20 FAMILY HERBAL. 



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and whitCj but they have large rough tops, whicli 

 Tcmain after they are fallen. They stand in ctrcu' 

 lar clusters round the stalk at the upper joints ; 

 the whole plant is of a fragrant smell, The root 

 creeps and spreads abundantly, the plant is in flower 

 in July. 



Fresh balm is much better than dryj for it loses 

 its fragrancy in drying. The T)est way of taking 

 it is in tea ; it is good for disorders of the head and 

 'stomach. 



The Balm o¥ Gilead Shrub. Balsamumsyrl 



acum rutiB folio 



THIS is an eastern shrub; it grows to five or 



six feet high, and the branches are very toughi 

 J3ind, when broken, have a fragrant smell. The 

 leaves are like those of rue, only larger and 

 of a deeper green ; the flowers are moderately 

 large and like pea-blossoms ; they are of a pale 

 purplish hue mixed with white. The seeds are 

 yellow and very fragrant, they are contained in a 

 kind of pods. 



No part of the shrub is^ used, but only the 

 balsam which is obtained from it ; the finest k;nd 

 runs from the tree, of itself: there is a second sort 

 obtained by boiling the twigs and young shoots ; 

 and a third, coarser, which rises to the top of 

 the water, after the purer sort has been takccj 

 off. This last is almost the only kind w^ spe, and 

 even this is very frequently adulterated. 



It is a very fine balsamic and detergent ; it is 

 good in the whites, "^and all weaknesses ; and it is 

 cordial at the same time that it acts as a balsam ; 

 it is best taken alone upoli sugar. 



