Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-09-02

Visit to These Famous Meadows
and What Was Seen There.

A Visit to These Famous Meadow
and What Was Seen There.
From the London Queen.
The sun shines brightly. and the sky is a
cloudless blue as we leave the Hitehin sta.
ton and begin our walk to the Lavender
fields for which this country town is IA
nous. Long before We reach them we
scent the exquisite perfume of the flowers
heavy upon the still hot air. And what a
picture when at last we reach the fields
and. turning of the sandy road, come sud.
denly upon them--a sight once seen. never
forgotten!
Under the bright sunlight they lie, field
after field, one blazing mass of Lavender
kissed into deepest violet, now gray as the
sun hides for a moment behind the cloud
The scent, delicious from afar, is almost
overpowerihg, and for once in our lives We
think IL almost disagreeable. While we
stand looking, the color deepens, and, sce-
tened by the sky and sun, the trees look
thelr brightest green In contrast TO the
mass or purple, the sandy road stretching
away in the distance is perfect in its har-
mony with the trees and fields. The men
are busy cutting. packing. and carting, and
soon We watch them and learn the why and
wherefore of their work.
Lavender stalks are, as we all know very
stin and hard to break; to cut them, there
fore. the men have small sickles; in the
right hand these are held, while with the
left the stalks are bent for the cutting, and
with strong stroke Of the sickle severed
from the plant and thrown upon the
ground. Meanwhile other men gather the
cut lavender into huge bundles and put 1t
in sacks. which are carted away to the dis
tilleries and different places, from which it
issues as lavender water, lavender soap and
many other delicacies. 1t is also sent in to
our towns and sold there in the streets at
three pence and SIX pence for quite small
punches. At Hitchin as much as one can
carry may be bought for half a crown.
We hear SO much of old lavender bushes
in country gardens, priced for their antiqni-
~ by the owners, that learned with sur
prise that, for market purposes. plants are
considered useless after the third year. The
first year sees them small and bearing lit
tie, II any, flower; the second they are in
their prime, and should be a mass of bios
som, and the third year they begin to go
or, and cuttings from them are taken for
replanting. and the old plants taken up as
useless. One lives and learns!
Lavender should be thoroughly dried be-
fore 1t is put into bags such as our great
grandmothers loved to stow among the lin
en-. And If the scent is to be preserved for
any length Of time. 1t should, after drying,
be put in a box and left until the flowers
shake of crisp and dry. leaving the stalks
separate. Then. IL put in bags. or made
into the many delicate little fancy articles,
1t will keep its sweetness for many long
day. Fans. sacks, and diminutive torpedoes
are among the prettiest ways of making UP
lavender; for the former, either white or
lavender colored muslin, or, better still,
chiffon, is used for the fan, and the sticks
with the same colored ribbon threaded
among them for the fan handle; for this,
lavender on the stalks, not separate, Is bet
ter. the heads forming the fan inside the
chiffon. Sacks are more simple, being mere
v bag tied at the neck with ribbon. For
what, for lack Of a better name, / call tor
pedoes, the flower heads are placed inside
the case made of stalks with ribbon thread
ed in and out Of them, and the perfume
passes through 1t. Lavender. whether in
bags or fancy articles, requires to be
shaken pretty frequently, or the scent will
probably be faint; good shake will bring
1t back sweet as ever.
Lavender stalks when properly dried, are
most agreeable. L always keep mine to
burn to scent the rooms in winter time
when there are no flowers. They burn
slowly, and If laid upon a metal tray, will
smolder on for long time: i few stalks
make quite a sufficient scent for an orli-
nary room. In sick rooms they are a boon,
for the smell is much cleaner and more
natural than the pastiles and other things
which offend the patients nose and only
clear the atmosphere for a comparatively
short time.