1903 The still-room by C. Roundell

The Still-Room

Medlars should be picked in November, preferably after the frost has touched them. Their stalks should be dipped in strong lime, and the fruits buried in boxes of wet bran, no two medlars touching, and placed in the fruit-house. JValnuts should be removed from their outer rinds, and at once placed in an earthen jar. Cover them with three inches of sawdust, and place them in a cool cellar or fruit-house. Filberts^ Cobs and Hedge Nuts^ for storing, should be gathered just before they slip their husks — though they must be so ripe as to do so at the slightest force. They should be dried before storing, or the husks will become mouldy. They may then be treated as advised for walnuts, or they may be placed in a jar and sprinkled over with salt. Gathering and Drying Herbs. — Herbs should usually be picked just before they flower, and, their roots having been cut off, they should be tied into bundles and quickly sun-dried. These bundles may then be tied in paper bags and hung in a dry room, or they may be powdered and bottled. Lavender should be cut as soon as the flowers are fully open. It should then be dried in the shade, and stored in a dry room.

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