Am.  Jour.  Pharni.  i 
March,  1890.  J 
Oil  of  Rosemary . 
139 
everywhere,  requiring  a  warm,  sheltered  and  somewhat  dry  situa- 
tion. In  a  damp  atmosphere,  or  where  shaded  by  trees,  or  in  a 
rich  soil,  it  is  apt  to  grow  rapidly  and  form  long  herbaceous  shoots, 
and  the  plant  is  then  liable  to  be  killed  by  the  frost.  In  order  to 
harden  the  plants  and  prevent  their  too  rapid  growth,  the  young 
plants  are  placed  in  rows  at  least  four  feet  apart,  with  18 
inches  or  two  feet  between  each  plant,  on  a  dry  calcareous  sloping 
ground.  The  chalk  on  which  they  grow  holds  sufficient  moisture 
in  summer  and  yet  provides  good  drainage  in  winter.  At  the 
beginning  of  September,  the  young  shoots  are  carefully  and  evenly 
cut,  with  a  strong  pair  of  sheep  shears,  right  down  to  the  wood, 
and  the  plants  soon  form  a  compact  stunted  hedge  about  18  inches 
high.  The  old  leaves  remain  on  the  plant  a  considerable  time,  not 
shrivelling  off  as  do  those  of  lavender.  The  only  manure  he  gives 
is  cinder  ash  in  abundance,  and  the  spent  leaves  from  the  still.  The 
plants  are  fully  exposed  to  sea  air  at  a  considerable  elevation  about 
two  or  three  miles  from  the  sea.  This  Mr.  Sawer  considers  beneficial 
to  their  growth,  the  name  Rosemary  {Ros  marinus)  almost  implying 
that  their  native  habitat  is  near  the  sea. 
For  purposes  of  distillation,  the  young  shoots  are  cut  at  the  end 
of  August  or  beginning  of  September,  and  separated  from  the  wood, 
i.  e.y  the  ends  of  the  main  branches,  as  much  as  possible.  The  twigs 
are  then  packed  tightly  into  a  perforated  copper  vessel,  which  is 
covered  with  a  perforated  copper  li-d,  and  the  whole  is  lifted  into  the 
still  by  pulley  tackle.  If  the  wood  is  not  removed  much  space  is 
wasted  and  the  oil  acquires  a  turpentiny  rankness.  If  the  rosemary 
is  not  distilled  soon  after  being  gathered,  it  is  liable  to  heat,  and  if 
spread  out  till  the  next  day,  Mr.  Sawer  believes  it  would  lose  much 
fragrance.  Cold  water  is  let  into  the  still  until  it  rises  nearly  to 
the  level  or  within  an  inch  of  the  lid,  the  head  of  the  still  is  then 
luted  on  and  clamped,  and  the  mass  left  to  become  saturated  with 
water  until  the  next  morning.  The  fire  is  then  lit  and  when  the 
water  begins  to  boil  the  oil  distils  over.  That  which  comes  over 
during  the  first  twenty-five  or  thirty  minutes  is  the  finest ;  that 
which  comes  over  afterward  is  small  in  quantity,  inferior  in  quality, 
and  apt  to  spoil  the  rest  if  allowed  to  distil  into  it.  A  worm  of  tin 
pipe  in  a  galvanized  iron  cylinder  is  used  as  a  condenser.  The  place 
chosen,  on  the  dry  chalky  South  Downs,  in  proximity  to  the  sea,  is 
perhaps  the  very  best  that  could  be  selected  in  this  country  for  a 
