SEASONING HERBS. 



wastes ; the balmy calamint, and others of the same 

 genus, diffuse their aromatic sweets over the culti- 

 vated fields ; and the mints correct the effluvia 

 arising from stagnant pools in marshy lands. 



SPEARMINT, or common mint Mentha viridis, 

 PEPPERMINT Mentha piperita, and PENNY-ROYAL 

 MINT MeMthapulegium, are the principal species 

 of mint. All are propagated either by parting at the 

 root, by offsets, or by cuttings. When designed for 

 distillation, the stalks should not be gathered until 

 they have attained their full growth and are beginning 

 to bloom ; they should then be used as soon as cut. 

 The same roots will send forth annual stalks for many 

 years without degenerating. 



THYME Thymus. Two species are found na- 

 tives of Britain, the Thymus serpyllum and Thymus 

 acinas ; but that which is cultivated in our gardens, 

 Thymus vttlgaris, is a native of Spain, and other 

 parts of Southern Europe. The climate of Spain 

 seems peculiarly genial to the growth of all sweet 

 herbs. At Marvella, about midway between Malaga 

 and Gibraltar, De Laborde speaks of ' sage, thyme, 

 majorum, lavender, myrtle, and rosemary, more than 

 six feet high, embalming the air on all sides.' * 

 Thyme was introduced into this country certainly 

 before the middle of the sixteenth century, but how 

 long previous to that period is not ascertained. This 

 herb is well known as a low shrubby evergreen, of a 

 strongly aromatic odour. When of the largest growth 

 it scarcely attains to a foot in height. Its minute 

 leaves are smooth and oval, and the flowers are 

 smaller than those of the wild thyme. Three varie- 

 ties are usually cultivated, and distinguished as the 

 broad, the narrow, and the variegated leaved. 



Two or three tufts of another species, the Lemon 

 Thyme Thymus citriodorus sometimes find a 



* De Laborde's Spain, vol. iii. 



