CULINARY HERBS 63 



perfuming soaps, pomatums and other toilet arti- 

 cles. The very volatile, nearly colorless oil is usu- 

 ally obtained by distillation with water, about 50 

 pounds of seed being required to produce one pound of 

 oil. At Erfurt, Germany, where much of the com- 

 mercial oil is made, the ''hay" and the seeds are both 

 used for distilling. 



Balm (Melissa officinalis, Linn.), a perennial herb 

 of the natural order Labiatse. The popular name is 

 a contraction of balsam, the plant having formerly 

 been considered a specific for a host of ailments. 

 The generic name, Melissa, is the Greek for bee and 

 is an allusion to the fondness of bees for the abun- 

 dant nectar of the flowers. 



Balm is a native of southern Europe, where it 

 was cultivated as a source of honey and as a sweet 

 herb more than 2,000 years ago. It is frequently 

 mentioned in Greek and Latin poetry and prose. 

 Because of its use for anointing, Shakespeare re- 

 ferred to it in the glorious lines (King Richard IL, 

 act iii, scene 2) : 



" Not all the water in the rough, rude sea 

 Can wash the balm from an anointed king." 



As a useful plant it received attention from the 

 pen of Pliny. From its home it has been introduced 

 by man as a garden plant into nearly all temperate 

 climates throughout the world, and is often found 

 as an escape from gardens where introduced — occa- 

 sionally in this role in the earliest settled of the 

 United States. Very few well-marked varieties 

 have been produced. A variegated one, now grown 



