102 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 
lost consciousness. Venus, seeing this, took pity upon him 
and changed him into a sweet herb which we now know as 
sweet marjoram. This plant (Origanum Majorana) is a na- 
tive of the Mediterranean countries. It has a pleasant odor 
and aromatic, bitter taste. Due to the volatile oil which it 
contains, the green plants are used for seasoning soups, stews, 
ete., and it was formerly employed as a domestic medicine 
to “‘bring out the rash’’ in such diseases as measles. 
The Japanese have long used the oil obtained from Perilla 
seeds in saturating paper to use for the walls of rooms, book- 
binding, ete. This ‘‘Yegoma’”’ oil is also used in waterproof- 
ing paper for umbrellas and for window panes. The sweet 
compound obtained from this plant was first made in Ger- 
many, but it was not until ten years later that its excessive 
Sweetness was discovered by a Japanese. Whether this 
‘“‘Alpha-anti-aldoxime of perillaldehyde’’ will ever be of any 
commercial value remains to be seen, but the plant Perilla 
is easily grown, frequently oceurring wild in the vicinity 
of St. Louis, and the fact that one pound of this sweeten- 
ing will go as far as a ton of sugar would seem to make it 
well worth considering. 
A sweet herb of southern Europe, used for seasoning and 
sometimes in the household practice of medicine, is sage 
(Salvia officinalis). The common name is derived from its 
supposed power of strengthening the memory and conse- 
quently increasing one’s wisdom. For the last three hundred 
years this shrubby perennial has been widely cultivated in 
kitchen gardens for its aromatic leaves. It is more exten- 
sively grown in America than any other eulinary herb with 
the exception of parsley, which is largely used for garnish- 
ing rather than as a flavoring agent. Only the young leaves 
of sage should be used, as fresh as possible, for unless ecare- 
fully dried, they lose the volatile oil which is the source of 
their flavor and aroma. In ancient medicine they were 
eredited with various medicinal properties. 
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is another herb that has been 
much used for culinary purposes, recipes for thyme tea dat- 
ing back to 1600. The volatile oil from this plant contains 
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