An avenue of limes has been ravaged and
torn in pieces by the eagerness of the people to gather the blossoms,
and they are often made into tea which is a soft sugary beverage in
taste a little like licorice.'"
"How queer," said Clara, "to make tea from flowers!"
"Is it any queerer," asked her governess, "than to make it from leaves?
I should think that the flowers might even be better, and yet I should
scarcely like lime-tea that tastes like licorice."
The children, though, seemed to think that they would like it, and Miss
Harson had very little doubt that such would be the case.
"Both the bark and the wood of the lime tree are valuable," she
continued. "The fibres of the bark are strong and firm, and make
excellent ropes and cordage. In Sweden and Russia they are made into a
kind of matting that is very useful for packing-purposes and in
protecting delicate plants from the frost. 'The manufacture of this
useful material is carried on in the summer, close by the woods and
forests where the lime trees grow in abundance. As soon as the sap
begins to ascend freely the bark parts from the wood and can be taken
away with ease. Great strips are then peeled off and steeped in water
until they separate into layers; the layers are still further divided
into smaller strips or ribbons, and are hung up in the shade of the
wood, generally on the very tree itself from which they have been taken.
After a time they are woven into the matting and sent to market for
sale.
Pages:
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163