CULINARY HERBS IO5 



of seed. When the leaves are thoroughly dry they 

 must be thrashed and rubbed before being placed in 

 sieves, first of coarse, and then of finer mesh. 



Uses. — The leaves and the flower and tender stem 

 tips of both species have a pleasant odor, and are used 

 for seasoning soups, stews, dressings and sauces. They 

 are specially favored in France and Italy, but are pop- 

 ular also in England and America. In France mar- 

 joram is cultivated commercially for its oil, a thin, 

 light yellow or greenish liquid, with the concen- 

 trated odor of marjoram and peppermint. It has a 

 warm, and slightly bitter taste. About 200 pounds 

 of stems and leaves are needed to get a pound of 

 oil. Some distillation is done in England, where 

 70 pounds of the plant yield about one ounce of oil. 

 This oil is used for perfuming toilet articles, espe- 

 cially soap, but is perhaps less popular than the 

 essential oil of thyme. 



Mint (Mentha viridis, Linn.) — Spearmint, a mem- 

 ber of the Labiatse, is a very hardy perennial, native to 

 Mediterranean countries. Its generic name is derived 

 from the mythological origin ascribed to it. Poets de- 

 clared that Proserpine became jealous of Cocytus's 

 daughter, Minthe, whom she transformed into the 

 plant. The specific name means green, hence the 

 common name, green mint, often applied to it. The 

 old Jewish law did not require that tithes of "mint, 

 anise and cumin" should be paid in to the treasury, 

 but the Pharisees paid them while omitting the 

 weightier matters, justice, mercy, and faith (Mat- 

 thew xxiii, 23). From this and many other refer- 

 ences in old writings it is evident that mint has been 



