the bottom and lower surface the water is 
quite cold, and the furnaces are set to work. The 
worm consist of piping attached to the head of the still, 
and passes round and round the tub which contains the 
cold water. The men watch th§ bringing over of the 
still—that is, the moment when the liquor begins to flow 
over the head into the worm. Directly it does so, they 
know that the oil is running, and immediately damp 
down the furnaces. The boiling liquor from the herbs, 
by passing through the tubing immersed in cold water, 
becomes condensed, and the oil separates from the water 
and runs into the percolator at the foot of the worm-tub. 
This bringing over is the most critical point in the 
whole operation; then great attention and experience are 
needed, otherwise the herbs, both stalk and flower, might 
be taken into the worm, and the oil be spoiled. So well 
practised, however, are the men employed that what is 
called a “ run foul” is scarcely known during the whole 
of the distilling season. From thence it is taken and 
placed in dark glass bottles with short necks, containing 
4 lb. to 7 lb. each, ready for merchandising. When one 
lot has been distilled the still top is removed by the 
lever, and the charge taken out with long forks. The 
steam and vapour that arise are very great—for the 
uninitiated quite overpowering; and what is termed the 
“w T alk” being very heavy, the men themselves have to la¬ 
bour hard to get out the refuse, which is thrown just at the 
back of the building for manure. The coppers are filled 
up again with herbs, fresh water is pumped into the 
worm-tub to supply what has been taken off the surface 
for the still, and to replace what has passed off in the 
evaporation that has been always going on, and the 
process again proceeds. The quantity of oil extracted 
from a ton of lavender varies according to the influence 
of the season ; from 15 lb. to 16 lb. is considered a fair 
average, very seldom it reaches 21 lb., sometimes not more 
than 10 lb. The distilling lasts about two months, from 
the first week in August to the second week in October, 
according to the abundance or otherwise of the surround¬ 
ing crop. The business itself is separate from the grow¬ 
ing ; the small growers as well as the large take their 
crops to the distillery, and pay a certain agreed upon 
rate per ton. The results during the present season 
have been favourable, although the continuance of wet 
whether somewhat interfered with the out-door work. 
These operations may be seen and inquired into by 
following out the route we had taken from Sutton, 
through Carshalton to Wallington, then.'.e by the foot¬ 
paths across the lavender fields to Beddington, and on 
to Waddon station upon the railway of the London and 
Brighton Company .—Journal of Applied Science. 
