The Rural Voice, 1989-12, Page 62KEITH SIEMON
FARM SYSTEMS LTD.
Wishing you a
Happy Holiday
Season and a
prosperous 1990
•
R. R. 4, Walton
519-345-2734
(anytime)
Clinton Branch
519-482-7971
Season's
Greetings
and sincere thanks
for your continued
patronage
Patt (ISM
O� cr Hammer & Roller Mills
(1' Flex Augers
SOUTH HURON AGRI-SYSTEMS
R.R.2, Crediton, Ontario NOM IMO
Phone Bert 519-234-6403
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Send to: The Rural Voice,
Box 37, 10A The Square,
Loderich, Ont. N7A 3Y5 J
60 THE RURAL VOICE
RURAL LIVING
LAVENDER
An ancient
by
When I moved to Huron County
a year ago, the first thing I did was
plant the lavender I had moved with
me, thus carrying on a family
tradition.
I recall, as a girl of seven or
eight years of age, driving with
my parents to visit my Great -
Great -Uncle Arthur, who lived
near Long Compton in England.
I knew he had some sort of farm
and was expecting the worst
when my father said "You can
smell that place two miles away."
We drove through the stone -
pillared gateway and up the long
driveway lined, on both sides, with
tall hedges of lavender. The farm-
house turned out to be a huge medie-
val mansion — built about 1100 A.D.
— that had been in the family for
generations. The odour was heavenly.
The farm was large, as English
farms go, and my uncle was quite
proud of his 80 acres of lavender. He
and his wife, both in their eighties at
the time, ran the whole operation with
the help of one farmhand.
Lavender is of the genus "Lavan-
dula" and belongs to the mint family.
It was greatly prized by the Romans.
The used lavender oil in their baths,
for toning skin and stimulating circu-
lation during the long, cold, damp
winters of their 300 -year occupation
of England. It was also used as an
aphrodisiac, and an infusion of flow-
ers was made into herbal tea said to
be good for insomnia, exhaustion,
migraine, nausea, and vomiting.
During medieval times, lavender
and other herbs were smoked in the
ritual fires of Baltane, and were also
used at Summer Solstice to purify the
air and ward off evil spirits. Bunches
were then hung throughout dwellings
and barns. Some folks even wore
little amulets containing lavender
around their necks.
specialty crop
Brenda Baltensperger
Today only one commercial lav-
ender farm remains in England.
Norfolk Lavender is located in
Kings Lynn, and covers 100 acres.
The farm grows several varieties
and keeps a living dictionary of
species from around the world.
The three most widely grown vari-
eties are Lavandula Officin-
alis, Lavandula Latifolia, and
a hybrid known as Lavandin.
The crop is picked by a spe-
cially designed harvester, which
has replaced hand-picking by a
crew of 40 women. Only bunches
for home decoration are hand -cut
nowadays. The lavender oil is
w extracted by steam distillation, which
takes an hour. A quarter ton of flow-
ers produces one pint of oil and this,
like wine, must mature before use.
Norfolk Lavender blends the oil
according to an 18th -century formula.
The farm not only produces a wide
variety of lavender products under its
own label, but supplies other perfum-
eries, notably Chivers & Son and
Yardley of London. Yardley also uses
lavenders from France, Spain, and
Tasmania. Yugoslavia and Bulgaria
produce lavender commercially too.
Why is this hardy crop not being
commercially grown in Canada? A
research technician with Agriculture
Canada says the government did begin
research and was experimenting with
lavender shortly after World War II,
but the project was dropped.
Lavender should be a viable cash
crop, considering the cost of the oil.
A half -ounce bottle in England sells
for £5 retail, or about $9. The oil is
used in aromatic vinegars, deodorants,
and insect repellents.
But even if the Canadian govern-
ment isn't interested in a prospective
export crop, I'm still going to continue
the family tradition in my little corner
of the world.0
Acknowledgements: • Mike Cross, fragrance co-ordinator, Yardley of London Limited.
• Henry Head, managing director, Norfolk Lavender Ltd.
• Dr. Maur and assistant, Department of Agricultural Research, Agassiz, B.C.
• T. H. Haliburton, Canadian Society of Horticultural Science, Nova Scotia.