32 THE BOOK OF HERBS 



directs that among the accessories should be sweet mar- 

 joram, thyme, a little winter savoury and some pickled 

 oysters ! 



Mint {Mentha). 



The neighb'ring nymphs each in her turn . . 

 Some running through the meadows with them bring 

 Cowslips and mint. 



Britannia^ s Pastorals^ book i. 



In strewing of these herbs . . . with bounteous hands and free, 

 The healthful balm and mint from their full laps do fly. 



Polyolbion, Song xv. 



Sunflowers and marigolds and mint beset us. 

 Moths white as stitchwort that had left its stem, 

 . . . Loyal as sunflowers we will not swerve us, 

 We'll make the mints remembered .<:pices serve us 

 For autumn as in spring. 



N. Hopper. 



"Mint," says De la Quintinye, "is called in French 

 Balm," which sounds rather confusing ; but Evelyn says 

 it is the " Curled Mint, M. Sativa Crispa," that goes 

 by this name. Mint was also called " Menthe de Notre 

 Dame," and in Italy, " Erba Santa Maria," and in Ger- 

 many, " Frauen Miinze," though this name is also 

 applied to costmary. This herb used to be strewn 

 in churches. All the various kinds of it were thought 

 to be good against the biting of serpents, sea-scorpions, 

 and mad dogs, but violently antagonistic to the healing 

 processes of wounds. " They are extreme bad for 

 wounded people, and they say a wounded man that 

 eats Mints, his wound will never be cured, and that is 

 a long day ! But they are good to be put into Baths." ^ 

 The " gentler tops of Orange Mint " {Mentha citrata ?) are 

 recommended " mixed with a Salad or eaten alone, with 

 the juyce of Orange and a little Sugar." 



The mint we commonly use is Mentha Viridis or Spear 



^ Culpepper. 



