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Show e . sweetness of the fields, and when the distilling begins the fragrance of lavender lav-ender is borne on the wind two miles or more from the town. The flowers are put into the still with the fresh bloom of their maturity on them, and from six pounds of such flowers about half an ounce of oil is extracted." English Town Has Distilled Flowers and Sent Extract All Over World for Many Years. London. One of the minor harvests har-vests that promises well is that of the lavender fields. Some flourishing crops are to be seen in the Hitchin neighborhood. Comparatively few know of this quaint Hertfordshire town as an important im-portant lavender growing center, yet it has grown the sweet old herb (which the Romans called lavandula when they used it to scent their baths), has distilled the flowers, and sent their extract into all parts of the world for more than a century. The Hitchin district had less rain and more sunshine than the London area recently, and consequently the long, trim rows of lavender plants in their dusky green look strong and healthy. They are beginning to show their flower buds, and there is every likelihood of an abundant yield at cutting cut-ting time. Mr. Perks, the modern representative representa-tive of the firm of Perks & Llewellyn, who in 1790 were the pioneers here of lavender farming and distilling, said that even this industry must be numbered num-bered among those which are suffering suffer-ing from foreign competition. It is almost al-most entirely owing to the Importation of cheap French oil of lavender that the area under the crop, at least in this' neighborhood, is gradually decreasing," de-creasing," he said. "The reason is that Hitchin has always al-ways prided itself on producing the finest extract of lavender flowers obtainable, ob-tainable, and that, in view of the foreign for-eign competition, is an expensive standard to maintain. "Nothing but the heads of bloom go into the still. The more stalk used the ranker is the oil produced. There is a wonderful difference in quality between the English and French oil. "At cutting time people come In from miles around to inhale the |