Just as a further useful aside, lavender applied in bed at night to
face and hands can also deter that odd buzzing mosquito. I don't expect
it would deter hordes or, at least, I haven't tested that, but have
managed to get the odd one to buzz orf somewhere else. Has never failed
me yet.
Also I find lavender calming at night but this possibly more personal,
as I like the scent anyway.
Cheers,
Jill
On Tuesday, April 11, 2006, at 04:23 AM, MJ Walker wrote:
> If I may make so bold as to comment on this thread, unclear as some of
> it is to me because I've been away for months & missed all the mails
> till yesterday: lavender is anti-bacterial and - to quote a useful
> website on aromatherapy - "the laborers working in the lavender fields
> and gardeners tending herb gardens and tanners and glove-makers who
> used essential oils to perfume fine leather escaped from the plague
> unhurt while their masters perished! We know what ancestors didn't -
> these aromatic plants are all powerful bactericides and that some of
> them are also anti-viral agents." So women who sniffed handkerchiefs
> impregnated with lavender oil etc were practising medicine, not just
> being "lady-like" or masking smells. I often sniff a combination of
> lavender, teetree & eucalyptus to alleviate bronchial and sinusitis
> problems. As pharmaceutic companies become more & more overbearing &
> demanding, we will all have to learn to make use of herbs etc, even
> against the resistance of the medical profession.
> Best
> Martin
>
> Tina Bass wrote:
>
>>
>> And thanks for sharing the story of your
>> great-grandmother, it was vivid, I'd forgotten how my
>> own great-grandmother used to rely on talcum powder
>> and handkerchiefs!,
>> - Lily of the Valley or Lavender were the scents she preferred. Both
>> of
>> them a hangover from Victorian times and earlier I think. Lavender -
>> I
>> believe - was used to mask the smell of death during plague times. I
>> never
>> really understood the handkerchief thing but I guess it relates to
>> being a
>> lady, appropriatedly dressed and prepared for anything.
>> ........
>> - Not at all. Thanks for sharing the story of the 'witch'. It made
>> me smile because I have a neighbour who seems very similar. She has
>> herbs
>> growing wild all over the place, lots of cats etc. I wonder what the
>> children at the end of the street think about her.
>>
>> Regards
>>
>> Tina
>>
>>
>
> --
> M.J.Walker - no blog - no webpage - no idea
>
> Nous ne faisons que nous entregloser. - Montaigne
>
>
_______________________________________________________
Jill Jones
Latest books:
Broken/Open. Available from Salt Publishing
http://www.saltpublishing.com/books/smp/1844710416.htm
Where the Sea Burns. Wagtail Series. Picaro Press
PO Box 853, Warners Bay, NSW, 2282. [log in to unmask]
Struggle and radiance: ten commentaries (Wild Honey Press)
http://www.wildhoneypress.com
web site: http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~jpjones
blog1: Ruby Street http://rubystreet.blogspot.com/
blog2: Latitudes http://itudes.blogspot.com/
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