26 FAMILY HERBAL. 



and the leaves stand two at each joint. They 

 are broad and short, and somewhat indented 

 at the edges. The flowers are small and white, 

 and are of the shape of those of the dead nettle; 

 they stand on the upper parts of the branches 

 in loose spikes. The whole plant has a very fra- 

 grant smell. 



Basil is little used, but it deserves to be much 

 more. A tea made of the green plant is excellent 

 against all obstructions. No simple is more ef- 

 fectual for gently promoting the menses, and for 

 removing those complaints which naturally attend 

 their stoppage. 



There are two or three other kinds of basil, but 

 they have not equal virtue. 



The Bdellium Tree. Arbor bdellium ferens, 



WE are very well acquainted with the gum, 

 or rather gum resin called bdellium, but we 

 know very little of the tree from which it is 

 produced ; the best description we have of it, 

 amounts to no more than that it is moderate- 

 ly large, bushy, and full of branches with prickles 

 upon them, and with oblong and broad leave* 

 deeply indented at the edges, so that they re- 

 semble oak-leave* ; and that, when the young shoots 

 are broken, they yield a milky juice. But even 

 this does not come upon certainty, that is, 

 we are not assured that this tree produces the 

 very gum we see. This is of a red brown colour, 

 and bitterish taste. 



It is a good medicine in obstructions of the 

 liver and spleen, but it is not much used. 



