20 FAMILY HERBAL. 



and white, but they have large rough tops, which 

 remain after they are fallen. They stand in circu- 

 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 dry, for it loses 

 its fragrancy in drying. The best way of taking 

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

 stomach. 



The Balm of Gilead Shrub. Balsamum syri- 

 acum rulk folio 



THIS is an eastern shrub ; it grows to five or 

 six feet high, and the branches are very tough, 

 and, when broken, have a fragrant smell. The 

 leaves are like those of rue, only larger and 

 of a deeper gf r;cn ; the flowers are moderately 

 large and like pea-bl essoins ; they are of a pale 

 purplish hue mixed with white. The seeds are 

 yellow and very fragrant, they are contained in a 

 kiiid of pods. 



No part of the shrub is used, but only the 

 balsam which is obtained from it ; the finest kuid 

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

 obf ained 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 taken 

 oiF. This last is almost the only kind we see, 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 upon sugar. 



