30 ENGLISH BOTANY. 



Root tapering, frequently of the thickness of a man's finger. 

 Stem very firm, ahiiost woody at the base, 1 to 4 feet high. 

 Leaflets f to 1 inch long, those of the lower leaves ol)ovate, those 

 of the uj^per elliptical, all serrate. Stipules triangular-subulate, 

 Avith the base adhering to the leafstalk. Eacemes axillary, stalked, 

 I to 2 inches long when in flower, 1^ to 3 inches long (excluding the 

 stalk) when in fruit. Flowers deep yellow, ^ inch long. Calyx- 

 teeth nearly equal, triangular-subulate, as long as the tube, which is 

 not ruptured by the mature fruit. Pedicels about as long as the 

 calyx-tube Avhen in flower, and then slightly curved, but hooked 

 downwards when in fruit. Pod j inch long, black when ripe, 

 with an indistinct network of elevated veins, and numerous short 

 adpressed deciduous hairs. Seeds 1 or 2, yellowish, cordate-ovate, 

 with the base unequal, compressed. Plant bright-green, glabrous, 

 or nearly so. 



Common Melilot. 



French, Melilot Officinal. German, GebrauehUcIier SieinMee. 



At one time this plant was cultivated in England for fodder, but it is now seldom 

 seen, having, like the Medick, given place to the clover. In Switzerland and the 

 neighbouring countries it abounds in the pastures, and is an ingredient in the green 

 Swiss cheese called Schabzeiger, which is made in the canton of Glarus, and is by many 

 persons highly esteemed. It is stated in many books that this plant enters into the 

 compositiuQ of the Gruyere cheese, which is altogether erroneous. The Schabzeiger cheese 

 is made by the curd being pressed in boxes with holes to let the whey run out ; and 

 when a considerable quantity has been collected, and putrefaction begins, it is worked 

 into a paste with a large proportion of the dried herb !Melilotus reduced to a powder. 

 The herb is called in the country dialect " Zieger kraut," curd Iierb. The paste thus 

 produced is pressed into moulds of the shape of a common flowerpot, and the putrefac- 

 tion being stopped by the aromatic herb, it dries into a solid mass, and keeps unchanged 

 for any length of time. When used it is rasped or grated, and the powder mixed with 

 fresh butter is spread upon bread. It is either much relished or much disliked, like all 

 such substances with a singular taste and smell. The whole plant has a peculiar scent, 

 which becomes more perceptible when it is drj', and has some resemblance to Anthox- 

 anthum, the sweet-smelling vernal grass. The flowers are sweet-scented, and a water 

 distilled from them is used for giving flavour to various substances. In medicine this 

 lierb has had its day. It was at one time esteemed emollient and digestive. It is 

 recommended by Gerarde in all manner of disorders — ^for a poultice, the juice to be 

 dropped into the eyes to " clear the sight ; " alone with water to heal wens and ulcers, 

 and also mixed with a little wine it " mitigatheth the paine of the eares and taketh 

 away the paine of the head." That the Melilot was at one time a very common 

 crop in England we have Gerarde's testimony, for he says, " for certainty no part of 

 the world doth enjoy so great plenty thereof as England, and especially Essex, for I have 

 seen between Sudbury in Suflfolke and Clare in Essex, and from Clare to Ilessingham, 

 very many acres of earable pasture overgrowue with the same ; in so much that it duth 

 not onely spoil their laud, but the corn also, as Cockle or Daiuel, and is a weed that 

 generally spieadelh over that corner of the shire." 



