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 peculiarly agreeable, and, on this account, it is employed for several culinary purposes, both in a green and dried state. 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.