BLUE AND PURPLE WILD FLOWERS 
branching plant grows a foot or so high, from leafy 
runners or stolens. The sharply toothed, lance-shaped 
leaves are pointed at the tip and narrowed at the base. 
They are noticeably veined, and are set in alternating 
pairs upon the stalk, sometimes with short stems. 
They have a strong, aromatic taste, and are much in 
favour as a flavouring for meat sauces and cooling 
drinks. It is also used to some extent in medicine, 
The very small, pale purple, four-cleft, tubular flowers, 
are set in a tiny, five-parted, bell-shaped green calyx, 
and are gathered in small whorls, one above the other, 
with a space between; forming long, slim, terminal 
spikes, the central spike becoming very long. This 
Mint is found from Canada south to Florida and Kansas 
and west to Minnesota and Utah. 
PEPPERMINT. LAMB, OR BRANDY-MINT 
Méntha piperita, Mint Family. 
Peppermint is one of the most popularly known 
flavourings for candies. The plant is extensively cul- 
tivated for the strong aromatic oil which it produces, 
and in this respect it ranks as one of the most important 
of all plants. This oil is used very extensively in 
medicines, and for the production of menthol. The 
cultivation of this species was carried on long ago by 
the Egyptians. It has a peculiar, penetrating odour, 
and is pungent and cooling to the taste. In medicines 
it is used as a stimulant, to allay nausea, and to relieve 
sudden cramps or pains in the stomach. Peppermint 
grows from one to three feet high in wet soil, and along 
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