222 LABIATJ3. 



The Meadow Clary is a handsome plant, cultivated for the 

 sake of its flowers. It is found apparently wild near Cobham, 

 in Kent. It is used to flavour the wine called by its name. 

 We used to find it plentifully in Switzerland, and its rich 

 purple spikes of hooded flowers were splendid enough to 

 contest the prize for beauty with our garden Salvias. 



Another handsome Sage, a frequent inhabitant of Swiss 

 meadows, the Salvia glutinosa, is there gathered and spread 

 under beds, and is thus believed to destroy or warn away 

 certain unwelcome insects which abound in those romantic- 

 looking Swiss chalets. 



The Wild Clary (Salvia verbenaca, Plate XIIL,fig. 8), has 

 a leaf like Sage. Its flowers are also of a rich blue and very 

 handsome ; but it is seldom that more than two or three are 

 open at once, so that the spike is rarely showy. It grows on 

 the steep bank upon which Richmond Castle stands, and flowers 

 from June to September. 



The Sage, which we associate with roast duck and goose, 

 is a member of this family. Like the Gipseywort, they have 

 only two stamens. 



The Mint family succeeds that of the Sage, and its members 

 are numerous. 



The Spear Mint (Mentha viridis), is the plant used for 

 lamb sauce ; it is a straight-growing plant with bright green 

 lance-shaped leaves, and spikes of small pinkish-lilac flowers. 

 It grows in marshy ground near Birk Park, Swaledale. 



The Pepper Mint is used for distilling. The leaves are 

 broader, and there is a camphor-like scent about the plant. 



The Penny Hoyal creeps on the ground ; its flower-stalk and 

 calyx are woolly. It is of a much smaller habit than the rest 

 of the family. My specimen was sent from the Pentland Hills. 



The one that most nearly resembles it is the Corn Mint 

 (M. arvensis). Its stem is partly prostrate, its flowers have 

 a crimson hue, and it frequents wet corn fields. It is very 

 common. 



