212 OLERACEOUS PLANTS. 



may be taken directly from the plants as they are required 

 for use. 



Use. The plant has a pleasant, lemon-like odor, an 

 agreeable, aromatic taste, and, in flavoring certain dishes, is 

 used as a substitute for Lemon Thyme. It is beneficial in 

 hemorrhage, and other diseases of the lungs ; and, in the 

 form of tea, constitutes a cooling and grateful diluent in 

 fevers. A mixture of balm and honey, or sugar, is some- 

 times applied to the interior of beehives, just previous to 

 receiving the swarm, for the purpose of " attaching the 

 colony to its new settlement." 



BASIL. 



Ocymum. 



There are two species of Basil cultivated in gardens ; viz., 

 the Common Sweet Basil ( 0. basilicum) and the Small Bush 

 Basil (0. minimum). Of the Common Sweet Basil, there 

 are three varieties ; and of the Bush Basil, two varieties. 

 They are all annuals, and are grown from seeds, which 

 are black, small, oblong, and retain their vitality from six 

 to ten years. 



Sweet UI Basil Stem from a foot to a foot and a half in 



height ; leaves green, ovate, sharply pointed ; 



flowers white, in whorls at the extremities of 

 the stems and branches. The whole plant, when bruised, is 

 highly aromatic, having the odor and flavor of cloves. 



Varieties : 



Purple Basil. Leaves and flowers purple. When grown 

 in sunny situations, the leaf-stems and young 

 branches are also purple. In other respects, the variety is 

 similar to the Common Sweet Basil. Its properties and 

 uses are the same. 



