  178. LAVENDER is a well-known perennial garden plant (Lavandula spica) which grows wild in the south of Europe, and the flowers of which yield a grateful perfume. Such is the fragrance of this delightful flower, and so easy is its culture, that we can now scarcely enter a garden in which it is not found. It will grow in almost any soil, but it flourishes most luxuriantly in clayey ground; and in situations whence, without inconvenience, it can be conveyed to the metropolis, it is a very valuable crop. When cultivated to any extent, lavender should be planted in rows two or three feet apart, and the sets should be about two feet from each other. It is usually propagated from slips. During dry weather, in the month of July, the flowers should be gathered, by cutting off the heads close to the stem; after which they must be tied in bundles to be distilled. When distilled with water, the flowers of lavender, if in a mature state, yield an essential oil; generally in the proportion of about one ounce of oil to sixty ounces of flowers. This oil is of a bright yellow colour, and possesses the perfect fragrance of the lavender. But, if distilled with rectified spirit, the virtues are more completely extracted. From the leaves a very small proportion of oil can be obtained. The preparations of this plant that are used in medicine are, the essential oil, a simple spirit, and a compound tincture. Lavender, however, is much more frequently and more extensively employed as a perfume than medicinally. The flowers are deposited in chests and wardrobes among linen, not only on account of their fragrant smell, but also from an opinion that their odour will prevent the depredations of moths and other insects. The perfume called lavender water may be prepared by mixing three drachms of oil of lavender, and one drachm of essence of ambergris, with one pint of spirit of wine. Lavender is supposed to have been first cultivated in England about the year 1558. 179. COMMON or SPEAR-MINT (Mentha viridis), one of our most frequent garden herbs, is a native British plant, and grows wild in watery places, and near the banks of rivers, in several parts of England. The ancients ascribed many virtues to different kinds of mint, but it is not now possible to ascertain correctly the respective species, though there can be little doubt that spear-mint was one of the most important of them. Its flavour is to many persons The leaves are used in spring salads, are boiled with peas, and put into soup. In conjunction with vinegar and sugar they form a sauce for lamb; and prepared with sugar, they are made into a grateful conserve. Spear-mint is occasionally used in medicine, and the officinal preparations of it are the conserve, an essential oil, a simple distilled water, a spirit, and a tincture, or extract. In drying, the leaves lose about three-fourths of their weight, but without suffering much either in taste or smell. 180. PEPPER MINT (Mentha piperita) is a British plant, which grows in watery places, and is cultivated chiefly on account of an oil and distilled water which are prepared from it. This is the strongest and most aromatic of all the mints; and, on this account, is more used in medicine than any other species. When distilled with water it yields a considerable quantity of essential oil, of pale greenish yellow colour. The well-known liquor called pepper mint water, prepared from this plant, is an excellent stomachic: but is too often used in cases of impaired appetite, and for the relief of various imaginary complaints. ANGIOSPERMIA.181. The FOX-GLOVE (Digitalis purpurea) is a stately British plant, with long, erect spikes of large, purple, and somewhat bell-shaped flowers, marked internally with dark spots in whitish rings, and containing four stamens, with large yellow anthers. The calyx, or flower-cup, has five pointed divisions. The extremity of the blossom is divided into five segments; and the seed-vessel is egg-shaped, and contains many seeds. The leaves are large, wrinkled, and somewhat downy beneath. The gravelly or sandy hedge-banks or hills of all the midland counties of England are adorned, in the later months of summer, with this, one of the most beautiful, most dangerous, and yet, if properly applied, one of The juice of this plant has a bitter and nauseous taste; and, when taken internally, acts violently on the stomach and bowels, and brings on stupor and drowsiness; notwithstanding which, in careful hands, it may be rendered a valuable medicine in dropsy, consumption, and epilepsy. It is given in powder, tincture, and infusion of the dried leaves; and such is its strength, that Dr. Woodville states, the dose of the dried leaves, in powder, should not exceed from one to three grains per day. 182. The CALABASH-TREE (Crescentia cujeta) is a production of the West Indies and America, about the height and dimensions if an apple-tree, with crooked horizontal branches, wedge-shaped leaves, pale white flowers on the trunk and branches, and a roundish fruit, from two inches to a foot in diameter. The uses to which the fruit of the calabash tree is applied are very numerous. Being covered with a greenish yellow skin, which encloses a thin, hard, and almost woody shell, it is employed for various kinds of domestic vessels, such as water cans, goblets, and cups of almost every shape and description. So hard and close-grained is the calabash, that, when it contains any kind of fluid, it may even be put on the fire without injury. When intended for ornamental purposes, the vessels that are made of the shell of this fruit are sometimes highly polished, and have figures engraven upon them, which are variously tinged with indigo and other colours. The Indians make musical instruments with the calabash. The calabash contains a pale, yellow, juicy pulp, of unpleasant taste, which is esteemed a valuable remedy in several disorders, both external and internal. |
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